The purpose of this research was to establish whether there was a significant relationship between teachers’ attitudes and levels of utilization of instructional materials (IM) in Pre-Primary Schools in Kenya. The study adopted the Ecological Systems Theory by Urie Bronfenbrenner. The study used a cross-sectional survey research design and data were collected through self-administered questionnaires. A sample of 164 teachers comprising of 76.2% females and 23.8% males participated in the study. Results established that 86.4% of the teachers had positive attitudes towards the instructional practice. In terms of utilization of instructional materials, the researchers determined that 62.1% of the respondents achieved high levels while 37.9% attained low levels of utilization of instructional materials across the Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE) activity areas. The Chi-Square results revealed that there was a statistically significant relationship between teachers’ attitudes and utilization of instructional materials (χ2 = 4.094; d.f.= 2; p = 0.043). Further analysis using the regression test revealed that there was a statistically significant relationship between teachers’ positive attitudes and levels of utilization of instructional materials (β =0.516; p = 0.001). These findings established that teachers who had positive attitudes attained higher levels of utilization of instructional materials in their classrooms compared to their counterparts who had negative attitudes. Therefore, it was concluded that teachers’ attitudes were a significant factor in promoting the utilization of instructional materials in ECDE activities. This implies that a positive attitude is an important attribute of a pre-primary school teacher. Therefore, there is a need to inculcate positive attitudes towards the utilization of instructional materials among teachers during pre-service and in-service training sessions to promote the best practices in instruction at the pre-primary school level.

Research indicates that children who obtain quality pre-primary education have a head start in life. It is also evident that early exposure and good use of instructional materials (IM) prepare children to be well adjusted later in life. Children are also well equipped with problem-solving skills that are important in Early Childhood Development and Education (ECDE). Instructional materials are core to effective teaching and learning in the formative years. The purpose of this research was to establish whether there was a significant relationship between teachers’ demographic characteristics and levels of utilization of instructional materials in pre-primary schools in Kenya. The study adopted the Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning Framework (CTML) and Ecological Systems Theory by Urie Bronfenbrenner. Besides, the study applied a cross-sectional survey research design. A random sample of 168 teachers comprising of 76.2% females and 23.8% males participated in the study. The Chi-Square test results indicated that gender (x2= 1.335; d.f. =1; p= 0.030), level of education (x2=8.165; d.f. =5; p=0.024) and professional training status (x2= 13.620; d.f. =5; p= 0.020) had a statistically significant linear relationship with the level of utilization of instructional materials. These results implied that female teachers were more likely to use instructional materials than their male counterparts and teachers who were more educated and highly trained were more likely to use instructional materials than their less trained counterparts. However, age, marital status, and duration of teaching experience had no statistically significant relationship with the utilization of instructional materials in pre-primary schools. It was concluded that professional training of pre-primary school teachers is critical for effective teaching and learning at the foundational level. It was recommended that teachers should promote the utilization of instructional materials in their classrooms for interactive and experiential learning of pupils.