Selected Factors Influencing Implementation Of Early Childhood Development Policy In Public Pre-School Education In Narok North Sub County , Narok County Kenya

ABSTRACT

Early Childhood Education (ECE) comprises essential programmes and activities

which are very important to the holistic development of a child. This is one of the

main reasons why the government through policy interventions has given a lot of

attention to ensuring that the program becomes a success. The implementation of the

ECDE policy in Preschools is however, faced with many factors. Some of these

factors are general, affecting the program as a whole while others are specific to

counties such as Narok. The purpose of this study was to examine the factors

influencing implementation of ECDE policy in public pre-school education in Narok

North Sub County. Specifically, the study sought to; assess the influence of awareness

of the ECDE policy on the implementation of ECDE Policy in Narok North sub

county, evaluate the influence of teachers’ characteristics on the implementation of

ECDE Policy in Narok North sub county, establish the influence of resources on the

implementation of ECDE Policy in Narok North sub county and determine the

influence of community attitudes towards the implementation of ECDE policy in

public preschool education in Kenya. The target population constituted 94 ECDE

managers, 188 ECDE teachers, and 6 DICECE officers in Narok North Sub County.

The study used stratified and simple random sampling method to select the 172

respondents from the study population. A structured questionnaire and interview

guide were developed in line with the study objectives. A pilot test was conducted and

the results used to test reliability coefficient of the questionnaire which was

established to be 0.7. The data was organized using Statistical Package for Social

Sciences (SPSS) and analyzed using descriptive statistics of frequency and

percentages by the help of computer software). The results revealed that the

implementation of ECDE policy is influenced by low levels of awareness among the

stakeholders including the teachers and the managers of the ECDE programs. The

results also show that the implementation of ECDE policy was also influenced by the

teacher’s characteristics defined by their attitude and perceptions, skills, knowledge

and abilities. It was further established that implementation of the ECDE policy was

influenced by lack of resources to support the programme in Narok North Sub-

County. It was on this basis that the study concluded that implementation of ECDE

policy was faced by various factors that have to be addressed. On the level of was

influenced by the four selected factors; awareness of the policy among the

stakeholders, the lack of resources to support the implementation of the program, the

teachers characteristics and the negative community attitudes of the community. The

study therefore recommends that for there to be effective implementation of the

ECDE policy in North Sub County, there is need to ensure that all the teachers and

managers are aware of the policy, the required ECDE resources are made available

to support the program, the teachers are motivated and effectively equipped with the

required skills to be able to manage the ECDE centers and programs and that the

community must be well sensitized to ensure that the negative attitudes does not

influence the implementation of the policy. The findings of the study were beneficial

to all the pre-school in the county. The teachers and the ministry of education will

also shed light on policy issues that influence the management of the ECDE

programmes.