ABSTRACT
The government of Kenya since independence has had many commissions in place which have helped review Kenyan system of education so as to make sure it is in line with the national requirements of human capital and also national educational goals and objectives. The legal provision and policy documents of Kenya support the education or the minor ity and the marginalized children. It is within the country’s legal framework and policy to provide quality education to all irrespective of cultural, religion and economic disparit ies. There should be enough schools and of good quality in the whole country. Currently with devolved government, the counties are supposed to look into the development of Early Childhood Development in their respective counties. It will not just be enough to construct ECD centers but there is need to check who these centers are serving and how far these children are coming from so as to cater for all children without discrimination, thus the study sought to investigate the impact on lower primary education by the challenges of distance to the pre-school centres in Mukogodo division, Laikipia county. The purpose of this research was to investigate the effect of long distance from home to pre- school on pre- school and lower primary academic performance of the children of the pastoralist community in Mukogodo division Laikipia County Kenya. The research was to find out how long distance to pre-school centers affects pre-school attendance, pre-school entry age, enrolment and eventually academic performance at lower primary school level. The study was guided by justice and fairness theory which advocates for principles of justice to guide modern social order by John Rawl (1971). The researcher used questionnaires as research instruments which were filled by pre-school teachers and class teachers of lower primary and also had an interview schedule for ECD sub county officer. The researcher employed the descriptive survey research design due its appropriateness for educational research. The records on academic performance of the pupils to establish their academic performance and also the pre-school attendance register were checked. The target population was pre-school teachers, pre-school children, lower primary school and pre- school class teachers and ECD Sub-county officer. The schools were 17 in total. The study sampled 7 pre schools and 7 public primary schools. The sample size was 47.05% of the total population. The results were coded and entered into the computer and analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) where frequencies, percentages, and means were computed and presented using graphs and tables. The results were used to come up with recommendations that would help improve academic performance in this region. The study findings were; long distance form home to school affected enrolment of children to pre-schools. It also affects the age entry of the pupils in pre-school. Attendance of the children in school is poor due to long distance from home hence poor performance in school. The study concluded that long distances affects the performance of the pupils in early primary school, it affects the attendance and age entry of the pupils in pre-schools. The study recommends that all stakeholders should put in place to critically address challenges related to issues of access, equity, quality and relevance of ECDE programs and also mitigate against the challenges that affect the learning programs due to long distance.
CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION AND CONTEXT OF THE STUDY
Introduction
This chapter presents the background of the study, research problem, purpose of the study, objectives, limitations and delimitations, assumptions, theoretical framework and conceptual framework.
Background of the Study
Learning is a dynamic process and its outcome is more evident when it begins early in life and continues through adulthood (Heckman, 2000 pg 50). The learning environment should be good with enough and safe physical space. It should also begin at an appropriate starting age. Long distance has been a great hindrance to achieve this. To curb this problem many communities lives in dispersed villages, the ECD centers are build in search a way that they serve a number of villages.
A recent study conducted by Germany-based Education International showed that long journeys to school have a negative impact on students’ health and on their education achievement levels (Tumwebaze, 2016). Schools of any type must be easily accessible – this is particularly valid for elementary schools. For health consideration, the slogan, ‘Short legs – short distance’ must not be valid only for elementary schools. It must lead to all schools being kept close to students’ homes. Only this way wil it be guaranteed that children are not exposed to the stress and dangers of long journeys to school.
In Mexico, Coady and Parker (2002) studied factor influencing academic performance as being the distance from school, long distance is a reason for lateness. In Brazil the school
day run from 7 a .m to noon and student typically go home at noon to share lunch with their family hence many school can barely afford to complete the syllabus with scarce facilit ies like computers hence weak performance in National exams Cohen (2004).
Broadly speaking, in Nigeria school attendance levels are lower for girls than for boys, (NPC and RTI International 2011). According to the 2010 NEDS the main reason that parents and guardians gave for their primary-aged children having never attended school was the distance to school. Several studies have carried out statistical analyses of school attendance based on household survey data. Kazeem et., al. (2010) estimated a model of school attendance based on household characteristics taken from 2004 NDHS data, controlling for various demographic aspects such as wealth and location. They found that distance to the nearest school were the most important determinants of child school attendance.
Musisi et al (2003) argues that commuting to and from school led to lowering of morale among pupils in primary schools in Uganda. Low morale would have been a result of waking up very early but arriving at school late, which in turn influenced students’ academic performance negatively. According to Ibrahim et al (2008), pupils’ dropout rate is determined by an increase in distance from school to home. Therefore the further it 16 is, the higher the chances of dropping out.
Jagero et al (2010) asserts that girls who stayed near schools performed better than those who came from far. To them the reason was that they would regularly miss lessons and be punished for that. According to Mutai (2010), long distances led to lateness to school besides making pupils getting exhausted which in turn affected their rate of concentration
in class. It has been observed that rural schools face challenges relating to isolation, poverty and limited job opportunities for school leavers. Isolation denies rural schools the advantages of urban based resources for instance library, electricity, technology which might enhance learning gains (Capper, 1993). Bickel and Lange (1995) noted that because of limited employment opportunities, learners in rural areas do see any financial benefits to attend or succeed in school. According to Sheldon (2012), due to distance factor most rural schools are rarely visited by quality assurance officers. According to a UNICEF study carried out in six focus districts (Nairobi, Baringo, Mombasa, Garissa, Kwale and Kisumu) in 1998, the proximity and access to primary school is a predetermining factor to enrolment and retention. In ASALs areas, distance between schools and homes is far and the educational delivery systems are often incompatible with the lifestyle of nomadic people. Limited number of schools and highly dispersed rural population, force children to traverse difficult terrain and lack of transport makes access to schools more difficult for primary pupils. Studies done by Chimombo (2005) indicate that school location; rural and urban has an influence on learner’s academic gains and enrolment. Lockhead and Vaspoor (1990) noted that children who lived far way from school were prone to absenteeism and fatigue. Long distance reduces the chance of pupils going back for lunch especially in those schools where lunch programs are not offered. The weather conditions also make schooling difficult especially during rainy and cold seasons. The ever-changing season spell doom to most of the rural children; since they are rained on or exposed to extremely cold conditions than usual. Besides, the path routes used daily tend to become muddy and 17 slippery. Mt.Elgon has a terrain, which has steep valleys and hills especially in Chepyuk and Kopsiro zones, hence; pupils are exposed to rough conditions during rainy and cold season. It
becomes more dangerous with lightning and thunderstorms. For pupils who are day scholars it is a nightmare, Kabiru and Njenga (2009)
Currently with devolved government, the counties are supposed to look into the development of Early Childhood Development (ECD) in their respective counties. It will not just be enough to construct ECD centers but there is need to check who these centers are serving and how far these children are coming from so as to cater for all children without discrimination.
The aim of education system in Kenya is transforming the country into a newly industrialized middle income country providing a high quality of life to all citizens in a clean and secure environment (Republic of Kenya, 2010). Kenya being one of 164 governments that pledged the achievement of EFA goals by 2015 and in line with the development agenda as spelt out in the vision 2030, has to put in place the right policies that will bring equality in provision of basic education to reduce disparity between regions, especially children belonging to ethnic minority and the most vulnerable and disadvantaged. The best policies for each region can be formulated after situational analysis so as to come up with appropriate policies since regions differ in many aspects such as geographical location, culture, lifestyle and challenges in the day to day life.
Early Childhood Development and Education (ECDE) being the first formal agent of socialization (Kibera and Kimokoti, 2007) calls on the attention of all stakeholders to critically address challenges related to issues of access, equity, quality and relevance of ECDE programs. Mukogondo division is missing out in access and equity of ECDE. The pastoralist community in Mukogondo division Laikipia North sub-county, Laikipia
County, belongs to the ethnic minority living in harsh environmental conditions that hamper early childhood development and education therefore hindering the achieve ment of EFA goals by 2015. The purpose of this study was to carry out situational analysis of the community by looking at how distance from home to pre-school centers affects pre- school pupils’ attendance, school entry age and academic performance at lower primary school level.
Statement Problem
Research has shown that pre-school attendance contributes positively to a child’s formal education growth and development. It’s associated with increase in school readiness for primary school which is an important predictor of school achievement. It has been shown that early childhood education can be a major input into a child’s formal education growth and development. The issue of enrolment of children to pre-school has been a major concern all over the world and policy frameworks in many Governments do not adequately address issues concerning Early Childhood Development programmes. Due to introduct ion of Free Primary Education, (FPE) in Kenya since 2003, some parents are circumvent ing the pre-school level by enrolling their children in primary school without going through pre-school. Despite being an important policy issue, there have been diversions where enrolment for preschool learners has not received much attention. In terms of age entry most parents take their children to school at a certain age far above the recommended age of three years due to long distance. The enrolment rate of pre-school has been low in Mukogodo division. This may have a negative effect on academic performance at lower primary level. Thus the study therefore sought to investigate the effect of long distance on pre-school and early primary school pupils.
Purpose of the Study
The aim of the study was to assess the effect of long distance between home and pre-school centers on Pre-school attendance, school entry age and how this factors affect academic performance at lower primary level.
Objectives of the Study
The study was guided by the following objectives:
- To establish the effect of the long distance to pre-school centers on pre-school pupils attendance.
- To explore the effect of long distance to pre-school on pre- school entry age.
- To explore the extent to which long distance affects academic performance at lower primary school level.
Research Question
- What is the effect of long distance from home to pre-school centers on pre-school attendance?
- How does the long distance affect school entry age?
- How does pre-school attendance affect academic performance at lower primary level?
