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
v
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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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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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
75
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.
76
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
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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
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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
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