Role of Primary School Head Teachers in Enhancing Quality Pre-school Education in Rongo Sub-County, Kenya

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the roles of primary school head teachers in enhancing quality pre-school education in Rongo Sub-County of Migori County. The objective of this study was to determine the role of head teachers in provision of instructional resources in pre-schools. The study was guided by Scientific Management theory by Fredrick Taylor and employed a Concurrent Triangulation design within the mixed methods approach. Target population was 204 ECDE teachers, 68 head teachers, 1 CCSO and 1 ECD Coordinator. The sampling techniques used were cluster sampling, simple random sampling and saturated sampling. Cluster sampling was used in organizing schools into five zones in the sub-county. Simple random sampling was used to select 7 schools for the study from each zone in the zones with the highest number of schools as 6 schools was selected from the zone with the least schools. Purposive sampling was used in selection of Head teachers and pre-school teachers. Saturated sampling was used in selecting sub-county ECD coordinator and Chief Curriculum Support Officer. The data collection instruments employed were; questionnaires, interview schedule and document analysis. In determining the validity of the instrument, the researcher presented the questionnaires to the supervisors for critique. For reliability, the researcher used Cronbach's alpha and a reliability coefficient of 0.7256 was reported. Trustworthiness of qualitative instruments was enhanced through triangulation of data and member checks. Quantitative data was analyzed by use of descriptive statistics while qualitative data was analyzed using the thematic framework with the aid of the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 22. The study found that the head teacher played a role in provision of instructional materials but it was not satisfactory as the material provided were inadequate. The study recommended that the county government should allocate funds in pre-schools schools to cater for instructional materials.