Challenges facing provision of early childhood education in Gachoka division of Mbeere District, Kenya

Abstract

As economic pressures mount in most developing countries and heart wrenching decisions have to be made over relative priorities in education, there is a danger that early childhood education may continue to be viewed as something of a luxury. In most developing countries like Kenya ECCE has generally not been part of public policy and government has limited capacity for developing policies and systems for it. Constraints of pre-primary is the ability of parents to pay for ECCE when they are already straggling to meet the cost of primary and post primary education. Expansion of the education and provision in any sector demands consideration of a wide variety of factors which are true of pre-school education because it is a vital position as a base on which future development is grounded. The purpose of this study was to investigate the challenges facing provision of early childhood education in Gachoka Division, Mbeere District. The study was guided by the following objectives; to find out the problems and challenges facing institutions that provide early childhood education, to find out if the government has a role to play in the provision of early childhood education, to identify the sources of funding for early childhood education in Gachoka Division and to identify any other bodies and organizations a part from the government and parents which participate in the provision of early childhood education. The research questions the researcher attempted to answer included; what problems and challenges do institutions face in providing early childhood education? What role does the government play in the provision of early childhood education? What are the various source of funds for early childhood education in Gachoka Division and what are the other bodies and organizations that participate in the provision of early childhood education. The study would be significant in the following ways; would have both theoretical and practical implications for the future provision of early childhood education, highlighting challenges that face provision of early childhood education in Gachoka Division of Mbeere District. The information obtained would form a base in which other (future researchers) could develop their studies. The literature review was mainly look at provision of early childhood education particularly financing. Descriptive survey design will be adopted in conducting the study. Data was collected using questionnaires and observation table guides. Analysis of data was done by calculating percentages and putting them in table form manually. Summary, discussions and recommendations were done by the researcher after completion of the research study