Influence Of Free Primary Education On Teaching And Learning Of The English Language In Public Primary Schools, Eldoret Municipality, Kenya

ABSTRACT

The implementation of FPE in the year 2003 introduced many challenges to teaching and learning in public primary schools in Kenya. This study sought to find out the effects of the inception of FPE in Kenya in 2003 on the teaching and learning of English in public primary schools in Eldoret municipality. The specific objectives were to: determine the influence of FPE on teaching and learning resources; establish the influence of teaching techniques on the English language teaching and learning; to determine the influence of selected aspects of FPE on English language teaching and learning, and; to find out the challenges faced by teachers as a result of FPE. The research design for the study was descriptive survey. The research was carried out in Eldoret municipality primary schools, Kenya, among 4200 standard six pupils and 82 English language teachers. By use of simple random sampling, 8 teachers from the 42 public primary schools, representing 10 percent of the English language teachers and 45 standard six pupils representing 1 percent of the population were involved in the study. The research instruments were: interview schedule for English language teachers and an English language proficiency checklist used to evaluate pupil‟s performance on an English composition topic for pupils of standard six. Measures of central tendency such as mean, together with measures of variability, frequency distribution and t-tests were used to analyze data. It was established that FPE significantly influenced the practice of classroom discussions and presentations and adoption of learner-centered approaches, which negatively influenced pupils‟ English language proficiency. Learning facilities were inadequate to undertake proper teaching and learning. Support from parents should be harnessed in a structured way. Educational and learning infrastructure should cater for the influx of pupils in these schools due to FPE. Innovative approaches need to be developed to enhance teaching and learning the Future research should explore how the community could be involved to enhance the English language teaching and learning.