Abstract:
This study was done to investigate the stakeholders’ perspective of early childhood
education (ECE) in the Afigya Kwabre District. A quantitative research approach
methodology and simple random sampling was used for the survey. Two hundred and
eighteen (218) respondents consisting of 100 parents of ECE pupils and 118 teachers
took part in the survey. The questionnaire for the quantitative survey, involving teachers
and parents showed an overall Cronchbach’s Alpha of 0.82, which means the data
collection instruments had high degree of internal consistency and reliability. The study
revealed several challenges facing ECE in Afigya Kwabre District such as, failure of the
District Education Directorate (DED) to follow through with ECE policies and
programmes guidelines, lack of infrastructure at ECE schools, unqualified teachers
handling ECE, large class size sometimes resulting in overcrowding, and low level of
salaries, of ECE teachers. The study recommends that the ECE teachers and other ECE
staff should be adequately and meaningfully motivated in the form of paying them
sustainable salaries and providing them with professional and additional responsibility
allowances and low interest rate loans to enable them take care of their basic needs. This
will go a long way to forestall the problem of qualified teachers refusing posting to
kindergarten schools.
Description:
A Dissertation in the Department of Educational Leadership, Faculty of Education and Communication Sciences, submitted to the School of Graduate Studies, University of Education, Winneba, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for award of the Master of Arts (Educational Leadership) degree
DECEMBER, 2020