Abstract:
Integrating Information Communication Technology into curricula with the intent of positively influencing
teaching and learning has been in a state of evolution over the past 20 years. The purpose of the study was to
analyse teachers' competency in integration of ICT, into teaching and learning in early learning in Bungoma
County, Kenya. The study was guided by Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge Framework (TPACK)
by Punya Mishra and Matthew J. Koehler’s. The study population included Early Childhood Development (ECD)
teachers, education officers in charge of ECD in the county and public primary school headteachers. Simple
random sampling was used to obtain 177 ECD teachers which is 10% of 1,768 ECD teachers from 884 public
primary schools in Bungoma County. The study adopted a descriptive research design. A questionnaire and
interview schedule were the main primary data tools for data collection. The findings showed that Integration of
ICT in early education is highly related to teachers’ ICT competencies, planning for instruction, teaching methods,
teaching and learning materials and how assessment is done. The central issue in the integration of ICT into early
learning is pegged on the instructors having the requisite ICT training. ICT integration in early learning is often
attributed to the teachers thus, those teachers who competency and higher confidence are expected to integrate
ICT in their classes. Teacher's underutilization of ICT in the classroom and their resistance to embedding ICT
across the curriculum can be detrimental to attempts to introduce new teaching and learning technologies in
education. Therefore, it is crucial to monitor teacher's ICT utilization and examine factors that contribute to their
skeptical practices of teaching with technology.
