CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION AND CONTEXT OF THE STUDY

            Introduction

This chapter presents the background to the study which leads to the statement of the problem. In the chapter the purpose of the study is stated. In addition, objectives and research questions, significance of the study, delimitations, limitations and assumptions are described. Finally the theoretical framework and the definition of the operational terms are outlined.

            Background to the Study

For curriculum to be fully undertaken there has to be teachers and learners operating in a condusive environment with enough classrooms, sufficient teaching-learning materials and feeding programmes in the centres. Effectual curriculum implementation has both short and long term benefits to the child and eventually the entire society. However, such benefits include improved nutrition and health, improved cognitive development and school achievement (Glewwe, Jacoby, and King, 2001). It also leads to higher school enrolment, less repetition; reduces social inequality (Myers, 1995). When ECD centre is supported with regular feedings and water, sufficient teaching-learning materials, enough classrooms with qualified teachers the pre-school children experience good health and high acquisition of skills which are of lifetime. According to Chikumbu & Makamure (2000), essential curriculum implementation is influenced by factors such as the teacher, learner, resource materials and facilities, interest groups, the

school environment, culture and ideology, instructional supervision and assessment.

Curriculum implementation entails putting into practice the officially prescribed courses of study, syllabuses, and subjects (Chikumbu and Makamure (2000). Curriculum implementation is also the manner in which the teacher selects and mixes the various aspects of knowledge contained in a curriculum document or syllabus (University of Zimbabwe, 1995). It is also how the officially designed course of study is translated by the teacher into syllabuses, schemes of work and lessons to be delivered to students (University of Zimbabwe, 1995).

Loucks and Lieberman (1983) define implementation as the try-out of a new practice and what it looks like when actually used in a school system. According to Ornstein and Hunkins (1998), curriculum implementation is an interaction between those who have created the programme and those who are charged to deliver it. In US, curriculum is defined as a written plan that is based on materials needed to support implementation of research based curriculum (McLachlan, Fleer & Edwards, 2013).

In Australia and Singapore, international trends have been identified in Early Childhood Education (ECE), similarities in curriculum reforms initiatives and implementation strategies have been adopted. In both countries, teachers in Early Childhood Services have been identified as having a major role to play in curriculum implementation. Both countries share ideas that influence their educational experiences (Nyland & Josephine, 2016).

In Asia’s curricular shift and International ECCE curriculum standards at the policy level, all countries had charted new ECCE directions with reference to Western ECCE philosophies, guided by the NAEYC DAP. Moving away from an academically focused curriculum, policy papers now included child-centricity as an inspirational goal, recognizing the importance of a shift from teacher-centricity to child-centricity. The general belief undergirding this shift was that a Westernized ECCE curriculum marked progressiveness and was likely to nurture a 21^st century competitive workforce, eventually translating to economic gains (Rayginne, 2016).

In Algerian, in the Middle East, curriculum implementation involves children in ECE centres who are provided with basic information and practices pertaining to nutrition, health, care and education. There is no unified curriculum in Algeria for the provision of services to preschool children. The administration of each institution decides on the activities of the ECE programme for children (Khattab, 1995). In Djibouti, Curriculum effectual is provided by private centres and through Koranic community-based pre-schools. No public preschools institutions are reported to operate in Djibouti. MoE is facing the problems of high percentage of illiteracy (adult female illiteracy rate is 85%). However, MoE provides supervisory and psychological guidance and counseling for preschool children (Khattab, 1995).

In Bahrain, execution of curriculum in the ECD centres forces most Kindergartens to apply the class teacher system, where each teacher is responsible for a specific

group of children, subdivided into several smaller groups according to age. The teacher organizes the activities of all the children in the classroom for the entire school day. In addition, each teacher has one or more assistants whenever possible. The informal atmosphere in nurseries and kindergartens makes it possible for children to move around freely under the guidance of teachers. Kindergarten teachers follow no set syllabus, but versatility and flexibility are requisites. The teachers evaluate the children in their care and watch for the children’s responsiveness, imagination and progress. Preschool education aims at recognizing children’s talents and inborn skills, making them psychologically secure, establishing the foundations for them to develop a sound personality full of health and moral vigour (Khattab, 1995).

According to UNICEF (2009), many countries in Africa like Botswana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa and Zambia have developed national ECD policies and guidelines to support curriculum implementation. In Tanzania and Ethiopia, UNICEF supported the mainstreaming of ECD centres to increase access to early stimulation for children under the age of three.