An Evaluation of the Impact of Community Support Grants on the Development of Early Childhood Education, In Kiambu District,

Kenya

By

Wanjohi Eunice Wanjiku

A Research Project Submitted in Partial Fulfilment for a Masters Degree in Early Childhood Education

Department of Educational Communication and Technology

University of Nairobi

2010

ii

DECLARATION

This research project is my original work. It has not been presented for a degree in any university or college.

Wanjohi Eunice Wanjiku

This research project has been presented for examination with our approval as University Supervisors.

Dr. John Mwangi

Department of Educational

Communication and Technology

University of Nairobi

Mr. Evanson Muriithi

Department of Educational

Communication and Technology

University of Nairobi

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DEDICATION

My late dad and late sister,

Wanjohi and Mumbi,

This work is dedicated to you.

Though physically gone,

You are always in my heart.

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TABLE OF CONTENT

Declaration……………………………………………………………………………... (ii)

Dedication…………………………………………………………………………...… (iii)

Table of content……………………………………………………………………...... (iv)

List of tables and figures…………………………………………………………..….. (vii)

List of figures…………………………………………………………………………. (viii)

Acknowledgment…………………………………………………………………...... (ix)

Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………(x)

CHAPTER 1

1:0 Introduction……………………………………………………………………………...1

1:1 Background Information………………………………………………………………...1

1:2 Statement of the Problem………………………………………………………………..6

1:3 Purpose of the Study……………………………………………………………….........8

1:4 Research Objectives……………………………………………………………………..8

1:5 Research Questions………………………………………………………………….......8

1:6 Significance of the Study………………………………………………………………..9

1:7 Basic Assumptions…………………………………………………………………........9

1:8 Limitations of the Study………………………………………………………………...9

1:9 Delimitations of the Study……………………………………………………………..10

1:10 Organization of the Study…………………………………………………………….10

1:11 Definitions of the Terms……………………………………………………….……..12

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1:12 List of abbreviations and acronyms………………………………………………......13

CHAPTER 2

2:0 Literature Review……………………………………………………………………...14

2:1 Access to ECDE Programmes………………………………………………………....14

2:2 Quality in ECDE Programmes……………………………………………………. .....16

(iv)

2:3 Equity in ECDE Programmes……………………………………………………….....18

2:4 Funding of ECDE Programmes………………………………………………………..19

2:5:0 Theoretical Frame Work……………………………………………………..............21

2:5:1 Nonprofit Finance theory: Subsidy theory…..............................................................21

2:6 Conceptual Framework………………………………………………………………...23

CHAPTER 3

3:0 Research Methodology………………………………………………………………..25

3:1 Research Design…………………………………………………………………........25

3:2 Target Population……………………………………………………………………..25

3:3 Sample size and Sampling Techniques……………………………………………….26

3:4 Instruments for data collection……………………………………………………….28

3:5 Validity ……………………………………………………………………………....28

3:6 Reliability……………………………………………………………………………..28

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3:7 Data Collection Procedure…………………………………………………………....29

3:8 Method of Data Analysis……………………………………………………………..30

CHAPTER 4

4:0 Data analysis and findings…………………………………………………………...31

4:1 Questionnaire Return Rate………………………………………………………...…31

4:2 Demographic information…………………………………………………………....32

4:2:1 Gender Representation…………………………………………………………..…32

4:2:2 Head teacher’s length of stay in the ECDE centre………………………………...33

4:2:3 ECDE teachers……………………………………………………………………..35

4:2:3:1 ECDE teachers’ Qualifications………………………………………………......35

4:2:3:2 ECDE teachers’ length of stay in current center………………………………... 37

4:2:3:3 other training of the ECDE teachers………………………………………….….38

4:2:3:4 Remuneration of the ECDE teachers………………………………………….....39

4:3 Results of the analysis……………………………………………………………......41

4:3:1 Enrolment Findings…………………………………………………………………42

4:3:2 Relationship between CSG and enrolment……………………………………….....47

4:4 Effects of CSG on gender parity……….………………………………………….......47

4:5 Materials bought using CSG…………………………………………..……………… 48

4.6 CSG and the retention of the children in the ECDE centre…………………………. . 50

4.7 Other findings of the study…………………………………………………………... 53

4:7:1 Challenges experienced in the implementation of CSG…………………………......53

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4:7:2 what the government should do to improve the ECDE ……………………………..55

4:7:3 what the administrators should do to improve ECDE …………………………........55

4:7:4 What the ECDE teachers should do to improve ECDE ………………………….....56

CHAPTER 5

5:0 Summery, recommendations and conclusions……………………………………….57

5:1 Summery of the study………………………………………………………………..57

5:2 Recommendations……………………………………………………………………60

5:3 Suggestions for further study………………………………………………………...62

5:4 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………...63

6:0 References…………………………………………………………............................65

7:0 Appendices…………………………………………………………...........................69

7:1 Appendix 1: Head teacher’s questionnaire………………………………….….........69

7:2 Appendix 2: Teacher’s questionnaire……………………………….……………......71

7:3 Appendix 3: Check list (with CSG)………………………………………………….74

7:4 Appendix 4: Programme Officer’s Questionnaire…………………………………...75

7:5 Appendix 5: Head teacher’s questionnaire (without CSG)……………………….....76

7:6 Appendix 6: Teacher’s questionnaire (without CSG)………………………………..79

7:7 Appendix 7: Check list (without CSG)………………………………………………82

7:8 Appendix 8: Enrolment list…………………………………………………….….....83

7:9 Appendix 9: Time frame and Financial Budget……………………………………...86

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 3.1: Distribution of ECDE centres in Kiambu District……………………………26

Table 3.2: Sampling of the ECDE centres……………………………………………….27

Table 4.1 Questionnaire Return Rate…………………………………………………….31

Table 4.2 Head teachers in gender……………………………………………………….32

Table 4.3 Head teacher’s length of stay in the ECDE centre…………………….………33

Table 4.4 Head teacher’s length of stay in the centre per CSG phases……………….….34

Table 4.5 Qualification of the ECDE teachers……………………………………….…..36

Table 4.6 Professional qualification of ECDE teachers………………………………….37

Table 4.7 Length of stay of the teacher in the ECDE centre………………………….….38

Table 4.8 Head teachers’ response on remuneration of teachers……………………........40

Table 4.9 Enrolment findings without CSG……………………………………………...45

Table 4.10 Enrolment according to head teachers and teachers………………………….47

Table 4.11 Effects of gender balance of children…………………………………….......48

Table 4.12 were the materials bought by use of CSG…………………………………....49

Table 4.13 Retention rate with CSG according to respondents………………………….50

Table 4.14Retention rate with CSG from documentaries………………………………..51

Table 4.15 Retention rate without CSG from documentaries…………………………....52

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LIST OF FIGURES

Diagram 2.1 Conceptual Framework…………………………………………………….23

Figure 4.1 other qualifications of the ECDE teachers…………………………………...39

Figure 4.2 Enrolment without CSG………………………………………….…………..42

Figure 4.3 Enrolment treads of ECDE centres without CSG…………………….……...43

Figure4.4 Enrolment with CSG………………………………………………………….44

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This research study was done with a lot of help. The whole research document was developed through a

lot of consultations and collaborations. It is my hope that this document will be a help to many people

especially those in Kiambu district.

I would like to thank all the people who helped me reach the end of this project. The focused leadership

of Dr. Mwangi together with Mr. Muriithi and Dr Ngaruiya is highly appreciated. You all provided me

with the academic advice and guidance in the whole process of the study and your determination to the

completion of this document has really inspired me.

To all the head teachers and ECDE teachers of Kiambu district who agreed and whole hearted provided

the data for this study accurately and on time, I say thank you. I would wish to thank my mother and

sisters who consistently gave me the courage to undertake this project and in whose shoulders I laid my

head when the going became tough. To all my colleagues at work, your understanding and cooperation

that made this study successful has really touched my heart.

I wish most sincerely to acknowledge, Esther Waithira for the dedication that you showed on this work.

You were with me during the whole period of the study, giving me all the support that I needed. The

selfish less help you showed during that busy time of the study has left a mark in my heart. I would like to

acknowledge Stephen Mugo who not only offered me a computer to use during the whole time I did this

study but also agreed to print the work for me whenever I needed your services. The selfish less

dedication you gave me during this study has really touched my heart. Whenever l read this document I

will always remember you.

To all of you thank you very much and may God bless you mightily.

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ABSTRACT

A key objective of Sessional Paper no. 1 of 2005 entitled, ‘Policy Framework for Education, Training and

Research’ is to enhance access, equity and quality of education at all levels by 2010. The government is

committed in enhancing this by provision of Community Support Grant to some selected ECDE centres

across the country. CSG a KESSP programme was scheduled to run from 2005-2010. Since the year this

study was carried was 2010 it was therefore urgent to find out the success and challenges of CSG project

on the ground. This study conducted in Kiambu district sorted to evaluate the impact of Community

Support Grants in the ECDE centres. The literature review outlines access, quality, equity and funding of

the ECDE programme in Kenya. The theoretical framework borrows from Non profit finance theory and

in particular uses subsidy theory and affordability models of the same. The target population of the study

was 42 public ECDE centres, ECDE head teachers, teachers and the DICECE Programme Officer. 16

teachers, 16 head teachers and the Programme Officer were used in the study. The public ECDE centres

were divided into two categories, those that benefited from CSG and those that had not. The sampling

technique used was Stratified Random Sampling. This enabled easy management of data and drawing of

general conclusion on the problem under study. The instrument used were, questionnaires for head

teachers and ECDE teachers and a check list for each ECDE centre. The data was analyzed and presented

inform of tables and percentages. The study found that there was a big impact of the CSG in the

development of ECDE centres in the district. The enrolment of the children had increased and retention of

the children had become consistent over the terms. The quality of services had improved since materials

had been bought by use of CSG. The study found out that there were challenges in the implementation of

the funds in the centres. This included corruption, regular transfers and the funds provided were very

little. The study recommended that all the public ECDE centres should be provided with more funds to

enable long lasting projects to be initiated. The parents should be educated on their role in the ECDE

centres, the government should ensure that funds are used for the right purposes and data should be

updated for the enrolment of the children in all ECDE centres and should be available on dema

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CHAPTER 1

1.0 INTRODUTION

1:1 Background to the Study

The United Nations Declaration of Human Rights (1948), the Jomtein Declaration of Education

For All (1990), the Dakar Declaration of Education For All (2000), Millennium Development

Goals and the Kenya Children Act (2001), all state that, every child is entitled to basic rights,

among which education is key (Manani, 2007). The Jomtein Declaration states that, learning

begins at birth, and placed Early Childhood Development and Education (ECDE) within the

purview of basic education. The World Community renewed its commitment to ECDE in the

Dakar Framework of Action, whose first goal was devoted to ECDE. It was concerned with

expanding access to integrate ECDE services, improving their quality and ensuring equity. It is

now an established fact that investment in ECDE pays off, educationally, socially and

economically (UNESCO, 2003).

The development of Early Childhood Education (ECE) policies in New Zealand has been

underpinned by the government’s vision that all children have the opportunity to participate in

high-quality ECE. Funding and regulatory policies seek to balance a range of ECE-related goals

and other government goals, while facilitating diversity in the ECE sector to allow them to

continue to meet needs of parents. A new ECE funding system was implemented in April 2005.

The overall goal of the funding system is to make high-quality ECE more accessible and

affordable to families by funding on the basis of costs and supporting improvements in quality.

The structure of funding rates is based on the structure of various ECE services (Munford, 2007).

In Bangladesh, Preschool education is mainly the responsibility of the Education Sector, but the

sector’s Early Childhood Services also offer pre primary education. The age of entry into

primary school is 6 years. Social Sector builds shelters, orphanages and other social institutions.

In Brazil, the Education Sector became the lead sector responsible for all ECE services, namely

2

pre-schools and day-care centres in 1996. The federal funding authority for these services still

lies with the social assistance of education. In China, the department of Education is responsible

for the development and implementation of policy and regulations concerning kindergartens

(UNESCO, 2003).

Egypt has established the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood. It’s an independent

body that does not belong to a government structure but is headed by the Prime Minster. Its

members include the Ministers of Education, Health and Social Affairs and other concerned

ministries and national bodies. Nigeria ECDE services are run by, National Early Years

Development Consultative Committee. This was established by the assistance of UNICEF and

the Bernard van Leer Foundation. The committee aims at coordinating early childhood policies

and programmes provided by different actors and partner in the country (UNESCO, 2003).

The Government of Republic of Kenya (GOK) has demonstrated its commitment to the well

being of young children, this is by signing various global policy frameworks. These forums

underscore the importance of Early Childhood Education and Development, and identify

challenges facing ECD sub sector (Republic of Kenya, 2006). In the 1970s the Government of

Kenya stepped in to provide training, support and supervision for Early Childhood and

Development centres. In 1984 the National Centre for Early Childhood Education (NACECE)

was established at the Kenya Institute of Education (KIE). NACECE was responsible for the

training of trainers, curriculum development, research and the coordination of ECDE. District

Centres of Early Childhood Education (DICECE) were responsible for the training of teachers in

the district level, inspection, community mobilization and the evaluation of local programmes

(Balanchader, 2000).

Despite of some significant gains in enrolment and community initiative, it was found that there

was wide variation in the type and the quality of the services provided by these centres. The

government evaluated the centres and the key issues were identified as follows: Access to service

3

was poor, particularly for the lowest income groups. Wide variations existed between centres in

the level of physical facilities, training of personnel, supporting services and actives, there was

lack of both policy and services for children up to three years of age, although children in this

age group are increasingly using ECDE centres and much developmental damage occurs during

this period, there was low public awareness of the importance of ECDE, the level of caregiver

wages varied widely and the payments were irregular monitoring and supervision were

inadequate and there were no linkages between pre-schools and primary schools. The level of

funding was too low to allow efficient and effective programme implementation. The ability and

willingness of communities to finance and manage their preschools was identified as the critical

factor affecting quality and sustainability (Balanchander, 2000).

The government through Sector Wide Approach to Programme Planning (SWAP) and

development partners has developed the Kenya Education Sector Support Programme (KESSP),

comprising of twenty three investment programmes focusing on the education sector as a whole.

KESSP is based on the rationale of the overall policy goal of achieving Education for All (EFA)

and the government is commitment to the attainment of the millennium development goals

(MDG). The broad objective is, to give every Kenyan quality education and training no matter

his or her background or socio-economic status, by providing an all inclusive quality education

that is accessible and relevant (Manani, 2007).

KESSP is a programme through which the government of Kenya, (MOE), development partners,

civil society, community and the private sectors come together to support education sector

development for the period 2005-2010. KESSP fits within the framework of National Policy set

out in the Economic Recovery Strategy (ERS). Among the twenty three investment programmes

mentioned earlier, is Early Childhood Development and Education programme, (ECDE

programme) (Republic of Kenya, 2005).

4

The ECDE investment programme, in KESSP, has been developed through a combination of

analysis of national research and identification of best practice lessons from ECDE programmes

and projects implemented by MOE to date. The programmes reflect efforts implemented by the

government to meet the goals of International Conventions on children (1989 Convention on the

Rights of the Child, 1990 Jomtein, Education of All, and Darkar Framework of Action and 1979

Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women). The programme

is geared towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals (Republic of Kenya, 2005).

The overall goal of the ECDE investment programme is to enhance access, equity and quality of

education for all children aged 4-5 years, especially the most vulnerable, living in Arid and Semi

Arid Lands (ASALS), urban slums and pockets of poverty. By 2007, access to ECDE services

was low at 35%. The national target was to raise access to ECDE services to 60% by 2010. The

MOE have to ensure that all children aged 4 to 5 years, especially girls and children living in

difficult circumstances have access to quality ECDE services (Republic of Kenya, 2007).

One of the strategies the Ministry continues to apply to achieve these targets is the provision of

Community Support Grants (CSG) to selected ECDE centres across the country. The

Community Support Grants programme is an initiative of the MOE to assist ECDE centres and

the communities in the disadvantaged areas of Kenya, to improve access to quality ECDE for

children aged 4-5 years. The CSG is in the line with the Sessional Paper 5 in which the

government has outlined among others the following policy for the ECDE sub sector: Intensify

capacity building and resource mobilization with a view to empowering stakeholders to manage

their ECDE facilities efficiently. The strategy to address this policy is to design a programme to

build community capacities for the development and equipment of ECDE centres in partnership

with stakeholders. To achieve the overall goal of the programme, CSG has been proposed as one

of ECDE investments under KESSP (Republic of Kenya, 2005).

5

CSG is paid by the MOE directly to a special bank account established by each ECDE centre.

Before funds are sent to the ECDE centre, the ECDE management committee must prepare an

ECDE centre improvement plan which explains how the centre will use the CSG to increase the

enrolment and improve the quality of education of children aged 4 to 5 years. The ECDE centre

Improvement Plan is formally presented and approved at a special meeting of parents and

community members before a centre can receive CSG from the MOE. The ECDE management

committee members are trained on how to develop a quality centre improvement plan and how to

successfully manage their CSG (Republic of Kenya, 2007).

The CSG programme is managed in three levels. The head office, whose key responsibility is:

National coordination of the Community Support Grants programme, provide support and advice

to districts and national programme, planning, monitoring, evaluation and reporting. The District

Education Office’s responsibility is to support and advice all ECDE centres in the district

selected to receive Community Support Grants, train the ECDE management committee and

programme monitoring and reporting to District Education Boards and the MOE head office.

Finally the community (management committee) will produce an ECDE centre improvement

plan, consult members of community, implement the ECDE centre plan, manage the CSG,

monitor the use of the funds and report to the District Education Officer (Republic of Kenya,

2007).

The CSG is calculated using per pupil grant. This is to encourage ECDE centres to increase their

enrolment. At the end of each year the ECDE management committee is required to report the

total number of the children enrolled in the centre to the District Education Officer. The ECDE

management committee is required to maintain or increase this enrolment level over the

following year. The District Education Board has the authority to discontinue a grant if an ECDE

centre fails to deliver quality education services (Republic of Kenya, 2005).

6

Early Childhood Development and Education programmes are intended to accelerate learning at

ECDE level especially through increased access to ECDE services offered. Some of the

objectives of ECDE programmes in Kenya includes: To provide education geared towards

development of the child’s mental and physical capabilities. To improve the status of the child’s

health, care and nutritional needs, and link him or her with health services such as immunization,

health check-ups, growth monitoring and promotion as well as to enrich the child’s experiences

to enable him or her cope better with primary school life (Manani, 2007).

The Community Support Grants can be used to improve existing infrastructure of ECDE centres

such as permanent and semi-permanent classrooms, toilets, school furniture and learning

materials. They can also be used to augment teachers’ salaries at a maximum of Kshs.2000 per

month per centre. To receive Community Support Grants the selected centres must establish a

bank account in a recognized local bank. A detailed CSG guideline must be followed on how to

account for the money provided by the grant. All grant receiving ECDE centres management

committees are trained in basic financial management (Republic of Kenya, 2005).

Kiambu district is an administrative area in central province in Kenya. Like any other district in

the country, some of its selected ECDE centres have been provided with Community Support

Grants from the year 2007 to date. This is with aim of meeting the goals of the grants. The

DICECE programme officer and the other officers have been trained on how the funds should be

managed. This is to enable them to train the head teachers, ECDE teachers and all the stake

holders on the same. Guideline books have been provided to them for training and learning.

1:2 Statement of the Problem

Education as a Right to every person is fundamental to the success of the government’s overall

development strategy. It aims at enhancing the ability of the Kenyans to preserve and utilize the

environment for production gain and sustainable livelihood, develop quality human resource and

development, and development and protection of democratic institution and human rights

7

(Republic of Kenya, 2005 Sessional Paper No 1). To make this paper operational the government

and its partner have developed the KESSP. This is the Kenyan tool for achieving Millennium

Development Goals. The Kenyan government has instituted ECDE Community Support Grants

as one of the major component of the 23 national investment programmes.

The Ministry of Education expects that all the ECDE centres that benefited from CSG have

improved on access, equity and quality of services given. An officer in charge of CSG from

MOE (Wanyama, 2009), in a seminar of DICECE officers in KIE, argued that though CSG had

been provided in all parts of the country, there still seemed to be a problem because school going

age children were still commonly seen loitering around various towns and markets in the country

during school days. At the same time the DEO Kiambu district feels that quality of ECDE had

not improved. He therefore suggested to the DICECE Office, to conduct a monitoring and

evaluation exercise of all ECDE centres that had benefited from the CSG in the whole country.

This is to ascertain that the actual impact on access, quality and equity on all ECDE centres

(Wachira, 2009).

The KESSP programme was scheduled to run from 2005-2010. Now that this is year 2010, it is

urgent to find out the success and challenges of the project on the ground. There seem to be no

study conducted on this important area, a gap that this study seems to fill. This has made it

necessary to carry out a study to identify the gap in the knowledge regarding the impact of CSG

on the development of ECDE in Kiambu District. Issues of access, equity and quality should be

treated with the seriousness they deserve. If not, they increase curbed opportunities that would

otherwise be available for the young children to advance in holistic development. This in the

long run will make it difficult for Kenya to achieve not only the goals of education but also

interfere with the rights of the children negatively.

8

1:3 Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this study was to establish the impact of Community Support Grants on the

development of the ECDE centres, as a government investment programme in enhancing access,

quality and equity of education for all children aged 4-5 years in Kiambu District.

1:4 Research Objectives

This study had the following objectives:

1. To find out whether there was any relationship between Community Support Grants and

the enrolment of the children in ECDE centres.

2. To investigate the relationship between Community Support Grants and use of resource

materials in ECDE centre Kiambu District.

3. To find out whether Community Support Grants, have any effect on gender balance of

children in ECDE centre in Kiambu District.

4. To find out whether Community Support Grants have any effect on the retention of

children in the ECDE centre of Kiambu District.

1:5 Research Questions

1. What was the relationship between Community Support Grants and the enrolment of the

children to Early Childhood Development and Education centres in Kiambu District?

2. What was the relationship between Community Support Grants and the use of

resource materials in ECDE centre in Kiambu District?

3. What was the effect of Community Support Grants in gender balance of children in ECDE

centres in Kiambu District?

4. What was the effect of Community Support Grants on retention of children the ECDE

9

centres in Kiambu District?

1:6 Significance of the Study

It was expected that this study would be useful to the ECDE parents, community members and

the development partners. It would help them understand what Community Support Grants are

and how the grants should be used. The DEO Kiambu and entire DICECE office of Kiambu

would find this study useful particularly on actual benefits of the grants on access, equity and

quality of ECDE. The Ministry of Education may use the finding of this study in policy

formulation regarding the funding of ECDE centres in the country. This study sought to add

growth of knowledge on how funds are used in ECDE centres. It would also help future

researchers to identify priority areas to carry out more research on children and funding of

ECDE.

1:7 Basic Assumptions of the Study

This study assumed that the information received from both the head teachers and the ECDE

teachers was accurate and it was a true reflection of the impact of the Community Support Grants

in Kiambu District and that the archival data would be available from the DICECE office and

will be accurate for the purpose of this study. It also assumed that all the ECDE centres selected

to benefit with the CSG had received at least one traunche of the grants and had already used the

funds.

1:8 Limitations of the Study

The study used survey design. The samples were collected from a sample population of ECDE

teachers and head teachers but not all the head teachers and teachers of the centres in the district.

The information was collected the way it was at that particular time. It could be possible that the

information could have been different at other times. The research relied on the information

10

given by the head teachers and the ECDE teachers and their own opinions. This generated

diverse responses from the same question. The researcher was unable to control the attitudes of

the respondents and this may have affected the findings. They might have imposed their own

attitude towards the subject under study. The distance to be covered by the researcher was very

wide and generated a lot of problems in transportation. Some of the respondents seemed to fear

the researcher, who was a DICECE officer, for being victimized. However they were assured of

confidentiality of the information that they gave and that it was only used for study purposes. It

was also possible that the sampled Kiambu District results, may not apply to other administrative

districts in Kenya.

1:9 Delimitations of the Study

The study relied on a few samples of 16 ECDE centres drawn from the whole geographical area

of Kiambu District. They are all public schools. The whole district has 42 public ECDE centres.

The study therefore excluded more than half of the ECDE centres which may be could have had

a lot of impact of the Community Support Grants. The study also narrowed on to the ECDE

centres that were easily accessible. This might have hindered the researcher from achieving the

correct findings for the whole district.

1:10 Organization of the Study

This study was organized in five chapters, the Introduction, and literature review, research

methodology, results of research findings summery, recommendations and the conclusions of the

study. The introduction chapter looked at the major international conventions and agreements

that address the ECDE. The study looked at how the countries like Bangladesh, Brazil, China,

Egypt and Nigeria manage the ECDE. It also looked at the way Kenya manages the ECDE

services. The role of KESSP and CSG was also discussed. The statement of the problem is

indicated in this section, the purpose of the study, research questions, and research objectives,

significance of the study, basic assumptions, and limitations of the study, delimitations, and

11

operational terms used in this study. At the end of this section is a list of abbreviations and

acronyms.

In the second chapter there is the Literature Review which looked at the access, equity, quality

and the way in which ECDE is funded in Kenya. Theoretical framework is in this section, which

borrowed borrow from Finance, an economic theory of nonprofit making organizations. The

study was mainly focused on Subsidy theory, one of the theories of nonprofit making

organizations. The study used Affordability Approach Funding Model for Early Childhood

Services. Conceptual framework of this study is presented at the end of this section.

The third chapter focused on Research Design, population of the study, sampling techniques,

instruments to be used, validity and reliability of the instruments, procedure for data collection

and data analysis. The fourth chapter has the data analysis which was presented in diagrams,

percentages, means and modes. The data is analyzed by use of factor analysis. All the diagrams

have been explained below each one of them. In the last chapter there is the summary,

presentation and the conclusion of the research finding. It also contains the recommendations and

suggestions for further research. The references, appendices which have the questionnaires,

check list, financial budget and the time frame, is at the end of the study. The title page,

declaration, the abstract, dedication, the table of content, lists of tables and figures used in the

study are at the beginning of the study.

12

1:11 Definition of the Terms

Access- Enrolment of children to ECDE centres. It involves attendance and retention of children

at school in Kiambu District.

Community Members- Parents of the children who attend the ECDE centre. This includes the

people who support the activities of ECDE centres in Kiambu District.

ECDE centre- A school, where early childhood services are given to children below six years in

Kiambu District. This generally involves early childhood development services and

education.

Equity- Fairness and justice in availability of benefits, access and the control of resources. Both

Boy and girls should have equal opportunity in ECDE services offered in Kiambu District.

Grants- Funds or money allocated and dispatched to a particular ECDE centre, in Kiambu

District for the purpose of its development.

Management Committee- A body elected to run the affairs of an ECDE centre. The

Management Committee members, community leaders, prominent members of the

community, religious leaders, business people and sponsors in Kiambu District.

Programme-This is a plan of the activities to be carried out, in order to achieve certain

in an ECDE centre in Kiambu District.

Quality- The degree of excellence in ECDE, in terms of relevant use of, learning/teaching

materials and the qualification of the teachers from Kiambu District.

Traunche- A batch of money dispatched to an ECDE centre in Kiambu District. In each Phase

of CSG there are 2 or 3 traunches.

13

1:12 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS

ASALS –Arid and Semi Arid Lands

CEDEW –Convention on the elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women

CRC - Convention on the Rights of the Child.

CSG -Community Support Grants

DEB -District Education Board

DICECE - District Centre of Early Childhood Education

ECDE –Early Childhood Development and Education

EFE -Education for All

ERS -Economic Rectory strategy

FPE -Free Primary Education

GER –Gross Enrolment Ratio

GOK –Government of Kenya

KESSP - Kenya Education Sector Support Programme

KIE -Kenya Institute of Education

MDG – Millennium Development Goals

MOE -Ministry of Education

NACECE-National Centre for Early Childhood Education

NARC- National Alliance Rainbow Coalition

SWAP - Sector Wide Approach to Programme Planning

UNDHR - United Nations Declaration of Human Right Women

UNESCO-United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization

OECD- Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development

14

CHAPTER 2

2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW

Literature Review means the work that a researcher consults in order to understand and

investigate the research problem. It is an account of what has been published on a topic by

accredited scholars and researchers. It is a critical look at the existing research that is significant

to the work that the researcher will be carrying. It involves examining documents such as books,

magazines, journals and dissertations that have a bearing on the study being concluded (Kombo

and Tromp, 2006).

2:1 Access to ECDE Programmes

The provision of ECDE involves households, community and Government efforts in the

integrated development of children from the time of conception. The structure of ECDE

provision is divided into that for 0-3 year olds and for 4-5 year olds children. For this sub sector,

the MOE’s policy is to focus on 4-5 year old children with a view to provide a holistic and

intergraded programme that meets the child’s cognitive, social, moral, spiritual, emotional and

physical needs (Republic of Kenya, 2005). Today the ECDE programme is serving more than

900, 000 children. Free Primary Education (FPE) has increased the potential for all children to

attend school. However all children need to be equally “ready to learn” and hence maximize their

opportunities within the FPE: therefore, the aim is to have 100% participation in ECDE to ensure

an adequate foundation for education. Presently, there is low access to preschools (40%

nationally and in some districts less than 20%) necessitating increased support for this age sector

(Republic of Kenya, 2006).

Kenya whose population in 1992 was 25 million, has one of the highest population growth rate

in the world (3.8%), 59% of the population was under 20 years of age: 18% were under the age

five, many of whom are in preschools because of the commitment of parents and the community

15

to providing a preschool experience for the child. The first preschools were started in the 1940s

by and for the exclusive use of the European and Asian communities. Later preschools were

developed in African locations in urban areas and in coffee, tea and sugar plantations. After

independence, preschool education expanded throughout the country (Kipkorir and Njenga,

1993).

An important variable in the wide spread availability of preschools is the Harambee of self-help

spirit which the late President Kenyatta fostered. In essence what this means is that, when a

community defines a need, it creates a programme to meet that need. In many villages parents

have wanted preschools for their children and so they have created them. They find a location for

the class and look for a teacher to care for children 3-6 years of age. As a result early childhood

care and education programmes in Kenya serve the entire cross-section of social, economic,

culture and geographic groups within the society. Several events during the 1980s shaped the

way in which preschool services are being offered nationally. In 1980 responsibility for pre

schools was shifted from the Ministry of Culture and Social services to the Ministry of Education

which is now responsible for the administration of pre schools. The MOE has an infrastructure

that is able to provide support to pre schools anywhere in the country. In 1983 they were moved

to decentralize government. The focus of development was shifted to the district level. The result

of this shift is that district and local government have taken on the main responsibility for

ongoing support of preschool education, while MOE is involved in the formulation of policy

guidelines for early childhood programmes, registration of pre schools, coordination of

government grants and funds from external donors, and provision of early childhood personnel at

all levels (Kipkorir and Njenga, 1993).

The ECDE sub sector has witnessed significant growth within the last few years, the ECDE

centres have increased from 26,294 in 2000 to 31,879 in 2004. Total enrolment in public ECDE

centres rose from 1,255,194 in 2000 to 1,602,721 in 2004. The Gross Enrolment Rate at this

level of education increased to 57.6% in 2004 from 44.8% in 2002. Whereas the growth in

enrolment is a welcome development, there’s a concern over the Gross Enrolment Rate in ECDE

16

at 57.6%, when compared to that of the primary school level, which stood at 10.8%in 2002

(Republic of Kenya, 2006). In the area of ECDE, since approximately 1990 35% of children

aged 3-5 years currently have been accessing ECDE services. Kenya is the fourth in Africa with

only Mauritius, Namibia and Ghana having a higher proportion of children receiving ECDE

services. There is a recent decline in enrolments however with the introduction of FPE, since the

parents have to pay for ECDE services (Ministry of Education, 2003).

An assessment study of FPE carried out jointly by the MOE and UNESCO in February 2004

found that ECDE programmes had almost ‘collapsed’ because children’s enrolments had

decreased after the introduction of FPE. The study found that, parents opted to send their

children straight to standard one, which had become free, without having them go through

ECDE, which was still fee-paying. Moreover, most of the standard one, teachers reported that,

children who skipped ECDE had difficulty coping with the lessons in primary schools and

performed poorly. Since the introduction of FPE policy in the North Eastern Province, which is

one of the poorest, many parents have bypassed ECDE altogether, many others send their

children only to the Pre Unit class of ECDE to prepare them for primary school. In some areas,

parents are keeping their children at home until they reach the age of 5 years and more, entitling

them to free education, this tendency is particularly pronounced among poor families who cannot

afford ECDE centres (UNESCO, 2005).

2:2 Quality in ECDE Programmes

The Ministry of Education’s mandate has been expanded to cater for the early care, development

and education needs of young children. Awareness has been raised with regards to the

importance of an integrated approach to the holistic development of the child. Yet gaps appear in

practice. Service for children under the age of three years are not well developed, and the

activities of ECDE centres focus heavily on teaching young children basic learning skills. Many

stakeholders still view ECDE as ‘early schooling’. Parenting education could be a good strategy

for enhancing the care and education of younger children, and training is needed for ECDE

teachers (UNESCO, 2005).

17

The government is already implementing measures that seek to improve the performance of this

sub sector. These measures include: establishing guidelines and standards for the management,

supervision and curriculum development for ECDE; establishment of NACECE and DICECE for

purposes of in servicing teachers and training. NACECE is located within the Kenya Institute of

Education and it is responsible for: developing and disseminating curricula for ECDE

programmes; identifying, designing, undertaking and coordinating ECDE research; facilitating

interaction between agencies and sponsors; coordinating and liaising with external partners; and

informing the public of needs and developments within the ECDE programmes (Republic of

Kenya, 2005).

The functions of DICECE are: training of preschool teachers and other personnel at the district

level; supervision and inspection of district preschool programmes; mobilization of local

community to improve the care, health, nutrition and education of young children; development

of localized preschool curricula; and evaluation and research related to the preschool children.

The DICECE are staffed by NACECE trained trainers, accountable to the District Education

Officers for their day-to-day operation (Evans and Myers, 1994). According to ECDE service

guidelines, only the approved ECDE syllabus shall be used in ECDE centres. Learning shall be

holistic in nature. Child centred teaching/learning methodology shall be used in these centres.

Learning shall be activity based hence no subjects will be taught in ECDE centres. Learning shall

be through play. Adequate materials shall be provided by the teachers. The children shall be

given an opportunity to manipulate materials and opportunities for free choice activities and rest

(Republic of Kenya, 2007).

In order to provide quality ECDE, it is important to develop relevant and suitable curricula and

resources. NACECE and DICECE have developed a variety of curricula and support materials

for use at all levels. They are in form of, syllabus, guidelines and books, manipulative materials,

audio and visual packages (KIE, 1992).

18

2:3 Equity in ECDE Programmes

Successful implementation of the Strategic Plan is expected to address equity and gender

imbalance, improve the learning environment for both boys and girls, including those with

disabilities and special needs and consequently improve the human capital for Kenya’s economy.

(Republic of Kenya, 2006) In recognition of the importance of gender equity and equality in

education, both the government and its partners have developed strategies and implemented a

variety of initiative to address gender in education, through a harmonized frame work and gender

in education. Within government, legal issues being addressed through a harmonized framework

and gender issues are addressed in all programmes. The National Plan of Action on EFA 2003-

2015, the report of the education sector review 2003, the Ministry of Education strategic plan

(2006-2011) and service charter, Sessional Paper Number 1 of 2005 and the KESSP 2005-2010

(Republic of Kenya, 2007).

The government has also ratified a number of protocols and conventions with a bearing on

gender equity. These include the CEDAW and the CRC among others. The government has also

set up Ministry of Gender, Sports, Sport, Culture and Social Services and a Gender Commission.

The Ministry of Education has established a National Task Force for Gender and Education, a

Ministerial Task Force on Girls’ Education, and a Gender Desk. Enrolment in ECDE institutions

remained below 50% in 1990s, but Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) increased from 44.8% in 2002

to 57.7% in 2006. The national gross enrolment ratio revealed small but rising gender disparity

of 19.7% with more girls than boys being enrolled (boys 119.3% and girls 139.7%). North

Eastern Province had the highest gender disparity in favour of boys at 6.5%. On the other hand,

the net enrolment ratio increased from 31% in 2002 to 32.9% in 2005, and showed near gender

parity at the national level at 0.6% kin 2003 and 1% in 2004. A critical gender inequity at this

level is that only 12.6% of teachers were male in 2004 (Republic of Kenya, 2007).

A study done by (United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization) UNESCO

and (Origination for Economic Cooperation and Development) OECD in February 2005, in

Kenya started that there was obvious geographical inequities in ECDE. In Nairobi for instance

19

more children were likely to be enrolled in ECDE than in other provinces with similar poverty

levels e.g. Rift Valley. North Eastern Province has the highest rates. There are also gender

disparities in Nairobi; girls are likely to enroll where as in North Eastern Province the reverse is

observed (UNESCO, 2005).

To enhance enrolment in primary schools on equal grounds, free primary education has increased

the potential for all children to attend school. However, all children need to be equally “ready to

learn” and to hence maximize their opportunities within the FPE; therefore the aim is to have

100% participation in ECDE to ensure an adequate foundation for education. Presently, there is

low access to pre-schools (40% nationally and in some districts less than 20%) necessitating

increased support for his age sector (Republic of Kenya, 2006).

2:4 Funding Of ECDE Programmes

Majority of the pre schools centres in Kenya have been established and are managed by the local

communities. It is therefore important to create awareness and mobilize the communities in order

to ensure that they improve the preschool facilities and services. (KIE, 1992) One of the unique

characteristics and strengths of the ECDE programmes in Kenya is its policy of encouraging

partnerships, at all levels. Parents and local communities are the most important partners. They

have started and currently manage over 75% of the preschools in the country. Parents and local

communities provide land and funds for the construction and maintaince of the physical

facilities. They also provide furniture, materials and labour and they pay the teachers’ salaries. In

some communities feeding programmes are also a part of the preschool programmes; parents

provide the ingredients and prepare the food (Evans and Myers, 1994).

Complementing the work of the community are local authorities who pick up the costs for

equipment, furnishing and the teacher’s salary in preschools in the town centres. Fees are

charged in these schools to help cover the costs. From the beginning, voluntary organizations,

religious bodies and companies have been heavily involved in preschool provision. Religious

20

groups have established their own preschools in the church/temple/mosque. Firms, cooperatives,

and plantations have also established preschools for children of their employees. The main

support from these preschools is the provision of physical facilities, materials, furniture, feeding

programmes and payment of teachers’ salaries (Evans and Myers, 1994).

The Ministries involved in preschool provision include the Ministry of Health and the Ministry

of Culture and Social Services, in addition to the Ministry of Education. As noted earlier,

external partners have been and continue to be important. Over the years these have included the

Bernard Van Leer Foundation, the Aga Khan Foundation, and UNICEF, who have provided

financial support for the training of teachers, the purchasing of equipment and materials,

curriculum development, parental and community education. NACECE has taken on the primary

responsibility for coordinating the actions of the various partners and involving them in a

meaningful way (Evans and Myres, 1994).

Participation of various partners has been very instrumental in the NACECE and DICECE

operations. The main partners are the government through the Ministry of Education, local

government and Health, parents and local communities, NGOs, private entrepreneurs and

bilateral partners, namely UNICEF, Bernard Van Leer Foundation and Aga Khan Foundation.

UNICEF which focuses on the welfare of children and families has been involved in ECDE

programmes in Kenya for the past four decades. When DICECE was established in 1985,

UNICEF offered to support activities in six DICECEs (KIE, 1992).

It has provided financial resources which have been used in training of personnel, in community

mobilization, curriculum development, health and nutrition programmes and in research and

evaluation. During 1989-1992 Plan of Action, UNICEF extended support to five more districts

through the Child Survival and Development (CSD) programme (KIE, 1992). The main

achievements of the programme include the growth in terms of personnel institutions and

enrolment, increased community awareness and mobilization as evidenced by the increase in

21

enrolment and number of centres, improved facilities and the establishment of community based

feeding programmes and growth monitoring and promotion of quality experiences and services

for the children, particularly on issues related to the care, health and nutrition and early

stimulation (KIE, 1992).

2:5:0 Theoretical Frame work

A theoretical framework is a collection of interrelated ideas based on theories. It is reasoned set

of prepositions, which are derived from and supported by data or evidence. It accounts for or

explains phenomena. It attempts to clarify why things are the way they are on theories (Kombo

and Tromp, 2000).

2:5:1 Nonprofit Finance Theory: Subsidy Theory

This study will borrow from Nonprofit Finance theory, which is an economic theory developed

in mid 1960’s due to increased number and forms of nonprofit making organizations in the

economy. It approaches the role and behaviour of nonprofit organizations in the economy. One

of nonprofit finance theory is subsidy theory. Subsidy theory states that nonprofit organizations

are unusually in the manner in which they finance themselves. The nonprofit organizations do

not rely entirely on sales of goods and services. They do not have power of taxation through

which they can command public support. They receive more support from voluntary gifts and

grants than other types of organizations. The activities of nonprofit organization heavily depend

on different external resources, direct and indirect grants and subsidies from the government

(Young, 2000)

This study will adopt the subsidy theory and will focus on affordability approach model for Early

Childhood Service. This is one of the models of subsidy theory. This model has been advocated

by Christians P and Karen F (Social Policy Research Centre University of New South Wales). It

has been adopted by Australia government. This is a model of the approaches that are open to the

22

government to ensure that Early Childhood Services are affordable to families (Australia

Government, 2005). To make this Subsidy theory operational, the government pays a portion of

the Early Childhood Services, capital or the running cost. This is with the aim of reducing fees

for the children. The government may also pay the service cost and provide free universal

preschool services. Sometimes all licensed or registered services receive operational funding

(Australia Government, 2001).

This subsidy theory of nonprofit finance is applicable to this study in the sense that, the aim of

community support grants is to make ECDE affordable to all the children in Kenya. Like the

affordability model, community support grants, is paid in portion to the public ECDE centres. In

affordability model of Subsidy theory, the concentration of its budget is on certain types of Early

Childhood Services. In Australia, the capital funding from the government assist only the

licensed upgrade. Long day care centers receive per capita funding to help reduce fee from

families. CSG in Kenya is meant to make ECDE affordable to all children in the country.

Funding options of the affordability model of subsidy theory are: running cost of the centre,

funding by attendance (enrolled hours), equity in all communities, and fully funded preschool

services. Community Support Grants in Kenya on the other hand is provided according to the

number of children (per enrolment). It also focus on the disadvantaged communities especially

ASALs and urban slums. The aim is to provide equal opportunities to all people in the country.

In both Community Support Grants and Affordability model, there is a measure to achieve the

goal of improving participation by children to EDCE especially those from low income families.

In both cases monitoring of the services offered is done. The main objectives of both CSG and

Affordability model are to; increase access, equity and quality of services offered to preschool

children.

23

2:6 Conceptual Frame Work

Diagram 2:1 Community Support Grants and children’s holistic development

Source: Own Conceptualization 2010

Process

Administration/Management

-remuneration of teachers

-infrastructure

-furniture

-teaching/learning materials

-play materials

ECDE Development

-enrolment

-retention

-gender parity

Output

KESSP Projects

Input Community Support Grants

-amount

-frequency

24

The conceptual frame work for this study is showed in the diagram 2.1. It borrows from the

information processing system. This system approach asserts that, acquisition of information

depends on three stages. These are input, processing and output. The study uses this system in

that, the independent variable, Community Support Grant, (a KESSP project), is the input. These

are the funds brought in the ECDE centre in terms of the amount given and frequency of the said

grants. The ECDE centres that have benefited from CSG are provided with fund for KESSP the

ones this conceptual framework view as input. This has been indicated in the diagram in two

stage the first being KESSP which provides the funds as CSG, and which is shown as the second

stage of the framework.

The intervening variable constitute the management and administration of the grants, that is, the

remuneration of teachers, infrastructures, furniture, learning and teaching materials and play

materials which are the processes. This is termed as the process in the diagram. It is the process

through which the funds are used in the ECDE centre. This is what is managed by the ECDE

centre management committee and the head teachers and is through which output is realized, that

is, ECDE development.

The dependent variable is the impact of the grants on the development of ECDE in terms of

enrolment, retention and gender parity. These are the goals of KESSP and CSG. They are the

output as indicated in the diagram. Enrolment will be seen when more children access the ECDE

services. Retention is in terms of children being able to complete the whole year and gender

parity will involve equal chances of all the children regardless of the gender to access ECDE

services. All this will show development of ECDE.

25

CHAPTER 3

3.0 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This section outlines the methodology used in the study. It also describes the research design

used in the study, target population, sampling procedure, research instrument, and method of

data collection and techniques of data analysis.

3:1 Research Design

A research design is a scheme, outline or plan that is used to generate answers to research

problems (Orodho, 2003). This study used survey design. According to Mugenda and Mugenda

(1999) a survey is an attempt to collect data from members of a population in order to determine

the current status of that population with respect to one or more variables. It is self report study

which requires the collection of quantifiable information from the sample. The survey design

allowed the researcher to gather information on actual state at the time of the study. It also

allowed the researcher to gather information from a large number of cases. The information was

obtained by collecting data through questionnaires, archival data collection and through

observation.

3:2 Target Population

A population refers to an entire group of individuals, events or objects having a common

observable characteristic (Mugenda and Mugenda, 1999). The target population of this study

was all public ECDE head teachers, ECDE teachers, and the Programme Officer of Kiambu

District a total of 85. Kiambu District has got 42 public ECDE centres. Each centre shares a

compound with the primary school. The district is administered in three zones namely Karuri,

Kihara and Municipality zones with 15, 11 and 16 public ECDE centres respectively.

Community Support Grants have been dispatched in the whole country in 3 phases. Kiambu

district has only received the grants in two phases, first and second phases.

26

3:3 Sample size and Sampling Techniques

Sampling is the procedure a researcher uses to gather people, places or things to study. It is a

process of selecting a number of individuals or objects from a population such that the selected

group contains elements representative of the characteristics found in the entire group. A sample

is a finite part of a statistical population whose properties are studied to gain information, about

the whole (Orodho and Kombo, 2002).

This study used Stratified Random Sampling. This method involves a process of stratification of

segregation of the population in homogenous groups (groups with the same characteristics). This

is then followed by random selection of subjects from each stratum. The population is first

divided into mutually exclusive groups that are relevant and appropriate and meaningful in the

context of the study (Mbwesa, 2006). The researcher divided the population into 2 homogeneous

subgroups, namely the ECDE centres that have benefited from the CSG and these that have not

benefited from any grants as shown in the table 3:1 below.

Table 3:1 Distribution of ECDE Centres in Kiambu District

Source: Researcher 2010

ECDE centres with CSG ECDE centres without CSG

Phase 1

Karuri 6 Kihara 1 Municipality 3 Total 10

Phase 2

Karuri 2 Kihara 3 Municipality 5 Total 10

Karuri 7 Kihara 7 Municipality 8

GRAND TOTAL 20 GRAND TOTAL 22

27

Then Simple Random Sampling for the two categories was done through the lottery method.

ECDE centres in each category were grouped together then they were regrouped those in phase 1

and those that were in phase 2 separately. In each group, from the same, the centres were

subjected to a lottery depending on the total number of the ECDE centres in the study. Two

centres were sampled in the Karuri division in phase1 while all the other divisions had only one

ECDE centres each for the study. In phase 2 Municipality divison had two centres sampled for

the study. This was because the two divisions had more centres that had benefited from CSG

than the other divisions. The number of the sampled centres for the study depended on the

number of the centres in each sub group. This was to ensure that everyone in each subgroup of

the population was represented, according to the proportion of the size of the population. The

sampling is shown by the Table 3:2 below

Table 3:2 Sampling of the ECDE centres to be used in the study

ECDE centres with CSG ECDE centre without CSG

Phase 1

Karuri 2 Kihara 1 Municipality 1 Total 4

Phase 2

Karuri 1 Kihara 1 Municipality 2 Total 4

Karuri 2 Kihara 3 Municipality 3

GRAND TOTAL 8 GRAND TOTAL 8

Source: Researcher 2010

Each ECDE centre had 2 respondents, the head teacher and the ECDE teacher. Since the total

number of the ECDE centres sampled is 16. The total respondents were 32 and the Programme

Officer to get to 33 respondents as mentioned earlier.

28

3:4 Instruments for Data Collection

This research study used questionnaires and checklists. The questionnaires were used by the head

teachers, ECDE teachers and the Programme Officer. The questionnaires had structured

questions (close ended questions) and unstructured (open ended questions). The respondents

were required to select answers from the choices given in the structured questions. The

unstructured questions gave the respondent the freedom to respond according to the information

required, in one’s own words. A checklist was used by the researcher to record the materials

bought using CSG both for play and learning. The researcher used daily class registers, statistical

return records from the centre and admission registers to get the enrolment of the children. The

researcher also got information from archival data, from the DICECE office Kiambu district.

3:5 Validity

Validity of research instrument refers to the extent to which a test or instrument measures what it

was intended or supposed to measure (Mbwesa, 2006). This research study adopted content

validity. Here there is agreement that a scale logically appears to reflect accurately what it

purports to measure. This ensures that the instrument is covering what it is intended to cover

(Mbwesa 2006). The validity of this study was ensured by the academic supervisors of this

study. They read through the questions that were to be used in the study. The ones that were not

correct were rephrased in order to measure what was intended to be measured. This helped the

researcher to ensure that there was content validity of the instruments used.

3:6 Reliability

Reliability of research instruments refers to the degree to which a research instrument yields

consistent results or data after repeated trials (Mugenda and Mugenda, 1999). This research

study used Test-retest method. This method involves administering the same scale or measure to

the same group of respondents at two separate times. This is after a certain time interval has

elapsed. This means that the group is administered with the same test twice (Mbwesa, 2006).

29

The researcher used four ECDE centres, two which had benefited from CSG and two that had

not benefited. The four ECDE centres were not in the study. The ECDE centres were

administered with the research instruments, data was collected and then after two weeks the

same instruments were administered to them again. The initial conditions were kept constant.

Out of the questionnaires administered all of them were returned during the first time. In the

second time one of the head teachers’ questionnaires was not returned. All the questionnaires

that were returned had the same response as the first ones none of them had any different

response from the first ones. This showed that the questionnaires were reliable for use in the

research study.

3:7 Data Collection Procedure

After sampling and ensuring of content validity, the researcher got authority to carry out the

study from the University of Nairobi, though the academic supervisors which enabled the

researcher to apply for a permit from the National Council for Science and Technology. This

permit enabled the researcher to get permission from both the District Commissioner and District

Education Officer Kiambu district to carry out the study. This research study relied on both

primary and secondary sources of data. The primary data was collected through questionnaires

and through observations. The secondary data was collected from archival data got from the

DICECE office in Kiambu District registers and ECDE statistical returns books.

The researcher administered the questionnaires to the head teachers and the ECDE teachers.

Respondents were informed on the importance of the study. This was through direct contact of

the respondents with the researcher. This was done individually and in each case the respondent

was instructed on the way to fill the questionnaires. The respondents were expected to fill the

instruments accurately, completely and honestly. The respondents were assured verbally of

confidential treatment of information provided. The questionnaires were collected the same day

after completion this was from both ECDE teachers and the head teachers. The researcher

administered all the questionnaires to both the head teachers and the EDCE teachers.

30

Acquisition of archival data was done from the records gotten from DICECE office. The District

Programme Officer helped the researcher to get the records required for CSG in the district. The

DICECE officers helped the researcher to go through the records and to record the findings. The

researcher then visited the ECDE centres under study and physically observed and recorded the

findings in a check list. The researcher then collected all the data instruments for analysis.

3:8 Method of Data Analysis

Data analysis refers to examining what has been collected in a survey or experiment, and making

deductions and inferences (Kombo and Tromp, 2006). It also refers to a variety of activities and

processes that a researcher administers to a database in order to draw conclusions and make

certain decisions regarding the data collected from the field. Activities of analysis involve

summarizing large quantities of raw data, categorizing, rearranging and ordering data (Mbwesa,

2006).

This study used descriptive statistics to analyze the data obtained. The purpose of descriptive

statistics is to enable the researchers to meaningfully describe a distribution of scores or

measurements, using a few indices or role (Mugenda and Mugenda 1999). Descriptive statistics

transforms large groups of members into a more manageable form. It helps with the

transformation of raw data into a form that will make it easy to understand and interpret

(Mbwesa 2006).

The data obtained from the field in raw form was coded by assigning only one code to each

category for clarity. The data was then systematically organized in meaningful patterns to obtain

its importance. This was done by grouping the responses in different categories. The researcher

analyzed the data using tables, frequencies and percentage.

31

CHAPTER 4

4:0 DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS

This chapter presents the results of the analysis, interpretation and discussions of the findings.

The presentation was done based on the research questions and the objectives of the study. The

purpose of the study was to evaluate the actual impact of Community Support Grants on the

development of ECDE in Kiambu District. A combination of both quantitative and qualitative

techniques were used in the collection of data. The findings, inform of views and opinions were

elicited from the DICECE Programme Officer, Head teachers and ECDE teachers. Check lists

were used to find out the actual materials available in the centre. The findings were descriptively

presented arithmetically in various sections.

4:1 Questionnaire Return Rate

The questionnaires used in this study were administered to Head teachers, ECDE teachers and

the DICECE Programme Officer Kiambu district. There was also a check list for each ECDE

centre to be filled by the researcher. Among the questionnaires administered none was left

incomplete neither was there a research participant who declined to fill and complete the

questionnaire administered. Hence the questionnaire return rate was 100%. The return rate is

summarized by the Table 4.1

Table 4.1 Questionnaire Return Rate

Questionnaires Number Administered Number Completed/Returned Return Rate

Head teachers

ECDE teachers

Programme Officer

Check lists

16

16

1

16

16

16

1

16

100%

100%

100%

100%

TOTAL 49 49 100%

Source: Survey 2010

32

4:2 Demographic Information

Demographic information was based on gender, academic qualification, training level and the

length of stay of the respondent in the ECDE centre. The demographic data of the respondents

was analyzed by use of quantitative analysis while descriptive statistics were used to analyze

data pertaining to the four objectives of the study. The data was presented using percentages,

frequency distributions and mean scores. The information is presented and discussed as per the

objectives of the study.

4:2:1 Gender Representation

Table 4.2 Head teachers in gender

Phase Male Female Total

Phase 1

Phase 2

Without CSG

4 (100%)

3 (75%)

7 (87.5%)

0 (0%)

1 (25%)

1 (12.5%)

4 (100%)

4 (100%)

8 (100%)

Total 14 (87.5%) 2 (12.5%) 16 (100%)

Source: survey 2010

Public ECDE centres are managed by the head teachers of the primary schools where they are

built. The head teachers coordinate the activities carried in the centres and the ECDE teachers

are answerable to the head teacher just as their counterpart in the primary school. The total

number of the Head teachers used in this study were 16. Four (4) of the head teachers in the

study had been in Phase 1 category of CSG, four (4) others in Phase 2 category and eight (8)

head teachers were from ECDE centres which had not received any CSG. From the above table it

is evident to say that, there is a lot of gender disparity in the administration of ECDE centres in

favour of male Head teachers. The results indicated that out of all the centres under study only 2

of them were being administered by females head teachers (12.5%) as compared to the males

who were 87.5%.

33

According to Republic of Kenya (2007), attainment of equity and equality of all people, is a core

development issue and a goal in its own right. The government of Kenya has developed a Gender

and Education Policy Frame work, which provides a comprehensive frame work of the principles

and strategies to be pursued in order to achieve gender equity and equality. It also acknowledges

ongoing initiatives in bridging the gender gap in the Education sector and identifies special

measures that the government and other education stakeholders should take to redress the

indentified gender inequities and inequalities (Republic of Kenya, 2001). From the study it is

evident to say that, the issues of gender equality in the administration of both primary schools

and the ECDE centres needs a serious attention. This issue should be addressed with a lot of

agency by the stakeholders in the education sector and the government in order to try to achieve

the national goal of equality. However the issue of gender disparity in the administration of

ECDE centres had no relationship with the way the CSG was administered.

4:2:2 Head teacher’s length of stay in the ECDE centre

The Table 4.3 indicates the length of time that each head teacher had been in the current station

before the study was carried out. This was to find out whether the head teacher had been in the

current ECDE centre when the last traunche of CSG was dispatched in that centre.

Table 4.3 Head teacher’s length of stay in the ECDE centre

YEARS Number of Head teacher Percentage

5 years and above

4 years

3 years

2 years

1 year and below

3

0

4

2

7

18.75%

0

25%

12.5%

43.75

Total 16 100%

Source: survey 2010

34

From the Table 4.3 majority of the head teachers had been in their current ECDE centre for only

one and below years. This indicates that most of them were most likely not in the current ECDE

centres when some of the traunches of CSG were dispatched in the centre they were in during the

time of the study. It therefore means that they are likely to have very little information about the

centres they are in and more so, on the projects that had been carried out there. This state of

affairs can be justified by the fact that, it was noted that the information received for this study

was extracted from CSG files in the centres, which some head teachers seemed not to understand

and hence sought the help of the ECDE teachers. The study sort to get more information on this

issue on administration of CSG, by breaking down the length of stay of Head teachers in the

current ECDE centre as per the CSG phases category as shown by the Table 4.4.

Table 4.4 Head teacher’s length of stay in the current centre as per CSG

Phases

YEARS PHASE 1 PHASE 2 Without CSG TOTAL

5years and above

4 years

3 years

2 years

1 year and below

1 (25%)

0 (0%)

1 (25%)

0 (0%)

2 (50%)

0 (0%)

0 (0%)

0 (0%)

0 (0%)

4 (100%)

2 (25%)

0 (0%)

3 (37.5%)

2 (25%)

1 (12.5%)

3 (18.75%)

0 (0%)

4 (25%)

2 (12.5%)

7 (43.75%)

TOTAL 4 (100%) 4 (100%) 8 (100%) 16 (100%)

Source: survey 2010

The study found out that the head teacher’s length of stay in the ECDE centre contributed to the

way the funds were managed in the said centre. It was also found that the length of stay of the

head teacher in the centre also contributed not only to the availability of accurate information but

also to the storage of the CSG data required for this study. From the Table 4.4 only one head

teacher had been in the same centre for the last 5 years. This means that the said head teacher had

managed all the traunches of CSG in this ECDE centre. It was therefore easy to get all the

35

information needed for this study from the ECDE centre. One head teacher had been in the same

centre for three years and he was able to provide good information on the study.

The Table 4.4 also indicates that all the head teachers in phase two category were new in their

current centres. This made it very difficult for them to provide adequate information and had to

rely on the ECDE teachers and information from records to fill the questionnaires. In the ECDE

centres that had not benefited from CSG there were only two head teachers who had been in the

same centre for more than 5 years, 3 had been in same centre for about 3 years, 2 for 2 years and

only one had been in his current centre for one year. The fact that more than half of the head

teachers had been in same station for more than 3 years made the head teachers able to provide

rich information about their current centres for the purpose of this study.

4:2:3 ECDE Teachers

It was found out that all the ECDE centres that were under study were all manned by female

teachers. This indicated a lot of disparities in favour of the female. Though this is the fact about

most of the ECDE centres it does not reflect a good picture towards the achievement of not only

the National Goals of the country but also on the Millennium Development Goals of the whole

world. Both the government and the ECDE stakeholders must work very hard to ensure that this

state of affairs is changed. The males must be encouraged to take ECDE teaching responsibility

and not to rely on administration of the ECDE centres alone. On the other hand females should

be encouraged to avoid taking only the teaching jobs in the ECDE centres but also to take

administration jobs in these centres. This will go a long way in enhancing equality in our country

and in the whole world at large.

4:2:3:1 Teachers’ Academic and Professional qualifications.

To ensure that there is quality education in ECDE centres the government has established

NACECE and DICECE for the purposes of inservicing teachers. According to the Service

36

Standard Guidelines (Republic Kenya, 2006), an ECDE teacher should possess at least a

certificate in ECDE. This is offered by the government or any other institution authorized by the

government. For one to be eligible to enroll for a certificate course in ECDE one must have a

minimum qualification of a D plain in KCSE or Division 4 in KCE (O’Level). This study

therefore tried to find out the actual qualification of the teachers in the ECDE centres under

study. The Table 4.5 shows the academic qualifications of the teachers in the centres under

study.

Table 4.5 Qualification of ECDE Teachers

Academic Number of Teachers Percentages

KCPE

KCSE/O’LEVEL

A LEVEL

DEGREE

0

16

0

0

0%

100%

0%

0%

Total 16 100%

Source: survey 2010

The Table 4.5 above shows that all the ECDE teachers in the centres under study, had secondary

school certificates. This means that they had met the requirement of being ECDE teachers. It

also means that all of them have the capabilities to handle the ECDE children with a lot of ease.

The ECDE teachers had the capability to give favorable response to this study since they were

academically qualified for the job.

37

Table 4.6 Professional Qualification of the ECDE Teachers

Professional Qualification Number of teachers Percentages

Certificate

Diploma

Degree

14

2

0

87.5%

12.5%

0%

Total 16 100%

Source: survey 2010

It was important to know the professional qualification of the ECDE teachers under study. The

study found out that all the ECDE teachers in the centres were trained. They all had ECD

certificates. Two of the teachers were undergoing Diploma in ECD course. This justified the fact

that all the EDCE teachers were capable of handing the ECDE children as well as completing the

questionnaires of this study since all of them were qualified ECDE teachers and each had

attained the required qualification of KCSE D or O’Level division 4. This shows that the ECDE

centres under study were being handled by not only professionals but also by people who are in

the right academic level. It also means that the ECDE teachers under study knew the facts about

CSG quite well especially those who are working in the centres that had benefited from the funds

because the study was dealing with professional issues that relate to ECDE.

4:2:3:2 Length of stay of ECDE teachers in the current centre

In order to establish whether the ECDE teachers knew the facts about CSG in the ECDE centres,

the study sort to know the actual length of stay of each of the ECDE teacher in the current centre.

The results of the findings are shown in Table 4.7.

38

Table 4.7 Length of stay of the teacher in the ECDE centre

Years Number of Teachers Percentages

5 years and above

4 years

3 years

2 years

1 year and below

10

0

1

1

4

62.5%

0%

6.25%

6.25%

25%

Total 16 100%

Source: survey 2010

From the Table 4.7, a total of 62.5% of the ECDE teachers under study had been in the same

centre for more than five years. This shows that the teachers had enough information about the

ECDE centres where they were working. The teachers also know all the information that

pertained to CSG in those ECDE centres that they were working in. This was seen when this

study was being carried out because most of the head teachers consulted them on various issues

of CSG in relation to this study. They were able to answer all the research questions accurately

and with a lot of ease.

4:2:3:3 Other Training Apart from ECDE

This study tried to find out whether the ECDE teachers had any other qualification other than the

ECDE training. This was to establish whether the ECDE teachers were innovative and whether

they were keen to learn more beyond ECDE. The finding of this is shown by the Figure 4.1

39

Figure 4.1 Other qualifications of the ECDE teachers

Source: survey 2010

From the information in the Figure 4.1 most of the ECDE teachers in the centres under study had

under gone other training other than ECDE training. Majority of them were computer literate.

The other courses were Sunday school training, bible study and special education. It is

interesting to note that all the courses are related to the development of children. This shows that

if all the ECDE teachers are provided with the opportunity, they have the potential to further

their education and training. For the purposes of this study they had the capability to provide the

required answers from the research questions and they could understand the issues of CSG in not

only of their ECDE centres but also in the entire district. The other qualifications of the ECDE

teachers had no relationship with the CSG.

4:2:3:4 Remuneration of the ECDE Teachers

It was important to find out how much each ECDE teacher is paid per month. This was done in

terms of highest and the lowest amount. The question was directed to the head teachers but after

the visit to the first ECDE centres it was found that the ECDE teachers had a different view on

40

the matter. It therefore became necessary for the researcher to include the question in the

Teachers’ questionnaire.

Table 4.8 Head teachers’ response on remuneration of teachers

HIGHEST AMOUNT PAID LOWEST AMOUNT PAID

4000 6

5000 1

4500 2

6000 1

7500 1

3000 3

2000 1

1000 1

TOTAL 11 5

Source: Survey 2010

These questions were directed to 16 head teachers. In the first question of the highest amount

paid, six (6) of the respondents did not answer the question while on the lowest amount paid was

answered by only 4 head teachers. This could have been caused by the fact that the head teachers

as the administrators of the ECDE centres and also being the people in charge of paying the

ECDE teachers’ salaries, it seemed that they did not want to commit themselves of the issue so

as not to be blamed for under paying the teacher or may be seen to pay the teachers more than

the other head teachers and hence be questioned of where the extra money comes from to pay the

ECDE teachers.

The information above indicates that almost all the ECDE teachers earn more than 3000 shillings

and therefore the teachers in the centres under study could not benefit from the said amount in

terms of salary. According to the ECDE teachers it was found that the highest paid teacher in the

area earned 7500 shillings while the least paid ECDE teacher was earning 1000 shillings. In case

of the least paid teacher, it was because the ECDE centre had just been established and had very

few children from whom the ECDE teacher relied on to get the salary. This study found out that

the enrolment of the children directly affected the remuneration of the ECDE teachers. The

41

ECDE teachers were paid by fees paid by the children. The higher the enrolment of the children

the higher the salary the ECDE teacher was paid. Most teachers received a salary that was above

the guidelines of the district (not less than 4000) they therefore had no reason not provide quality

education to the children.

It was also found out that the district had guidelines on least amount to be paid to every ECDE

teacher. The guidelines indicated that the ECDE teachers in the district should be given a salary

of at least shillings 4000 in every month. It is also important to note that one of the ways CSG

should be used is to augment the teacher’s salary with at most 2000 shillings a month. This

means that the ECDE teacher is added the same amount of money she or he is earning but only

to those who earns up to 2000 shillings and below. The information above indicates that almost

all the ECDE teachers earn more than 3000 shillings and therefore the ECDE teachers in the

centres under study could not benefit from the said amount from CSG in terms of salary.

The study found that there were no differences between the centres that had received CSG and

those that had not in terms of remuneration of the teachers. The best paid salary was from a

centre that had not received CSG. It was also noted that only one centre had used CSG to

argument the teacher’s salary. One of the objectives of CSG is to provide equity among centres.

It seems this has been achieved in this district because the average paid salary in the centres with

CSG is 4700 shillings while those without CSG had the average of 5000 shillings. It is important

to note that CSG has tried to bring the two categories of ECDE centres to almost the same level

as far as remuneration of ECDE teachers is concerned.

4:3 Results of the Analysis

The analysis of data in this section was presented descriptively. The results have been presented

as per objective and each question of the research study. The results have been presented by use

of tables, graphs and percentages.

42

4:3:1 Enrollment Findings (2009 – 2010)

Enrollment findings of the ECDE centres are based on total number of children enrolled per

term. The data was collected from ECDE centres as explained by Figures 4.2, 4.3 and 4.4. The

data has been presented by use of graphs for both boys with girls. The enrolment of ECDE

children in the category of the centres that had not benefited from CSG has been presented in

two graphs. The reason being that the required data was not available for all the years under

study ie 2007, 2008. 2009 and 2010. All the ECDE centres that had not benefited from CSG had

available data for either two or three years. Most of the centres in this category had only been

established in year 2009 and therefore had enrolment data for two years. Figures 4.2 and 4.3

show the enrolment findings for all the ECDE centres that had not benefited from CSG in the

area understudy. The enrolment of ECDE centres with CSG has been presented in Figure 4.4 and

in Table 4.9 after the presentation of the ECDE centres category with CSG.

Figure 4.2 Enrolment Findings of ECDE centres without CSG

Source: survey 2010

ECDE centres without CSG recorded mixed results on an average enrollment per term basis with

boys registering a significant decline in enrollment while girl-child enrollment recorded an

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

boys Girls

2009

2010

num

ber

of

child

ren

43

increase over the two year period. It is important to find out what constituted to this state of

affairs. It was possible to have been caused by the sensitization on the importance of girl-child in

all over the country by all stakeholders.

Figure 4.3 Enrolment Findings of ECDE centres without CSG

Source: survey 2010

The above Figure 4.3 shows the enrolment of children in ECDE centres that had not benefited

from CSG. This figure shows the enrolment of four ECDE centres those that had been

established by year 2008. This was to establish their enrolment trends over the three years they

had been in existence. The results show mixed results because the boys recorded high enrolment

in year 2009 which later dropped although the enrolment continued being higher than that of

year 2008. Girls in these centres recorded low enrolment when they were compared with the

boys, over the three years. It is also indicated in the graph that the girls had an upward record in

enrolment within the last two years recording almost the same number of girls in the ECDE

centres in the area under study.

44

Figure 4.4 Enrolment Finding of ECDE centres with CSG

Source: survey 2010

The Figure 4.4 shows the enrolment of children in the ECDE centres that had benefited from

CSG. One of the objectives of this study was to find out whether there was any relationship

between CSG and enrolment of the children. The total enrolment of the children as shown in the

figure indicates that the enrolment of the boy-child remained high as compared with that of the

girl-child. There was increase in the enrolment in year 2009 but slight decrease of the enrolment

of the boys in year 2010. The total enrolment of the girl-child recorded a considerable increase

over the three year period. According to the Figure 4.4 the enrolment of girls showed an upwards

trend. As such the availability of CSG can be said to have positively impacted on girl-child

education over the three years up to 2010. It should be noted that CSG aimed at providing equity

in education for both boys and girls. It is possible that provision of CSG to ECDE centres

increased the chances of girls to go to ECDE centre that could have otherwise been left at home

with no education in favour of their brothers. It is also interesting to note that, the girl child’s

enrolment is low compared to that of the boys although the boys recorded a drop in enrolment in

year 2010.

45

Table 4.9 Enrolment with CSG

2008

2009 2010

ECDE centre B

G T B G T B G T

MAYUYU 15

16 31 20 14 34 23 28 51

KIBUBUTI 29

19 48 36 15 51 25 10 35

L.KIHARA 36

30 66 44 46 90 53 41 94

KIU RIVER 12

26 38 35 37 72 28 33 61

MUNGAI CHEGECHA

8

8 16 7 6 13 10 10 20

KINGÓTHUA 11

14 25 20 20 40 22 28 50

GICOCO 47

44 91 33 31 64 29 19 48

KONGO 20

16 36 10 15 25 28 25 53

TOTAL 178

173 351 205 184 389 218 194 412

Source: survey 2010

Provision of CSG aimed at increasing the enrolment of the children in the ECDE centres. This

study sort to find out the enrolment trends of the ECDE centres that had received CSG. The

result generated by the data collected is shown by the Table 4:9 above. The results provided

are only for 3 years since only three ECDE centres had comprehensive data for year 2007. No

data was found for years before 2007 neither in the ECDE centres nor in the DICECE office

Kiambu district.

The information in Table 4.9 shows that many ECDE centres recorded increase in enrolment

over the years that CSG was provided. The increase can be attributed to the increase of the

CSG traunches. Centres that had constant and high increase of enrolment over the years had

been found to have received all the traunches that had been dispatched over the years in the

46

district. An ECDE centre like Kihara recorded very high increase on the enrolment of the

children. It could be true to say that the centre had received more funds than those other centres

that had low enrolment. This was because CSG is set in such a way that it is provided by the

number of children in the centre. The increase of the children is also considered in the

provision of the funds. This means that the ECDE centres that had very low enrolment received

very little funds. That can explain the reason to why some of the head teachers of these centres

complained that the amount given was very little to carry out any significant project in the

centre.

Some centres like Gicoco recorded decline of enrolment over the years. When the question on

whether the CSG had improved enrolment in the centre was posed to both the head teacher and

the ECDE teacher of that centre they both said that it had caused the improvement of enrolment

in the centre and the funds were important in the development of the same. Kongo ECDE

centre also recorded very high decline of enrolment in year 2009. Enrolment of the same centre

in the year 2007 had been 50 children. This shows that over the two years the enrolment of the

children had been going down although the centre had received CSG since 2008. The drop in

enrolment however can be said not to have had any relationship with CSG and was caused by

other factors other than those related to CSG.

It is also important to note that in the year 2010 there was slight decrease of enrolment in some

of the centres. This could have been caused by the fact that CSG traunches for that year had not

been dispatched by the time of the study. This indicates that CSG has a lot of impact in the

development of ECDE in the district and therefore justifies the importance of the study. The

results indicate that the more and regular the funds were provided in the ECDE centre in form

of traunches the higher the enrolment of the children became.

4:3:2 Relationships between CSG and the enrolment of the children

This study sort to find out whether there was any relationship between CSG and the enrolment of

children in the ECDE centres. The findings are presented in the Table 4:10 below.

47

Table 4.10 Enrolment according to the head teachers and teachers

RESPONDENTS YES NO

DON’T KNOW

Head teachers (with CSG) Teachers (with CSG) Head teachers (without CSG) Teachers (without CSG)

7 6 4 6

1 2 1 2

- - 3 -

TOTAL 23(71.88%) 6(18.75%) 3(9.37%)

Source: survey 2010 Table 4.10 indicates that out of all the respondents who were asked about the relationship

between CSG and enrolment of the children, majority of them felt that CSG had a lot of

influence on the enrolment of the children. It also indicates that they to a large extent recognize

that the availability of CSG funding had led to an improvement in enrollment. It is important to

note that most of the head teachers and the ECDE teachers from the centres that had not

benefited from CSG also agreed to the sentiment that CSG improved enrolment in the ECDE

centres. This means that lack of availability of CSG affected enrollment of the children

negatively in the ECDE centres that had not benefited from the funds.

4:4 Effects of CSG on Gender parity

This study wanted to find out whether CSG had any effect on gender balance of children in the

ECDE centres. The Table 4.11 shows the findings from the respondents.

4.11 Effects of CSG on Gender balance of ECDE children

RESPONDENTS YES NO NOT SURE

48

Head teachers with CSG

Teachers with CSG

Head teachers without CSG

Teachers without CSG

7

6

5

7

-

2

2

1

1

-

1

-

TOTAL 25(78.12%) 5(15.63%) 2(6.25%)

Source: survey 2010

From the Table 4.11 majority of the respondents felt that CSG had positive effects on gender

parity of the ECDE children. This means that CSG had enabled many girls to enroll in the ECDE

centres than it could have been if the funds were unavailable. From the findings in the Table 4.11

only 15% of the respondents felt that CSG had no effect on the enrolment and gender balance of

the ECDE children. It is interesting to note that many head teachers and teachers in the ECDE

centres that had not benefited from the funds felt that CSG had a positive impact on the issue of

gender parity. This means that the ECDE centres that had not received CSG may be experiencing

problems with gender enrolment. This justified the study on impact of Community Support

Grants on development of the ECDE centres.

4:5 Materials bought using CSG

This study found out that the following materials were bought by use of CSG; Furniture in form

of chairs and tables, play materials and equipments included swings, balls, ropes and dolls. The

materials that were bought for resting of the children were mattresses while the learning/teaching

materials included charts, flash cards, crayons, plasticines, books and exercise books. This study

wished to investigate the relationship between the CSG and use of materials. Below are the

findings from the head teachers.

4.12 Were Materials Bought by Use of CSG

ANSWER RESPONDENTS PERCENTAGE

49

YES

NO

I don’t know

6

1

1

75%

12.5%

12.5%

TOTAL 8 100%

Source: survey 2010

The majority view of the head teachers in the ECDE that had received CSG is that, to a large

extent the materials used for teaching had been bought using CSG and that the materials were

necessary for holistic development of the children. This can be supported by the findings in

Table 4:12 most of the head teachers agreed that the materials were necessary for holistic

development. Seventy five per cent (75%) of them said that the materials bought had a lot of

relationship with the ECDE syllabus. This means that CSG had a lot of impact on the use of

resource materials that are used in the ECDE centres that had benefited from it. All the teachers

in the ECDE centres that had benefited from CSG responded that they used the resource

materials in all activity areas when teaching.

It was also found out that the majority view of teachers in ECDE centres that received CSG is

that, to a large extent the materials used for teaching have been bought using CSG funds and that

there has been involvement of ECDE teachers in the purchase of these materials hence the

materials purchased are relevant for ECDE use. Consequently, for those ECDE centres that have

had access to CSG in Kiambu District, the quality of ECDE can be said to have improved based

on the sentiments of the ECDE teachers in those areas.

4:6 CSG and the Retention of Children in the ECDE centres

50

This study intended to find out whether CSG had any effects on the retention of the children in

the ECDE centres in Kiambu district. Over the years there has been complains from both the

head teachers and the ECDE teachers over children being transferred from public ECDE centres

to private ECDE centres during the terms of the year. This study tried to find out whether this

state of affairs had been affected by the availability of CSG. The finding of this has been

recorded in the Table 4.13.

Table 4.13 Retention Rates with CSG according to respondents

RESPONDENTS YES NO NOT SURE

Head teachers with CSG

Teachers with CSG

Head teachers without CSG

Teachers without CSG

7

6

5

7

-

2

2

1

1

-

1

-

TOTAL 25 (78.12%) 5(15.63%) 2(6.25%)

Source: survey 2010

From the Table 4.13 it is evident to say that CSG had a positive impact on the retention of the

children. More than 78% of the respondents said that CSG had enable children to be retained in

the ECDE centre. Only 15% of them did not agree that CSG had retained children in the centres

while 6% said that they were not sure. Retention rate of the children data was got from

documentaries. The researcher had a form with the names of the ECDE centres and the years

from year 2007 to 2010, with three terms for each year. The Tables 4.15 and 4.16 show the

findings of the study about the retention rate of the ECDE centres with CSG and those without

CSG respectively.

Table 4.14 Retention rate of the ECDE centres with CSG from Documentaries

51

2009 2010

ECDE centre Boys Girls Total Boys Girls Total

MAYUYU -4 -2 -6 -3 5 3

KIBUBUTI 4 3 7 3 1 4

L.KIHARA 4 8 12 -6 1 -5

KIU RIVER -2 3 1 0 4 4

MUNGAI CHEGECHA -3 -1 -4 4 -2 2

KINGÓTHUA - - - -2 3 5

GICOCO - - - 0 0 0

KONGO 3 -2 1 -3 -4 -7

TOTAL 2 9 11 -3 7 6

Source: survey 2010

The retention rate of the children is recorded by the actual number of the children who were

available in the class register at the beginning of the year and those that were there at the end of

the year. Both figures are calculated through subtraction and if the number got is negative then

the children were lost. If the number is positive then it means that the enrolment increased in the

centre. If after subtraction nothing is left (0) then it means that the children who were there in

the first term were retained throughout the year. The data was collected for two years due to the

fact that those were the only years that had comprehensive data for the three terms. From Table

4.15 it is evident to say that the retention rate of the children in the ECDE centres that had

benefitted from CSG was good. In the year 2009 the ECDE centres in this category had not only

retained the number of the children enrolled in first term but also had added 11 children, 2 boys

and 9 girls. In the year 2010 the centres had added 6 children in total, 3 boys left the ECDE

centre and 7 more girls had been enrolled, this increased the total number of the enrolled girls

and consequently the total number of all children.

Table 4.15 Retention Rate of ECDE centres without CSG from Documentaries

52

2009 2010

ECDE centres Boys Girls Total Boys Girls Total

KIBATHI - - - -8 0 -8

GATATHA 5 3 8 3 -1 2

GACHARAGE 12 6 18 2 1 3

NDENDERU -5 5 0 -2 0 -2

MUTHURWA 3 2 5 0 0 0

CHIEF WANDIE 6 22 28 -2 -8 -10

KIAMBU -3 -11 -14 -2 -8 -10

KARUNGA 6 -11 -5 -1 1 0

TOTAL 14 16 30 -10 -15 -25

Source: survey 2010

Table 4.15 shows the findings of the retention of the children in the centres that are in the

category of those that have not benefited from CSG. The Table 4.15 indicates that this group had

many children that had been enrolled over the years. In the year 2009, fourteen (14) girls and 16

boys were enrolled making a total of 30 children. The retention had been retained over that year.

In the year 2010 there was a very high drop of the children from the ECDE centres. A total of 15

girls had left ECDE centres they had been enrolled in and 10 boys a total of 25 children leaving

the ECDE centres. This is a big number compared to the other category of the ECDE centres

under study. The retention rates among these centres seemed to register different results. Those

in Table 4.14 seem to be consistent with the highest number of loss of children from ECDE

centres in each case being 8 while those in Table 4.15 are not consistent. Some centres registered

very high drop out of children from the ECDE centre ranging between 10 and 15 drop outs. As

indicated by the respondents in Table 4.14 the steady enrolment rate of the centres with CSG

could have been caused by the availability of the CSG. It is also important to note that data

shows that the girls were more than boys in the centres that received CSG. This justified the

study that it was important to find out the effects of the CSG on the retention of the children in

the ECDE centres.

53

4:7 Other Findings of the Study

The study sort to find out feelings of the respondents on various issues concerned with the

Community Support Grants. The study found the following from the respondents on the CSG.

4:7:1 Challenges Experienced in the Implementation of Community Support

Grants

According to the Head teachers the greatest challenge of the implementation of CSG was on the

allocation of the funds. To most of them the allocated funds were very little to complete any

required project. It was therefore difficult to meet the needs of the ECDE centre or have any

impact in access, quality or equity. According to the head teachers the introduction of CSG to

ECDE centres had caused a problem in the running of the centre. Most parents thought that CSG

meant that there were free ECDE services in the centre. They therefore stopped supporting the

centres in any way. This created a great problem in the management of the centres especially

when bearing the fact that parents are expected to pay the teachers’ salaries in each particular

centre. There was a lot of expectation from the parents as far as the funds are concerned yet the

funds given were very little. This made the community and the parents to become reluctant in

supporting the ECDE centres. There was therefore very little co-operation of the parents on

development of the ECDE centre to an extent of which some of parents completely withdrew all

the remittance of funds to the centres.

The ECDE teachers also cited lack of commitment from the parents. Most of them failed to

attend parents meetings when asked to. According to rules and the regulations of CSG before

the use of any funds in a centre, there have to be a plan on how the fund should be used. Lack of

availability of parents caused delay on planning and hence on implementation. There was also

the problem of inconsistency of committee members. In the management of the ECDE centres

54

Committee Members are elected every year. This means that the committee members who plan

and budget on how the funds should be used and the projects to be carried are not the ones who

carry out the implementation of the said funds. A different group comes in to carry out the

project while a third group may be seen to complete the same project. This becomes a big

challenge to the head teachers. Traunches take a long time before being remitted to the ECDE

centres. They are not regular, for example the ECDE centres in the first phase have received four

traunches since year 2007 while the centres in the second phase have received only one traunche

since year 2009. This has created a lot of challenges to the head teachers in the implementation.

According to the ECDE teachers the challenge was on the parents because many of them failed

to attend meetings whenever they were required to do so. The process to be followed in the

implementation was also a challenge. This involved training of the stakeholders, planning of the

projects to be carried out and the approval of the plan by the parents, and election of the

committee members. Corruption and misuse of funds was also a challenge cited by the ECDE

teachers. Out of the 8 ECDE teachers from the centres that had received CSG, 7 of them cited

this as a problem that hindered proper implementation of CSG. They also indicated lack of active

participation of the committee members and poor management of the funds. Funds diversion to

primary school was a challenge not only cited by the ECDE teachers but also by DICECE

Programme Officer Kiambu.

The DICECE Programme Officer also indicated transfers of head teachers from one school to

another as a major challenge to the implementation of CSG. This created a breakdown of

implementation of the funds. According to DICECE Programme Officer, it had been found out

during monitoring of the funds that, many head teachers were unwilling to complete a project

that had been earlier started by another head teacher because of competition. Most of the head

teachers wanted to start their own projects which had no relationship with the previous head

teacher. This created a big problem in the implementation of CSG.

4:7:2 What the Government should do to improve the ECDE Centre

55

This study sort to establish what the respondents thought the government ought to do in order to

improve the access, equity and quality of ECDE. The study found out the following to be the

priority area that most of the respondents thought that the government should address. All the

respondents cited the employment of the ECDE teachers by the government. They felt that if the

ECDE teachers were employed by the government many children would access ECDE services.

Most of the respondent felt that many children failed to enroll in ECDE centres because of lack

of school fees. There would be availability of teaching and learning materials thus improvement

of quality ECDE service since the money used to pay the teachers would otherwise be used to

provide the materials required. Feeding program was also found to be popular among the

respondents. According to the respondents the government should provide refresher courses in

terms of workshops and seminar for all ECDE teachers. Most of the teachers felt that there was

need to take strict measures to enhance transparency on the use of funds through regular

monitoring of the same. They also felt that the government should construct classrooms for all

public ECDE centres.

4:7:3 What the Administrators should do to improve ECDE

The study wanted to find out what the administrators of ECDE centres ought to do in order to

improve on access and quality of ECDE services. This question was directed to the ECDE

teachers. It was found out that most of the teachers felt that the administrators should provide all

the materials required for teaching and learning. Most of the teachers indicated sensitization of

parents on importance of ECDE as a major determinant of access to ECDE services. The

administrators should advocate for the provision of a better salary for the teachers, maintain the

classrooms by repairing and renovating them, provide adequate furniture, create a condusive

learning environment for the children and monitor the provision of the services in the centre. The

administrators should be committed to the success of the entire ECDE centre.

4:7:4 What the ECDE Teachers should do to improve ECDE in the Centres.

56

The study wished to find out what the ECDE teachers felt was important and were to give the

first priority if they were accorded the chance to administer any funds provided by the

government to improve the quality and access of ECDE centres. Majority of the ECDE teachers

indicated the provision of adequate furniture for the children. Construction and renovation of the

classrooms came equally important. Provision of play ground, play equipments and materials

were also mentioned by many teachers. All the ECDE teachers indicated feeding programmes

and provision of free services to the needy children as a priority area that they would be

concerned with. Learning and teaching materials were found necessary by more than half of the

ECDE teachers under study.

CHAPTER 5

57

5:0 SUMMARY OF THE FUNDINGS, RECOMMENDATIONS AND

CONCLUSION

This chapter attempts to summarize the key findings of this study. It also gives the conclusion of

the study and makes appropriate recommendations in regards to the problem under investigation.

The chapter has the suggestions for further studies.

5:1 Summary of the Study

The purpose of this study was to establish the impact of Community Support Grants on the

development of ECDE in Kiambu district. The demography of the study included gender

representation of both the head teachers and the ECDE teachers. The study found that most of

the administration of the public ECDE centres was by male head teachers while the actual

teaching was done by females. In both cases there was a lot of gender inbalance for the head

teachers in favour of males while on the teachers was in favour of the females. Length of stay in

the current ECDE centre was studied. It was found that most of the head teachers were in their

current centres for less than two years. Majority of the ECDE teachers had been in the current

ECDE centre for more than 5 years. The study also wanted to find out the academic and

professional qualification of the ECDE teachers. The study found out that all the ECDE teachers

had form four certificates either in O’Level or KCSE. All the ECDE teachers under study had

been trained in ECD diploma and certificate courses. Most of the ECDE teachers had other

trainings which included Sunday school training, Bible Training, Computer and Catering

Courses.

The results were analyzed depending on the objectives of the study. From the information

collected it was evident that Community Support Grants had a lot of impact in the development

of ECDE in Kiambu District. This justified the study aimed at evaluating the impact of CSG in

58

the development of ECDE in the area under study. The study under scored the benefit of CSG on

access, equity and quality of ECDE in Kiambu District. The study wanted to find out the

relationship between CSG and the enrolment of the children in ECDE centres in Kiambu

District. It was found out that more children had been enrolled in the centres that had benefited

from CSG. The trend of upward enrolment of the children was evident on the girl child. It was

evident to say that CSG had enabled more girls to be enrolled in the ECDE centres, as shown by

results of two years, 2009 and 2010. The study found out that the enrolment of the boys had

increased with a slight decline during this year, 2010.

It was evident that the enrolment of boys remained higher than that of the girls over all the four

years of the study. Improvement of the enrolment of girls had improved greatly as shown by the

results. This clearly shows that the availability of Community Support Grants contributed greatly

to the increase of enrolment of children in the ECDE centres. Lack of it contributed negatively to

the enrolment of the children because the result indicted slight decrease in enrolment of year

2010. This could have been caused by the fact that CSG had not been dispatched in year 2010 by

the time the study was conducted.

The study found out that the use of the materials in the ECDE centres that had benefited from

CSG had increased. Most of the materials used in those centres had been bought by use of CSG.

It was also found out that the ECDE teachers in these centres had been involved in the purchase

of the said materials. This had improved the quality of education and the services of those

ECDE centres. Community Support Grants was meant to benefit the areas that are pockets of

poverty. As such, the study wanted to find out the effect of the funds on gender balance of the

children in the area under study. It was found that CSG had benefited mostly the girls. The study

found out that in the years 2009 and 2010 the enrolment of boys in the category of ECDE centres

that had benefited from CSG, was almost the same; this showed consistency in enrolment while

that of the girls recorded an increase. The study found out that the enrolment of boys was higher

than that of the girls. The gap of the enrolment between the boys and the girls was being

59

narrowed by the increased enrolment in girls. This means that the grants had enabled more girls

to enroll in the ECDE centres in the area under study.

The retention of the children in the category of ECDE centres that had benefited from CSG was

found to be high. This shows that many children completed the one year stay or the three years

stay in the ECDE centre depending on the level in which the child was enrolled in the centre.

This has a positive impact in the holist development of the children. It therefore means that the

children are able to complete the required syllabus at whatever level they might have been. The

results however indicated that there was a decrease in the retention of the children in the ECDE

centres. This could have been caused by lack of funds. Some of the children could have dropped

out of ECDE centre due to financial constrains having been caused by lack of availability of

CSG in that year.

The study found out that the implementation of CSG had been greatly affected by the allocation

of the funds. The amount allocated to the ECDE centre was said to be too little to complete any

significant project. There was also the problem of laxity on the side of the parents. Most of them

failed to provide any funds on the excuse of availability of CSG from the government. Many of

the parents did not take matters of ECDE very seriously and most failed to attend ECDE

meetings when called upon to discuss issues pertaining to the ECDE centre. The traunches were

also a problem because they took a long time before they were dispatched. This caused a great

problem in the completion of various projects. Corruption was cited on the use of funds. Some

of the funds were said to have been diverted to primary school’s projects. The ECDE committee

members were said to be rather inactive in most of the ECDE centres. Lack of consistency in the

running of the centres was cited as a problem in the implementation of CSG. This was caused by

frequent transfers of the head teachers creating a big problem in the completion of the projects

already started.

60

The study found out that it was important for the government to employ the ECDE teachers in

order to improve access, equity and quality of the ECDE services in the area under study. It was

also found that the government should provide classrooms, learning/teaching materials and

feeding programmes in all public ECDE centres. It was necessary for the government to provide

workshops and seminars for the ECDE teachers in the area under study to improve on the quality

of the services offered. The study found that administrators needed to sensitize the parents on the

importance of the ECDE. They should also provide favorable learning environment for the

children and be committed to the success of the ECDE in the centre. The study found out that if

the ECDE teachers were given a chance to run the CSG, they would provide furniture for the

children as the first priority then learning and play equipments and then construct and renovate

the classrooms.

The method of data collection and analysis based on the research objectives can be viewed as

successfully guided the study. The survey research design was found to be effective in gathering

the data used in the analysis of this study. The qualitative and quantitative approaches by use of

descriptive analysis helped to fill the gap in the research problem.

5:2 Recommendations

1. More funds should be availed to all the public ECDE centres in the district under study.

This would enable more and long term projects to be initiated in the ECDE centres. In

the long run this would empower the ECDE centres in the district and thus provide

access, equity and quality ECDE for the children in the area.

2. All the ECDE centres should be provided with the funds regardless of the location of the

centre without any categorization of poverty index. This would enable all the children in

the area under study to benefit from ECDE services and therefore promote equality

among the children in the district. The government should therefore provide free or

61

affordable ECDE services and hence make it compulsory for all children aged above 4

years.

3. The Education Office in Kiambu district should ensure that transfers of the head teachers

are minimized especially for those head teachers who are administering CSG up to a

time the projects started are completed. This would enhance effectiveness of

administration of CSG in the centre. The Education office should enhance monitoring

and evaluation exercise of the funds. Proper handing over in the ECDE Centres should

be done by the head teacher in cases of a transfer. This would create seriousness among

the head teachers on the management of the funds and eliminate cases of corruption.

4. The head teachers should make sure that all the funds intended to benefit any particular

centre in the district are properly utilized. They should ensure that the funds only benefit

the ECDE centres meant to benefit and that the right projects are carried out. They

should ensure that no funds are diverted to the primary school section. The head teachers

should liaise with the ECDE teachers in order to provide the correct materials required

for both learning and playing.

5. Education programmes should be organized by the DICECE office in the district to

sensitize the ECDE parents on their role in the development of this sub sector. The

parents need to be made aware of the importance of supporting ECDE centres. They

should be encouraged to provide the required materials for the ECDE centre.

6. The government should make a policy that regards the composition of the ECDE

management committee members. The duration of the members should be changed to

be at least for 2 or 3 years. This would enable the members to have enough time to

complete any given project. This would minimize chances of having committee

62

members who have not been trained on the management of CSG in order to manage the

same properly.

7. The District Education Office and the DICECE office of the district should enhance

measures to ensure that all the funds intended to benefit ECDE centres in the district is

properly managed and utilized. The offices must ensure that there is accountability of all

funds and that all the guidelines pertained in the utilization of CSG are followed without

failure.

8. All the management committee members and the stake holders of the public ECDE

centres should be enlightened of the importance of ECDE to all the children. Workshops

and seminars should be held to educate them on their role in the development of the

ECDE centres. Only those members who have the interest of the children at heart should

be elected as members of ECDE committee.

9. The District Education Office together with DICECE office Kiambu should make sure

that all the data regarding the functioning of every ECDE centre is kept and updated. The

two offices should ensure that proper data bank on enrolment of the ECDE centres is

established and updated. The two offices should ensure that the data is available when

required.

5:3 Suggestions for Further Study

1. Further research should be carried to establish the relationship between Community

Support Grants and the holistic development of children in the ECDE centres.

63

2. Research should be carried on the management and the administration of CSG in ECDE

centres of Kiambu district.

3. Further research should be carried to establish the relationship between CSG and the

remuneration of the ECDE teachers in the district.

4. Research should be carried to establish the actual impact of CSG on the quality of ECDE

services offered in Kiambu district.

5. More study should be carried to establish the actual relationship between the availability

of development funds and the enrolment of the children in the ECDE centres.

6. A study should be carried to find out the effects of parents’ ignorance on ECDE matters

and the holistic development of the children in the ECDE centres.

5:4 Conclusions

From the finding of this study it has been concluded that, Community Support Grants have some

impact on access, equity and quality in public ECDE centres in Kiambu District. It is evident that

CSG has improved the access of ECDE for both boys and girls. Many girls have had an

opportunity to access ECDE services a fact that has been indicated by the analysis. It has been

concluded that there was an overall increase in total enrolment of both boys and girls. However

there was a slight decline in the enrolment of the boys in the year 2010 which could possibly had

not been caused by lack of CSG but other factors may have. Quality of ECDE services have

positively been affected by the provision of CSG. Many learning and teaching materials have

been acquired through the use of the funds. Play equipments and materials have also been bought

64

using the funds. It has been found that the ECDE teachers have been consulted before the

purchase of the said materials and the equipments.

Implementation of CSG has been a challenge to many ECDE centres under study. The

challenges being; diversion of the funds to the primary school section, issues of corruption,

transfer of head teachers, composition of new ECDE management committee every year and

laxity among the ECDE parents in provision of funds in the running of the centre. It has been

concluded that the management of the ECDE centres on CSG, have affected the enrolment of the

children in the ECDE centres.

It was concluded that the amount of money provided inform of CSG was quite little to complete

any meaningful project. The government should employ ECDE teachers to help lessen the

burden the ECDE from parents. The government should also help in construction of classrooms

and in the provision of the materials required in ECDE centres. Regular monitoring of CSG

should be carried out. Parents ought to be sensitized on their role in the ECDE centres for the

success of the same.

65

6:0 REFERENCES

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Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2001). Trends in the affordability of child care

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Balachander, J. (2000). World Bank support for Early Childhood Development: Case studies

Kenya India and the Philippines. Pasig City, Philippines.

Barr, N. (2005).Finance and Development, A quarterly magazine of the IMF. London.

Erickson, J. (1996). The life Cycle competed: A Review of 1982.Amazon; Harvard.

KIE, (1992). Early childhood care and education in Kenya. Nairobi, Kenya.

Kenyatta U. (2009). Government concerns in the Kenya education sector support programme

(KESSP) and the Western Kenya Community Driven Development (WKCDD) project,

Press Statement of 23rd Sep 2009.

Kipkorir L.L. and Njenga A.W. (1993), “A case study of early childhood care and education in

Kenya”, a paper prepared for the EFA Forum 1993. Nairobi, Kenya

Kombo D.K. and Tromp D.L. (2006), Proposal and thesis writing, an introduction. Paulines

publication. Nairobi, Kenya.

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Manani H.K. (2007) “Accelerated learning: new opportunities for children at risk seminar” a

paper presented at Hilton Hotel Addidas Ababa, Ethiopia.

Mbwesa, K J (2006). Introduction to management research, a student hand book. Jomo

Kenyatta Foundation, Nairobi, Kenya.

Ministry of Education, (2003). Statistics. Kenya, Nairobi.

Monford R, et (2007). In The Social Policy Journal of New Zealand. New Zealand.

Mugenda, M. and Mugenda, G. (1999). Research Methods. Quantitative and Qualitative

Approaches. Nairobi, Kenya.

Myers, R.G. (1992). Towards an analysis of the costs and effectiveness of community-based

early childhood education in Kenya. The Kilifi District Report prepared for the Aga Khan.

New Delhi, India.

Orodho, A.J and Kombo, D.K. (2002). Research Methods. Nairobi: Kenyatta University

Institute of Open Learning.

Orodho, (2003). Essentials of educational and Social Sciences Research Methods. Nairobi.

Republic of Kenya (2005 July) Kenya Education Sector Support Programme 2005- 2011,

Delivering Quality Education and Training to all Kenyans. Nairobi, Office of the President

and Ministry of Home Affairs. Nairobi, Kenya.

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Republic of Kenya, (2005). Background Report for the UNESCO/OECD Early Childhood Policy

Review Project, Nairobi, Kenya.

Republic of Kenya, (2005.) Kenya Education sector support programme 2005-2010 Delivering

Quality Education and Training to all Kenyans. Government Press, Nairobi.

Republic of Kenya, (2005). Strategic Plan 2000-2011. Government Press, Nairobi. Kenya.

Republic of Kenya, (2007). ECD centre Community Support Grant Management Handbook,

Government Printer. Nairobi, Kenya.

Republic of Kenya, (2007). National Early Childhood Development Policy Frame Work.

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Republic of Kenya, (July 2007). Gender Policy in Education, Government Printer. Nairobi,

Kenya.

Republic of Kenya, (June 2006). Early Childhood Development Service Standard Guidelines for

Kenya. Government Printer, Nairobi, Kenya.

Republic of Kenya, (May 2003). Free primary education every child in school Government

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UNESCO, (2003). Early Childhood Care and education in E-9 Countries: Status and outlook,

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UNESCO, (2005). The section for Early Childhood and Inclusive Education Division of Basic

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Wachira, C. (2009). Personal Communication, DICECE Officers Introductory meeting in the

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Wanjohi, S. (2009). Personal Communication, DICECE Officers staff meeting. Kiambu, Kenya

69

7:0 APPENDICES

7:1 Appendix I

Head teachers’ Questionnaire

1) Name of ECDE centre……………………………………………………..

2) Number of teachers. Male………………Female…………………..

3) Head teacher in Gender. Male……………….Female…………………..

4) How much are the ECDE teachers paid per month? If more than one state the highest and the lowest amount.

5) For how long have you been in this school?

5years& above 4years 3years 2years 1years& below

6) How many traunches have your preschool received?

1 2 3 4

7) How much money has your school received in total?

8) According to you this money is?

A lot enough little very little I don’t know

9) Which are the learning/teaching materials that have been bought using CSG?

70

Please use the following scale to indicate your answer to the following questions

Just circle the answer that is most appropriate to you.

1: YES 2: NO 3: am not sure 4: I don’t know

10 Has CSG improved enrolment in your ECDE centre? 1 2 3 4

11 Were there Learning/teaching materials bought using CSG? 1 2 3 4

12 According to you were the materials bought necessary? 1 2 3 4

13 Are those materials necessary in relationship with the number of children in your ECDE centre?

1 2 3 4

14 Do the materials bought have any relationship with the syllabus? 1 2 3 4

15 Do the materials bought promote the holistic development of the children in your ECED centre?

1 2 3 4

16 Do the ECDE teachers in your school use the materials in all activity areas?

1 2 3 4

17 Have both boys and girls benefited equally from CSG? 1 2 3 4

18 Are the materials bought gender friendly for both boys and girls? 1 2 3 4

19 Has the provision of CSG helped in attendance of children in your ECDE centre?

1 2 3 4

20 Is the absenteeism of the children in your ECDE centre high? 1 2 3 4

21) How has CSG improved the quality of the learning environment in your school?

22) How has CSG improved access to education at your centre?

23) What are the challenges that you experience in implementation of CSG?

71

7:2 Appendix 2

Teachers’ Questionnaire

1) Name of the ECDE centre…………………………………………………………….

2) What is your gender?

Male Female

3) What is your academic qualification?

KCPE KCSE/O-LEVEL A-LEVEL DEGREE

4) Are you trained in Early Childhood Education (ECE)?

Yes No

5) If you are trained, state the level of your training.

Certificate (ECE) Diploma (ECE) Degree (ECE)

If you have other training specify…………………………………………………..

6) How long have you been in this ECDE centre?

5years & above 4years 3years 2years 1year&below

7) How many children are in the whole ECDE centre?

Boys Girls Total

72

Please use the below scale to answer the questions that follows.

Just circle the answer that is most appropriate to you.

1: YES 2: NO 3: I am not sure 4: I don’t know

8 Do you Know what Community Support Grants are? 1 2 3 4

9 Are you aware that your ECDE centre has benefited from the said grants (CSG)

1 2 3 4

10 Do you know the amount of money your ECDE centre has received so far?

1 2 3 4

11 Is there any ECDE teacher in your centre who has been trained on management of CSG by the DICECE office?

1 2 3 4

12 Are you a member of CSG management committee of your centre?

1 2 3 4

13 Do you know all the members of the above committee? 1 2 3 4

14 Has the provision of CSG improved the enrolment of children in your centre?

1 2 3 4

15 Can you attribute the higher enrolment of children in your centre to the availability of CSG?

1 2 3 4

16 Could it be true to say that the higher the availability of CSG the higher the enrolment?

1 2 3 4

17 Do you use resource materials when teaching children in all activity areas?

1 2 3 4

18 Are the materials that you use enough to cater for all children in the centre?

1 2 3 4

19 Are there materials that you use in teaching, bought using CSG?

1 2 3 4

20 Considering only the materials bought using CSG: can you say they are child friendly or appropriate for children use?

1 2 3 4

73

21 Did the ECDE teachers, play any role in purchase of the said materials?

1 2 3 4

22 Did the CSG committee hold a meeting to decide the kind of materials to be bought?

1 2 3 4

23 Can you attribute the higher enrolment of the children in your centre to the use of the materials bought using CSG?

1 2 3 4

24 According to you can you say that there is gender balance in your centre?

1 2 3 4

25 Can you attribute this gender balance to the availability of CSG?

1 2 3 4

26 Do both boys and girls have equal chance of accessing ECDE in your centre?

1 2 3 4

27 Are the materials used in your centre gender friendly? 1 2 3 4

28 Do children in your centre attend school regularly? 1 2 3 4

29 Do you have a problem with absenteeism of the children in your centre?

1 2 3 4

30 Can you say that attendance of children in your centre has been affected positively by availability of CSG?

1 2 3 4

31 In your own opinion has CSG in your centre been properly managed?

1 2 3 4

32 Do know the goals of CSG? 1 2 3 4

33 Can you say that the goals have been achieved in your ECDE centre?

1 2 3 4

34) What can you say are the problems experienced in implementation of CSG?

35) In your own opinion, what should the government do to improve on quality and access of

Education, in your ECDE centre?

74

7:3 Appendix 3

Check list

ITEMS ACQUIRED THROUGH CSG NUMBER OF ITEMS

Construction

a) New classrooms b) New toilets/latrines

Repair of the existing classrooms

a) Walls b) Floor c) window d) roofs

e) doors

Teaching/learning materials

a)play materials

(i)swings

(ii)slides

(iii)seesaw

(iv)balls

(v) skipping ropes

(vi)toys

b)Rest material

(i)Mattresses

(ii)Mats

c)learning aids

(i)New syllabus

(ii)Handbook

(iii)blocks

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7:4 Appendix 4

Programme Officer’s Questionnaire

1) How long have you been in this district?

5years & above 4years 3years 2years 1year &below

2) What are the criteria used to select the ECDE centre to receive CSG?

3) In your opinion do you think that CSG grants have any impact to ECDE centres?

4) Are there any challenges experienced in the administration of CSG in Kiambu district?

Yes No

5) If the answer to the above question is yes, please indicate the challenges in the space below.

6) In your own opinion do you think the government have achieved it objectives of access,

equity and quality of ECDE education in Kiambu district?

Yes No

7) How would you rate the achievement of the objectives mentioned above?

Very high high low very low

8) How much is each child give in terms of money?

9) How much were the ECDE teachers been paid before provision of CSG? (State the

lowest amount that was paid to teacher in this district).

10) In your opinion, what should the government do to improve on quality and access to all

ECDE centres in Kiambu District.

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7:5 Appendix 5

Head teachers’ questionnaire (ECDE centres without CSG)

1) Name of the ECDE centre…………………………………………………………….

2) Number of the teachers. Male…………….Female……………………………..

3) Head teacher in gender. Male…………….Female……………………………..

4) How much are the ECDE teachers paid a month? If more than one state the highest and the lowest amount paid.

5) How long have you been this school?

5years & above 4years 3years 2years 1year & below

6) Who provides the money used to run your ECDE centre?

7) Are the funds (question 6) enough to run the centre? Yes No

8) Are there other sources available to fund your ECDE centre that you know? Yes No

9) If the above question is yes, please state the sources.

77

Please use the following scale to indicate your answer to the following questions.

Just circle the answer that is most appropriate to you.

1. YES 2. NO 3. Am not sure 4. I don’t know

10 Do you know what Community Support Grants are? 1 2 3 4

11 Can you attribute the low enrolment of children in your ECDE centre to the unavailability of running funds?

12 Are there learning/teaching materials in your ECDE centre?

13 According to you are the materials bought necessary?

14 Are those materials enough for use, in relationship with the number of children in your centre?

15 Do the materials used have any relationship with the syllabus?

16 Do those materials promote holistic development of the children in your ECDE centre?

17 Do the teachers in your centre use the materials in all activity areas?

18 Have both boys and girls benefited equally from the materials?

19 Are the materials being used gender friendly for both boys and girls?

20 Has lack of funds affected the attendance of children in your centre?

21 Is the absentee of the children in your centre high?

22 Has unavailability of funds affected both boys and girls equally in your centre?

23) Do you know any ECDE centre that has benefited from Community support Grants? Yes No

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24) In your own opinion, have the centre in the above question used the funds Adequately, to help increase the enrolment of the children there?

Yes No

25) According to you, what would be your priority areas if your ECDE centre benefited

Community Support Grants today?

25) In your own opinion, what do you think is the criteria of selecting ECDE centres

to benefit from CSG?

27) Who should be blamed from poor attendance of the children from ECDE centres?

28) What should the government do to improve the ECDE in your centre?

79

7:6 Appendix 6

Teachers’ Questionnaire (ECDE centres without CSG)

1) Name of the ECDE centre…………………………………………………………..

2) What is your gender? Male Female

3) What is your academic qualification? KCPE KCSE/O-LEVEL A-LEVEL DEGREE

4) Are you trained in Early Childhood Education (ECE)? Yes No

5) If you are trained, state the level of your training. Certificate (ECE) Diploma (ECE) Degree (ECE)

If you have other training specify…………………………………………………….

6) How long have you been in this ECDE centre? 5years & above 4years 3years 2years 1year & below

80

7) How many children are in the whole of your ECDE centre? Boys Girls Total

Please use the below scale to answer the questions that follows.

Just circle the answer that is most appropriate to you.

1. YES 2.NO 3. I am not sure 4.I don’t know

Do you know what Community Support Grants are? 1 2 3 4

9 Are you aware that some ECDE centres have received those grants? 1 2 3 4

10 Do you know any ECDE centre that has benefited from these grants? 1 2 3 4

11 Is there an ECDE school management committee in your centre? 1 2 3 4

12 D o you know all the members of the above committee? 1 2 3 4

13 Has the enrolment of your ECDE centre been affected by lack of funds to run the centre negatively?

1 2 3 4

14 Can you attribute the low enrolment of the children in your centre to the unavailability of money?

1 2 3 4

15 Could it be true to say that if your EDCE centre had been given funds by the government the enrolment of the children would be higher than it is today?

1 2 3 4

16 Do you use resource materials when teaching in all activity areas? 1 2 3 4

17 Are the materials that you use enough to cater for all children in the centre?

1 2 3 4

18 Considering only the materials that you use in the centre, can you say they are child friendly or appropriate for child use?

1 2 3 4

19 Do the ECDE teachers in your centre play any role in purchase of the 1 2 3 4

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materials that you use to teach?

20 Does the management committee of your centre play any role in purchase of the teaching/learning materials?

1 2 3 4

21 Can you attribute the higher enrolment of children in your centre to the use of teaching/learning materials?

1 2 3 4

22 According to you is there gender balance in your centre? 1 2 3 4

23 Do both boys and girls have equal chances of accessing ECDE services in your centre?

1 2 3 4

24 Are the materials used in your centre gender friendly? 1 2 3 4

25 Do children in you centre attend school regularly? 1 2 3 4

26 Do you have a problem with absenteeism of the children in your centre? 1 2 3 4

27 Can you say that the lack of enough money has affected the quality of ECDE in your centre?

1 2 3 4

28) What would be your priorities if you ECDE centre was given funds by the government?

29) What should the administration in your centre do to improve the enrolment and quality of

ECDE, in your centre?

30) In your own opinion, what should the government do to improve on quality and access

education, in your ECDE centre?

(List at list 2 things)

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7:7 Appendix 7

Check list of the ECDE centres without CSG

AVAILABLE ITEMS NUMBER OF ITEMS

Construction

a) Permanent classrooms

b) Permanent latrines/toilets

Repair of the existing classrooms

a) Walls b) Floors c) Widows d) Doors

Teaching/learning materials

a) Play material (i) Swings (ii) Slides (iii) Seesaw (iv) Balls (v) Skipping ropes (vi) Toys

b) Rest materials (i) Mattresses (ii) Mats

c) Learning materials/Aids (i) New syllabus (ii) Handbook (iii) Counters

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7:8 Appendix 8

Enrolment list from Documentaries

YEAR 20 07 20 08 20 09 20 10

ECDE centres TERM/SEX B G T B G T B G T B G T

MAYUYU 1

2

3

KIBUBUTI 1

2

3

L.KIHARA 1

2

3

KIU RIVER 1

2

3

Phase 2

MUNGAI M. 1

2

3

KING’OTHUA 1

2

3

84

GICOCO 1

2

3

KONGO 1

2

3

ECDE without CSG

KIBATHI 1

2

3

GATATHA 1

2

3

GACHARAGE 1

2

3

NDENDERU 1

2

3

MUTHURWA 1

2

3

CHIEF WANDIE

1

85

2

3

KIAMBU 1

2

3

KARUNGA 1

2

3

KEY

B-boys

G-girls

T-Total number of children

86

7:9 Appendix 9

Time Frame

Seven months (December 2009 to July 2010)

MONTHS WEEK ACTIVITIES

December (2009) 1-4 Identification of research question.

Gathering of study materials

January (2010) 1-4 Correction of the study

February/March (2010) 1-4 Preparation for defense for the proposal

Written Proposal defense

April (2010) 3 Proposal defense

May (2010) 1-4 Data collection

June (2010) 1-4 Analyzing of data

July (2010) 1-4 Project correction

Project presentation

Financial Budget

Item/ Activity Amount ( in Kenya shilling)

Materials for reading and writing

5000.00

Transport to collect the materials

10 000.00

Typing, printing and binding

10 000.00

TOTAL 25 000.00