Investigation of factors influencing scientific literacy among the preschool teacher trainees on practicum

The 21st Century skills and attitudes have a pertinent role in driving the global economy. Scientific literacy skills are such of these skills hence ought to be explored and achieved by every citizen. This study was set out to investigate the factors affecting the implementation of scientific literacy among the pre-school teacher trainees in a Preschool teacher preparation institute Taita Taveta County in Kenya. The concept of scientific literacy is an invaluable component to a science teacher at any level. The pre-school teacher training level was the target of the study with a special focus on the practicum. It was hoped that at the practicum stage would be the most appropriate level to identify scientific literacy in action. This study was also geared towards identifying the deficiencies in the implementation of scientific literacy implementation with a the main focus on the ECDE teacher preparation and the recommended ways of managing the situation .This was due to the fact that the future development of science skills in an individual is greatly influenced by the kind of foundation they were built on. The study employed a sequential explanatory mixed design which entailed the gathering of qualitative and qualitative data. Quantitative data was collected through a survey while interviews, document analysis and classroom observations were used to collect qualitative data. From the findings the factors influencing scientific literacy ranged from; classroom practices, attitudes and perceptions, Curriculum implementation and pedagogical content knowledge. The study therefore concluded that there were indeed a myriad of challenges in relation with these factors, facing pre-school teacher training both in their preparation and during their practicum. The recommendations from the study included; curriculum reforms to cater for the needs of the ECDE learners, inclusion of ECDE teachers in the SMASSE training, Harmonization of the Science curriculum across the counties to suit the activities that encourage scientific literacy development