Influence of Instructional Resources on Learning Science Activity among Pre-School Children in Langata Division, Nairobi County, Kenya

Abstract

The preschool stage is a significant stage in a child's development. It provides a child with fundamental knowledge that paves way for realization of a future education and career pathway in life. For this objective to be achieved there's reason for preschools to provide adequate instructional resources to the teachers to improve their work and thus improve the learning outcomes of the pupils.  Instructional resources therefore are very key in learning science activities; science mainly deals with nature exploration, experimentation and use of senses to learn about the World. The success of any science program largely depends upon the quantity and quality of the materials that can be utilized. Proper use of appropriate resources and learning strategies enhance acquisition of the subject matter. A preschool teacher has to synchronize the methodologies of teaching with the teaching resources at hand to ensure learning is holistic, integrated, simulative and enjoyable. The research project sought to examine the influence of instructional resources in learning science among preschoolers. A key limitation of the study was that, some private schools were suspicious of the intention for the study and therefore did not co-operate fully in data collection therefore the study engaged only two schools. The population of the research comprised of participants of 3-6 years age bracket. The research design of the study was correlation and ex-post facto research design. The research tools used include observation, structured questionnaires and interview schedule. Data analysis valued all information qualitatively, whereby all information collected was considered as an integral research process. The key finding in this study was parents' contribution and involvement in the provision of instruction materials has not been dealt with fully due to lack of knowledge to many parents on how science should be taught and the poverty life has also affected the availability of materials in the school. Therefore there's need to sensitize and mobilize the parents on importance of instructional materials for better learning on science activities.