Browsing by Author "Wambiri, Gladwell"

Now showing 1 - 6 of 6
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Caregivers’ role definition and practices in the stimulation of children’s emergent reading development in Ruiru, Kenya
    (2015-02-09) Wambiri, Gladwell
    Emergent reading refers to the reading related developments that occur before formal reading instruction. Although research on this concept exists in other countries, It is a relatively new concept in Kenya and for this reason has not received much attention in research. Recent studies in Kenya are consistently reporting poor reading achievements among children in primary school. These studies show that most of the reading difficulties begin from early childhood years and continue impacting on children’s reading attainment in their later school years. This implies that there is need to establish issues surrounding reading development from children’s early years. The study from which this paper draws investigated the current status of caregiver perceptions and practices with 30 to 42 months old children around print. The study found that caregivers largely lacked knowledge about children’s emergent reading development and their role in it. Caregivers’ perceptions about their role in children’s emergent reading development were largely negative. These findings implied that children are receiving little or no stimulation to enhance their early reading development. Consequently, they may start preschool with little or no interest and motivation to read. This may explain the reading difficulties that recent research has reported. Important recommendations arising from the study include the need to sensitize caregivers’ and to help them redefine their role in children’s emergent reading development are the key recommendations discussed in this paper.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Challenges Facing Implementation of the Competency Based Curriculum in Kenya: An Urban View
    (International Journal of Education and Research, 2021-09) Isaboke, Harriet; Wambiri, Gladwell; Mweru, Maureen
    his paper explores challenges teachers face in implementation of the Competency Based Curriculum (CBC) in public pre-primary schools in Nairobi City County. Kenya rolled out the CBC in pre-primary and primary schools in 2018 with the aim of equipping learners with competencies and skills to meet human resource aspirations of Kenya’s Vision 2030 blueprint for development. However, studies have reported minimal use of CBC teaching-learning approaches in public preprimary schools. Therefore, this study purposed to establish the challenges hindering effective implementation of the Curriculum in the schools. The study was based on the Concern-Based Adoption Model by Hall, Hord and Rutherford (2006) and targeted all the 225 public pre-primary schools in the Nairobi City County, with a population of 675 comprising of 450 pre-primary school teachers, 225 Early Childhood Development (ECD) Center Managers. A Questionnaire and an interview schedule were used to collect data from a sample size of 135, which consisted of 45 center managers and 90 pre-primary school teachers. The data was analyzed thematically, the findings showed that implementation of CBC is greatly challenged by lack of adequate learning facilities, lack of adequate training of teachers on how to implement the Curriculum, large class sizes, lack of adequate teachers, lack of adequate teaching-learning materials, ignorance and lack of cooperation from parents. The study concluded that pre-primary school teachers in public preprimary schools faced a lot of challenges which hindered effective implementation of the curriculum. Therefore, the study recommended that the Nairobi City County Government should construct more classrooms, employ more teachers and provide adequate teaching–learning materials to cater for the high enrollment in public pre-primary schools. In addition the County government in collaboration with the schools should sensitize parents to help them understand what CBC is all about and their role in the implementation process
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    The contribution of children’s involvement in housework to academic competence during early childhood at city primary school, Nairobi county.
    (Kenyatta University, 2015-06) Kulundu, Ambetsa Esther; Ng'asike, John T.; Wambiri, Gladwell
    Early childhood education is now recognized as critical in laying the foundation for holistic development of young children during the formative years. Research in early childhood emphasizes the interplay between the home and the school in enhancing quality holistic experiences in children in the early years. However, the rise in industrialization and technological advancements in modern day society have led to a lot of changes in child rearing practices especially in the urban areas. These changes include: a greater number of mothers seeking employment, employment of domestic servants in the homes, a more demanding education system and so on. These changes have had tremendous effects on childhood experiences that have all along been significant to the development of children including the participation of children in housework. Participation of children in housework is a traditional practice that has been imperative in the holistic development of school children including academic competences. However, current research does not show whether this practice is still being upheld, especially in the urban households where the effects of modernity are the greatest. This gap in knowledge was the basis for conducting this study. This was a descriptive survey, whose purpose was to find out whether or not school children in urban households are being involved in housework and how this relate to their academic performance in the school activity areas. Qualitative methods of data collection and analysis were used during the study. Purposive sampling was used to select the specific settings and respondents relevant to the study. It was done among six to eight year old children, parents and teachers in City Primary School, Nairobi County. The sampling frame was 77 respondents which was 30.08% of the population. Naturalistic observations of the children at home and at school and in-depth interviews and questionnaires were the primary sources of data. In addition, document analysis, and field notes provided additional secondary data. A pilot study was conducted among children and parents at Ngara Road primary school, to test the validity and reliability of the instruments. Qualitative analysis procedures were used to analyze the data collected and the generated theory was compared to existing theory. The findings showed that most children in urban areas did not participate in housework. Children‟s main activities at home included doing school assignments, play and watching television. Schoolwork was a major competing force to children‟s participation in housework. The recommendation is that parents, teachers and policy makers should be enlightened on the role of housework in developing academic competence in early childhood.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Monitoring Strategies Teachers of English Use with Visually Impaired Learners in Integrated Schools in Nairobi City County, Kenya
    (Kenyatta University, 2024-06) Asiko, Rodgers Fanuel Owino; Nzoka, Stephen; Wambiri, Gladwell
    This study explored monitoring strategies teachers of English use with learners with visual impairment (LWVI) in integrated secondary schools in Nairobi City County, Kenya. English contains concepts that build on each other, underscoring the need to understand initial ideas as a foundation for comprehending subsequent concepts. Thus, the study was based on Lev Vygotsky’s Cognitive Development Theory (1934). The study objective was to identify monitoring strategies. Learners' performance in English was the dependent variable, while progress monitoring was the independent variable. The researcher sampled sixty-four participants in two schools including deputy principals, teachers of English and Heads of Department (HoD), LWVI, and regular learners. Simple random sampling was used to select participants from among learners, while purposive sampling was used to select teachers. As a qualitative research, data was collected through interviews, observation, and focus groups. The researcher used thematic analysis by coding the data into subsets to capture the major themes. The results revealed that verbal communication and use of sighted deskmates were predominantly used to monitor progress due to the teachers’ incompetence in braille. The following recommendations were drawn from these inferences: The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) should employ SNE-trained teachers in integrated schools, and the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) should provide braille learning materials.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Teachers’ Perceptions on the Relationship Between Teachers’ Working Conditions and Pupils’ Reading Ability in Pre-Primary Schools in Nakuru County, Kenya
    (International Knowledge Sharing Platform, 2019) Kimwomi, Mary M.; Wambiri, Gladwell; Mweru, Maureen
    One of the most important factors in realizing reading as a subject in pre-primary schools is teacher working conditions. Literature suggests that working conditions are crucial in teaching of reading and pupils’ reading ability. However, empirical studies that have examined pupils’ reading ability have not focused on the relationship between teacher working conditions and reading ability. Further, the few empirical studies that have examined the relationships have been conducted in primary and secondary schools. Whereas most pre-primary school teachers in Kenya work under unfavourable conditions, past studies have not examined the relationship between working conditions and reading ability of pre-primary school pupils in Kenya. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between teacher working conditions and pupils’ reading ability. The study was based on Herzberg’s two factor theory. The study adopted a correlational research design. The target population for the study was 79 head teachers and 79 pre-primary 2 class teachers in public schools in Rongai Sub-County Nakuru. A stratified sample of pre-primary schools in the four zones in Rongai Sub-county was used for the study. The sample size comprised of 66 head teachers and 66 pre-primary 2 teachers. The questionnaires were used to collect data from respondents.. Data was summarized using descriptive statistics such as frequencies, means and standard deviations. To test the hypotheses, Pearson’s Product-moment correlation coefficient was used. The results revealed that there was a relationship between teacher workload, school leadership and pupils’ reading ability. The study concludes that teacher workload and school leadership affect the reading ability of preprimary school pupils. The study recommends that to improve reading ability, school management should provide effective school leadership and ensure that pre-primary school classes are of reasonable sizes so that teachers do not have a heavy workload.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    The Interplay between the Grade Three Teachers’ ICT Related Training Influences and their Use of ICT in Teaching in Grade Three in Nairobi County Kenya
    (European Journal of Special Education Research, 2025) Mutambu, Raymond Musembi; Wambiri, Gladwell
    This study aimed to establish the interplay between the ICT-related training influences of Grade Three teachers and their use of ICT in teaching in Grade Three in Nairobi County, Kenya. This study was guided by the Technology Acceptance Model, which believes that individuals are objective while developing tasks. However, constraints unconsciously limit the individual’s ability to perform the task. The specific objectives of the study were to find out the extent to which Grade Three teachers’ ICT related trainings influences the use of ICT in teaching Grade Three learners, to find out the extent to which Grade Three teachers ICT related training influences active involvement of Grade Three learners in ICT related experiences and to determine the challenges faced by Grade Three teachers in using ICT to teach in Public and Private schools. The study used a qualitative research design with a random sample of 34 Grade Three teachers who were selected from 110 public and private primary schools in Kasarani Sub-County, Nairobi County, Kenya. Data was collected using questionnaires administered to Grade Three teachers, interview schedules where Grade Three teachers were interviewed, and an observation checklist where Grade Three teachers and learners were observed during an ICT integrated lesson. Quantitative data were summarized into descriptive statistics such as frequencies and percentages, while a thematic approach analysed qualitative data. Results revealed that the correlation between teachers’ ICT training and teachers’ use of ICT in classroom teaching was positive but not statistically significant (r = .288, p = .123). Similarly, a positive correlation was observed between teachers’ level of ICT training and teachers’ use of ICT in classroom teaching, with a coefficient of .448* and a significance level of .013. Moreover, the positive correlation between teachers’ level of ICT training and their use of ICT in classroom teaching suggests that highly trained teachers may find it easy to implement ICT in their teaching. Mobile phones emerge as the most frequently utilized ICT tool, with 33.3% of teachers reporting its most frequent use, followed closely by desktop computers, which are favoured by 36.7% of teachers for frequent use. The study concluded that teachers' usage of ICT in classrooms remains relatively frequent, indicating a moderate level of integration of technology in teaching practices. The study recommended that educational authorities in Nairobi County should design and implement targeted professional development programs aimed at enhancing Grade Three teachers' ICT competencies. Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) should develop and implement comprehensive ICT training programs for Grade Three teachers in Nairobi County, Kenya, focusing on technical skills and pedagogical strategies for effective ICT integration in teaching.