Browsing by Author "Wambiri, Gladwell N."

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Language of Instruction Practices in Reference to Mother Tongue Policy Implementation in Lower Primary School Classes; A Case of Nyeri County, Kenya
    (RSIS, 2024-09) Githinji, Wanjohi; Wambiri, Gladwell N.; Kamau-Kang’ethe, Rachel W.
    The purpose of this study was to establish the language(s) used for instruction in lower primary school and also find out to what extent various factors related to school, teachers and parents influence the language choices for instruction in the respective classes and schools. This is because in spite of language policy in Kenya stipulating that, learners in lower primary school to be instructed in the language of catchment area, studies in pre-primary school show that some schools are ignoring this rule. This comes at a time that issues have been raised concerning children being introduced to foreign languages too early before they have mastered the first language. Likewise in the recent past a debate has been ranging concerning instructing children in mother tongue at the pre-primary and lower primary schools. The available studies did not focus on language choices made at the lower primary level of education which is crucial transition stage to formal learning. Most of these studies addressed status of the language policy in general or focused on other levels. They have also been exploratory in nature and dwelt on either perceptions, attitudes, values, multilingualism or other aspects of language. The study adopted the Choice theory and Transitional language model in the theoretical framework. The study design was qualitative and adopted descriptive survey methodology which allowed for an in-depth examination of the situation. The independent variables were the factors said to influence the choice of language of instruction while the dependent variable was the language of instruction used at lower primary school. This study was carried out within Nyeri County in which Kikuyu is the dominant language. This county has experienced an outcry in academic performance particularly in languages, mathematics and sciences which has been attributed to the inability to express ideas. The target population of the study was lower primary school classes, teachers and their parents. A multistage sampling technique was adopted. Schools were randomly or purposefully selected at various stages; classes were selected through cluster sampling while teachers were randomly selected. Data was collected from private and public schools in rural and urban areas through lesson observations, interviewing teachers and focus group discussions with parents. A pilot study was conducted to pretest the instruments. Validity and reliability were established through triangulation. The qualitative data collected was analyzed using Kitwoods Qualitative Technique of Analysis to bring out the emerging patterns, themes and trends. Among other findings a variety of languages were being used in the classroom instruction with no consideration of the policy. This was seen to be influenced by choices made by the teachers, parents and schools’ management and school locality. The study recommends a close-monitoring of implementation of language of instruction policy, training of teachers and education officers, community awareness and resource mobilization so as to benefit children at lower primary.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Relative Contributions of Caregivers’ Level of Education, Role Definition and Average Household Income to caregiver Involvement in Children’s Emergent Reading
    (International Knowledge Sharing Platform, 2015) Wambiri, Gladwell N.; Ndani, Mary N.
    Recent studies have consistently reported low reading achievement levels among primary school children in Kenya. Reading is a very critical component of children’s development. Many aspects of learning at school revolve around this skill. Being the media via which other subjects are taught and learnt, reading is very significant and could contribute to failure in school. Reading is not only a school agenda. Children also acquire early reading skills through specific experiences at home that require support of other adults besides teachers. Parent involvement in children’s early reading development has been found to play a very critical role in the child’s later reading success. Parents who take an active role in children’s reading foster children’s lifelong passion for reading, which in turn lead to improved children’s performance in learning at school. However, majority of the parents do not perceive themselves as crucial partners in children’s emergent reading development. This paper is based on a study that compared the relative contributions of the parents’ level of education, parents’ role definition and the average household income, to parents’ involvement in children’s emergent reading development. The authors argue that although these three factors positively correlate with parents’ involvement in children’s reading development, parents’ perceptions about their role in children’s reading development is the most important predictor of their’ involvement in terms of direct and indirect behaviours and strategies with children around print. Interventions to improve reading achievement levels need to address parent involvement in children’s reading. Such interventions should place priority in helping parents to correctly define their role in this important aspect of children’s development.