Influence of teacher-pupil ratio and availability of numeracy materials on numeracy achievement levels of standard two pupils in Kisii-Central Sub-County

Abstract

Numeracy is fundamental for learning in school. It is the ability to solve simple additions and subtractions. Numeracy development is a process that spans through early childhood years and it is one of the most essential capabilities children attain as they progress through their early childhood years. Research conducted worldwide shows that school plays a fundamental role in the development of children’s numeracy. The purpose of the study will be to investigate the causes of low numeracy competence among lower primary school pupils in Kisii central district, Kisii County. The factors to be investigated include accessibility of numeracy materials, quality of teacher and class size. This study will be guided by Vygotsky’s theory. The researcher will use descriptive survey method. The independent variables will include availability of numeracy materials, teacher qualification and class size. The dependent variable will be numeracy achievement levels. The study will be carried out in Kisii Central sub-county Kisii County. Target population will be all standard two teachers and pupils in primary school teachers. To select the sample of the study, purposive and stratified random sampling techniques will be applied. The sample of the study will consist of 360 standard two pupils and 84 teachers in the Sub-county. The researcher will use questionnaire for class two teachers, numeracy test for class three pupils and observation checklist to collect data. The instruments will be piloted in two primary schools. Content validity will be used to test the validity of the instruments while test-retest method shall be used to test the reliability of the instruments. Data will be collected in three stages. Both quantitative and qualitative research methods will be used to analyze data. Quantitative data will be sorted, edited, coded, entered, cleaned, processed, analyzed and then interpreted. The raw data will be analyzed using descriptive statistics including frequencies and percentages. To establish the relationships between variables, inferential statistics will be established by using chi-square.

Numeracy is fundamental for learning in school. It is the ability to solve simple additions and subtractions. Numeracy development is a process that spans through early childhood years and it is one of the most essential capabilities children attain as they progress through their early childhood years. Research conducted worldwide shows that school plays a fundamental role in the development of children’s numeracy. The purpose of the study will be to investigate the causes of low numeracy competence among lower primary school pupils in Kisii central district, Kisii County. The factors to be investigated include accessibility of numeracy materials, quality of teacher and class size. This study will be guided by Vygotsky’s theory. The researcher will use descriptive survey method. The independent variables will include availability of numeracy materials, teacher qualification and class size. The dependent variable will be numeracy achievement levels. The study will be carried out in Kisii Central sub-county Kisii County. Target population will be all standard two teachers and pupils in primary school teachers. To select the sample of the study, purposive and stratified random sampling techniques will be applied. The sample of the study will consist of 360 standard two pupils and 84 teachers in the Sub-county. The researcher will use questionnaire for class two teachers, numeracy test for class three pupils and observation checklist to collect data. The instruments will be piloted in two primary schools. Content validity will be used to test the validity of the instruments while test-retest method shall be used to test the reliability of the instruments. Data will be collected in three stages. Both quantitative and qualitative research methods will be used to analyze data. Quantitative data will be sorted, edited, coded, entered, cleaned, processed, analyzed and then interpreted. The raw data will be analyzed using descriptive statistics including frequencies and percentages. To establish the relationships between variables, inferential statistics will be established by using chi-square.