Supervision of early childhood development education Programmes implications for provision of quality preschool Education in Nairobi Province

Abstract

The main purpose of this study was to investigate how supervision of Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE) was carried out in public pre-schools in Nairobi Province and the implications it had for the provision of quality education in these preschools. The study target was 20 pre-school institutions in Nairobi Province. The sample comprised of 22 DICECE Officers, 6 QASOs, 20 headteachers and fifty (50) pre-school teachers in the sampled schools. Descriptive research was used to analyze data. Questionnaires were the main instruments of data collection. The collected data were analysed using descriptive statistics, employing quantitative approach. From the analysis, the study found out the following: that the effectiveness of QASO's and DICECE Officers in supervision was merely good; despite the inadequacies in the supervision by both QASO's and DICECE officers, the overall perception of the supervision was positive. The study also established that the two key challenges which can have negative implication on performance were in accessibility and lack of adequate teaching and learning resources in the ECD centers. The achievement of the ideals of quality ECD education is subject to adoption of an integrated approach, where all stakeholders actively take part. Thus, this study recommends that the government, parents, teachers and school administrators should all work hand in hand to improve the quality of early childhood development education programmes in Nairobi province.