In the Web of Cultural Transition
SummaryText
From the Executive Summary... "This tracer study, conducted in Embu District, Kenya, compares children who were cared for by preschool teachers trained in the two-year, in-service course run by District Centres for Early Childhood Education (DICECE) with those who had untrained preschool teachers. The comparison is done on the basis of academic performance and the factors affecting academic performance, such as retention, repetition and development of psychosocial characteristics.
The DICECE in Embu District was established in 1986, and the study traced cohorts of children who enrolled in the first level of primary school (Standard 1) in three consecutive years: 1991, 1992 and 1993. These children were tracked through primary school to the classes they were in in 1999.
Research instruments and methods included focus group discussions with preschool teachers, primary school teachers, parents and education field officers; interviews; content analysis on various school records, including attendance registers and examination records over the years; and a personality rating scale on a sub-sample of the pupils.
The study found that, in addition to playing an important role in the development of children, preschools also provide opportunities for parents to work together and to acquire knowledge and skills in various aspects of ECD. Parents provide various services to the preschools, and primary schools also contribute to preschools through the support given by head teachers.
Preschool teachers. The DICECE training has made an important contribution to the professional and personal growth and development of the individual teachers who have been through the programme. However, teachers need further training in management, in income generation and on children with special needs. They also face various constraints including poor terms and conditions of service and lack of adequate support materials.
Academic rating of primary schools. The primary schools in the study were rated as good or poor. This rating was based on the assessment of the research team, parents, teachers, and head teachers. Aspects of the school that affected its rating included the past academic performance of pupils, the availability of textbooks, relationships among teaching staff, interactions between teachers and students and the managerial skills of the head teacher. As might be expected, the academic rating of the primary school had a significant impact on the performance of the pupils.
Performance of children in primary school. The study found several statistically significant differences between the two groups of children. The children cared for by DICECE-trained teachers were found to make the transition from preschool to primary school more successfully than children cared for by untrained teachers. This was shown in the significantly lower dropout and repetition rates in Std 1 for the children who had trained preschool teachers. This influence seems to diminish over time, but the impact can be seen to continue through all levels of primary school, although it is not as strong as school quality.
The study showed that the benefits of ECD intervention were best realized when children cared for by trained preschool teachers were enrolled in schools with good academic performance. When these children were enrolled in such schools, they did significantly better than either their counterparts who had untrained preschool teachers or those who had trained preschool teachers but were enrolled in poorly rated schools.
There was statistically no difference in academic performance between boys and girls. However, parents and teachers tended to feel that girls perform better academically than boys.
Absenteeism, repetition and dropout rates. There was very high wastage in the form of absenteeism, repetition and dropout rates in all the primary schools sampled. However, it was found that schools that were rated better academically had lower wastage rates than schools rated as poor.
The highest repetition rates were in Stds 1, 2 and 4. In Stds 1 and 2 the main reason for high repetition rates was poor transition from preschool to primary school. In Std 4 the main reasons for repetition was the use of English as a medium of instruction and the introduction of multiple teachers. Children cared for by trained preschool teachers tended to repeat more in Stds 4 and 5 while those cared for by untrained preschool teachers tended to have a higher rate of repetition in Stds 1 and 2."
The DICECE in Embu District was established in 1986, and the study traced cohorts of children who enrolled in the first level of primary school (Standard 1) in three consecutive years: 1991, 1992 and 1993. These children were tracked through primary school to the classes they were in in 1999.
Research instruments and methods included focus group discussions with preschool teachers, primary school teachers, parents and education field officers; interviews; content analysis on various school records, including attendance registers and examination records over the years; and a personality rating scale on a sub-sample of the pupils.
The study found that, in addition to playing an important role in the development of children, preschools also provide opportunities for parents to work together and to acquire knowledge and skills in various aspects of ECD. Parents provide various services to the preschools, and primary schools also contribute to preschools through the support given by head teachers.
Preschool teachers. The DICECE training has made an important contribution to the professional and personal growth and development of the individual teachers who have been through the programme. However, teachers need further training in management, in income generation and on children with special needs. They also face various constraints including poor terms and conditions of service and lack of adequate support materials.
Academic rating of primary schools. The primary schools in the study were rated as good or poor. This rating was based on the assessment of the research team, parents, teachers, and head teachers. Aspects of the school that affected its rating included the past academic performance of pupils, the availability of textbooks, relationships among teaching staff, interactions between teachers and students and the managerial skills of the head teacher. As might be expected, the academic rating of the primary school had a significant impact on the performance of the pupils.
Performance of children in primary school. The study found several statistically significant differences between the two groups of children. The children cared for by DICECE-trained teachers were found to make the transition from preschool to primary school more successfully than children cared for by untrained teachers. This was shown in the significantly lower dropout and repetition rates in Std 1 for the children who had trained preschool teachers. This influence seems to diminish over time, but the impact can be seen to continue through all levels of primary school, although it is not as strong as school quality.
The study showed that the benefits of ECD intervention were best realized when children cared for by trained preschool teachers were enrolled in schools with good academic performance. When these children were enrolled in such schools, they did significantly better than either their counterparts who had untrained preschool teachers or those who had trained preschool teachers but were enrolled in poorly rated schools.
There was statistically no difference in academic performance between boys and girls. However, parents and teachers tended to feel that girls perform better academically than boys.
Absenteeism, repetition and dropout rates. There was very high wastage in the form of absenteeism, repetition and dropout rates in all the primary schools sampled. However, it was found that schools that were rated better academically had lower wastage rates than schools rated as poor.
The highest repetition rates were in Stds 1, 2 and 4. In Stds 1 and 2 the main reason for high repetition rates was poor transition from preschool to primary school. In Std 4 the main reasons for repetition was the use of English as a medium of instruction and the introduction of multiple teachers. Children cared for by trained preschool teachers tended to repeat more in Stds 4 and 5 while those cared for by untrained preschool teachers tended to have a higher rate of repetition in Stds 1 and 2."
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