Abstract
<p>Early childhood years are crucial in children’s literacy development since the development of language and literacy begins at birth and is a lifelong process. For early childhood education to be a success, teacher experience is imperative for teaching literacy. The teachers’ experience informs the necessary literacy skills for the child which include writing, reading, speaking, listening and drawing. Policies governing basic education in Kenya do emphasize the importance of skilled, experienced teachers in the classroom, including early childhood settings. However, such requirements have not been adhered to and therefore numerous early childhood teachers lack experience in children literacy issues. This study sought to determine how teacher’s experience influences the teaching of literacy skills in primary school in Mbaraki Zone, Mombasa County, Kenya. Descriptive survey design was adopted in the study. The target population for the study comprised of 20 head teachers, 800 Grade one pupils and 40 Grade one teachers of all the twenty primary schools in Mbaraki Zone, Mombasa County, Kenya. Purposive sampling approach was used to obtain the sample for the primary school head teachers and Grade one teachers because they are relatively small. Three learners were sampled randomly from each class that had a participating teacher. The study findings revealed that majority of teachers had more than five years of experience teaching literacy skills. The inferential analysis revealed that the teaching experience had a statistically significant influence on reading (p 0.014), speaking (p 0.021), listening skills (p 0.038) as well as basic skills (p 0.019). The study calls on the ministry of education and the schools to ensure that teachers assigned to grade one should have extensive experience teaching literacy skills to promote teaching of literacy skills in the classes.</p><p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0975/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>
Highlights
Primary school is an important center where a child is given an orientation to the formal learning process. Hopps-Wallis and Perry (2017) point out that the sole objective of primary school education is to orient the child to formal learning and guide them on the acquisition of literacy skills
Useful in assembling current info on teacher issues that affect the development of literacy skills in primary school pupils in Mbaraki Zone, Mombasa County, Kenya
It was found that the majority of the teachers had received in service training and some had gone to seminars and workshops
Summary
Primary school is an important center where a child is given an orientation to the formal learning process. Hopps-Wallis and Perry (2017) point out that the sole objective of primary school education is to orient the child to formal learning and guide them on the acquisition of literacy skills. Reading and writing are very essential in expanding the development of a different dimension of knowledge. This has resulted in a wide attention geared towards literary skills in the past decades. Wildova and Kropáčková, (2015) observed that a child is able to develop a positive relationship to reading and writing speeches if they receive appropriate exposure to learning in the early stages of life. Teacher factors such as teachers’ experience are crucial for literacy development (Hamre, Hatfield, Pianta, & Jamil, 2014). Teacher factors such as teachers’ experience are crucial for literacy development (Hamre, Hatfield, Pianta, & Jamil, 2014). Wildova and Kropáčková, (2015) contends that teacher experience is likely to affect their teaching which may lead to poor academic performance of pupils
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