Instructional Materials and the Development of Young Children's 21st Century Skills: Perspectives From Early Educators in Ukerewe, Tanzania

The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe how pre-primary teachers use instructional materials to equip children with skills requisite for surviving and competing in the 21st century, particularly in the developing world's context. The phenomenography study design used purposive sampling to select 24 pre-primary teachers in six selected schools in the Ukerewe district of Mwanza region, Tanzania. It deployed Moustakas' (1994) six steps of phenomenological reduction technique to analyze data. The study findings indicate that teachers prioritized children's emergent literacy skills of reading, writing, and numeracy although neglecting crucial critical thinking and technological literacy skills. The study also found that the shortage of qualified teachers in pre-primary education affected efficiency in equipping children with 21st century skills. In fact, the study found pre-primary educators in this study used strategies that barely meet national expectations of equipping children with 21st century skills in an increasingly globalized world. The study, therefore, concludes that the empowerment of teachers to use instructional materials effectively could contribute significantly to young children developing these 21st century skills from a young age.