Abstract:Access and engagement to early childhood education worldwide helps prepare young children to succeed in school and become better citizens. The major challenge in Kenya was that Early Childhood Education (ECE) was left in the hands of the community and parents, resulting in a big variation in type and quality of ECE. Even with ECE being devolved to the county government, access to preschool education continue to be a challenge. Hence, the present study explored the relationship between parental attitudes towards early childhood education and pre-schoolers access to early childhood education in Kenya. The objective of the study was to find out the relationship between parental attitudes towards early childhood education and pre-schoolers access to early childhood education in Kenya. The study adopted concurrent triangulation research design and was informed by Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory (1979) and Emile Durkeim’s Functional Theory (1858-1916). The target population included 21 head teachers, 228 ECE lead teachers and 863 parents and a sub-county education officer. The sample sizes were 9 head teachers, 43 ECE lead teachers, 76 parents and a sub-county education officer. The instruments of data collection were: Questionnaires, interview schedule and document analysis. Validity of the instruments was enhanced through piloting and by experts. Reliability of the instruments was ensured by Test-Retest method. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and presented in form of tables, graphs and percentages. Qualitative data was coded and classified into major themes as they emerged. The findings revealed that most Parents’ had a negative attitude towards accessibility to preschool by the learners. It was concluded that mechanisms should be put in place to deal with this negative attitude and ensure that parents and guardians are very positive with their children’s accessibility to schools.It was recommended that policy makers and stakeholders come up with the course for adult literacy as a pre-requisite tool for good accessibility to preschools. The present study also recommends the government should support children whose parents have negative attitude towards education thus denying them education. The researcher recommends for a further research on preschool environmental factor as determinants of preschoolers’ access to early childhood education in Kenya.

Abstract:Access and engagement to early childhood education worldwide helps prepare young children to succeed in school and become better citizens. The major challenge in Kenya was that Early Childhood Education (ECE) was left in the hands of the community and parents, resulting in a big variation in type and quality of ECE. Even with ECE being devolved to the county government, access to preschool education continue to be a challenge. Hence, the present study explored the relationship between Parental engagement and Pre-schoolers access to early childhood education in Kenya. The objective the study was to find out the relationship between Parental engagement and Pre-schoolers access to early childhood education in Kenya. The study adopted concurrent triangulation research design and was informed by Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory (1979) and Emile Durkeim’s Functional Theory (1858-1916). The target population included 21 head teachers, 228 ECE lead teachers and 863 parents and a sub-county education officer. The sample sizes were 9 head teachers, 43 ECE lead teachers, 76 parents and a sub-county education officer. The instruments of data collection were; questionnaires, interview schedule and document analysis. Validity of the instruments was enhanced through piloting and by experts. Reliability of the instruments was ensured by Test-Retest method. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and presented in form of tables, graphs and percentages. Qualitative data was coded and classified into major themes as they emerged. The findings from the analysis revealed that Parents’ engagement in children’s academic work and school activities had a strong positive relationship (r=0.631). It was also concluded that more parental engagement was required to make school accessibility easier in order to improve the quality of children’s education. The present study recommends that parents should sacrifice themselves in engaging with education of their children at early years to strengthen the cognitive growth of the young ones. The current study also recommends that a parental engagement programme suited to public Early Childhood Education in schools in Kenya. Parents are recommended also not to have too high expectations from ECE within a short time. The researcher recommends for a further research on preschool environmental factor as determinants of preschoolers’ access to early childhood education in Kenya.

Abstract:Access and engagement to early childhood education worldwide helps prepare young children to succeed in school and become better citizens. The major challenge in Kenya was that Early Childhood Education (ECE) was left in the hands of the community and parents, resulting in a big variation in type and quality of ECE. Even with ECE being devolved to the county government, access to preschool education continue to be a challenge. Hence, the present study explored the influence parental expectation of early childhood education on preschoolers’ access to early childhood education in Kenya. The objective of the study was to find out the influence of Parental expectation on preschoolers access to early childhood education in Kenya. The study adopted concurrent triangulation research design and was informed by Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory (1979) supported by Emile Durkeim’s Functional Theory (1858-1916). The target population included 21 head teachers, 228 ECE lead teachers and 863 parents and a sub-county education officer. The sample sizes were 9 head teachers, 43 ECE lead teachers, 76 parents and a sub-county education officer. The instruments of data collection were; questionnaires, interview schedule and document analysis. Validity of the instruments was enhanced through piloting and by experts. Reliability of the instruments was ensured by Test-Retest method. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and presented in form of tables, graphs and percentages. Qualitative data was coded and classified into major themes as they emerged. The findings revealed that there was a strong positive significant relationship of r=0.582 on parental expectations on access of preschoolers in Early Childhood Education in Kenya. It was concluded that the higher the level of education of parents, the higher their expectations on children’s access to early childhood education centres. This means that children’s access to preschools improves with the improvement of parents’ normal positive expectations from pre-school education. It was recommended that policy makers and stakeholders come up with courses for adult literacy for parents who are illiterate as a pre-requisite tool for good accessibility of preschoolers to preschools. The researcher recommends a study on preschool environmental factor as determinants of preschoolers’ access to early childhood education in Kenya.

Abstract:Access and engagement to early childhood education worldwide helps prepare young children to succeed in school and become better citizens. The major challenge in Kenya was that Early Childhood Education (ECE) was left in the hands of the community and parents, resulting in a big variation in type and quality of ECE. Even with ECE being devolved to the county government, access to preschool education continue to be a challenge. Hence, the present study explored influence of parental socio-economic status on pre-schoolers access to early childhood education in Kenya. The objective of the study was to find out influence of parental socio-economic status on pre-schoolers access to early childhood education in Kenya. The study adopted concurrent triangulation research design and was informed by Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory (1979) and Emile Durkeim’s Functional Theory (1858-1916). The target population included 21 head teachers, 228 ECE lead teachers and 863 parents and a sub-county education officer. The sample sizes were 9 head teachers, 43 ECE lead teachers, 76 parents and a sub-county education officer. The instruments of data collection were; questionnaires, interview schedule and document analysis. Validity of the instruments was enhanced through piloting and by experts. Reliability of the instruments was ensured by Test-Retest method. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and presented in form of tables, graphs and percentages. Qualitative data was coded and classified into major themes as they emerged. The findings from the analysis revealed that socio-economic status matter most in determining preschoolers’ access to education, where a social factor like level of parents’ education determined access to ECE by 70%. It was concluded that the higher the level of education of parents, the higher the chances their children have to access preschools. It was recommended that policy makers and stakeholders come up with the course for adult literacy as a pre-requisite tool for good accessibility to preschools. The present study also recommends that parents should sacrifice themselves in engaging with education of their children. The researcher recommends for a further research on preschool environmental factor, as determinants of preschoolers’ access to early childhood education in Kenya.

Abstract:This philosophical investigation sought to find out the Metaphysical antecedent of Ubuntu philosophy and in so doing locate its educational consequents. The study begins by analysing the concept of Ubuntu and brings out the nexus of Ubuntu in African communalism. By using conceptual analysis and prescriptive methods it analyzes the ontological implication of Ubuntu philosophy on Parent- Teacher-Learner relationships and on curriculum. It also examines the role Ubuntu gnoseology and its impact on History Education and Moralization in education. Some of the major findings indicate that Africa may not meaningfully talk about ‘holism’ in education without appealing to indigenous philosophy of ubuntu. It is deduced that ubuntu is not just a word; it is an ontologically, epistemologically and axiologically laden concept that gives existential authenticity to African points de vues. Lastly the study indicates that Africa is non dualist continent and therefore extreme rationalism of western education as practiced in contemporary African countries is a cause of social, economic and political quagmires.

Abstract:Despite the inception of the Integrated English Language Curriculum (IELC) two decades ago, by the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD), the implementation has resulted into challenges and opportunities on teachers’ part. The objective of this study was to examine the strategies teachers experience in maximizing on opportunities and minimizing challenges in implementing the IELC. Guided by Fuller’s Concern Based Adoption Model (CBAM) theoretical framework, this study utilized Concurrent Triangulation design under a mixed methods approach. Saturated sampling design was used to select 110 subject teachers for questionnaires and the one Sub County Quality Assurance Officer for interviews. Purposive sampling was done to select 16 heads of departments (HODs), and 16 principals for interviews. A document analysis was done to corroborate and triangulate data. The researcher piloted the instruments to determine reliability and validity while the research purpose was clarified to participants for authenticity and trustworthiness. Quantitative data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 20 computer program while the qualitative data was analyzed through content, narrative, and thematic analysis in line with the study objective. The findings indicated that most teachers experienced certain specific challenges and opportunities in implementing the IELC. The study recommended a localized, institutionalized on-going preparation model for teacher development and further research on student perceptions on IELC in Nyakach Sub County, Kenya. This study is significant in adding to the body of knowledge in integrated approaches to language educators, policy makers and the schools’ Boards of Management (BOM).

Abstract:The current system of education in Kenya is the 8-4-4 structure, where children study for eight years of Basic (primary) education, four years of Secondary education and four years of University education. This system was introduced in 1985 to promote man-power capable of performing blue collar jobs, as compared to the former 7-6-3 system that targeted developing a local workforce to replace the British workforce who largely held white collar jobs in the new, independent Kenya.  However, over the years, the 8-4-4 curriculum has been widely criticised for a myriad of reasons. The criticisms against this curriculum are that it is too heavily loaded with content, purely examinations-oriented, and generally violating the Rights of the Child by placing undue physical and psychological pressure on learners. In order to address this problem therefore, a new curriculum was hastily crafted and taken through a rushed pilot drive in April 2017 and is expected to replace the current 8-4-4 system by January 2018. Admittedly, this new education system addresses some of the weaknesses of the current 8-4-4 education system, since it is competency-based and focuses more on skills acquisition as opposed to a purely knowledge-based acquisition system.  The issues addressed in this paper is how this new and hurriedly crafted curriculum (as well as the introduction of Free Secondary School Education) will be implemented by teachers who are yet to come to terms with the new paradigm shift of teaching and learning. The second issue addressed is whether the crafters of this system took into consideration children’s rights, or whether at all, the system was crafted from a child-centred perspective. The concerns are that apart from the manner in which this syllabus was been crafted and planned for implementation, if not reviewed comprehensively may not only violate the rights of future generations of children, but also enhance negative ethnicity from a linguistic perspective. 

Abstract:There is a general absence of data on personality traits and how they influence career aspirations among secondary school students in Bomet Sub County, Kenya. This study sought to examine relationship between Neuroticism and career aspirations among secondary school students in Bomet Sub- County, Kenya. Correlational survey was used in executing the study. The study population comprised of 2500 form four students and 53 principals in 53 secondary day schools. The sample size comprised 355 students selected from simple random sampling technique. Neuroticism scale on the Big five personality trait questionnaire and career aspiration questionnaire was used to collect quantitative data while qualitative data was analyzed by thematic framework. Both descriptive and inferential data analysis methods including frequencies, percentages, Pearson correlation and regression were used to analyze quantitative. The study revealed a statistically significant (n= 52; r = -.395; p < 0.05) negative relationship between neuroticism Personality Subtypes and career aspiration among students. This study recommends that teacher counselors should use appropriate therapy techniques to guide students regarding the career aspirations they seek to pursue.

Abstract: This research uses quantitative approach with survey method. which aims to find the contribution of teaching factory, basic knowledge, self-efficacy to vocational competence and its impact on job readiness. The results of this study indicate: (1) The contribution of teaching factory to work readiness of 10.7%; (2) Contribution of basic knowledge mastery to work preparedness 13,53%; (3) contribution of self efficacy to students work preparedness 30,9%; (4) Contribution of vocational competency control over work preparedness 17.73%; (5) The contribution of teaching factory to the mastery of vocational competencies13,43%; (6) The contribution of basic knowledge to the mastery of vocational competency is 23.73%; and (7) contribution of self-efficacy to the control of vocational competency 62,41%.