AVAILABILITY AND UTILIZATION OF PEDAGOGICAL RESOURCES IN PRE-SCHOOLS AT ETHIOPIA

Africa Early Childhood Network (AfECN) and the African Union

AVAILABILITY AND UTILIZATION OF PEDAGOGICAL RESOURCES IN PRE-SCHOOLS AT SHAMBU TOWN, HORO GUDRU WOLLEGA ZONE

BY Dagne Asefa Chemeda

February, 2025 ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA

AVAILABILITY AND UTILIZATION OF PEDAGOGICAL RESOURCES IN PRE-SCHOOLS AT SHAMBU TOWN, HORO GUDRU WOLLEGA ZONE

BY DAGNE ASEFA CHEMEDA

FEBRUARY, 2026 ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA

AVAILABILITY AND UTILIZATION OF PEDAGOGICAL RESOURCES IN PRE-SCHOOLS AT SHAMBU TOWN, HORO GUDRU WOLLEGA ZONE

BY DAGNE ASEFA CHEMEDA

Research Submitted to the Africa Early Childhood Network (AfECN) and the African Union

DECLARATION

I declare thatAvailability and Utilization of Pedagogical Resources in Preschools at Shambu Twon Horo Guduru Wollega Zone is my own work and that all thesources that I have used or quoted have been indicated and acknowledged by means of complete references.

Name: Dagne Asefa Chemeda

Signature: _________________

Date of submission: February, 2026

Submission Approval Sheet

This thes is has been submitted for confirmation with my approvals university advisor.

Name: Belay Tefera (Prof.)

Signature_____________________ ADDIS ABABA UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF EDUCATION AND BEHAVIORAL STUDIES CENTER FOR ECCE This is to certify that the thesis prepared by Dagne Asefa Chemeda entitled: Availability and Utilization of Pedagogical Resources in Preschools at Shambu Town Horo Guduru Wollega Zone and submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for Degree of Master of Arts complieswith the regulations of the university and meets the accepted standards with respect to originality and quality. Signed by the examining committee: Advisor¬¬¬________________________________________Sig.________ Date___________ Examiner(Internal)_____________________________Sig.________Date___________ Examiner(External)________________________Sig.________Date___________ ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to convey my deepest thanks to Professor Belay Tefera, my advisor and instructor for for giving me constructive advice and guidance starting from the proposal writing up to the completion of the research work. I thank them because, with out their encouragement, suggestion, insights, guidance and professional expertise, the completion of this work would have not been possible. I also owe ahuge debt of gratitude to the ten study participants whom interviewed for their time and courage in sharing with me their experiences. The lessons I learned from the mare invaluable. I wish to express my heart felt thanks to every member of my family, my lovely wife Beliyu and kids, fortheir patience and support. To my brother Alemayehu Abdena, I am appreciative for his professional and moral support.

Table of Content Contents Pages DECLARATION…………….………………………………………………………................iii Submission Approval Sheet iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS xii Table of Content xiii List of Tables xvi List of Figures xvii ACRONYMS xviii Abstract xix CHAPTER ONE 1 INTRODUCTION 1

1. 1. Back ground of the study 1 1.2 Statement of the problem 3 1.3. Objectives of the study 4 1.3.1 General objectives 4 1.3.2 Specific objectives 4 1.4. Significance of the study 4 1.5. Delimitation of the study 5 1.6. Operational definitions 5 CHAPTER TWO 6 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE 6 2.1. Historical Development ofPreschool Educationinthe World 6 2.2. Historical development of early year’s education in Ethiopia: 9 2.3. Theoretical framework of the Study 10 2.4. Child development and learning 12 2.5. Infrastructure and Facilities 15 2.5.1. Indoor Environment 16 2.5.2. Outdoor Environment 17 2.5.3. Materials and books 17 2.6. SupportiveSchool Learning Environment 18 2.7. School Physical Environment 19 2.8. Availability of Instructional Recourses 21 2.9.Effectivenessof pedagogic resource utilization 23 2.9.1. Matching resourcestoindividualstudentlearning needs 24 2.9.2. Usingschool facilitiesandmaterials 25 2.10. Effectiveness of pedagogic resource management 26 2.10. 1. Capacity buildingforresource management 26 2.11. Effectivenessof pedagogicalresource distribution 27 2.11.1. Distributionofschoolfacilitiesand materials 28 CHAPTER THREE 29
2. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY 29 3.1. METHODOLOGY 29 3.2. Research Design 29 3.3. The Study Site 30 3.4. Study Population 31 3.5. Data Sources 31 3.6. Sample, Population and Sampling Techniques 31 3.7. Data Collection InstrumentandProcedure 33 3.7.1. Questionnaire 34 3.7.2. Observationcheck-list 35 3.7.3. Interviewguide 35 3.7.4.Focus Group Discussion (Together with teachers and directors) 36 3.7.5.Direct Observation 36 3.8. Procedures of Data Collection 36 3.9. Validity andReliability 36 3.10. MethodofData Analysis 37 3.8. Data analysis 37 3.11. Ethical Issues 38 CHAPTERFOUR: RESULTS ANDDISCUSSIONS 39 4.1. TheDemographic Characteristics ofSample Participants 39 4.2. Adequacy of ClassroomandOutdoorSpaces, Materials andEquipment, as well as its Organization 42 4.3. Findings 48 4.4 RESULTSFROMOBSERVATION 49 4.5. Challenges Hindering Use of pedagogical Resources 50 5.SUMMARY,CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 52 5.1. Summary 52 5.2. Conclusions 54 5.3. Recommendations for concerning bodies 55 5.3.1. Recommendations for Preschool Teachers 55 5.3.2. Recommendations for Preschool Administrators 55 5.3.3. Recommendations for Shambu Town Administration Education Office 57 5.3.4. Recommendations for Future Research 59 REFERENCES 60 APPENDICES 64

Listof Tables Title of Tablespage Table 1:. Sample frame and Participants for research Study 32 Table 2: Respondents Background Information 39 Table 3. Thedegreeofinstructional materials utilization and preparationby teachers 41 Table 4: Adequacy of class room space, materials and equipment and its organization 43 Table 5: Outdoor space, materials and equipment and its organization 46

ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

ECCE Early ChildhoodCareandEducation ECE Early Childhood Education EFA Education for All ESDP Education Sector Development Program ICDR Institute of Curriculum Development and Research GER Gross Enrolment Ratio KG Kindergarten MDG Millennium Development Goals MoE Ministry of Education NAAEE North American Association for Environmental Education
NAEYC The National Association for the Education of Young Children NGO Non-Governmental Organization OECD Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
REB Regional Education Bureau UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization UNICEF United Nations Children ‘s Fund WHO World Health Organization

Abstract

CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION

1. 1. Background of the study Early childhood is defined as the period from birth to eight years old. This early period is considered to be the most important developmental phase throughout the life span (Hightower, 1999).

Pre-school education is the first step in the child’s educational journey. Early childhood experts have the opinion that attending pre-school program helps to promote children’s social and emotional development and prepare them for primary education (Justice &Vulkelick, 2008). The first five years of life are highly significant in the sense that what children learn and feel during this time, particularly about themselves, is foundational to the rest of their life (Hightower, 1999).

The justification for organized preschool education from a nearly age include, its contribution to promote positive developmental experiences and independence molding the future adult to cope with rigorous life (Woodsfield,2004). It can also produce permanent effects on child’s lives, in particular academic achievement and success in life (Husenand Postlethwaite,1994). As aresult, preschool education be coming a point of common concern in both developed and developing countries. As sumptions about its importance have led to rapid expansion of preschool institutions and inquality of facilities and services (Olatunji, 1990). Accordingly, in Europe (Germany, Britain, Austria, Sweden, France, etc.) and the United State of America it took significant step forward in 1800’s. In Ethiopia, there is no question about the vital contribution of preschool education in developing and broadening the range of children’s life experiences. Even though studies are limited, the available ones indicate that preschool education, largely traditional, has be en offered in religious schools with afocus on reading and recitation(Amanuel,2001). In modern senses, it is of recent development. It started in1908 by the Embassy of France to Ethiopian children (Aregash,2005). Priorto1994 due to financial constraints and competing priorities like primary and secondary education, its impact and coverage remained very low (UNCRC,1995). Brown, Lewis, Richard and Harcleroad (1985) assert that, instructional materials and aids are an essential requirement for successful teaching. Use of teaching and learning materials activates students and as they learn actively, the teacher can enjoy the evidence of their progress. The benefits that accrue from effective use of instructional materials abound. Instructional materials when used well make the entire teaching and learning processes complete and functional. Kilundo (2002) observes that, it is impossible to have meaningful teaching and learning in schools in the absence of these teaching materials. Lack of teaching materials can hinder any teaching programme from operating with desired efficiency. He argues that while both experience and available literature would support the view that materials are associated with high academic achievement, there is no need just to verify, but to study the efficacy of those materials in the wider context of school quality. This study is also geared towards identifying areas where teachers and students lack the skill in the use of readily available instructional materials and where necessary how improvisation can be helpful.

Resource utilization in the school sector does not happen in isolation. It takes place within institutional contexts that may facilitate or hinder effective resource allocation and use. This issue is concerned with how resources can be effectively managed at all levels of the school system. It looks at capacity building for resource management (including the competency frameworks and professional development opportunities available to support resource management capacity); the monitoring of resource use (e.g. audit systems, evaluation of resource managers); transparency and reporting; and incentives for the effective use of resources (outcome-based planning; rewards and sanctions). Similarly, in Horo Guduru wollega zone the availability and utilization of pedagogical resources in pre-school of shambu town were in great problems.

1.2 Statement of the problem Resource inputs in school systems should best be distributed utilized and managed to optimize school outputs, encourage successful teaching and learning and promote continuous improvement. Educational effectiveness refers to the ability of a school or school system to adequately accomplish stated education objectives, but studies of effectiveness are not necessarily concerned with money and the costs of different inputs. Educational efficiency, on the other hand, refers to the achievement of stated education objectives at the lowest possible cost. Thus, studies will be conducted to identify the availability and utilization of ECCE resources in Shambu town. The study also aimed to investigate the availability and utilization of pedagogical resources in Shambu Twon Horo Guduru Wollega Zone kindergartens and to identify the problems regarding the utilization of resources.

Therefore, this study was conducted in view of bridging this gap and come up with recommendations for future research and policy intervention to overcome the problem of resources utilizations. Therefore, the study attempted to answer the following basic questions: • To what extent pedagogical resources available in preschools of ShambuTwon? • What common indoor and outdoor pedagogical resources are available in the preschools? • To what extent are the indoor and outdoor pedagogical resources of the preschools adequate, and appropriate to children’s learning? • Are the preschool pedagogical resources relevant to the children’s developmental needs? • Are the preschools utilizing the indoor and outdoor pedagogical resources properly?

1.3. Objectives of the study 1.3.1 General objectives The aim of the study was to investigate the availability and utilization of pedagogical resources in ShambuTwon Horo Guduru Wollega Zone kindergartens and to identify the problems regarding the utilization of resources.

1.3.2 Specific objectives The specific objectives of this study are to: • Examine the availability of pedagogical resources in preschools in ShambuTwon of the Horo Guduru Wollega Zone. • Examine the utilization of pedagogical resources in Shambu Town of the Horo Guduru Wollega Zone. • Identify the problems regarding the utilization of pedagogical resources in Shambu Twon of the Horo Guduru Wollega Zone, and • recommend the action points for addressing the problems in using pedagogical resources 1.4. Significance of the study

Early childhood is an important period of development that sets the foundation for life. Although the period is fundamental and important, the priority given to the sector was low as the ‘sector was left to private individuals and communities’ (MoE, 1994). Recently, the government is strengthening the sector through different interventions. Some of the supports provided include development of policy frame works, strategic guidelines, ECCE standards, curriculum guides, and technical support. Therefore, the study will have a number of significances both for policy makers, practitioners, and parents as described below. • It may show direction to policy makers where the gap lies so that intervention of the government and practitioners is possible, • It may allow practitioners to share best practices and understand the underlying factors to improve their processes • It may serve as a base for further research on the area of kindergarten education 1.5. Delimitation of the study This study was delimited on the availability and utilization of ECCE resources in Preschool of Shambu town. This is because it is tiresome and time consuming if the research were conducted out of this scope. Therefore, the study was focuses on the availability and utilization of ECCE resources in pre-school of shambu town 1.6. Operational definitions Physical environment: - the overall design and layout of a given classroom and its learning centers. Teachers should design the environment by organizing its spaces, furnishings, and materials to maximize the learning opportunities and the engagement of every child. Pedagogical resources: - are designed to aid faculty as they prepare to teach a Difference, Power and Discrimination course. These a specialized collection of books, journals, monographs and articles, as well as videos and DVDs resources range from creating inclusive classroom environments to addressing issues specific to international students in the classroom Outdoor pedagogical resources: -space at an early childhood education center that includes diverse features designed to promote structured and unstructured physical activity, play, and learning. Indoor pedagogical resources:-It's a safe place where children are protected from theelements and are easily supervised. And it's where the important activities of the day like playing, eating, sleeping, washing hands, and going to the bathroom take place

                CHAPTER TWO
  REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

The German educator Friedrich Froebel started the first kindergarten in 1837 in Brandenburg, Prussia. Froebel chose the German term kindergarten (literally, children’s garden), because he intended the children in his school to grow as freely as flowers in a garden. Froebel's idea was influenced mainly by the work of Johan Amos Comenius, who in the 17th century introduced the idea that school should teach infants. Another influence was the French philosopher Jean Jacques Rousseau, who wrote Emile (1762), a treatise on child’s education in nature. In addition, the Swiss education reformer Johann H. Pestalozzi, who founded a school for infants in the late 18th and early 19th century also influenced Froebel (Curtis, 1998, Gezehagn, 2005). The fundamental ideas behind Froebel’s concept of the kindergarten are giving happiness to children by providing them with the necessary environment for growth. He designed special play materials and introduced the idea of associating ac-138 Sisay Awgichew Wondemetegegntions with singing songs (Seefeldt, 1989). Froebel not only influenced the European pre-school education system but he also brought the concept of the kindergarten to America when the German immigrant Margareta Meyer Schurz opened the first kindergarten in Watertown, Wisconsin the first American kindergarten was established in 1856. The kindergarten is now an established part of American education, and many of Froebel’s ideas of childhood experience and methods of play have been incorporated into current theories of early childhood education and progressive schooling. The same is true for the rest of the world. 2.1. Historical Development of Preschool Educationinthe World Kindergarten,once though to fasan innovative and revolutionary system of teaching young children (Meisels, 2002),was first poineered by Friedrich Froebel, a19thcentury German educator and scientist.Heopened what he called his first“children’s garden” in 1836(Krauerz,2005)for children below the age of seven.Meisels(2002) indicated that the activities in Froebel’s garden were meant to promote creativity by encouraging playing with toys such as building blocks,and that children should develop freely according to their individual nature, using playas atool.Particularly, influential in advocating the crucial importance of organized educationin early years of children’s life were plato,argued that children under age of six have tobe taken from home and educated inproperly organized environment under the guidance of a trained teacher in the care and education of young children.Comenius a scited by Butler (2001) stressed the fact that systematic education of children should begin early,and schools should be established for the first six years of life.He was the first to emphasize the value of play and first-hand experience in educating children (Butler, 2001).

In addition, Rousseaua scited by Alkin (1992)claimed that children should be educated at an early age for the fact that early experience serve as a basis of later education.He advocated later experience, practical activity and learning by doing. Pestalozzi, like the rest before him, had recognized the vital contribution of early years’education. Further Froebel, was deeply concerned about children. By opening the first kindergarten in1837, he created a profound change within emerging field of early childhood education. Further more, Montessori, likesomany others beforeher, became interested in early childhood education and highly organized learning environment on the child’s level (Chowdhuryand Choudhury, 2002).

In current times, kindergarten is the typical starting point for a studentina public or private school system. Kindergarten used to be aplace where children prepared for elementary school.Swiss Psychologist Jean Piaget’s work launched a conceptual and research base where by care and learning opportunities provided to children younger than age eight are different from, but important contributors to,later forms of education and school success (Krauerz, 2005). A significant result is that the co-operation between schoo land kindergarten should already be started before the child starts school.If children that need special support already received all possible help in pre-primary education,some of them could move straight to the primary education class of general instruction.Likewise,the possible transition to the small group of the student’s neighbor hood school straight from preschool would provide the necessary support rightat the beginning of the child’s studies. To avoid students becoming stigmatized,general and special needs education students must stay togetheralotsothatfriendshipscanbecreated.IfTheschoolcommunity does notsupportthe developmentof socialrelations,studentscannothave a feeling of togethernessandatthesametime,theirlearningcanbecomemoredifficult(Strully and Strully,1996).Early childhoodeducationintheUnitedstateshasbeeninfluenced by WesternEuropiannations.This influence canbe seenin themannerAmericansunderstand childrenareearly learning developmentandalsopoliciesandpractices.Wecanseethisby examiningthehistoricaltimelineofearlychildhoodeducationintheUnitedStates(New, 2005). Thehistory ofearly childhood education intheUnited States began inBosten in1828. The Bostoninfantschoolisconsideredthecountry’sfirstday care centerfor childrenages eighteen months to four yearsold. The infant school was modele d after the infant schools in ScotlanddevelopedbyRobertOwens,aWelsheducator.InfantschoolsinScotland were forchildren two through sixyears old whosemothers worked in factories. Children in theseschoolsreceivedliteracy andmoral instruction whileattending school (Saracho&Spodek, 2003). Another exampleoftheinfluenceofEuropean culture was theterm “nursery”schoolthatwasimplemented by advocates ofhealthservicestodescribe environments forthe“total child.” Abigail Eliotfoundedthe RugglesStreetNurserySchoolTraining CenterinBostonaftervisitingBritainandfollowing their model.She expanded the ideaof thewhole child to include the family (New, 2005). Ancient Greeks are believed beginning early childhood education. Particularly Athens and Sparta’s are pioneers in the field. The ancient philosophers Plato and Aristotle were very much interested in children and have influenced child rearing and learning practices. These philosophers emphasized on play and punishment as means of shaping children (Lascar ides &Hinitz, 2000).

Pre-primary education program was introduced in America in 1955 by Mrs. Carl Schurz, a student of Frobel (McCarthy, 1980). Later, the program was introduced to Africa through voluntary organizations (UNESCO, 1991). The early childhood education was introduced in Ethiopia since the advent of Christianity, in the form of priest schools. Zara Ya’aqob was one of the activists in 10 promoting traditional church education in the 16th century (Demeke, 2007). According to (Hoot et al., 2004), the first modern preprimary education was built in Diredewa in 1900 to teach children of the Ethio-French rail way line workers. Later on, lots of pre-primary schools were attached to formal educational institutions like the German school, the British school, and Lycee Geberemariam. These schools were serving children of affluent families. The expansion of the pre-primary education was so slow that from 1908 to 1974 there were only 77 pre-schools in which 7,573(0.22%) children out of 3.5 million were attending the pre-primary education program (p.4). The socialist movement of the 1974 Dergue Regime was the turning point for the growth of pre-primary education in Ethiopian history. Teacher training institution, curriculum development and text books preparation departments, and teacher education, supervision and evaluation of pre-school program were formed with the assistance of the Ethiopian Ministry of Education to satisfy the growing demand of early child-hood education program (Demeke, 2007).

Nowadays, pre-primary education took three forms: kindergarten, “O” class, and child-to-child programs. Consequently, more than 2 mln (26%) of four to six years old children population are benefiting from the program (MoE, 2013). Addis Ababa, among the major beneficiary’s regions from the pre-primary education, comprises 126% of the GER (p.21).

2.2. Historical development of early year’s education in Ethiopia: The development of education in Ethiopia is strongly influenced by traditional (religious) aspects. It began in the 4th century A. D. and in 1908 Menelik II opened the first modern school based on the western education systems. The traditional approach has characterized Ethiopian education throughout the history of this nation. The traditional education system is deeply rooted in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and is recognized as one of the oldest education systems in the world. For centuries orthodox churches, monasteries and convents were the only centers for formal schooling, from preschool to the university level (Pankhurst cited in Hoot, Szente and Belete, 2004, Zeray, 2011). It was limited to males alone and dated to the medieval period when male children began attending church services at around age of 4. The curriculum for children of this age consisted primarily of the drilling and practice of the alphabet. Mastery of the alphabet was followed by reading and recitation of religious texts that began with the psalms of David (Belete, 2004 as cited in Zaray, 2011: 24). In Ethiopia, the concept of preschool education in the modern sense is a recent phenomenon dating to the 20th century when Emperor Menelik II recognized the importance of improved and modern education, establishing the first public school called Menelik II in 1908. Likewise, the first modern pre-school was established in Dire--Dawa, mainly for the children of French consultants who were helping to build the first railroad in the country (Amelework, 2007:11, Aregesh, 2005 cited 139. The Practices and Challenges of Kindergarten Education in Addis Ababa City Administration: Ethiopia

2.3. Theoretical framework of the Study Children between ages 4 and 6 are more physically mobile, ready to form relationships with adults outside the family, and have sufficient language and cognitive development to engage in active interactions outside the home. This maturity favors center-or community-based programs (UNESCO, 2006). However, children development is influenced by the interaction of innate and environmental factors. Although how much can parent, teachers and others support a child’s development is not known scientifically, their contribution to a child’s development is evident (Curtis & O’Hagan, 2003). In order to say children develop fully, the five key domains should be addressed: physical - related to basic needs and development of gross and fine motor skills; cognitive which is related to cognitive functions like perception, communication, and information processing; academic which is a capacity to learn from formal and informal educational opportunities; emotional – concerned with awareness of feelings and enhanced ability to self-regulate emotions; and finally social which deals with personal identity, interpersonal relationships, and awareness of self in relation to social structures and norms.

In order to address these domains theorists have developed various theories concerning children’s growth, development, and education. Among these the prominent five are discussed below. Arnold Gessell, who developed maturationist theory, designed extensive set of tests and measurements to assess and describe children in ten major areas of development. His 12 view was that children’s inner abilities, rates of development, and behavior in the ten identified areas were genetically determined. This meant that each child developed, matured and learned according to his or her own internal maturational schedule. Children were masters of their own educational process and could thrive on their own within a supportive environment (Davies, 2008; Burke, 2000).

Behaviorism, advocated by B.F. Skinner and Albert Bandura, is a perspective in which the environment is regarded as the single most important variable in shaping children’s development and education (Davies, 2008; Burke, 2000). Behaviorists believe that learning occurs in small steps moving from simple to more complex actions. Skills are acquired piece by piece cumulatively. All children are capable of increasing their skills and abilities when exposed to external stimuli in the appropriate setting. No allowance is made for individual differences in style and pace of learning.

Social learning theory, on the other hand, advocates children’s primary mode of learning occurs through observing and imitating others in the immediate environment. Unlike social learning theory, humanistic perspective, emphasize on children’s natural curiosity, passion for learning, and active imaginations. According to the proponents of this view, these endowments should be valued and supported by democratic classrooms (Davies, 2008; Burke, 2000).

The other contemporary theory of learning is the constructivist view advocated by Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky. Constructivist theory is by far the most influential of all on contemporary early childhood curriculum development and practices. According to this theory, children are viewed as active agents in the construction of their own knowledge, 13 based on prior learning combined with teacher-facilitated experiences (Burke, 2000; Brostrom, 2006). The importance of play is a significant feature of the constructivist approach (Davies, 2008).

Early childhood is a complex stage of development that can be influenced by a number of variables. Because of that, there is no one single theory that overshadow on the others in terms of children learning and development

2.4. Child development and learning Children have variations in their development and their development defines the process for learning. Jackman (2001) put developmental levels of children with specific to each age range. The section below discusses fours, fives and six year’s old children development levels independently and the influence on the processes for learning. According to him, four year olds are full of enthusiasm and high energy. They are able to do more things without help, have greater self-confidence and enjoy learning to do new things. However, they like to have an adult’s attention. This group can use a higher level of language (more and bigger words) than they really understand (p.5).

Essa as cited in Jackman (2001) explains, “Peers are becoming important. Play is a social activity more often than not, although fours enjoy solitary activities at times as well.” Teachers of this age group need to answer frequent children’s questions and assist them on trying to find many things that they can do. Teachers should vigilantly observe these children and set up the environment to match their skills (p.6). 18. Five-year-olds are more social and also enjoy playing with small groups of children. The use of language, especially vocabulary, continues to grow along with the understanding that words can have several meanings. They are more self-controlled. Family and teachers can have the most influence on how they behave. They are able to take responsibility very seriously and can accept suggestions and initiate action. This group of children can run, jump, catch, throw, and use scissors, crayons, and markers easily. Exploration of the environment is important to these children. They act on their own and construct their own meaning. Understanding of rules, limits, and cause and effect starts to develop. The teacher’s role is to allow all this to happen, while at the same time creating the appropriate environment, encouraging curiosity, and learning along with the children (p.7).

Six-year-olds are able to think and learn in more complicated ways, both logically and systematically. The language and communication development is dramatic. They move from oral self-expression to written self-expression. Bredekamp and Copple as cited in Jackman (2001) stressed “children’s receptive vocabulary increases not just by listening but by reading too and their expressive vocabulary expand from spoken to written communication” (p.7). They become more independent and have strong feelings about what they eat, wear, and do. Curiosity increases and they actively look for new things to do, to see, and to explore. They make new friends, and these peers play a significant role in their lives as they take into consideration the viewpoints of others. Seefeldt and Barbour as cited in Jackman (2001) emphasized, “They’re developing the ability to see things from 19 another perspective and are able to be more emphatic. At the same time, they’re very sensitive and their feelings get hurt easily (p.7).” Teachers’ resources can be effectively governed within school systems. One aspect analyses how the effectiveness of resource use is influenced by the key foundations of school systems. The latter relate to aspects such as the level of resources available for education, sources of revenue for education (e.g. relative importance of public and private resources) and approaches to school system governance (e.g. size of private sector, level of parental choice, structure of schooling). Another aspect relates more directly with the governance of resource use. It includes the planning of resource use (e.g. definition of priorities and targets, distribution of responsibilities for resource) and the implementation of policies to improve the effectiveness of resource use in (e.g. communication and consultation with relevant stakeholders about resource use).

Resources can be effectively distributed across the school system. This includes the distribution of resources between the different levels of the administration (e.g. central, state, regional and local), across resource types (e.g. human resources, physical resources, targeted programmes), between levels of the school system (e.g. pre-primary, primary, secondary), between different sectors (e.g. general programmes, vocational and programmes) and between individual schools (e.g. through funding formulae and special targeted programmes). In addition, it also deals with the distribution of school facilities and materials (e.g. organization of the school network), the organization of teacher resources (e.g. number of teachers; teacher preparation), the organization of school leadership resources (e.g. number and profile of school leaders) and resources targeted at specific student groups (e.g. special needs; programmes for disadvantaged students). Making resource decisions is not only about distributing resources across the system but also about ensuring that such investments translate into improved teaching and learning at the school level. How resources can be effectively used and allocated, through specific policies and practices, to different priorities and programmes once they have reached different levels of the school system. Among other things, it considers how resources are matched to students’ needs (e.g. grouping of students within schools; student support systems; programmes to prevent early school leaving); how teacher resources and teaching time are allocated to students so that they optimally respond to improvement priorities (e.g. class size, teacher-student ratios, use of teachers’ time); how student learning time is organized (e.g. instruction time, length of school day); how school leadership is organized and distributed; how resources in schools are organized to create environments conducive to effective teaching and learning (e.g. outreach to parents and communities); and how school facilities and materials are used to support such environments (e.g. use of school facilities for afternoon tutoring or summer schools).

Resource utilization in the school sector does not happen in isolation. It takes place within institutional contexts that may facilitate or hinder effective resource allocation and use. resources can be effectively managed at all levels of the school system. It looks at capacity building for resource management (including the competency frameworks and professional development opportunities available to support resource management capacity); the monitoring of resource use (e.g. audit systems, evaluation of resource managers); transparency and reporting; and incentives for the effective use of resources (outcome-based planning; rewards and sanctions).

When resources are limited, as they always are, these resources need to be well used to support educational improvement objectives to the greatest possible extent. Policy makers and educational leaders at all levels of the school system are confronted with competing demands from a variety of actors inside and outside the education sector. In distributing and allocating resources to different programmes and priorities, they are faced with choices involving complex trade-offs. To make such choices, they need information regarding the cost and effects of different alternatives. This is what effectiveness and efficiency analyses are about.

Efficiency is high on education policy agendas across the OECD. As countries are seeking to enhance the performance of all students while reducing achievement gaps between different groups of students, there has been greater focus on ensuring that resources are directed to those areas where improvements in teaching and learning can best be achieved. An optimal distribution and use of resources would achieve both efficiency and equity objectives together, by ensuring that resources are channeled to where they are most needed.

A range of global developments have increased attention to efficiency in education in recent years. Fiscal pressures related to the global financial crisis, demographic developments influencing the size and composition of student populations, the rising importance of education and more educated parents have all contributed to a renewed interest in optimizing resource use in education.
2.5. Infrastructure and Facilities Arranging appropriate indoor and outdoor areas in an early education program is significant to curriculum development. The arrangement requires planning for each individual child and group of children, understanding the prior experiences and development of the children.

2.5.1. Indoor Environment Children in a classroom setting need to feel that they belong. The environment should tell the children “we care about you.” For example, every child should have a personal space or “cubbie” with his name or photo. The characteristics of a responsive, organized classroom offer a variety of well-defined learning centers, sometimes called interest centers or activity centers, where materials and supplies are combined around special groupings and common activities. These centers support children’s learning and enable them to explore, experiment, and interact with the environment at their own rate of development.

Arranging and organizing the space for preschool classes becomes more specific and complex. The following learning centers are suggested for early education classroom areas: books; language and listening; dramatic play or home living area; art center; sensory activities with manipulative; woodworking; cooking; water, sand, and mud play; blocks; music and movement; science, discovery, and nature; Math; Social studies; 20 computers, etc. Similarly, the strategic guidelines of the MOE (2010) stated learning environments in preschools should have wide varieties of stimulating play and learning materials that promote not only simple but also higher thought processes like puzzles, riddle and guessing games, stories and fairy tales, visuals rich in color, etc. It should also be friendly, providing adequate opportunity for interactions among children as well as between children and adults (p.53). However, continuous introduction and rotation of new materials stimulate interest. How many of the areas are used at the same time depends on the schedule, the number of children in a classroom and the support teachers have by their assistants and many other factors. The clearly arranged spaces assist children in setting their own pace, making choices that will help them to be more self-directed, which in turn will improve their self-control.

2.5.2. Outdoor Environment The selection of outdoor equipment and materials emphasizes safety, durability, and age appropriateness for all children. The outdoor space should contribute to physical, intellectual, creative, emotional, and social development and offer a variety of stimulation for play and exploration. MoE (2010) also stated in the strategic document that outdoor play equipment must be well maintained, clean and developmentally appropriate that can provide ample opportunity for creativity and development of different skills. Play equipment should also be arranged in an organized manner to allow for accident-free play (p.54).21 Play equipment for outdoor as suggested by Jackman (2001) include: permanent and take-apart climbers, sturdy wooden crates and barrels, railroad ties surrounding sand box, tire swings with holes punched in several places for drainage, slides, inner tubes, balance beam, tricycles, wagons, other wheeled toys, plastic hoops, chimneys, rubber balls of various sizes, mounted steering wheel, sturdy cardboard boxes, etc, can be used in preschool setting (p.40-41).

You should think creatively of new ways to bring the indoor activities outside, and the outdoor activities inside, while at the same time keeping in mind the skills to be developed. In outdoor play safety is the first priority. At least two adults should be supervising the playground at all times. McCracken as cited in Jackman (2001) advises, “Outdoor time requires adults who are playful, have sharp senses and quick reactions, and who will closely observe children. Save reading, resting, parent conferences, team meetings, and even casual conversations with other adults for more appropriate occasions. Your attentive eyes can prevent an injury (p. 36-38).” 2.5.3. Materials and books The most appropriate materials to be included in a classroom are open-ended materials that may be used for multiple purposes. Manipulative materials that may be put together in many different ways and incorporated into other activities are a good example of an open-ended, multiple-use material (Miller, 1996, p.65). 2.6. SupportiveSchool Learning Environment The emotionalclimate of the classroominfluencespeer-peer interaction. Ademocratic style of discipline isconsideredmore conducive than other styles of disciplineto helpingchildreninteractpositively andpeacefully withoneanother (Kempl& Hartle,1997). Adults working withina democratic styleof disciplineset firm limits oninappropriatebehaviorandrely largelyonexplanations to help children learnappropriatedeeds. Thedemocraticstyleofdisciplinefallsin betweenalaissez-faire, orhighly permissive, approachandanauthoritarian approachwhichreliesonharsh, punitive practices. Ademocratic styleofdiscipline allowschildren―to feellistenedto, tounderstandtherulesandthereasons behind therules, andtofeelconfidentthattheywillbeprotected‖ (Kemple&Hartle,1997, p. 140). Directive and coerciveinteractional behaviors, onthe other hand, tend toimpede the social/emotional development ofyoung children(Dunstetal.,1996). Where the teacher isin relationtothechildandthewaytheteacherusesherselforhimselfto supportorprovide directiontothechildisalsoanareathatallowsfor environmentalaccommodation. Ifthegoalis to enhance independent work, the teacher shouldprovidegreater distance between her or himself and the child. If, however, thechild needs extra support and/orguidance,closerproximity would be appropriate theenvironmentconstantly providesmessagestothelearner.Thesemessagescanbe positiveor negative. Iftheexperiencesarepositive,learnersaremorelikelytoreturntotheactivities and conditionsthey enjoyed. Amajortask ofearly childhoodeducators isto maximize positive experiencesandminimize negative experiencessothatchildrenwillbe motivatedto interactwiththeirenvironment. The positive experienceswill promote learning,boostself- esteem, and minimizeundesirable educators isto maximize positive experiencesandminimize negative experiencessothatchildrenwillbe motivatedto interactwiththeirenvironment.The positive experienceswill promote learning,boostself- esteem, and minimize undesirable behaviors. 2.7. School Physical Environment Thephysicalenvironmentissafe,suitableandprovidesarichanddiverseCouncilofAustralian Governments, 2009 stated that Thedesignandlocationofthepremises is appropriatefor theoperationofa service. Outdoor andindoor spaces,buildings,furniture,equipment,facilitiesandresources are suitable fortheirpurpose. Premises,furnitureandequipmentaresafe,cleanandwell maintained. Outdoor spaces includenatural elements and materials which allow for multipleuses. Facilitiesaredesignedoradaptedtoensureaccessandparticipation by every childinthe serviceand to allow flexible use,and interaction between indoor and outdoor space. The ECCE program should have its philosophy that dictates the goals to be achieved and services to be provided. Every program that serves preschool children should have a clearly articulated philosophy and goals that value children, families, cultures, and communities. This philosophy should be communicated to the public, reflected in daily practice, and revised periodically to reflect advances in understanding about how young children grow and learn. Each nation is required to design a policy framework that will address the provision of a variety of culturally responsive and demonstrably elective programs that meet the needs of all children and families (Jalongo et al., 2004). In line with this suggestion, Ethiopia is determined to formulate a policyframework that tries to consider families and children in the parental education, health and stimulation of children, very young children, education of kindergartners and non-formal school readiness ((MoE, MoH and MoWA, 2010b). But this policy has to be put in place. I gaga (1987) asserts that young children are active and they learn by doing a wide of variety of materials should be provided. Teachers, care-givers and parents are encouraged to make use of locally available materials in their immediate environment. Examples of teaching materials are charts, magazines, models, picture books, writing books. Freeman and Hatch (1989) emphasizes that lots of learning materials should be provided for children to acquire new knowledge and skills. Boyle and Peregoy (1997) argue that reading stories to young children introduces them to language because of instructional materials which contain pictures in them. According to Oluoch (1995) teachers and community are encouraged to improve and make use of the locally available materials. The selection of available materials depends on the following factors: • Durability materials developed should be long lasting. They cannot be subjected easily to wear and tear; Quantity materials develop should be enough and of many varieties which will attract children’s interest and attention; • Safety it should not expose children to danger i.e. materials should not be toothe rounded materials it can easily chocked children.

The sharp edges of some materials required to be trimmed and fine shaped smoothly; and size, teachers, parents and care-givers should have designed material which is appropriate to the age of the learners. Ng‟asike in his book for infants and young children he asserts that pre-schools children are creative, resourceful, and imaginative and are fascinated by objects in the environment surrounding them. Young children require materials they can squeeze, roll, scratch, taste, throw and pound to enable them learn as much as they can about objects in their world. In this they acquired knowledge and skills for their future grow and development. According to the national Association for the education of young children (NAEY), It’s recommend the following important developmentally appropriate practices in early childhood programmes for children from 0-8 years. Adults provides opportunities for children to choose from among a variety of activities materials, equipment and time to explore through active involvement, the children select many of their own activities among a variety of learning corners the teachers prepares, much of the young children’s learning takes place when they direct their own play activities, learning takes place as children touch, manipulate, see, experiment with things and interact with people. Rousseau (1778) believed that education should be based on the natural stages of child grow and development. So parents, teachers and other stakeholders should work hand in hand to ensure that the child enjoys as he or she learns by providing a variety of materials which encourages creativity and imagination. Teachers should provide enough relevant books to use in the pre-schools class. This will enable them to be flexible in selecting relevant themes and learning activities which are interesting to the learners. The limitations of materials cause poor performance and understanding. Teachers should use real objects and real situations within the children own social setting. In his book, Commenius (1970) asserted that the child learns better on a well structured environment in order to meet his or her needs. This led him to write the book of pictures in which there were a lot of illustrations in pictures and symbols. These captivated the child’s mind. Teaching materials are used to aid and facilitate teaching process for better understanding of concepts. The following are some of the suggested importance: To stimulate learner interest and attention in pupils throughout the lesson, makes learning real and enjoyable for children manipulates the learning materials, play with the materials, learning materials help in the development of body muscles as children manipulates teaching materials, helps in class control – children can be kept busy in handling materials even in the absence of the teacher, children engage in their learning activities by observing materials displayed on walls while others observe pictures of different kinds which make children to be more creative and imaginative, it enhances development of social skills through interaction, sharing of learning materials, through working together in groups and children can discuss various depending on the material provided basing on themes presented. The limitations of materials cause poor performance and understanding. Teachers should use real objects and real situations within the children own social setting. In his book, Comenius (1970) as early noted asserted that the child learns better on a well structured environment in order to meet his/her needs. This led him to write the book of pictures in which there were a lot of illustrations in pictures and symbols. These captivated the child’s mind. 2.8. Availability of Instructional Recourses The use of instructional resources is an essential aspect in instruction. Some resources can be readily available yet they are not used. Curriculum cannot be effectively implemented without adequate instructional resources. If instruction has to be effective and meaningful, there is need for adequate relevant instructional resources to be made available. The teachers and learners could use such instructional materials when needed. These materials include textbooks, models, charts, pictures films and other relevant instructional resources. According to Kochar (1991), a teacher who has adequate and relevant teaching materials and facilities will be more confident, effective and productive. Apart from the government and private sector taking an active role, teachers and pupils must be innovative in designing and developing resources (Abagi, 1993). Moreover, relevant instructional materials should be made available for effective teaching and learning. (Gilliespie, 2006) noted the importance of making appropriate instructional material available in teaching and stated that appropriate materials should be made available more promptly and with minimum time consuming and logistical problems. Similarly, Gilliespie (2006) pointed out that wrong selection of instructional resources can lead to misconception of ideas and has the greatest possible chance of altering the teaching process and modifying the message that the teacher supposes is being sent. Therefore, careful selection of media among available resources is required if effective teaching and learning is to be realized. Isutsa (1996) conducted a study on availability and use of instructional resource for teaching social education and Ethics (SEE) Brown et al (1985) stated that many teachers find that seeking and finding resources that produce results when learners use them is a distinct pleasure among multitude of teaching details. (ibid) encourages teachers to produce and avail instructional resources for teaching to achieve good results in their instruction. Teachers and learners should therefore take an active role towards making instructional resources available. Teachers and learners can ensure this through improvisation using locally available materials. However, it has been argued that the availability of relevant instructional resources leads to higher academic achievement. Kochar (1991) adds that apart from text books, instructions in History is guided by and made more interesting by use of other teaching and learning resources, like historical artifacts, field trips, maps, pictures and other audio visual aids. If instructional resources relevant for teaching are made available, they can make abstract concepts clear and real. This supports the fact that instructional resources are valuable to both the teacher and the learner. It is therefore necessary that they are made available during teaching/learning process. The provision of Quality and relevant education and training are dependent on among other things supply of adequate equipment and teaching materials (Maranga 1993:113). When instructional resources are available, the teachers‟ work is made easier for he/she can select what he/she requires from the available materials. This provides the teacher with time to then show how to use the available resources effectively. This shows that for teachers to create an acceptablecontext in the classroom, instructional resources must be made available. Kafu (1976) observes that, some expensive items as equipment are available in some schools but they remain locked up in stores or cupboards. Hence some existing instructional resources are underutilized. There is need for increased use of the available instructional resources for teaching/ learning process. This can be achieved if teachers are well prepared in the use of both the existing and new instructional resources that they are likely to come across in their everyday teaching. This can be done through in-service courses, workshops and seminars to keep teachers abreast with new instructional technology. If this is done it will go a long way in improving the teaching and learning of science. 2.9. Effectiveness of pedagogic resource utilization Acquisition ofmaterial resourceswithout some procedureswillcreate ineffective utilization of school resources (Negessie, 2007). Thus, school principals togetherwith his teaching and non- teaching personnelcreateaguideline toserve as amechanismforthe effectiveutilization of resources.Thedeterminationisaccompaniedbymechanismsthatcanbeappliedforproper usage.Forexample, rulesandregulationsof handling andmanagingresourceswoulddetermine thestorehousewheretheyarecarefullyplacedandtheywerebyascertainingtheresponsibility oftheteaching, non-teaching foreffectiveutilization ofschool resources.All theseprecautions havetaken ahead of timeto ensurethe effectiveteachinglearningbyeffective use resources. Makingresourcedecisionsisnotonlyaboutdistributingresourcesacrossthesystembutalso aboutensuring that such investmentstranslate into improvedteaching and learning atthe school level.This issue analyses how resourcescan be effectivelyutilized, through specific policiesand practices, to different prioritiesandprogrammesoncetheyhavereacheddifferentlevelsoftheschoolsystem.Amongother things, itconsidershowresourcesarematched to students’needs(e.g.grouping ofstudentswithin schools; studentsupportsystems;programmestopreventearly schoolleaving);howteacherresourcesandteaching timeareallocatedtostudentssothat theyoptimally respond toimprovementpriorities (e.g.classsize, teacher-student ratios,useofsupportstaff,useof teachers’ time);how studentlearning timeisorganized (e.g. instruction time, length ofschoolday);howschool leadership is organized and distributed;how resourcesinschoolsareorganizedtocreateenvironmentsconducivetoeffectiveteachingandlearning (e.g. safety andwell-being policies, outreach to parentsandcommunities);and howschoolfacilitiesand materialsareusedtosupportsuchenvironments(e.g. useofschoolfacilitiesforafternoontutoringor summerschools, use ofICT to complementface-to-face instruction). 2.9.1. Matching resourcestoindividualstudentlearning needs Awaytomatchresourcesto individualstudentlearning needsisto considerdifferentapproaches ofdistributingstudentsintolearninggroupssoastoprovidetherightlevelofchallengeandsupportto eachstudent. While in mostcountriesstudentsaregroupedtogetherbasedon theirage,in somesettings learning groups are designed based on individualneeds and preferences, which may provide better conditions forpersonalizedlearning.Grouping studentsby ability within andbetweenclassroomsisa common practicein manyOECDcountries. However, thebenefitsofsuch practicesin termsofproviding theoptimalpaceandlevelofinstructiontoeachgroupneedtobeweighedagainsttherisksforequity whenlabelling certain studentsas“low-ability”students.The lattermaycausestudentsto internalizelow expectationsandlosemotivationforeducation,withconsiderablecoststotheeducationsystemand society. There isalso evidencethat the grouping ofstudents is often biased with othercriteria than student ability influencing thegrouping processand studentsbeing ineffectively allocated to groups(Resh, 1998; Prenzeletal., 2005;Schofield, 2006;Strand, 2007).

Anotherwaytomatchresourcestoindividualstudentlearningneedsistoadapteducational offerings to students’ abilitiesand preferences.School systemsin OECDcountriestypicallyoffer a diversity ofeducationalprogrammes, in particularvocationaltracks, following eitherprimary orlower secondary education.Suchmatching involvestracking studentsintothedifferenteducationalofferings. Practicesdifferconsiderably acrossOECDcountries in terms ofthe age atwhich tracking occurs, the criteriafortrackselection and the varietyofvocationaltracks

Thesebenefitsneed to be setagainstotherpotentialusesofresources.Ifallschoolsreceiveequal levels of funding, then those schools that have larger classes will have more resources available for other uses.Theseresourcescouldbeused,forexample,inteacherprofessionaldevelopment,specialistteachers orotherstaffsupport.Thetimefreedupforcoreclassroom teacherscould thenbe usedforotherpriorities suchaspreparationoflessons,curriculum developmentwork,collaborationwithotherteachersorteacher leadershipactivities(Knightand Picus, 2012). 2.9.2. Usingschool facilitiesandmaterials The underuse of school facilities is often referred to as an ineffective use ofexisting resourcesin theschoolsystem. Schoolbuildingsandfacilitiesare often used only forapartoftheday, week oryear, which raises questions abouthow theseresourcescouldbeusedmoreeffectively.Severalschool systems haveexperimentedwith innovativeschoolcalendarsthatalter theuseofschool facilitiesacross theyear. Year-round schools,schoolsworkinginmorning and afternoon shiftsandsummerandevening schoolsare some examples. While the primary motivation forsuch initiativesis often to save cost, some ofthese practices mayindeed have beneficialeffectson student learning. Asexplained by Field (2011), summerschools, in particular, haveoften aimed to increase school performance through additionaland innovative programmes, with betteruse ofeducationalfacilities being a side-benefit.Theequitybenefitsarisebecausehomeswithfewerculturalresourcesaremoreproneto learningloss during schoolholidays – particularlythe long summerbreak (see, forexample, Alexanderetal., 2007). Year-round schools have also been used as ways to manage overcrowding in schools, by having severaltracksofstudentsusing thefacilitiesatdifferent times.Forexample,ahooloperating athree track system,whereby one-thirdofthestudentsareonvacationatany time,caninpracticeenrol aroundone-third morestudents.Buttheoreticaladvantagesheredoneedtobesetagainstadministrativecomplexity

2.10. Effectiveness of pedagogic resource management Resourceutilizationintheschoolsectordoesnothappeninisolation.Ittakesplacewithin institutionalcontextsthatmay facilitateorhindereffectiveresourceallocationanduse. Thisissueis concerned with how resourcescan be effectively managed atalllevels ofthe schoolsystem.Itlooks at capacity building forresourcemanagement(includingthecompetency frameworksandprofessional developmentopportunities available to supportresourcemanagementcapacity);themonitoring ofresource use(e.g.auditsystems,evaluationofresourcemanagers);transparencyandreporting;andincentivesfor the effective useofresources (outcome-based planning; rewards andsanctions).

2.10. 1. Capacity buildingforresource management Thecompetenciesofadministratorsandleaderswithresponsibilitiesforresourceuseatevery levelofthe schoolsystem influencetheextenttowhich they are able toplan strategically,evaluatethe outcomesofdifferentinvestmentsandallocateresourceseffectivelyamongdifferentpriorities.Resource userequiresvarious competencies thatleaders at the schoolor locallevelmay nothave through formal training. To ensurethatthosein chargeofresourcemanagementhaveadequate knowledgeandskills,one option is to reflect required resource managementskills in competency frameworks forlocaland school leadership.Suchcompetencyframeworkscanbeusedfortargetedrecruitmentprocessesbutalsoneedto befollowedby training andprofessionaldevelopmentopportunities.Also,wherefinancialandpersonnel managementresponsibilitiesare sharply.increasingwithoutadditionalsupport for leadership teams,school autonomy may beassociatedwith less time and attention forproviding pedagogicaland learning-centred leadership(Pontetal., 2008). On the otherhand, decentralization and schoolautonomy, when coupled with adequatetraining,supportandevaluationmechanisms,offersgreatpotentialforlocalauthoritiesand schoolstoestablish robust management processeswhereresourcesaredirectedto improvement priorities and supportlearning-centred leadership (Pleckietal., 2006;Pontetal., 2008).

A further strategyinvolvesinitiativesatthesystem and sub-system levels to buildupaknowledgebase,toolsandguidelinestoassistresourcemanagementprocedures.Thesetypically include toolsforplanning resourceuse, systemsofbudgeting andaccounting, guidelinesforschoolleadersand education administrators to report on resource use, instructions to purchase education materials and establishcontracts,andinformation aboutchoicesofeducation materials.

2.11. Effectivenessof pedagogicalresource distribution Thisissueisconcernedwithhowresourcescanbeeffectivelydistributedacrosstheschool system.Itconcernsnotonlyresourcesleviedatthecentrallevelbutalsothoseleviedatthemorelocal level(e.g. regions,municipalities). Itincludes the distribution ofresourcesbetween thedifferentlevelsof the administration (e.g. central,state,regionaland local), across resource types(e.g.human resources, physical resources, targetedprogrammes),betweenlevelsoftheschoolsystem (e.g.pre-primary,primary, lowersecondary,uppersecondary),betweendifferentsectors(e.g.generalprogrammes,vocationaland pre-vocationalprogrammes)andbetweenindividualschools(e.g. throughfundingformulaeandspecial compensatory programmes). Inaddition, italso dealswiththe distribution of school facilities(e.g. organizationoftheschoolnetwork),theorganizationofteacherresources(e.g.numberofteachers; teacherpreparation), theorganization ofschoolleadership resources(e.g. numberandprofileofschool leaders)andresourcestargetedatspecificstudentgroups(e.g.specialneeds;compensatoryprogrammes for disadvantaged students).Thedistributionof resources across theeducationsystem maybefacedwith competingdemandsforfunding from differentlevelsoftheeducationaladministration,differentsectorsof the education systemand individualschools with differenttypesoffundingneeds.

2.11.1. Distributionofschoolfacilitiesand materials Inthecontextofdeclining birthratesandsmallerstudentpopulationsinmanyOECDcountries, thedistribution ofschoolfacilitiesand theorganization oftheschoolnetwork are also receiving increased attention.Severalcountrieshavesoughttoconsolidateschoolsandcreatelargerschoolclustersinan attemptto reducecostsrelatedto themaintenanceofseveralsmallschools.Asexplainedby Field (2011), managing thetrade-offsbetweensmallercommunity schoolsandlarger,butmoredistant,educational facilities canbeachallenge.Although relationshipsarevariable,PISA resultsaremoreoftenpositively relatedtoschoolsize,otherthingsbeingequal,thannegativelyrelated(OECD,2010a,TableIV.2.4.c). Thebenefitsofcommunity schoolsarevery obviousto localpeople,butisadvantagesarelessobvious, with fewersubjectoptions, andless scopeforspecializedhelp to addressparticular interestsand needs. Converselylargerschoolsmayhavebetterfacilitiesandmoreoptions,andlowercostsperstudent,butmay alsoinvolvelong (andcostly)travelling timesorevenboarding arrangements.Thesealternativesmay requireadditionalfinancial supportforstudentsandpastoralcare for teenagers livingaway from home. Technology developmentsmay offersomealternatives,suchasusingICTto bring someoftheeducation and managementbenefits normallyassociated withlargerschoolsto smallerschools.

CHAPTER THREE 3. RESEARCHDESIGN ANDMETHODOLOGY 3.1. METHODOLOGY

The sequential mixed method is the study design. It is a procedure that a quantitative and qualitative approach to assess availability and utilization of pedagogical resourceinPreschools: the case of Shambu Town. This combination of methods can be used to offset biases and compliments to strength the two different methods. These methods are useful in understanding complex phenomenon, allowing for greater plurality of viewpoints and interests, and generating deeper and greater insights. In recognition that all methods have limitations as well as strengths, thesequential mixed research method has a fundamental principle that, methods should be sequential mixed in a way that has complementary strengths and non-overlapping weaknesses (Johnson and Turner, 2003). Thus, this study employed sequential mixed research method. Both quantitative and qualitative data were gathered through structured questionnaire, interviews and group discussion as a primary source of data for the study. The data obtained from primary sources has been supported by secondary data. 3.2. Research Design Thesequentialmixed methodsare the study design. It is a procedure that a quantitative and qualitative data integrated into coherent whole in order to bring an inclusive analysis of the research (Onwuegbuzie and Teddlie ‘, 2003). In this design, the researcher collected both forms of data at same times and then integrated the information in the interpretation of overall results. Exploringparticipants‟viewsthatareinvolvedorengagedinspecificsituations,eventsandexperienceshelpstheresearchertobetterunderstandthemeaningoftheirworld(Maxwell, 2005).Thisisthekeyfeatureofqualitativeresearchand,therefore,thisstudy wasconducted usingqualitative methodsinorder toassess availability and utilization of pedagogical resourceinPreschoolsof Shambu Town,Horo GuduruWollega Zone of Oromia regional state.

3.3. The Study Site

The study was conducted in selected preschools of Shambu town in Horo Guduru Wollega Zone. Horo Guduru Wollega zone is one of the zones of the Oromia region in Ethiopia. The capital of Zone is Shambu town which is found at distance of 315 km from Addis Ababa, the capital city of Oromia region and the country. Shambu town is also a seat for Horo District and Shambu Town Administration in addition to the zonal service. Based on the 2007 census conducted by the central Statistics Agency of Ethiopia (CSA), this zone has a total population of 570,040 of whom 285,515 are men and 284,525 are women and 64,739 or 11.36% of the population are urban inhabitants whereas 505,301 or 88.64% are rural inhabitants. Horo Guduru Wollega zone is bounded by Amhara National Regional state in the North, West showa zone in the East, East Wollega zone in the West, and West Showa and East Wollega zone in the South. Administratively now a day it is divided into 11 districts and 1 town administration (Shambu Town). Generally, the zone has twelve (12) districts. Among these districts Shambu town is selected from the centres of the zone. In a similar manner from the town preschools were selected purposively.

3.4. Study Population TargetpopulationsofthisstudywerepreschoolteachersandprincipalsworkingatHoro Guduru Wollega Zone in Shambu town. Shambu townpreschool was selected includingbothgovernmentandprivateschool.Thereare12preschoolsand 36teachersandoneprincipalforeachpreschool.Accordingly,thestudy wasconductedon selected preschools.Accordingly,thestudy wasconductedon selected preschools. 3.5. Data Sources

Teachersand principals of preschools have servedas primarysources ofdata in thestudy.Theprimary data werecollected usingquestionnaires, interviews and observation.

3.6. Sample, Population and Sampling Techniques

Currently,in ShambuAdministrative town,there are 12 preschools (4 governmental and 8 private preschools). Fromeachofgovernmental and private preschools,3 preschool teachersand oneprincipalforeachpreschoolweretakenas sample.The subjects of the study wereallsamplepreschools principalsandteachers.Hence,all36(100%)

teachers selected for questionnaires; and 12(100%) principalswereselected by availability samplingforinterviews.Thedetailofsampling process is indicated in table 1 below.

Table 1:.Sample frame and Participants for research Study Categories No.of questionnaire participants No.of Interviews participants FGD members Preschool teachers 36(12 from gov. and 24 from priv. preschool) 0 36(24 from priv. and 12 from gov.) Directors 0 12(8from priv. and 4 from gov. 12(8from priv. and 4 from gov. Total 36 12 4FGDs groups each having 12 members

Purposivesampling techniquewas appliedto select thesampleparticipants ofthestudy.In purposivesampling,theresearcherintentionally selectsindividualsandsitestolearnor understand thecentralphenomenon. Thestandardusedinchoosing participants and sites is whetherthey are“information rich”(Patton, 1990).Purposive sampling thusappliestoboth individuals and sites. Samplesizes,whichmayormaynotbefixedpriortodatacollection,dependontheresourcesand time available, as wellas the study’sobjectives. Purposivesamplesizes areoften determined on the basisof theoreticalsaturation (thepointin data collection when new data no longerbring additional insightsto theresearch questions).Purposivesampling isthereforemostsuccessful when data reviewand analysisaredonein conjunction with data collection .Purposive or judgmental sampling is a strategy in which particular settings persons or events are selected deliberately in order to provide important information that cannot be obtained from other choices (Maxwell, 1996). It is where the researcher includes cases or participants in the sample because they believe that they warrant inclusion. Accordingly, in the 12preschool (4governmental and 8 private preschools)of the Shambu Town (Laga Werke, Shambu Model, Arbu Lisha,Bikiltu, Mati Boru Kindergarten,Kero Lemi Kindergarten, Abishe Gerba Kindergarte,Catholic Kindergarten,Betel Kindergarten, Burka Lemi Kindergarten, Biftu Kindergarten and Abdi Boru Kindergarten), there are about 36 preschool teachers and oneprincipalforeachpreschool (12): weretaken fromShambu town 3.7. Data Collection InstrumentandProcedure Interview,FocusGroupDiscussion(FGD) andobservationchecklist were appliedtogather informationfromthesampleparticipants.Theseallinstrumentswerecraftedbyresearcher based on literaturereview.

Focus group discussions are useful method to gathershared understanding from individuals (Creswell, 2012).In this case,FGDwasapplied to get information concerning common methods ofteaching used by preschoolteachers;theextentpreschoolteachersareusingdevelopmentally appropriate practice, andprofessionaldevelopmenttocapacitate the preschoolteacher’s pedagogicalskills. Twelve (12)principalformeachpreschooland36 preschool teachers were participatedinto Four FGDgroups which mean 12 individuals in one FGD.

Interviewwas conductedwith principals to get information concerning the availability and utilization of pedagogical resourcesinthe teaching learningprocessas functionofteacher’sdemographiccharacteristics.Aftertheinstrumentswerecrafted,interviews weremadewith 12 preschool principals.

Interview wasmade withthe preschoolprincipalsbasedonthe sessionsadjustedwitheach preschoolprincipal.Allinterviewmadewiththeparticipantswereconductedatdifferenttime andplace thenasked toreflectontheabove mentionedresearchquestions.Eachsessionof the interviewwasdonebytheresearcherhim-self.Interviewsessionswererecordedandorganized soastomakeittranscribeableattheend.Eachsessionsofthediscussionweregivenabout25to 30 minutes. Observationalchecklistwasappliedasasupplementary forinterviewandFGDonthesame concept and selected school. Directobservationwas conducted bothin theclassrooms and outdoors.The aimwas to drawpertinent datafrom classroomsandoutdoorplay areas.Inaddition, organizationofclassroomsandactivity centers,supply ofmaterialsandequipment,and their arrangementswasthe mainfocusof observationinallclassroomsof eachsample kindergarten.

In theoutdoor,playground, supply and arrangements ofplay materialsand equipmentaswellassafetyaspectswasobservedinallsamplekindergartens.Twelvepreschools wereselected purposively. 3.7.1. Questionnaire Questionnairewasthe main instrument used to collect data forthestudy. Thequestionnaire aimedtoacquirenecessary informationfortheresearch.Itpreparedby theresearcherand administeredfor all teachersin thesampledkindergartens.The questionnaire consistedtwo parts.Thefirstpartfocusedonsomenecessarypersonalinformationoftherespondents like sex,age,educationallevel,yearsofserviceas teacherin thekindergartens. Parttwo containedclosedendeditems.Theclosedendedquestionswhichhave54items weredevelopedusing Likert typefivepoints scale.Theclosed endeditemswere related to classroomsand outdoor organizations.

Copiesof instrument werefirst givento thethesisadvisor.Inthelight oftheadvisor the items of the questionsimproved.After therefinementof theinstruments a pilottestwas conductedforthe questionnaires.Beforecollecting themaindata,thepilottestwasconductedtoensurereliability ofinstrumentsused.Furthermore,thepilottesthelpedto find out ambiguities, omissions and mis-understanding of each item in thequestionnaire. Thepilottestwasconductedby taking16 teachersfromShambu Town. The purposeofthepilot test was to ensure reliability of the instrumentsused.Thereliability ofinstrumentwas measuredusingCromback Alpha method.Theoverallreliability ofquestionnairetestresultis.833.Somequestionswere amended, others moved from onesection to another and still others rephrased and modified to makethem moreprecise. 3.7.2. Observationcheck-list

Observationwasusedtoobtainsupplementary dataforthe study.Directobservationwas conducted bothin theclassrooms and outdoors.The aimwas to drawpertinent datafrom classroomsandoutdoorplay areas, materialsetc. thatsupplementthe questionnairesand can assist comparisons with the standard.Intheclassrooms and out of class rooms the use of pedagogical resource materials. Inaddition, organizationofclassroomsandactivity centers’,supply ofmaterialsandequipment,and their arrangementswasthe mainfocusof observationinallclassroomsof eachsample kindergarten.In theoutdoor,play ground, supply and arrangements ofplay materialsand equipmentaswellassafetyaspectswasobservedinallsamplekindergartens.Checklist was prepared and employed. 3.7.3. Interviewguide

These instruments were conducted with key informants’ directors whom the researcher selected purposively. Therefore, 12 respondents participated in interviews from each selected category of the respondents. The interviews were conducted in the vernacular language and translated later on by the researcher to English. Then the interview responses were transcribed thematically in line with the objectives of the study. This helps to gather qualitative data that cannot be obtained unless it is used. Thus, the researcher used together detail information with clear explanations from relevant bodies. Accordingly, 12 directors, 8 from private and 4 from government preschools were selected.

3.7.4. Focus Group Discussion (Together with teachers and directors) Focus Group Discussion is a means to extract more intimate information about the availability and utilization of pedagogical resources in Shambu Town’s preschools. FGDs were conducted with purposively selected 36 teachers and 12directors with consideration of government and private institutions. Accordingly, 4FGDs were conducted with consideration of quality of composition. This tool helps to gather a more comprehensive data and brief. 3.7.5. Direct Observation Through this data collection instrument, the researcher and data collectors physically observed what material and teaching aids, plays and games the teachers are using in teaching. In doing so, the researcher recorded issues related to areas of study thematically within six sessions, three for private and three for government preschool classes. For each session 25 to 30 minutes were used to measure the issues understudy; particularly, the availability and utilization of local materials and aids, local plays and games. 3.8. Procedures of Data Collection

Tocarry outthisstudy,relatedandrelevantliteratureswerereviewed.Togetnecessary information from respondents, questionnaires were preparedundertheclosefollowupof theadvisors.Then, thequestionnaires were distributed and administered to therespective respondents. During the administration ofthe questionnaire, the researcherwas available to facilitate thefeedbackand tocorrectthe problemencountered onthe processof filling the questionnaire.Thedatacollected through interviewwas conducted by speaking tothe respondents face-to-face. All theinterviews weredonebytheresearcher.

3.9. Validity andReliability Althoughvalidityandreliabilityoriginatesfromquantitativeresearch,qualitativeresearchersalsoconsidertheseelementsforthevalidationandtrustworthinessofastudy (Golafshani,2003; Bryman,2012;Gall,Gall&Borg,2007).Gall etal.(2007) suggest three strategiestosecure the validityof qualitative research:to meet theuser’sneeds; to ensurethrough data collection; and to reflect a sound research design. Tomeettheuser’sneeds,theresearchercanuse“truthfulnessandreportingstyle”(ibid,p.474), which canhelpobtaining information aspreciseaspossible from the participantsby clarifying their responses.For example,in thisstudy,theresearcher describedthe datathroughdirect extracts of the participants‟opinions. To ensure through data collection, „triangulation‟can be utilized, i.e. employing multiple methodsto avoid thebiasof simplemethods(Maxwell,2005).Awide range oftools(i.e. interviews,focusgroupdiscussions and observations)were usedto cross-check theinformation from theparticipants in this study. Forinstance, somepre-school who participated in focus group discussions were laterselectedfor an individualinterviewin orderto confirm theinformation provided in the first interview. Reflectingsoundresearchdesign,„peerexamination‟(Galletal.,2007),whichreferstothe consideration on comments from peers on thefindings or thedraft ofthe research, is crucial. Inthisstudy theresearcher hadexchangedmany ideaswithhisadvisorandfriendstoensue validityoftheinstruments.Finally basedontheabovediscussedideasthereliability andvalidity ofthe data gatheringinstruments weretreated. 3.10. MethodofData Analysis Thedatacollectedby usinginterview,FGDandobservationchecklistweretranscribedfromaudiotothepaper,coded,classifiedintothethemeandfinally analyzedandreportedinform narration ofand paragraph respectively.Finally, tableand percentagewere usedto present the participants demographiccharacteristics. 3.8. Data analysis

In this study, both qualitative and quantitative data analysis techniques will be used. Accordingly, the analysis of the data collected was done in line with the data type. That means, data obtained through the close-ended questionnaire was analyzed quantitatively while those obtained through open-ended questionnaire, interviews, FGDs and document analysis was analyzed qualitatively and then triangulated with quantitative results. After collecting data through questionnaire, the data was entered into SPSS version 25 and the qualitative data was transcribed based on thematic areas. In the quantitative analysis descriptive statistics was employed. In the descriptive statistics, statistical tools such as frequency, mean, and standard deviation was used to address the objectives. In addition, relationship between variables was dealt with through correlation. In the qualitative analysis the data obtained through interview, observation and FGD was analyzed using narration, descriptions, explanations, interpretation etc. The qualitative data was first transcribed and summarized according the objectives of the study based on thematic areas. Therefore, the qualitative data obtained was described qualitatively in sentence form. Finally, the results have been summarized into tables and descriptions so that the analysis and meaningful interpretation of results have been made to draw conclusions and recommendations. 3.11. Ethical Issues To makethe participantsconfidentialthe researcherinformsthe purposes ofthe studyandas their responseisusedonlyfortheresearchpurposeandkeepitconfidentialandfinallyasany ofthe data obtained would benot personalized in anypart ofthe research.

CHAPTERFOUR: RESULTS ANDDISCUSSIONS

This sectionis classifiedintotwoparts.The firstpartdescribessample demographic characteristics involved in thestudy. Thesecond part presents the findings concerning the availability and utilization of pedagogical resourcesin the teachinglearningprocessas function ofteacher’sdemographic characteristics,andprofessionaldevelopmenttocapacitatethepreschoolteacher’s pedagogical skills.

4.1. TheDemographic Characteristics ofSample Participants Table 2: Respondents Background Information

Characteristics Categories Frequencies Percentages (%) Sex Male 26 72.2 Female 10 27.8 Total 36 100.0 Age Less than 22 years 8 22.2 22-25 years 17 47.2 Greater than 25 years 11 30.6 Total 36 100.0

Educational status Certificate 19 52.8 Diploma 17 47.2 Total 36 100.0

Area of Training Related and relevant to child care 20 55.6 Not related and relevant to child care 16 44.4 Total 36 100.0 Training in ECC Yes 20 55.6 No 16 44.4 Total 36 100.0 Experience in ECC

Not trained in ECC	15	41.7
 Less than 5 years	9	25
Greater than 5 years

Total 12 33.3 36 100.0 Position Teacher 27 75 Director 9 25 Total 36 100.0 Type of Preschool Government 4 33.33 Private 8 66.67 Total 12 100.0

It is important to present the respondents’ information as it helps to have adequate understanding of characteristics of the respondents. Accordingly, the above table depicts the different backgrounds of the respondents. The Table shows that both sexes (male and female) had participated in the study. In addition, the Table reveals that the participants had slightly different age level but with insignificant variation except few, on average. According to the Table, respondents accounted for about 77.8% had age that is greater than 22 years. The same Table indicates that respondents having certificate educational level were 19 (52.8%) while diploma holders were 17 (47.2%) in numbers. In relation to this data, those who had certificate level plus two more diploma holders had child care related field of study and training while others had the usual academic fields. Thus, the table tells that teachers who had been trained in child care related and relevant fields are 20(55.6%) while the rest 16(44.4%) had no training related and relevant to child care. The result in the Table shows that the respondents had enough experience to tell about the teaching in preschool. Accordingly, about 21(58.3%) had experience in child care more than two years plus training in child care related while the rest 15(41.7%) respondents had no training in child related care but had experience in preschool. Furthermore, the Table tells that the respondents of different position and status had participated. Accordingly, the majority of the respondents were teachers. The rest were directors. As the result reveals the respondents were selected and participated from both governmental and private schools proportionally. Therefore, the result regarding the background of the study reveals that the respondents had adequate level of demographic information. Table 3. Thedegreeofinstructional materials utilization and preparationby teachers Items Respondents F Scale 4 3 2 1.Degree of utilization Teachers F 24 3 9 % 66.7 8.3 25 2.Preparation ofinstructionalmaterials Teachers F 10 6 20 % 27.1 16.7 55.5

N= 36 Veryhigh (5), High (4), Medium(3), Low (2), Verylow (1

Table3item 1depicts,teachers24(66.7%)impliedthatthedegreeof instructional materialsutilization in mostof the kindergartenswashigh.However,directclassroom observationindicatedtheresearcher,acuteshortage ofmaterials andteacher’s dependency onpicture reading,sound-letter association,letter namingandword discriminationfrom books,written onthe sheetof papers or blackboard. Inaddition,essentialcurricular materials such as syllabiand teacher’s guide thatserveas acorner stonetoguide children’s educationwerescarcely available inmostkindergartens.Butmostteachers inthe kindergartens haveusedthosereadilyavailable materials. Thus,basedonthe responsesobtained,it couldbe possibletoconcludethatencouraging attemptmadeby teachersintheutilizationofinstructionalmaterialstoimplementthe curriculumseemstobehampered by acuteshortageofessentialmaterialsinthestudied kindergartens. Table 3item2illustrated thatteachers20(55.5%) decided the extentof instructional materialspreparationfromlocally availablerawmaterialswaslow.Theremainingsmall numberofteachers10(27.1%)answeredashigh.Thisimpliedthemajorityofteachersdid notprepareinstructionalmaterialsfromlocally availablerawmaterialsinmostof the kindergartens. Besides, theobservationmade bythe researcher also verified, thefact that eventhe traditiontocollectanduse realobjectsandspecimens,whichareeasily available inthe local environment, seems minimum.Ingeneral, based on theresponses obtained, it is possibleto concludethat teacherswere moredependent upon theutilization ofreadily availableinstructionalmaterialsthanpreparingby theirownfromlocallyavailableraw materials.Thisimpliesthe lackof commitmentandinitiative tosurpassthe shortage by preparingthe substitute materialsof lowcostonthe partof teachers toimplementthe curriculumin thestudied kindergarten. 4.2. Adequacy of ClassroomandOutdoorSpaces, Materials andEquipment, as well as its Organization Inorder toidentify,theadequacy ofclassroomand outdoor spaces,materialsand equipment,aswellasits organizationinthe kindergartens,respondentswererequested to judgetheadequacy.Accordingly, they weregivenoptions(verygood,good,notgoodnor poor,poorandvery poor)fromwhichtojudge.Theresultsarepresentedandanalyzedas follows.

Table 4: Adequacy of class room space, materials and equipment and its organization Item Respondents

Scale
		Good	not good or poor	poor   
		
	

3.Space provided per child is adequate Teachers f 18 3 15 % 50 8.3 41.7 4.Organization of activity centers are adequate Teachers f 15 3 18 % 41.7 8.3 50 5.Supply of materials in the center is adequate Teachers
f 14 5 17 % 38.9 13.9 47.2 6.Arrangement of materials Teachers are adequate Teachers f 19 4 13 % 52.8 11.1 36.1 7.Access for utilization Teachers is adequate Teachers F 18 8 10 % 50 22.2 27.8 8.Table, chairs and shelves Teachers are adequate Teachers f 15 4 17 % 41.7 11 47.2

[N=36], 5=very good, 4= good, 3=notgood nor poor, 2=poor, 1=verypoor. Table 4items3depictsteachers18(50%) judged asgood. This showsthatthere isadequacy ofclassroomspaceprovidedperchildinmostofthestudiedkindergartens.Besidesasobservedbytheresearcher,thereisanappropriateclassroomspaceinrelation tothe numberofchildren attended. Theclassroomspaceforyoung childrenshould provide access to, anddirection for learning centersand materials that foster creating, experimenting and working withfriends. Adequate space, facilities and socialinteractions among peers and the teacher, provides morelearning opportunities;reducetensionsand social aggressions (Garrick, 2004). Further,FDRE(1994),recommend63square meterclassroomsizesforforty (40)children and 1.55squaremeterspaceforeachchild. Therefore, itisevidenttosay that theclassroomspaceunderwhichbothteachersandchildrenworkisnecessaryforthesuccess of the objectivesof theprogram.Therefore, based on the responses obtained mostof the studied kindergartens were providedappropriateclassroom working Table4 item 4 showsthat most ofteachers 18(50%)judgedaspoor. This finding revealedthattheorganizationofactivity centersinmostofthekindergartenswas inadequate. Related totheorganization of activity centers,table4 items5alsodepicts,the inadequacyofthesupplyofmaterialsinthecentersforwhichthemajorityofteachers17(47.2%)judgedaspoor.Thisindicatestheinadequacy ofsupply ofmaterialsinmostof the activitycenters in thekindergartens. spaceforthegroupof children attended. Supervisorsalsointerviewedandreacted:tothefinancialconstraintstosupply itwith requiredmaterials,lackof interestandknow howonthe partof teacherstoorganize the centers.Curtis(1998), indicated that,the centersarethe source of somuch imaginative play,aplacetoexplore,experiment,discover,solveproblemsandusevariousmaterials and equipment.

Ingeneral,basedontheresults,it wouldbe possible toconclude that theorganizationof activitycentersandthesupply ofmaterialsandequipmentinmostofkindergartenswere inadequate.

Concerning theadequacy ofanorderly arrangementoftheavailablematerialsand equipment in theclassroom table4item 6 shows that,majority ofteachers 19(52.8%) judgedasgood.The remaining teachers13(36.1%)judgedas poor.This showsthatthe available materialsandequipmentinmost of the studiedkindergarten’sclassroomwere arrangedproperly. Relatedtoanorderly arrangementofmaterialsandequipmenttable4 item7reveals,accesstothe utilization of the available materialsandequipmentwasfound tobeadequateforthemajority ofteachers18(50%)judgedasgood.Theremaining respondent’steachers10(27.8%)judgedaspoor.Thisrevealsthataccesstotheutilization ofthe available materials and equipment in most of thekindergartens wasadequate.

Educatorshavepositiveevidences,thatproperarrangementofmaterialsandequipmentcanprovideorganizationandstructure,whichwill maximize learningopportunitiesfor childrenintheclassroom.Well-arrangedclassroomencourageschildren’sindependence and self-helpwhich isa fundamentalgoalofpre-schooleducation.Itprovides easychoices and self-serving(Miller and McDowell, 1993). Therefore, based on the responses obtained, itcouldbepossible to realizethat,ifan attempt made to arrange theavailable materialsandequipmentis supplementedwith theprovision ofavarietyand adequate resources, the results seem to havefarreachingpositive influence for children’s attendingin thestudied kindergartens.

Table4item8showsthatteachers17(47.2%)judgedaspoorfortheadequacy ofavailable child-sizedtables,chairs/benches and shelves. This reveals, in most of studied kindergarten, chairs/benches, shelves andtables wereinadequate.Manystudies have shown thatkindergartenchildrenshouldbe provided with tables, chairs/benchesandshelvesof proper height,andweight.Equipmentused shouldbe tothe sizeofchildrensothatthey participateinthelifethatgoesonintheclassroomactively (Christine and Jill, 1999).

Therefore,basedontheresponsesobtained,it would be possibletoargue thatappropriate child-sized tables, chairs/benches, and shelves were inadequate in most of the kindergartens forthe children attendingin thecenters.

Table 5: Outdoor space, materials and equipment and its organization Item Respondents Scale 4 3 2
9.Outdoor space and playground are adequate Teachers f 16 2 18 % 44.4 5.6 50 10.Safety condition is adequate Teachers f 19 2 15 % 52.7 5.6 41.7 11.Supply equipment is adequate Teachers
f 9 3 24 % 25 8.3 66.7 12.Selection of equipment is adequate Teachers f 13 3 20 % 36.1 8.3 55.6 13.Arrangement of equipment is adequate Teachers f 18 2 16 % 50 5.6 44.4 14.Durability of equipment is adequate Teachers F 19 2 15 % 52.7 5.6 41.7 [N=36], 5=very good, 4= good, 3=notgood nor poor, 2=poor, 1=verypoor.

As itisindicated intable5 item9,teachers18(50%) judgedaspoorforthe adequacyof outdoor spaceandplay ground.Theremainingnumberofteachers16(44.4%) judgedas good. Regardingtheadequacyofsafetycondition ofplayground, teachers 19(52.7%) judgedasgood.But, theremainingteachers 15(41.7%) judgedaspoor.The responses obtained showed that outdoor spaceand playground were inadequate inmostofthe studied kindergartens. But, thesafetyconditions were adequate.

Asobserved by theresearcher,insomekindergartenstheavailableoutdoorspacewasvery muchlimited.Butthesafety conditionswerealmostgoodinthestudiedkindergarten. FDRE(1994) indicates thatplay asthemainmediumof educatingpreschoolchildrenand recommendadequateandsafety areatoenhance thedevelopmentofchildreninthe kindergarten.

Therefore,basedontheresponsesobtained,evenifthesafetyconditionwereadequatethe outdoor space andplaygroundfound tobe inadequate inmost of the studiedkindergartens. Thiswould limitchildren’s possibilities forplay, to exercise and developphysicalskills,tobuildconfidence,andcompetence,which are themaingoalsofpreschool education program.

With respect to the supplyof outdoormaterials and equipment, table 5 item 11 showed that teachers24(66.7%) judgedas poor. The remainingteachers9(25%)judgedasgood. Regardingtheselectionofoutdoorplay materialsandequipment,table5item12 respondedthatteachers 20(55.6%) judged as poor. While some teachers13(36.1%)judged asgood.Inbothcases,theresponsesindicatedthatthesupplyandselectionofoutdoor playmaterials and equipment wereinadequate in mostofthe kindergartens.

Directobservationofplayground by theresearcher,alsoidentifiedthecriticalshortageand lack ofselection ofplay equipmentinthe kindergartens. Equipmentofminimumessentials likebalance, tricycle,crawling tunnels,climbingframes, swinging,etc,werenotavailable inmostofthestudiedkindergartens.Theonlyavailableonesinsomecasesweremerry- go-roundandslides onefrom each kindto beused by allchildrenattending kindergartens. Inaddition,the interviewedsupervisorsnever denied the acute shortage of outdoor play equipment,butraised financialconstraintasafactorand theunavailability ofequipmentin the area forselection to bemadewhile buying.

Adequateandproperly selectedmaterialsandequipmentprovidemoreopportunities for children’s individualandgroupplay.Play is animportantcontributortotheall development of childrenin thekindergarten.Hence,childrenshouldbe providedwith adequate and properlyselected playmaterials and equipment (Christine and Jill, 1999).Ingeneral,basedontheresponsesobtained,itwouldbepossibletoconcludethatthe supply andselectionofoutdoorplay materialsandequipmentwereneitheradequatenor suitable to meet the requirements of children in thestudied kindergartens.

Item13theteachers’resultshowsthat18(50%)judgedasgoodabouttheadequacyof the arrangementof theavailable outdoorplay materialsandequipment.Incontrast,the remainingteachers16(44.4%)judgedaspoor.Concerning durability oftheavailable outdoor materialsand equipment,table5 item 14,teachers 19(52.7%)judged as good.The remainingteachers15(41.7%)judgedaspoorabout the adequacyof durability. Theresponsesrevealedthatboththearrangementanddurability ofthematerialsofthe availableoutdoorplayequipmentwereadequateinmostofthestudiedkindergartens.It wasalsoobservedby theresearcher,thescarcelyavailableoutdoorplaymaterialsandequipmentwereplacedinsuchaway thatitcouldallowboth individual andgroupplay. Thedurability wasalsofoundtobeadequateforthefactthattheequipmentwasmade from highlydurable raw materials like metal.Theywere also maintenancefreeequipment.

Therefore,basedontheresults, it could be possibleto realize thatthearrangementand durabilityofthe availableoutdoor playmaterialsand equipmentwere found tobeadequate in most of the studied kindergartens 4.3. Findings The resultspresentedinthissectionaremainly based onanalysisfromtheinterviews, classroomobservations andfocusgroupdiscussionswiththe preschoolprincipals andclassroom teachers,sincetheirpoints ofvieware themain focusofthis study.Moreover,focusgroup discussion andobservationchecklist were usedto gatherdata fromthe preschool principalsand teachers. Theobservationchecklistswereappliedtocollectinformationaboutthe availability and utilization of pedagogical resourcespreschoolsenvironments.Inaddition,representativequoteswereincludedtoclarifythe points under discussion.

4.4 RESULTSFROMOBSERVATION Datafromobservationshowsthat,Presenceoflargenumberofchildrenbeyondthecapacity of classrooms.Overcrowdclassroomwereobservedduring observationvisitinthe selected preschool centers.Asit wasobservedmost ofpreschool were lackschild-sizedtables/chairs, aboutthegeneralcleanlinessandsafety ofthewholepreschoolenvironment,playground,supply ofplaymaterials and equipment speciallythe government preschool.

Thoughthegreatmajorityrespondedthat,infavoroftheadequacyofthealreadymentioned duringFGD,theexistenceoflessthanmajority,butconsiderablenumbersofparticipantsin favor of theother categorylikeinadequacyor unavailable with respect to the abovementioned. Further, theresearcherobservedtheavailabilityandadequacyofseparatefeedingrooms, separaterestrooms,toiletswithwaterforgirlsandboy,differentchildrenbooks,basicaidfacilities, easilyreachedmedicalconsultantsandabouttheavailabilityofmaterialsandequipment for children. ThemostparticipantsrespondedinadequateHence,themajorityofrespondentsemphasizedthe inadequacy orunavailability oftheabovementioneditemsexceptfewones.Morespecifically, separate feedingrooms, easily reached medicalconsultantandmaterials&equipmentforchildren werenonexistentforthegreatmajority ofpreschoolaccording tothe respondents.Theinformation obtained through observation using check listalsosubstantiates the conclusion reached during FGDof keyinputs in pre-schools. Inaddition,the researcherwas able tofind veryfew preschoolswithseparate restrooms, feeding rooms,lesscrowdedclassrooms,oversizedchairs,non-conduciveplayingfieldslikedusty and, non-conducivetoilet tapwater areaeitherfarfrom classroom orhigh to reach, and non-attractive orlesschildfriendlyyenvironment.Fortheholisticdevelopmentofchildren,practiceofplay ina well-furnishedinandoutdoorchildfriendlyenvironmentisadvisableatearlyagesofthe children fortheir holistic development (Mooney, 2000). Ingeneral,thepresenceofinadequateinputsisidentifiedtobekeyimpedimentsofproviding qualityeducation in Ethiopia at all levels of education system (MoE, 1994).
4.5. Challenges Hindering Use of pedagogical Resources

It is helpful to identify the major challenges affecting the implementation of educational policy pertinent to use of pedagogical resources in teaching preschool children. In order to answer the basic question of the study relevant to this challenges section, the researcher used open ended questions that gave the respondents opportunity to mention as many as possible challenges or factors. In addition, the researcher used interviews as and FGD as tools to collect data on the same objective. The first question was “In your opinion, what do you think are the major factors influencing in your preschool for availing and utilizing pedagogical resources in the preschool?The majority of the respondents reflected issues related to accountability problem and awareness as well as level of training. As the respondents responded strong mechanism that ensures the implementation of the use of pedagogical resources was not in place and was not enforced. In relation to this other said that even though there were rules and regulations in a manual form it was left only on shelf being given no attention. They added that teachers were not well led by the leaders of the schools to refer to the written instructions. Furthermore, attitude was the crucial problem that hinders the use of pedagogical resources in the schools. In this regard, as the respondents replied, the preschool, specially, those teaching in private preschools had no attitude level that enables them to use pedagogical resources. Therefore, one may understand, here, that the teachers in the preschool had especially those in private schools had tendency to undermine the importance of pedagogical resources in teaching the children. As interview response and FGD response from directors indicates for those teachers who encourage non

pedagogical resources, it seems that they were encouraging the children to develop sense of confidence and cleverness at the expense of looking in the opposite direction. In their explanation the respondents stressed that those teachers from private preschool had low awareness or commitment to use or to encourage the use of local resources in relation to the government preschools. What do you think should be done to ensure use of pedagogical resources in preschools? In order to use the opportunity of extracting potential experiences the respondents had on how to solve the problems, the researcher asked the respondents what should be done to deal with problems/ challenges adversely affecting use of pedagogical resources in teaching the preschool children. They recommended the following points: • Establishment of strong accountability that maintains the implementation of the use of pedagogical resources in all preschool. For the effectiveness of the implementation there should be appropriate rewards. Furthermore, they proposed that private should be given attention to correct their current trend of use of pedagogical resources. • The other point they proposed is that there should be attitudinal changing training, monitoring and evaluation as well as rewards.

5.SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONSAND RECOMMENDATIONS

Thispartofthestudy focusesonthesummary offindings, conclusionsand recommendations on thebasic findings. 5.1. Summary Themainpurposeofthisstudy wastoinvestigatethe availability and utilization of pedagogical resources in Shambu townin Oromia Regional State.Inorderto meet this Purpose,theguiding questionssuchastowhat extentclassrooms andoutdoor spaces,materials and equipment aswell as its organizations are adequate, to what extentindoor and outdoor pedagogical resources are available in the preschools,to whatextent the indoor and outdoor materials of the preschools adequate, relevant, local and appropriate to children’s learning, to what extent the preschool materials relevant to the children’s developmental needs and the preschools utilizing the indoor and outdoor pedagogical resources properly.Thesamplesizeofthestudy was36 teachers,and12principals.The researcher used available sampling techniquesforselectingtherespondents.Besides,toachievetheveryobjectiveofthe study,the researcher useddatagatheringinstrumentssuch asquestionnaire,interview and observation.The questionnaire was pilot3 testedbefore it wasdistributedto thesample respondents. Both quantitative andqualitativedatagatheredthroughtoolsof datacollection were analyzed byusingfrequency, percentage and tabulation. A. Utilizing of pedagogical Resources The result of the study shows that the teachers in the preschool did not utilizing preschool pedagogical resources such as pedagogical teaching aids, games and languages. Therefore, the overall result of the study tells that the practice was low level and not to the maximum expected level indicating gap between the expected and the actual practice. In addition, the study result indicates that the teachers in the preschools did not develop strong culture and adequate pedagogical resource. Therefore, the result implies that the preschool teachers in the study area inadequately used pedagogical resource and games in teaching the children were less encouraged by the preschool teachers. This infrequent use of local plays and games might have adversely influenced the potential of the children’s learning competency and results. Similar to this dimension, the local materials and aids were not practiced to the level expected as could be understood from all mean score earned that is far below the highest expected mean score.

Hence, the followingwerethe major findingsfromthe study:

The extent ofclassroomsandoutdoorspaces,materialsandequipment,aswellasitsorganizationin the studied kindergartenswere foundtobeinadequate. Because theorganization ofactivity centers,thesupply ofmaterialsandequipmentinthecenters,appropriate(child-sized) tables,chairs/benches,shelvesforthegroupofchildrenattendinginthekindergartens werefoundtobeinadequate.Inaddition,theoutdoorspacesandplaygrounds,thesupply ofplay materialsandequipmentandits selectionwerefoundtoinadequate.However, classroomspaceprovided perchild,the safetyconditionofoutdoorspaceand playgrounds, thearrangementofthescarcelyavailablematerialsand equipmentin theclassrooms, outdoor playareas, and durabilityof playequipmentwerefound to beadequate. Teacherslacktrainingrequiredtoeffectively carryonasoundprogramofeducationinthe kindergartens.Because,themajority ofteacherslackprofessionalexperiencesinworking withyoungchildreninthekindergartensforthey havelittleservices.Themajority of teacherswere notcompetent interms oftraining givenfor themand thecourses attended duringtraining.Themajority ofteachershadnoopportunitiesforin-servicetrainingto improveorup-datetheirprofessionalskillsandexpertisetoworkeffectively inthe kindergartens.However, themajority ofteacherswasfemale,inactiveworkingageand meet theminimum educational standards forkindergarten education.

Governmentsupportiveservicestoenhanceeducationinthekindergartensfoundtobe very minimul andlimited.Because, thefindingsdisclosedthatthemajority ofkindergartens lackessentialsupport, fromthegovernmentparticularly from towneducationoffice.Support servicesintermsoftrainingofteachers(pre-serviceandin- service), curriculumrevisions, supervisions, controllingstandards, andcurriculum materials wereveryminimul. 5.2. Conclusions Based on the analysis ofdata and the findings of the study, the following major conclusions arederived:

The result of the study implies that the teachers of the preschool were not endowed with a positive enough attitude having further implication that it obstructed the implementation of educational policy that encourages the use of pedagogical resources. In similar way, the study reflects that the teachers’ low level of awareness regarding use of pedagogical resources in teaching the preschool children Classroomsandoutdoor spaces,materialsandequipmentaswellasitsorganizationwere inadequate.Morespecifically, outdoor spaceswere inadequate.Essential materials and equipmentwerevery scares.Play materialsandequipmentwereneitheradequatenor suitable to meet the requirements. Teacherslacktrainingrequiredtoeffectively carry onasoundprogramofkindergarten education.Because,most ofteacherslackexperience toworkwithyoungchildrenin the kindergartens.Furtheropportunitiesforin-servicetrainingwerevery limited.Aboveall, assistant teachers and caregivers werenotavailable in most kindergartens.

Governmentlack supportservicesand specialattentionstokindergartenasthe sub-system offormaleducation.Because,therelationshipbetweenkindergartenowners,parentsand thegovernmentsupportareveryimportant.Thatisprincipalsandteachersshoulddesign the way towork withthe parentsinfinanceandtoassessthechildren’sneedtoprovide supports that fit to the children’s real situation.

5.3.Recommendations for concerning bodies

Inviewof the findings of the study the researcher recommended some relevant possible solution for school administrative bodies, preschool teachers, Shambu town administration, education bureau, other civil societies and NGOs in the study area. At the end recommendations for future researchers have been provided: - 5.3.1. Recommendations for Preschool Teachers

The preschool teachers are recommended to feel responsible for the development of the citizen and the development of the children that can be attained through the use of local resources in teachings and visualizing the educational values of the local resources. The teachers are also recommended to develop that encourage the culture of using locally available resources which are effective and efficient in teaching learning process. In relation to this perspective, the teachers are recommended to shape the children’s schema that use of local pedagogical resources is the sign of a civilized community. Teachers of the preschools are recommended to identify the challenges that adversely hinder the use of local pedagogical resources and act up on them to change the trend as time goes. 5.3.2. Recommendations for Preschool Administrators

The following points have been recommended for the administrators of the schools.The preschool administrators are recommended to maintain the positive aspects of the available practice of use of pedagogical resources in the preschools. In this study, the practice of using pedagogical resources in teaching the children was on medium level indicating that still there was gap in implementation. It is recommended that the preschool administrators conduct a timely follow up and research activities so as to support and create conducive environment. In addition, the management is expected to provide important facilities and enhances the process of getting pedagogical resources in a coordinated manner. The school administrators are also recommended to establish strong accountability mechanism

and encourage the children’s parents’ participation in enhancing the practice of use of pedagogical resources in the preschool. The school administrators are also recommended to align the performance appraisal mechanism and rewarding system at school level that is designed to encourage and maintains the use of pedagogical resources in preschool teachings. In case the teachers are reluctant to follow the rules and regulations appropriate measures should be taken within reasonable time frame. The administrators are expected to increase the commitment of the preschool teachers the way it motivates them to enhance their creativity within the context of using the pedagogical resources. In this case, the administrators are expected to establish a system that encourages teamwork and experience sharing on the use of use of pedagogical resources The administrators are also recommended to conduct training need assessment at their respective level that may improves the skills of the preschool teachers’ to use pedagogical resources as tools to teach the children developing ethical approach in all dimensions of school management is crucial. 5.3.3. Recommendations for Shambu Town Administration Education Office

The following points have been recommended for the Town administration: The role of an education bureau is significant in implementation of educational policies that support teaching learning process as well as in creating flexible and productive environment. Accordingly, the use of pedagogical resources in preschool teaching is related to policy provision that requires the intervention of the education office. In addition, the management of the education office is expected to provide important facilities and enhances the process of getting local pedagogical resources in a coordinated manner with other relevant stakeholders. The office is also recommended to establish strong accountability mechanism and encourage the children’s parents’ participation in enhancing the practice of use of pedagogical resources in the preschool.

The education office’s is recommended to align the performance appraisal mechanism and rewarding system that is designed to encourage and maintains the use of pedagogical resources in preschool teachings. In case the preschool administrators and teachers are reluctant to follow the rules and regulations, appropriate measures should be taken within reasonable time frame before it reaches catastrophic level. The education office’s administrators are expected to increase the commitment of the preschool directors and other staffs including teachers the way it enforces them to enhance their creativity within the context of using the pedagogical resources. In this case, it is expected to establish a system that encourages teamwork and experience sharing on the use of use of pedagogical resources on periodic basis

The education office is also recommended to conduct training need assessment that may improves the skills of the preschool teachers to use pedagogical resources as tools to teach the children It is also recommended that the education office and administrators recruit the preschool teachers based on merit and relevancy of field of the study. The preschool teachers are recommended to develop their skills of using pedagogical resources by increasing their commitment which can be attained through involvement in skill providing activities in a planned way. The preschool teachers are recommended to provide policy input that comprise locally specific realities and implement them accordingly. Above all, the teachers are recommended to respect educational policy provisions that are pertinent to the use of pedagogical resources in a preschool education.  Theorganizationofclassroomandoutdoorspaces,materialsandequipment,playan important partin helping children to acquire theskills associatedwith preschool provision. Therefore,thecollaborativecampaignofthekindergartenownersandShambuTown. Educationhasnosubstitute toprovide adequate andappropriate indoor andoutdoor facilities.  Inaddition,thereisaneedforaninterventionstudy toevaluatetheenactmentof developmentally appropriatepracticeinaplay contextwithavariety ofplaying materials madeby localteachers,parents,andcommunity.  Alongsidethis,emphasisshouldbe placedontheprovisionof professionaldevelopment, and improvingteachingand learningmaterials and facilities.  Asinferredfromtheresultofthestudy lack of materials and facilities,lackofclassrooms.Therefore,Horo Guduru WollegaZonal Educational Office, Woreda andother non- governmental organization need to paytheirattention to thepreschool students.  The owner of kindergartensand Shambu TownEducation Office couldregularly organize ongoing workshops,seminars, conferences,andotherteacher development programs for the preschoolservingteacherstoequipthemwithlatest researchfindings. Besides,teacherswhoarealready inthesystembutnotspecialists inpreschooleducation could be encouraged toenrollforin-servicetraining.  Finally,Horo Guduru WollegaZonal EducationofficeandWoreda Educationoffice needtofollowupand give thenecessarysupport forthose preschools in Horo Guduru WollegaZone 5.3.4. Recommendations for Future Research

Based on the scope and limitations of the study, the researcher recommended the following points to be considered for future researchers who are interested to conduct a study. • Future research is recommended to consider other factors and dimensions such as political influence and interventions in implementing locally oriented pedagogical resources. • The future researchers are recommended to analyze educational policy strengthens and weakness with intention to policy revision in case it fails to enhance use of local pedagogical resources. • The researchers are recommended to determine the factors that influenced the variations between government and private preschools. • The significance test should be carried out to see which factor is highly influencing the use of pedagogical resource in preschool environment.

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