Relationship Between Improvised Instructional Resources and Teaching of Literacy Skills Among Early Childhood Development and Education Learners in Public Institutions

Abstract

Resources play an important role in the instructional process especially among young learners with the need to develop manipulative skills. In emerging economies such as Kenya where lack of adequate financial resources especially among public institutions limit provision of sufficient resources, teachers have been advised to improvise in order to compliment for the inadequacies. Limited empirical literature on the extent as well as the relationship between use of improvised instructional resources limits a discourse on efficacy of use of such resources especially in the instruction of literacy. The purpose of this study was therefore to establish the relationship between improvised instructional resources and teaching of Early Childhood Development and Education (ECDE) literacy skills. The study adopted descriptive survey research design. A census survey was conducted to collect data from 130 ECDE teachers using questionnaires and classroom observation. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze quantitative data with the aid of SPSS version 25.0 while qualitative data was analyzed thematically. Findings indicated that most learners were aided to interact freely with improvised instructional resources (IIR), the most accessible IIR being visual aids such as charts and flash cards. Regression results (t=10.511, p<0.001) indicated a significant positive relationship between IIR and teaching of literacy skills. The study therefore recommends that ECDE teachers utilize a variety of IIR during teaching and learning of literacy skills to provide multi-sensory learning experiences to the young leaners.