Relationship between Instructional Leadership and Implementation of Competency-Based Curriculum in Early Years Education in Nairobi City County, Kenya

Globally, learning institutions at primary school level experience a gap in instructional leadership that fosters curriculum implementation. Research has established that those instructional leaders (heads of schools) determine the impact that teaching and learning processes in school has on learners’ academic performance. This study was designed to establish the extent of implementation of Competency-Based Curriculum in early years education in public and private schools. The study was also to determine the relationship between instructional leadership and implementation of Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) in early years education in Kenya. The study was guided by Michael Fullan’s Theory of Change. The dependent variable was implementation of Competency-Based Curriculum in early years education while the independent variable was instructional leadership. E-questionnaires and interview schedules were used to collect data which was analyzed using qualitative and quantitative methods. The results showed there was no difference in the implementation of curriculum between private and public primary schools. The relationship between instructional leadership and implementation of competency-based curriculum was significant at 0.05. The results also indicated that most head teachers focused more on administrative roles than activities that support curriculum implementation. It was therefore recommended that for effective curriculum implementation in early years education, head teachers needed to be intentionally trained on how to support teachers and learners in the related processes

Inequality is ‘baked in’ to our education system

Although Brett Wigdortz says that inequality is ‘baked in’ to our education system, he thinks that we can change the recipe. From exploring new ways of offering early years education to changing the language we use to describe the sector, Brett addresses a number of important issues in this short, thought-provoking piece.

Risky Play: as safe as possible or as safe as necessary?

The concept of risky play has risen in popularity over the last decade, yet remains a new research area. Gemma Goldenberg from the Baby Development Lab discusses decision making around risky play and its place in early years education.

Promoting Diversity and Belonging: Preschool Staff’s Perspective on Inclusive Factors in the Swedish Preschool

This article reports the Swedish results and experiences from the survey study “Educators’ perspectives of belonging in early years education,” which was part of the research project “Politics of belonging: Promoting children’s inclusion in educational settings across borders”. The purpose of the survey study was to gain knowledge about the preschool staff’s perspective on factors and pedagogical approaches that promote diversity and belonging. The research questions and study instruments were co-produced by researchers from Finland, Iceland, Norway, the Netherlands and Sweden. This Swedish part reports the answers from 180 respondents/staff from preschools. The experiences and the way the results are analysed and discussed are entirely from the investigation conducted in Sweden. The results show that the staff’s work environment, values and working methods are important for an inclusive programme. Preschool children are a source of strength for building a sense of belonging for all children, and increased confidence in their ability provides better conditions for creating an inclusive preschool; that is, giving children more influence and trust promotes the sense of belonging. In addition to these results, the survey has provided important methodological experience and initiated a discussion on how the contact between academia and preschool programmes can be improved.