Influence of classroom environment on children’s academic performance in public ecde schools in Keiyo North Subcounty, Elgeyo Marakwet County, Kenya

Abstract

Realization of the objectives of basic education in Kenya, according to Kenyan Education Sector Support Programme, reveals the need to reconsider several aspects of the National Education implementation process. Many factors, related to implementation systems, continue to affect the achievement of quality education for all learners hence frustrating objectives of vision 2030. This study intended to investigate how classroom environment influences children’s academic performance in the public ECDE schools in Keiyo North Sub-county. The objectives of the study were: to establish the influence of teacher-learner activities on children’s academic performance in public ECDE Centres in Keiyo North subcounty, to examine the influence of teaching methods on children’s academic performance in public ECDE Centres in Keiyo North sub-county, to determine the influence of adequacy of teaching/learning resources on children’s academic performance in public ECDE Centres in Keiyo North sub-county and lastly to assess the influence of class number of children on children’s academic performance in public ECDE Centres in Keiyo North subcounty. The study was anchored within tenets of Constructivism theory and adopted the approaches of descriptive survey research design. The target population was 105 respondents with a sample size of 83 respondents. All pupils in PP2 participated in the research test. Data for the study was sought using questionnaires, lesson observation and observation check lists. A pilot exercise was undertaken in order to find checks that ensured validity and reliability of the study. Data analysis was done using descriptive and inferential statistics. The study findings revealed that teacher learner activities have a positive and significant influence on children academic performance (β1=.124, p<0.05). It was further established that teaching methods has a positive and significant influence on children’s academic performance (β2=.287, p<0.05). Adequacy of teaching/learning resources was found to have a positive and significant influence on children academic performance (β3=.286, p<0.05). Finally, Class number of children was found to have a positive and significant influence on children’s academic performance since an exercise was adminsterd by the researcher toall the learners in the sampled 21 schools. (β4=.252, p<0.05). The study concluded that ECDE teachers use, counting, singing,drawing, coloring, painting, modeling, weaving and dancing when teaching in class. Methods used by teachers to teach were; storytelling, observations, field trips, singing, dramatization, class experiments, reciting rhymes, audio visuals, reciting poems, open ended questions and resource persons, hence all this greatly improved academic performance of learners. The study recommends that the ECDE teacher should be conversant with the content delivered and select the best required and useful activities to communicate the content to the pupils effectively hence improve academic performance. The ECDE teachers should appropriately choose a model of teaching and the learning environment will determine the fun and enjoyment of lesson and will indirectly improve children’s academic performance.