The perspective of parents and teachers on the challenges of kindergarten education in the Afigya Kwabre District

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.