Instructional Strategies for Teaching Environmental Activities in Pre-Primary School Level: A Lesson for Kenya under Competency-Based Education Curriculum

Abstract

Pre-primary education provides a critical foundation for children’s cognitive, social, emotional, and scientific development. In Kenya, the teaching of environmental activities in pre-primary education has received renewed emphasis following the adoption of the Competency-Based Education (CBE) curriculum, which prioritises learner-centred and experiential approaches to teaching and learning. This paper presents a comprehensive secondary review of literature on core instructional strategies for teaching environmental activities in pre-primary schools and how they can be adopted and used by teachers in Kenyan schools. The review focuses on establishing the various teaching methods used in teaching environmental activities, teachers’ competency in teaching environmental activities under the CBE curriculum and challenges that teachers face in teaching environmental activities in public pre-primary centres. Using a desk-based research methodology, secondary research data were analysed thematically using content analysis. It has been found that although integrated learning strategies are strongly supported by CBE curriculum policy and educational theory, their classroom implementation remains inconsistent due to challenges such as inadequate teacher training, limited instructional resources, large class sizes, and contextual constraints in the pre-school environment. The paper concludes that strengthening teacher professional development and training, improving resource provision in public pre-schools, and enhancing research-informed practice are essential for improving pre-primary school environmental activities teaching in Kenya under the CBE curriculum