Performance of Pre-School Children in Kenya

In Kenya, the transition of children from early childhood development centres to primary schools is measured by their ability to pass an entrance test. There is a wide gap regarding marks scored in class one selection tests by children in private and community-assisted centres. Children in private pre-schools score higher than those in community-assisted pre-schools. In the author's view, this difference arises from factors within and outside the centres. Factors from within are learning resources and facilities, teacher's qualifications and motivation; while factors from outside are parental involvement, poverty and teachers' pre-service training. The author argues that children in the two types of ECD centres do not compete on a level ground and therefore she recommends that entrance to class one should be based on holistic developmental readiness other than academic assessment. Holistic developmental readiness is a concept that considers cognitive, social, physical, emotional and spiritual needs in the process of educational instruction. This is book is an important resource for the Ministry of Education, Early Childhood Education trainers, trainees and parents.