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Article Title:
ESTABLISHING AVAILABILITY AND ADEQUACY OF CONTENT PLAY-BASED MATERIALS AS A PREDICTOR OF PLAY-BASED ACTIVITIES IN PRE-SCHOOL CURRICULUM IMPLEMENTATION IN HOMABAY COUNTY
| Abstract: Play in Early Childhood Education is paramount in holistic development in young children. Play- based learning has both developmental and educational benefits. The policy framework recommends that children be taught through play and the teaching should use thematic approach involving play-based activities. While education policy requires that pre-school be taught using play based activities many schools are still academic oriented and play is seen as a waste of time hence, Pre-school children have been exhibiting increased learning difficulties, many cases of truancy, and as a result the study sought to find out availability and adequacy of content play-based materials used in pre-school curriculum implementation in HomaBay County. The study was guided by Lev Vygotsky social constructivism Theory Lev (1934) and employed concurrent triangulation research design. The study was conducted in Homabay County with a target population of 1257 Pre-school teachers, 908 lead teachers and 8 Sub-county directors. The sample size for pre-school teachers was 297 using Krejcie & Morgan while for lead teachers was 27. Proportionate sampling, systematic simple random technique and purposive sampling technique were used. Pilot study was conducted in order to check validity while reliability was ascertained by the internal consistency method using Cronbach’s alpha, and a reliability coefficient of r above 0.7 was obtained for the questionnaire items. Trustworthiness and authenticity was enhanced by using multiple sources of information and triangulation of data. Instruments for data collection used included a questionnaire, an interview schedule and focus group discussion. Quantitative data was analyzed using Pearson’s Product correlation and regression analysis with the aid of the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 22. Qualitative data was analyzed using thematic analysis. The study revealed that availability and appropriateness of content play-based materials there was a statistical significant (n=202; r =.512; p < 0.05) positive correlation. It was a significant predicator [F (1, 200) = 74.463, p < .05] to pre-school curriculum implementation, accounting for about 26%, R2=.262, of the variation in pre-school curriculum implementation. The study recommended thatgovernment through the ministry of education should come up with clear policy guidelines on the use of play-based activities in pre-school curriculum. Teachers should be encouraged to take a major role in planning and organizing play activities. Parents should be sensitized on the need to supplement county government effort to build spacious Schools and provide their children with play-based materials used both at home and at school.The research acts as a basis for further study in the area of play-based activities and physical skill development of preschoolers’ in Homa-Bay in Kenya. Scholars will have the opportunity to confirm or build on the findings of this research. The findings of this study will be significant to the ministry of education, policy planners, education administrators, teachers and institutions that deal with early learners |
| Keywords: Availability, Adequacy, Content Play-Based materials, Play-based Activities, Pre-School, Curriculum implementation, Predictor, Homa-Bay County |
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