ABSTRACT
Studies done in Kenya show that most pre-primary education programs suffer from poor quality services. However, many parents continue to enroll their children in these schools and it is not clear whether they are satisfied with the quality of services provided. The purpose of the present study was to establish the overall parents’ satisfaction with the quality of pre-primary education provided to their children in Bondo district, Kenya. The study also explored how parents’ satisfaction with the quality of pre-primary education related to type of school, parents’ education, income and gender. Expectancy- Disconfirmation Theory of Customer Satisfaction was used as the basic theory of the study. It was supported by the Harris School Poll’s Conceptual Model of Parents’ Satisfaction. The population for this study comprised of all parents with children in 206 pre-primary schools in Bondo District, Kenya. The study employed a descriptive survey design. The dependent variable was parents’ satisfaction with the quality of pre-primary education. While the independent variables were type of school, parents’ gender, income and educational levels. Stratified random sampling technique was used to select the sample. Questionnaires and interview methods were used to collect the required data. The t-test for independent samples was used to test Ho1 and Ho2, while one way ANOVA was used to test Ho3 and Ho4. Data were analyzed by use of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The results showed that most parents were somewhat satisfied with the quality of pre-primary education. A t-test of independent samples found no significant difference in parents’ satisfaction with the quality of pre-primary education by school type and parents’ gender. One way Analysis of Variance found a significant difference in parents’ satisfaction with the quality of pre-primary education by various levels of parents’ education and income. The study recommended that the government and other stakeholders should find alternative ways of addressing the issue of poor quality of education in pre-primary schools. Specific policy issues that were recommended include strengthening of Community Support Grants, establishment of charter pre-primary schools and implementation of voucher schemes. Further research was recommended in the area of factors influencing parents’ choice of pre-primary schools.
Introduction
CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION
This chapter introduces the study. It presents the background to the study, statement of the problem, purpose of the study, objectives of the study, objectives of the study, research hypotheses, significance of the study, delimitations and limitations, assumptions, theoretical and conceptual framework and definition of operational terms.
      Background to the Study
Access to quality pre-primary education is an essential ingredient to healthy child growth and development. World Bank (2006) showed that children who access quality pre-primary education are likely to perform better in later schooling compared to those who access poor quality pre-primary education. According to Wawire (2006), Hassan (2007) and Mishra (2009) a quality pre-primary education refers to features of a pre-primary school environment and children’s experiences in this environment which are beneficial to their growth, development and welfare. These features include provision of appropriate physical facilities, teaching-learning materials, qualified and committed staff, safe and secure environment, good health and nutritional services and effective child development outcomes.
Globally, provision of quality of pre-primary education remains elusive especially in low income countries. According to UNESCO (2012) and Mishra (2009), the quality of pre-primary education in Sub-Saharan African countries was inadequate characterized by shortage of trained teachers, poor physical infrastructure, disjointed coordination of services and low participation rates.
Similarly, the East African region has not fared any better in the provision of quality pre-primary education. UNESCO (2006) study in Burundi, Kenya, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Uganda , Rwanda and Tanzania showed that most pre-primary school children in these countries learn in deplorable conditions characterized by low teacher motivation, trained teacher shortages, inadequate teaching and learning materials and poor physical facilities.
In Kenya, a study conducted by Abagi (2009) in 181 ECD centres in 18 Districts in the country showed that the quality of care and education in most of these pre- primary schools was very poor with some children learning under trees and sitting on stones. This was confirmed by MoE Report (2011) which showed that quality of services provided in most of pre-primary schools was poor across the country characterized by shortage of trained teachers, high teacher turnover rate, poor physical facilities, inadequate teaching-learning materials and poor health and nutrition services.
Despite the poor quality of services provided in these pre-primary schools, parents continue to enroll their children in the pre-primary schools. According to the UNECSO EFA Global Monitoring Report (2012), demand for pre-primary education continues to grow around the world with over 163 million children accessing ECD services globally (46% increment since 1999). The report indicated that tremendous increase was realized in South West Asian and Sub- Saharan African countries. In Sub-Saharan region, the report indicated that over 11 million children were enrolled in ECD centres (119% increment since 1999). In Kenya, enrollment in pre-primary education sub-sector has been growing every day. The MoE (2012) showed that between 1968 to 2010, enrolment in pre- primary schools increased from 177,033 to over 2 million pre-primary school children.
With the continued expansion of pre-primary education due to increased demand, the issue of parents’ satisfaction with the quality of services offered to their children in these pre-primary schools becomes a critical issue as it has a bearing on parents continued involvement in school activities (Griffith, 2010; Silva, 2006; Salisbury, Branson, Altreche, Frunk and Broetzmann, 1997 and Britner and Phillips, 1995). Katz (1993) argued that evaluating the quality of ECD services should be comprehensive enough to include assessment of parents’ experiences with the quality of services provided their children. Additionally studies by Omar, Nazri, Ab & Omar, 2009 and Silva, 2006; Katz, 2006) contended that involving parents in ECD service quality evaluation is critical as parents make choices about the type of school to enroll their children by paying for the services provided.
In spite of continued support for evaluation of parents’ satisfaction with the quality of pre-primary education, conceptualization of parents’ satisfaction has been varied. However, most studies (Griffith, 2010; Omar et al, 2009; Silva, 2006; Britner and Phillips, 1995 and Hoon, 1994) agree that measurement of parents’ satisfaction with the quality of ECD services should be undertaken by asking parents to rate their schools on various education quality aspects such as teacher responsiveness, appropriateness of physical facilities and learning materials, transport services, nutrition, parents’ involvement, food, safety and security, learners’ achievement among others. The present study therefore defined parents’ satisfaction with the quality of pre-primary education as the level of parents’ contentment with the quality of pre-primary education provided to their children based on their experiences with above features of pre-primary education quality.
In Kenya, attempts have been made to include parents in the evaluation of the quality of education provided to their children. A study done by Tooley and
Dixon (2005) showed that although introduction of free primary education affected enrollment in private schools in slums, a good number of parents remained with private schools serving the poor due to their good performance compared to public schools. Similarly, a study conducted by Kathure and Juma (2007) to explore the existence of private schools serving low income earners in Kakamega and Nairobi showed that parents in private school were more satisfied with the quality of education provided to their children as compared to their counterparts in public schools. Additionally, a study by Oketch, Mutisya, Ngware, Ezeh and Epari (2008) to find out pupil mobility in schools showed that most parents in Nairobi slums transferred their children from public to private schools due to perceived poor quality of education in public schools.
Although the above study findings showed some trend in parents’ satisfaction with the quality of education between private and public school parents, they were more focused on the factors influencing parents’ choice of schools. Additionally, the studies were carried out among parents with children in primary and secondary schools in Nairobi and Kakamega Districts therefore their results may only be generalized with parents in districts and schools of similar characteristics.
In pre-primary education sub-sector, reviewed literature indicated that more and more parents continue to enroll their children in private pre-primary schools since they are perceived to offer quality services compared to public pre-primary schools. According to Ayodo (2009), a good number of parents in Nairobi Schools were transferring their children from public to private pre-primary schools due to perceived low quality of services offered in public schools. He reported that a good number of parents booking place unborn children in these highly regarded schools were increasing with some schools receiving applications five times their capacity. Despite the fact that the information above pin-pointed some trends of parents’ preference of private pre-primary schools to public pre-
primary schools, the report focused in Nairobi and therefore may not be true in other regions such as Bondo, hence the need for the present study.
Bondo District is one of the areas in the country that continue to witness tremendous expansion of pre-primary education. Currently, there are over 9,000 children served in 206 registered pre-primary schools (Bondo District Centre for Early Childhood Education, 2012). On average, each pre-primary school in the District serves over 43 children in the district. Despite this rapid growth of enrolment in these pre-primary school, studies (Bondo District Centre for Early Childhood Education Report, 2012; Abagi, 2009; MoE, 2007 & Plan International, 2004) done in the district indicated that the general quality of pre- primary education was very poor manifested in high teacher-child ratio, shortage of trained teachers, dilapidated physical infrastructure and low parents’ involvement in pre-school activities. The question that remains unanswered is whether pre-primary school parents in Bondo District were satisfied with the quality of pre-primary education provided to their children. This concern constituted the fundamental thesis of the present study.
Parents’ satisfaction with the quality of education has been shown to vary with factors such as parent’s gender, educational, income and type of school. Falbo, Glover, Stoves, Holcombe, Lee, Inchauste, Provost & Schexnayder (2003) study in Texas, USA showed that low income parents were more satisfied with school quality than high income parents. Dasqupta, Narayan and Skoufias (2009) study in Indonesia reported that parents with higher education experienced less satisfaction with their children’s education compared to low education parents. Rehman, Khan, Tariq & Tasleem (2010) study in Pashawar, India showed that parents’ level of satisfaction with schools was a significant factor of school choice. Lastly, King and Bond (2001) study in Queensland, Australia showed that
both female parents and students generally had higher levels of satisfaction with use of technology in public schools than male parents and students.
Though the above studies are important in providing information about how parents’ satisfaction with quality of education provided to their children relates to factors such as parents’ gender, level of education, income and type of school, they were done in western and Asian countries therefore their findings cannot be generalized on pre-primary school parents in Kenya. In Kenya, Koech (2010) study in Uasin Gishu District showed that there were some difference in parents’ involvement in pre-school activities with type of school and parents’ level of education. Similarly, Ndani (2007) study in Thika District showed that there was some difference in parents’ participation with parents’ gender. Though these studies may suggest some trend on how parents’ satisfaction with the quality of pre-primary education provided to their children as parents’ involvement and satisfaction have been reported to be related constructs (Griffith, 2010), they were done in Uasin Gishu and Thika districts. Their findings may therefore be generalized on pre-primary parents in districts with similar demographic characteristics.
