Sustainability of the implementation of the preschool physical education curriculum in Nairobi and Nyeri Counties

Abstract

This paper is derived from a study of Physical Education curriculum in 99 preschools, with 60 head teachers, 60 parents and 4 County Early Childhood Education officers from Nairobi and Nyeri counties. The study comparatively evaluated the sustainability of the implementation of the preschool Physical Education (PE) curriculum in Nairobi and Nyeri counties. Its purpose was to establish the extent to which the implementation of PE is sustainably done in these two counties. Unlike in the traditional African society where play was embedded in every day’s life, today, PE does not enjoy prominent status like the other examinable subjects. Schools do not meet the legal policy requirements for PE. This could partly be attributed to pressure for academic excellence geared towards examination performance. In so doing, children are denied their right to psychomotor and life skills, a situation that may affect the sustainability of the implementation of the PE cur riculum yet physical inactivity is leading to a global risk of non - communicable diseases. The results of the study show how key different stakeholders supported the implementation of PE curriculum with the aim of addressing this risk of non - communicable di seases besides the communicable diseases as health is central to the country’s present and future development.