The Influence of Kindergarten Teachers’ Knowledge and Instructional Activities on Academic Related Skills of Children in the Talensi District
Keywords:
Cognitive, Classroom, Curriculum, Early Childhood Education, Kindergarten, Pedagogical, Pre-primary, Philosophical, PsychologyAbstract
This study aimed to investigate the impact of teachers' knowledge and instructional activities on the learning abilities of kindergarten children in selected schools in the Talensi District of Ghana. A descriptive survey research design was employed, involving 98 selected teachers, with 76 of them participating in the study. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire and classroom observations. The collected data were analyzed using various descriptive and inferential statistics with the assistance of the SPSS program. The analysis revealed that kindergarten (KG) teachers possessed knowledge in areas such as the organization of the learning environment, child development, curriculum design for children, multiple forms of assessment, family and parent outreach, methods of teaching diverse children, and strategic use of resources and information and communication technology (ICT). Additionally, instructional activities employed by teachers included general exercises, logic, mathematics, and numeracy skills, reading, and writing activities, socio-emotional developmental activities, and creative art activities. Further analysis indicated a strong positive relationship between teachers' knowledge and academic-related skills. Similarly, a significant strong relationship was found between various instructional activities and academic-related skills.
This suggests that both teachers' knowledge and instructional activities play a crucial role in influencing the academic skills development of KG children.
The study recommends that the government should establish National Early Childhood Teachers' Training Centers in all regions to address the specific skills needs of teachers. Standardization of the KG curriculum is also advised to ensure consistency in educational content across all schools. Additionally, in-service training and provision of learning materials for KG teachers are recommended to support their work on a regular basis.
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