Availability of Teaching and Learning Materials on Creative Play Activities among Public Pre-Primary School Children in Bureti Sub-County, Kenya

Evelyn Chepngeno Mitei,Teresa Mwoma

doi:10.37284/eajes.4.1.476

Abstract

Creative activities play a critical role in improving intellectual, emotional, and social skills among children. This study aimed to explore the availability of teaching and learning materials on creative play activities among public pre-primary school children in Bureti Sub-County, Kenya. The research adopted a descriptive survey design and was guided by Sarah Smilansky’s theory which emphasises the child-centred approach in teaching creativity. Sarah Smilansky’s theory lays emphasis on allowing young children to control their way of learning by stressing self-expression. The population targeted was 135 public pre-primary schools in Bureti Sub-County. Ten per cent (10%) of the target population representing 14 public pre-primary schools was utilised during the pilot study. The sample size for the study was 236 participants. This comprised 92 head teachers and 144 preschool teachers from 121 pre-primary schools in Bureti Sub-County. Questionnaires and observation schedules were utilised to gather data. The statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 23 was utilised to organise data for analysis. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics. The data was presented in the form of percentage tables. The results revealed that (73.9%) of the respondents indicated that there was insufficient learning and teaching materials listing out that the most available materials are manila papers, clay, paints, tires, pencils, and maise corps. The study recommended that learning and teaching resources should be made available by the County Government for learners to use while embracing creative play activities. There is also a need for adequate time to be allocated to play to enhance creative play activities in school.

Highlights

Creative play activities are very important in the optimal development of a child
A descriptive survey design was used. This survey design was suitable for research since it captured the opinions, beliefs, and attitudes of teachers of preschool and headteachers of the schools with preschools on the creativity of children
The headteachers and preschool teachers were targeted since they interact with preschool children on a daily basis except during the weekends and holidays, so they possess important information regarding the creative play activities of children

Summary

Introduction

Creative play activities are very important in the optimal development of a child. Play is an important activity in early childhood education because it can promote the holistic development of preschool children. Creative play activities comprise activities like drawing, painting, singing, modelling, puppets constructing blocks and wires and dramatisation. According to Banaji (2011), children acquire essential knowledge and skills through plays. Children play to practice skills and in the process encounter new challenges leading to deeper learning. He agrees that children are highly creative, have a tendency to fantasise, experiment, and explore their physical and conceptual environment

Objectives

Methods

Conclusion