Abstract

Early Childhood Education (ECE) is fundamental to holistic development of children between zeros to eight years old. Thus, teacher professional development is key to enabling children grow and develop in the most appropriate ways. This study examined the extent to which teacher professional qualification in Early Childhood Education influences promotion rates of children in public primary schools in Embu County, Kenya. To achieve this objective the study adopted correlation research design, where stratified and simple random sampling techniques were used to sample 39 ECE schools attached to public primary schools. Simple random sampling was used to select 39 public primary headteachers, 39 ECE teachers and 156 public primary teachers Data for this study was collected through the use of questionnaires. An observation schedule checklist and documentary analysis guide for purposes of data triangulation. To check reliability and validity of research instruments, a pilot study was conducted Data from the questionnaire was analyzed through the use descriptive and inferential statistics while data from interviews and documentary analysis guide was analyzed in themes in line with the research objective. Research findings from quantitative data were presented using frequencies, percentages, means, standard deviations, and inferential statistics using Pearson Chi-Square Tests. Results showed that there is a positive correlation between teacher professional qualification in ECE and promotion rates in public primary schools ECE (r=.672, n=37, p<.05). The research concluded that there is a positive correlation between teacher professional qualification in ECE and the promotion rates of learners in public primary schools. The study recommended that the Teacher’s Service Commission in collaboration with the County Governments should continue to deploy adequate and qualified primary and ECE teachers to both primary and ECE schools to improve internal efficiency.

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