The role of parents in the school readiness of kindergarten learners in the Effutu Municipality

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to find out the extent to which parents perform their roles towards KG1 pupils’ school readiness to establish the level of their awareness concerning kindergarten school readiness. The study was guided by two theories, which are the environmentalist theory of learning by Uriel Bronfenbrenner and the psychosocial theory of stages of development by Erik Erikson. The study adopted positivist descriptive survey design. The study employed census, simple random and stratified sampling techniques in sampling the respondents. Questionnaires were used to collect data from 72 parents/guardians who have their wards in KG1 and the data was analyzed quantitatively. The findings of the study revealed that the extent to which parents of KG1 pupils perform their roles towards their wards school readiness for kindergarten education is generally low in terms of their (wards) cognitive, affective and physical domains development. In addition, the main challenges confronting the parents in readying their wards for KG education are lack of information on school readiness for kindergarten education and inadequate funds. Therefore, pupils’ poor performance at the basic school level can be attributed to non-school readiness at the kindergarten level. Based on the findings and the conclusion, it is recommended that, there should be an education on school readiness for kindergarten education in the entire municipality to create public awareness. This can be done right from birth by educating mothers of newborn babies on school readiness during post-natal care check-ups. Also, Effutu education directorate should liaise with the school and community leaders to educate prospective beginning kindergarteners’ parents on measures that they can put in place to ensure that beginning kindergarteners have successful transition from the home to the school. Finally, all stakeholders of education should come together to reconsider the current policy on nursery education so as to include it in the Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education (FCUBE) to serve as a remedial stage for all children prior to kindergarten school.