ANTECEDENTS OF IMPLEMENTATION OF ADVANCED MEDIA RESOURCES IN INSTRUCTION IN EARLY CHILDHOOD AND PRIMARY EDUCATION IN KENYA. A CASE OF AINABKOI SUB-COUNTY, UASIN GISHU COUNTY

Abstract

Educational Media has gained popularity in the instructional process due to the abstract nature of academic concepts'. Although much has been done to improve the Early Childhood Development Education Programme in Kenya, it is still not clear what factors determine the implementation of advanced Media Resources in instruction in Early childhood and Primary Education. This study aimed to establish the antecedents of the implementation of advanced media resources in instruction in Early Childhood and Primary Education in the Ainabkoi Sub-county of Uasin Gishu County, Kenya. This study focused on the following research objectives: to determine the influence of teacher knowledge in the implementation of advanced media resources: to investigate the effect of teacher skill on the implementation of advanced media resources in instruction: to explore the effect of class size on implementation of advanced media resources in instruction: to analyze the effect of technological infrastructure on implementation of advanced media resources in instruction: and to examine the effect of teacher attitude on implementation of advanced media resources in instruction: The study employed the pragmatic research philosophy that set the framework for a mixed methods research design. The study was anchored on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). This research targeted early childhood education teachers handling, PP1 and PP2, Grade1-3 ECDE levels and head teachers. The size was 267 teachers, out of whom 236 returned completed questionnaires and 18 head teachers out of whom 11 were available for interviews. Respondents were sampled through stratified and simple random sampling techniques. A semi-structured questionnaire that allowed for quantitative and qualitative nuances was used to collect data. Data analysis was facilitated by the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS Ver. 24) for quantitative data and Nvivo 14 for qualitative data and involved descriptive and inferential statistics embedded with thematic analysis and field observation. Results revealed that class size influenced media use, affecting engagement and interactions. Technological infrastructure lacked uniformity, with training gaps and resource limitations. Teachers held mixed attitudes about the media's impact, acknowledging benefits while expressing concerns. Regression results confirmed that teacher knowledge (β= 0.147, p<0.05), teacher skills (β=0.254, p<0.05); technological infrastructure (β=0.148, p<0.05) teacher attitude (β=0.194, p<0.05); and class size (β=0.145, p<0.05) were significant antecedents of implementation of advanced media resources in early childhood and primary education in the Ainabkoi Sub-county. In conclusion, this study emphasized the significance of teacher knowledge, skills, attitudes, class size, and technological infrastructure in successfully implementing advanced media resources in early childhood and primary education in the Ainabkoi Sub-county. Policy efforts should address resource limitations and enhance infrastructure to foster widespread advanced media adoption. Future research should prioritize tailored professional development for teachers to bridge knowledge gaps and enhance confidence in using advanced media resources.