Influence of Teacher Digital Competency on Early Childhood Education of Pupils in Lurambi Sub-County, Kakamega County, Kenya
Keywords:
Teacher digital competency, Early childhood education (ECE), Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC), Educational outcomes, Professional development/ICT trainingAbstract
The use of digital technologies in early childhood education (ECE) is becoming a critical need, especially in the context of Kenya's Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC). This study focused on the effect of teacher digital competency on early childhood education of pupils in Lurambi Sub-County, Kakamega County, Kenya. The study used a mixed-methods design, with a sample of 152 ECE teachers in 96 schools. The number of teachers that were sampled was 123, which was determined by stratified and simple random sampling techniques and the Krejcie and Morgan formula. Questionnaires and interview schedules were used to collect data. The instrument was validated by experts and the reliability was tested by split-half and Cronbach's alpha (α = 0.823) in a pilot study. The quantitative data were analyzed descriptively (mean and standard deviation) and inferentially (Pearson correlation and multiple linear regression) and the qualitative data were used to complement the quantitative data. Descriptive results showed that the internet and images/photographs were the most frequently used ICT resources, while teachers reported the lowest competency and experience in PowerPoint. The findings showed that teacher digital competency was positively and statistically significantly related to early childhood teaching and learning (β = 0.412, p < 0.05) and accounted for 39.2% of the variance in educational outcomes (R² = 0.392). Qualitative responses from teachers supported these results. The study concludes that teacher digital competency is an important factor in the effective delivery of ECE. It suggests the Ministry of Education and County Governments give structured ICT training and professional development programs greater priority to build digital skills of ECE teachers.
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