Abstract:
The jtransition jof jchildren jfrom jpublic jpreschool jto jprimary jschool jis jnot ja jsingle jevent jbut ja jdevelopmental jprocess jwith jfar-reaching jconsequences jfor jlearners’ jacademic jsuccess, jretention, jand joverall jeducational joutcomes. jIn jKenya, jdespite jtargeted jgovernment jinitiatives, jmany jlearners jin jrural jand jperi-urban jareas jcontinue jto jexperience jchallenges jin jthis jtransition. jThis jstudy jassessed jthe jfactors jinfluencing jthe jtransition jrate jfrom jpublic jpreschool jto jprimary jschools jin jKapseret jSub-County, jUasin jGishu jCounty, jKenya. jSpecifically, jit jexamined jthe jimplementation jof jgovernment jpolicies, jlearner jreadiness, jteachers’ jroles, jand jparental jinvolvement jin jhome jlearning. jThe jstudy jwas jguided jby jconstructivist jtheory, jwhich jemphasizes jthe jinteraction jof jchildren jwith jtheir jenvironment, jteachers, jand jcaregivers jin jshaping jschool jreadiness jand jadjustment. jA jdescriptive jsurvey jdesign jwas jadopted, jtargeting j306 jparticipants jcomprising j102 jpreschool jteachers, j153 jlower jprimary jteachers, jand j51 jheadteachers. jA jsample jof j171 jrespondents jwas jselected jthrough jstratified jsampling, jincluding j57 jpreschool jteachers, j86 jlower jprimary jteachers, jand j29 jheadteachers. jData jwere jcollected jusing jquestionnaires jand jinterview jschedules. jTo jestablish jvalidity jand jreliability, ja jpilot jstudy jwas jcarried jout jin jMoiben jSub-County. jThe jinstruments jyielded ja jreliability jcoefficient jof j0.82, jconfirming jtheir jinternal jconsistency jand jsuitability jfor jthe jmain jstudy. jData jwere janalyzed jusing jSPSS jversion j25.0, jwith jquantitative jresults jpresented jthrough jdescriptive jand jinferential jstatistics, jwhile jqualitative jdata jfrom jinterviews jwere jthematically janalyzed jand jpresented jin jprose. jThe jfindings jindicated jthat jgovernment jpolicy jimplementation j(β=0.204, jp=0.034), jlearner jreadiness j(β=0.210, jp=0.044), jteacher jsupport j(β=0.201, jp=0.024), jand jparental jengagement j(β=0.331, jp=0.001) jall jhad jsignificant jpositive jeffects jon jlearners’ jtransition. The study concludes that effective enforcement of education policies such as the Early Years Education Policy, adequate teacher training, and strengthened parental involvement are essential in promoting successful progression. The practical implications are multifold: policymakers can refine interventions to address transition gaps; teacher training institutions can integrate transition-focused capacity building; school administrators can create child-friendly environments; and parents can reinforce learning continuity at home. The study recommends that education stakeholders embrace a collaborative approach in supporting transition practices to enhance learning outcomes. The results are expected to benefit policymakers, curriculum developers, teachers, parents, and community leaders by providing evidence-based strategies for improving transition. Importantly, jthe jstudy jcontributes jto jthe jbody jof jknowledge jon jEarly jChildhood jEducation j(ECD) jand jsets jthe jstage jfor jfurther jresearch jon jtransition jdynamics jin jother jcounties jand jmarginalized jcontexts jin jKenya.
