Early Childhood Program for Pre-Primary Teachers of Karachi: Challenges and Opportunities

Abstract

Early years of childhood are a crucial period of life for their growth and development which laid the foundation for life time opportunities. Teachers play a fundamental role in the effective learning experiences of children. The objective of this study was to explore the current practice of Early childhood Teachers in the public schools of Karachi, their challenges and opportunities were also revealed through this study. The population of this study included the ECT (Early Childhood Teacher) in public school of Karachi, the sample size was 21 ECT which were selected through snowball sampling method due to unavailability of complete data of target population and closure of schools due to summer vacation. A questionnaire was developed which consisted of open ended and closed ended questions, using the mixed method approach i.e., sequential explanatory research design was followed, the finding revealed current practices of ECT in pre-primary schools of Karachi. It was found that majority teachers appointed as early Childhood Teachers in pre-primary schools of Karachi are trained and they are aware of the psychological needs of children, the biggest challenge which they are facing is lack of parental involvement which make their task more challenging. The findings from the open-ended questions explore more challenges of Early Childhood Teacher that are facing challenges of presenting, planning, creating a learning environment, establishing curriculum and dealing with the needs of toddlers. Equal distribution of resources, recruitment of more Early Childhood Teachers, awareness programs for parents, productive teachers training, effective mechanism for supervision from government was recommended for the improvement of Early childhood Education in Public schools.