The role of art in early childhood education in primary schools in Botswana: a case of Kgatleng region

Abstract

Art education and Early Childhood Education have been developing at a slow pace in the education sector in Botswana. The purpose of this study is to explore the role of art in Early Childhood Education, to find out if teachers use art in Early Childhood Education as well as to identify the challenges faced by teachers when teaching Early Childhood Education through the use of art. Reviewed literature on art and Early Childhood Education suggests that art plays an important role in the development of a child, therefore, must be taken seriously by governments. In Botswana, the development of Early Childhood Education has largely been in the hands of Non- Governmental Organizations, Faith-Based Organizations and the private sector with the government playing the role of policy development. Until recently, Early Childhood Education has been introduced in primary education as reception classes. Analysis in this discourse show that many teachers in Early Childhood Education are unqualified to teach in Early Childhood Education as mostly are females and non-citizens due to lack of training institutions in Early Childhood Education (Bose, 2008; 2010, Maunganidze & Tsamaase, 2014). Early Childhood Education in Botswana is faced with challenges of lack of a curriculum which therefore, leave it open for institutions to do as they wish. This study uses a qualitative research approach which is rich in its approach to studying social phenomena. The study will use classroom observation and in-depth interview for data collection. Observations of five pre-schools classes will be made. Observations and in-depth interviews are good for first-hand information and the in-depth interview method is suitable for probing of more information from participants. The pre-schools will be selected through purposive sampling technique. Teachers administering the selected classes from the sampled preschools will then be interviewed. The five pre-primary classrooms will be observed in Kgatleng region.