Effects of group work as a teaching strategy on development of reading skills among preprimary children in Manga Sub-County, Nyamira County, Kenya

Abstract

Abstract: Teaching strategies are techniques that teachers use in teaching to ensure that intended concepts are acquired by the learners. One of the teaching strategies used to develop reading skills among pre-primary children is group work. The use of ability grouping, heterogeneous and homogeneous grouping and cooperative group work have been found to improve teaching competencies among pre-primary children. The purpose of this study was to establish the effects of group work as a teaching strategy on development of reading skills among pre-primary children in Manga Sub-County, Nyamira County, Kenya. The target population for the study was 120 pre-primary teachers and 840 pre-primary children. The study used cluster and simple random sampling in obtaining a sample size of 19 schools, 36 pre-primary teachers and 252 pre-primary children. Data was collected by means of questionnaires, reading test and observation checklists. The findings indicated that there was a weak positive correlation (r=.354, n=34, p<.05) between teachers’ use of group work as a teaching strategy and pre-primary children’s development of reading skills. Findings of this study could help pre-primary teachers to evaluate their instructional practices in the teaching of reading and also help curriculum developers in carrying out in-service training courses. Keywords: Group work, Pre-primary children, Reading skills, Teaching strategies.