Effectiveness of use of picture books in teaching pre-school pupils English oral skills in Tigoni zone of Limuru sub-county, Kiambu county, Kenya

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to establish the effectiveness of using picture books as instructional materials in teaching preschool pupils English oral skills in Tigoni Zone of Limuru Sub-county, Kiambu County. Specific objectives of the study were to assess teachers of English‟s beliefs about the pedagogical value of using picture books for teaching pre-school pupils English oral skills, to establish teachers‟ attitudes towards using picture books in teaching English oral skills, establish perceived effectiveness of using picture books in teaching English oral skills find out the extent to which teachers make use of picture books while teaching English oral skills. The study was guided by the Two Factor Theory developed by Herzberg (1968) which suggests that people are influenced by two factors which motivate their performance namely motivators and hygiene factors. Thus the interplay of factors which influenced pre-primary school teachers of English to use picture books as instructional materials in this study included, attitude, perceptions of effectiveness, availability and perceived pedagogical value of the materials. The study used descriptive survey design to get information from all the preschool teachers in the study area. Data was collected using semi structured questionnaires from a purposively sampled population of pre-school teachers. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics which involved tabulation of data into frequencies, percentages, mean and standard deviations. Analysis of the results revealed that teachers were aware and appreciated the pedagogical value of picture books for training but however had mixed attitude towards its use. The results also revealed that teachers understood that picture books were effective for teaching oral skills to preschool pupils but however was poorly utilized for teaching oral skills. The study revealed a need to develop policy frameworks by MoEST and KICD to ensure accurate planning for better remuneration, integration of instructional materials in the curriculum and availability of infrastructure conducive for better preschool education and other similar studies in different areas utilizing qualitative or mixed methods to delve into other underlying issues for poor utilization of picture books as instructional materials.