The supervisory role of kindergarten teachers is primarily concerned with supervising and managing the efforts of their learning environment to create safe, positive learning environments for all learners. The purpose of this study was to assess teachers’ supervisory practices of learners in Kindergarten schools in Komenda Edina Eguafo Abirem municipality. (K.E.E.A) Municipality in the Central Region of Ghana. The study employed the qualitative research approach using the interpretivism paradigm. The instrumental case study design was adopted for this study. Population of the study comprised public kindergarten schools in KEEA Municipality. A multi-stage purposeful random sampling technique was used to select sixteen (16) respondents for the study. The semi-structured interview and observation checklist were the main instruments employed in the data collection for this study. The qualitative data was analysed by the use of the interpretative method based on the themes arrived at during the data collection. The themes were related to the research question and interpreted on the number of issues raised by respondents. These were based on question on the semi-structured interview. The study indicated that, kindergarten teachers do not supervise their learners during out-door activities or at playground, thinking it is the available time to relax after learners are out to play. The study also revealed that, kindergarten teachers do not pay close attention to learners and their physical environment to detect danger and threats. Also, in relation to proximity in supervision, the study found that, kindergarten teachers do not maintain physical closeness supervision of their learners to promptly salvage them from occurring danger during supervision. It is recommended that, the Ministry of Education (MoE), Ghana Education Service (GES), and other Agencies in Education (AiE) should strategically and periodically organize workshop trainings and seminars on teacher supervision and safety for kindergarten teachers. It is also recommended that, Tertiary institutions like the teaching universities and colleges of education should mount courses specifically for Teachers Supervision and School Safety for pre-service teachers and school administrators.

Supervision is founded on a variety of theoretical perspectives, and as a result, its definition is always evolving [1]. It draws on the principles of experiential learning, constructivism, team learning, and the notion of life-long learning [2, 3, 4]. Supervision is commonly defined as an interaction between at least two people that is intended to improve the performance of an activity. In the realm of education and teaching, the practices of supervision are numerous and varied [5, 6] Teacher supervision is considered as an organizational function focused with encouraging teacher growth, which in turn leads to an improvement in teaching performance and an increase in student learning. Its fundamental goal is to improve the educational experiences and learning of all learners [7]. Supervision is defined as an activity, practice, or process that takes place at the school or between the school and college level that involves teachers in meaningful, non-judgmental, and ongoing instructional dialogue and reflection with the goal of improving teaching and learning [8]. Association for the Development of Education in Africa stated that supervision is a developmental method in which a practitioner aids a client in carrying out an assignment more readily and effectively in order to get better outcomes [9]. The objectives of the supervision given by these researchers can be divided into four categories: improving education, developing curriculum and staff development, boosting human interactions and motivation, and encouraging action research and supporting collaboration [10]

Basically, it appears that there is a lack of knowledge about the real supervisory practices of teachers during interaction with children in the school setting. In order to ensure the safety of children, new research has revealed that increased supervision plays a protective role and is associated with less child injuries or harm [11, 12]. Teachers' monitoring is standard practice in schools, but caregivers and kindergarten teachers go above and beyond to monitor children who have been characterized as risk takers, sensation seekers, or impulsive [11]. The usage of playground supervision that focuses on observing children's behaviour has only a modest relationship with the risk of injury [11]. According to a study published by experts at Safe Kids from 2000 to 2001, 88 percent of drowning victims were under the supervision of caretakers [13]. Distractions were identified as common occurrences among caregivers who watch children while swimming [for example, chatting to someone (38 percent), reading (18 percent), eating (17 percent), and using the phone (11 percent)]. It is still unclear how active supervision will be implemented in the face of regular classroom distractions, but fresh research is being conducted to find out. When you consider that most parents and teachers are at home or at school when their children are hurt, this is an important consideration [14].

1.1. Supervisory Role of Kindergarten Teachers

Supervisory skills and strategies are some of the most important caregiving strategies and abilities that teachers must learn and master in order to provide effective care. Monitoring children's play requires a combination of listening to and watching them play, being aware of their surroundings and any potential dangers they may be exposed to, weather conditions, the time of the day, managing small and large groupings of children, and having a thorough understanding of child development, including theories about how children learn. It is also important that, teachers become aware of the differences between the children in their care in terms of their ages, personalities, behaviour patterns, and other characteristics. When it comes to how children interact, communicate, and play with one another, teachers must first establish relationships with them in order to learn about who they are, how they react in different situations, and what they are interested in. The development of these skills is essential because they assist teachers in anticipating children's play patterns, which has an impact on how teachers plan and establish environments and coordinate supervision strategies in order to maximize children's safety and ability to play without being injured. [6, 15]. To investigate the role of maternal supervision in reducing the risk of injury in young children, a study developed a conceptual model of teachers, caregivers, and parents supervising behaviours in which a hierarchy of supervision strategies defined supervision in a way that could be systematically measured for its relationship to injury risk [15]. Attention, proximity, and continuity were all mentioned as three dimensions of the phenomenon.

• Attention: Attention refers to paying full visual and auditory attention to a child's activity and behaviour. It can range from complete undistracted attention to complete absence of attention to the activity and behaviour of the child. As well as the visual and auditory components, attention encompassed a supervisor's level of engagement with a child, which ranged from direct visual contact with the child to having no visual contact with the child [15]. Injury risk was also predicted by attention, but only for more severe injuries and only in cases where the patient was admitted to the hospital for observation.
• Proximity: Physical proximity to the child is defined as the caregiver's closeness to the child, which can range from physical contact to very long distances away. The distance between the supervisor and the child was denoted by proximity, which ranged from being within touching distance to being out of reach and beyond reach at long distances. When a caregiver is near a youngster, it is referred to as "proximity." According to the findings of research, the proximity of teachers and caregivers to their learners predicts the likelihood of an accident occurring [15].
• Continuity: This means maintaining constant visual and auditory attention. Continuity of supervision can range from uninterrupted visual and auditory attention to intermittent visual and auditory checks on the child's behaviour [15]. When it comes to continuity, it describes how well the supervisor demonstrates the first two dimensions in a continuous, intermittent, or nonexistent approach [15].

Due to the fact that teachers are charged with the responsibility of helping students, they play an important role in school safety. When an act of violence, terrorism, or natural disaster occurs, teachers are in charge of classrooms full of learners becomes an excellent resource for school safety [16]. According to the first National Conference for Educational Development, the educational supervisor's responsibilities were concentrated on the educational operation with its broad concept and its executive frame with its various elements, including human and financial resources [17].

Teacher supervision is the act of keeping an eye on, listening to, and instructing children while they are in the service to ensure that they are safe, engaged, and learning about the world in which they reside. Teachers must supervise children at all times and intervene when dangerous behaviour or injuries are observed in order to prevent them from becoming ill. When teachers observe children in and outside of the school environment, they gain the information they need to respond in the most effective way to extend children's learning and development [18]. Additionally, they provide a safe atmosphere for children by taking into account their supervision and safety when participating in outdoor activities [19]. Researchers who looked into the roles of teachers in children's environments discovered that the most common roles played by teachers in the outdoor environment were to ensure children's safety and direct their playing.

The physical architecture of the indoor and outdoor environments, once again, was seen by all teachers as posing constraints on planning, preparation, and implementation. A study investigated preschool teachers' beliefs and practices during children's outdoor play in the same setting as in the previous research. The findings revealed that teachers believed that the outdoor environment was critical in enhancing a child's development and learning about nature, and that they saw their role as one of supervising children, assisting them in finding a direction in their play, and engaging in conversation with them [20].

Outdoor environments are important for all aspects of a child's development, but early childhood teachers often underestimate the importance of outdoor environments in their students' development [21]. According to many school administrators, the outdoor space available in their facilities should be used mostly for active, loud and physical play by children. Because outdoor time is perceived as a break from classroom activities, teachers frequently believe that play is not essential to the learning process [22]. Preventing equipment and facility damage can be accomplished through the use of safe practices that ensure the welfare of children and teachers.

The multitude of supervisory approaches used by teachers in childcare centers as follows:

• How the teacher positions himself or herself in the environment: When supervising children, educators must examine how they place themselves in both the outdoor and inside environments. Teachers position themselves in such a way that they are aware of their entire environment and see as many children as they can in one class period. The safety of all children is ensured at all times by visual or auditory monitoring methods. The teachers must maintain close supervision over all learners in areas where there is a risk of injury due to potentially hazardous equipment. This will ensure that students do not become ill or injured while at school, and that they are kept secure, comfortable, and under careful observation at all times.
• Scanning the environment and determining the number of children: When supervising children, scanning is extremely important. Make frequent eye contact with all learners while maintaining a high position of the head. The awareness that students are aware of where a teacher's eyes are located is necessary for this to happen. Teachers are required to conduct regular scans of the school environment, both inside and outside. For this reason, teachers must develop a system of regular headcounts that mark each child's arrival and departure to ensure that they are always fully aware of where each child is. When learners believe that the teacher is not observing, they are more likely to engage in inappropriate behaviours. Several strategies for maintaining active scanning have been proposed by an earlier study, including constant turning and head swiveling, as well as frequent glances around the room.
• Teachers must be aware of children and the noises they make when they are playing. Teachers must listen carefully when children play. In order to determine the state of the children under their supervision, an attentive teacher is ready to listen. For example, an attentive teacher will be able to determine whether a child is crying, being choked, or gasping, using offensive or aggressive language, or simply remaining silent in a class setting.
• Establishing the environment: Establishing the environment means creating an environment that is conducive to children interacting and playing. It is possible to prevent accidents and danger by removing obstacles and hazardous materials from children's paths. Teachers should be aware of where children will be and how they will use the equipment for supervision when setting up the environment.
• Knowledge of the children in care, as well as an understanding of how groups of children interact and play together: Educators must have a clear understanding of the age groups that they are responsible for monitoring. In difficult situations, children will benefit from observing their peers' play and anticipating what may happen next [23, 24, 25].

Teacher supervision is the act of directing and watching over the performance and activities of the children in your care. Adequate supervision refers to constant, active and diligent supervision of every child at the service. It requires that, teachers are always in a position to observe each child, respond to individual needs, and immediately intervene if necessary [27]. Woden Community Service Children’s Services suggested the following strategies and practices for teachers to ensure children are adequately supervised:

• While working directly with children, teachers are responsible for the direct supervision of children. Children must be within sight and/or hearing of an educator at all times.
• Play areas are arranged in ways to ensure children can be effectively supervised.
• Teachers conduct daily safety checks of the building, equipment and general environment, and take any corrective actions necessary.
• Be in close proximity of children taking part in activities that involve some risk, such as wood work, cooking, playground equipment.
• Always face the children.
• Position in a way to allow maximum observation of the area in which children are playing, including points of exit such as doors and gates.
• Regularly scan around large groups of children.
• Be alert to sounds that might indicate a problem or the need for assistance or intervention.
• Anticipate what might happen next and be prepared to intervene where there is a potential danger.
• Plan activities and arrange the environment to ensure there are sufficient educators to attend to children’s needs.
• Regularly inspect the environment to check for hazards or potential dangers.
• Be vigilant during children’s departure from the service and be aware of people who have authority to collect [28].

Active teacher Supervision has been the most effective strategy for creating a safe environment and preventing injuries in young children. Accumulated research also supports the centrality of active supervision for creating safe environment in achieving an all-round or holistic development of children [24, 29, 30]. When suitable preparations and enough supervision are not taken into consideration, the learning environment for children, whether inside or outdoors, might represent a greater risk of injury to them. Researchers found that when young children are left unattended, they sustain more injuries than older children. When it comes to children's behaviour, adults who are active and aware of it are in the best position to protect their well-being [11]. Every year, approximately 5 million people die as a consequence of injuries caused by violence, traffic accidents, falls, drowning, and burns, among other things [31]. The fact that teachers are not responsible for building up structures in schools is undeniably true; nonetheless, their primary responsibility is to ensure that learners are protected from threats and harm. This is supported by a story from Ghana, in which six kindergarten learners were murdered and many others were injured when a school building fell during break time in Breman Jamera, in the Odoben-Brakwa district of the country's central region [32]. Basically, the human element of ensuring that teachers and other school personnel have their ears to the ground as well as their eyes wide open on a daily basis is the most effective way of determining whether or not there are potential problems in the school building or environment, which constitute supervision [33]. establishing a well-conducive school environment enhance teachers’ supervision which goes a long way to ensures learners’ comfortability and safety; maximize learners’ academic performance; lessen fear in learners; promote teaching and learning; and support learners’ participation in play experiences [34]. Creating awareness advocacy for school safety has become a nationwide concern [35]. The purpose of this study was to assess teachers’ supervisory practices of learners in Kindergarten schools in K.E.E.A Municipality in the Central Region of Ghana. The study was guided by a research question - How do teachers supervise kindergarten learners in the K.E.E.A. Municipality?

2. Materials and Methods

The philosophical stance of this study was based on interpretivism. The study employed a qualitative research approach and Instrumental Case Study Research Design study to gather information on the participants. Population of the study comprised public kindergarten schools in KEEA Municipality. The Municiplaity has eight (8) designated circuits – Abrem-Agona (13 schools), Ayensudo (11 schools), Dominase (11 schools), Elmina (5 schools), Essaman (9 schools), Kissi (10 schools), Komenda (6 schools) and Ntranoa (8 schools) with a total of 73 Public Kindergarten schools, according to the KEEA Municipal Education Directorate 2020/2021 academic year report. The target population consist of all public teachers within the KEEA Municipal which consisted of 769 teachers. The accessible population consist of 227 Kindergarten teachers within the KEEA Municipality. The study focused on teachers' supervisory practices in Kindergarten Schools in the KEEA Municipality.

A multi-stage purposeful random sampling technique was used to select sixteen (16) respondents for the study. A multi-stage purposeful random sampling involves selecting a sample in two or more stages, in which the first stage is random which often involves cluster sampling whereas the subsequent stages involve one of the purposive sampling techniques [36]. There are 8 circuits within the municipality. By default, the schools were grouped into clusters involving eight (8) circuits. Each circuit represent a cluster involving 8 clusters. One (1) school was randomly selected from each circuit using simple random sampling. The simple random sampling technique used the lottery method to select 8 public schools to give room for equal chances of selection without bias [37]. This sampling process or procedure was repeated for each circuit. Each school selected purposively involved two (2) KG teachers with longest service in the school. This is because they possessed characteristics in terms of experience, expertise, professionalism which was not common to KG teachers. In total, sixteen (16) participants were involved in this current study as confirmed by other researchers recommended that 15-30 individuals for single case studies is sufficient for qualitative research. The semi-structured interview was the instrument employed in the data collection for this study. The open-ended items on the semi-structured interview guide used for this study sought to determine the supervisory role of teachers in kindergarten schools in the K.E.E.A Municipality. The semi-structured interview guide and observation checklist were used to gather information from the sixteen kindergarten teachers within the eight sampled schools. All of the interviews were audio recorded and later for transcription purposes. The semi-structured interview was chosen as the best instrument for this study because it is more flexible and contains multiple benefits outlines, which allows for greater adaption of the interaction between the researcher and study participants [39]. The qualitative data was analysed by the use of the interpretative method based on the themes arrived at during the data collection. The themes were related to the research question and interpreted on the number of issues raised by respondents. These were based on question on the semi-structured interview.

The first research question sought to explore how teachers supervise their learners in the kindergarten setting. To achieve this, information was sought from teachers for the study. To ensure the safety of children, research has revealed that increased teacher supervision plays a protective role and is associated with less child injuries or harm in learners [11]. Kindergarten learners need to be given the maximum care and attention in their school environment by the teachers to ensure the safety and well-being. In this study, kindergarten teachers were asked about their supervisory practices in the kindergarten schools including their in-door supervision, outdoor-supervision, constant supervision, closeness supervision and their attentive supervision were also observed. The most pertinent issues that were collected from the participants through their views in the in-depth interview have been described and interpreted in the following sub-themes outlined.

3.1. In-door Supervision

The responses from most kindergarten teachers were positive in terms of their in-door supervision and their learners’ safety. However, few kindergarten teachers were more particular to supervision of learners’ academic activities such as learners’ proficiency in literacy and numeracy lessons rather than of their safety. Participants has this to say:“Immediately you start teaching, you go round to see if everybody is in in class. So, we do registration that's they pick their names. We have a place for it and then you place it where it's supposed to be... teacher ensures that, everybody that he or she is present will pick his or her name and place it there.” (KT 4). Another teacher also said this: “We are normally two so whiles one is teaching, the other one will sit at the back to make sure that every child is concentrating at the same time their safety because some of their chairs are not good. They are very bad so we make sure that one teacher is at the back watching them.” (KT 5)

Similarly, on the in-door supervision, another teacher shared her view this way:

“In the classroom activities, I supervise them by going round most especially in the morning, normally we have our community time.... So, I supervise them like they come together, I go round, I check on them, how they are feeling and the classroom too. There are some objects that can injured them in the classroom, which is not safe for us too, that can injure a child and we check it remove it from the classroom.” (KT 13)

To corroborate this statement, a teacher also noted the following:

“I make sure they are not holding any sharp object, especially pins, for the girls most of them brings pins in the class. So, I told them not to bring pin, it is better to tie than tied it using the pins, because when they bring the pins, they remove it, they try to fixed it back and they can be injured, so that one is one. And have told them not to raise the chair, most of them, at first, they like doing it, so have warn them not to do that and also have advise them not to be fighting in the classroom. If someone offends you, you have to report to me, thus the right way.” (KT 15)

3.2. Out-door Supervision

Children's play experiences are enhanced when kindergarten teachers set up materials in the children's out-door play environment. Out-door play environment provide a safe atmosphere for children by taking into account their supervision and safety when participating in outdoor activities [19]. One of the most critical areas for learners’ safety is the out-door environment or the playgrounds. Because this is where learners play or engage in rigorous activities on their own and in their ways and so play areas must be safe at all times. For the play areas to safe for children, then appropriate supervision of teachers must be considered. So, kindergarten teachers were asked to share their views about how supervise the learner during out-door activities and why they think it is important for teachers to supervise their learners to ensure their safety out-door activities. Almost all the participants indicated that, they do out-door supervision but as to how they do it well remain a question to answer. However, some participants had this to say:

“The reality is that sometimes looking at the situation is not even easy. So, while you are here sometimes during break that the teacher will have to eat something after teaching yeah, so whiles you are eating you also have to be watching. Sometimes too you just go around, then you will be watching. And so that is it. The reality is that is not easy. We are trying our best.” (KT 2)

Similarly, to the earlier submission by KT 2 on the out-door supervision, another participant made it clearer that, they do not mostly supervise their learners during out-door activities. This is what the participant has to say:

“The outdoor dier eeh we don't do much, because sometimes you have to write home work for them. Even sometimes break time you are eating as for me I’m a lefty and I will be writing at the same time so during outdoor, so the supervision is too low. Sometimes too, I go round, you move from that place, come here, come and be here, and I go back...”. (KT 6)

Again, another participant responded this way:

“We normally sit with them. Sometimes we the teachers sit on the corridor, okay, yeeeh to supervise them, okay, because we can't be running after them on the field so we sit on the corridor. So, any casualty they report to the teacher or maybe you realise that they are going to maybe places that they can easily be hurt we just call them back.” (KT 5)

Another participant who seems to be overly protective of her learners shared this:

“I don’t allow them to go out. Sometimes you know children, they say am going to my brother, my sister at the primary block. But for inside, at first, we were having swing here, the merry-go-round too, so when they are on the swing, I go round to make sure they form queue, they take time to sit on the swing and to the merry-go-round. Because I noticed that, they all want to be on the merry go round and at the same time so, I go and supervise them to take time to sit on it, when they finish then another batch go.” (KT 15)

3.3. Constant Supervision

Teacher supervision of learners must be one that is uninterrupted visually or auditorily. During this activity, no room is given to intermittent visual and auditory checks on the learners’ behaviour for safety [15]. Teachers must supervise children at all times and intervene when dangerous behaviour or injuries are observed in order to prevent them from becoming ill [18]. Most of the teachers admits that constant supervision is very essential practice at the kindergarten levels. At the same time, they stated categorically that, they find it challenging to ensure constant supervision of their learners in their various kindergarten centres. In view of that, participants point out how they constantly supervise their learners to ensure their safety. Some participants stated this:

“Now you are not going to be there trying to tell them this is what we are supposed to do or this is not what we are supposed to do but constantly you be watching them. So, you will be a director, you also guide and direct them. But you know children the moment that you leave them, there is a problem. So constant supervision, a way to watch over the children, a way to ensure that they are safe.” (KT 2)

This further was corroborated by another participant who added:

“I supervise them (learners) continuously because they are kids and anything can happen, we don’t know, so every time you have to let your eyes be broad most especially when they are playing. You have to look around, watch what they are doing even sometimes eating, we do watch them so, we supervise them continuously. It is not time to time, we do every minute, every time.” (KT 13)

In addition to these, another participant remarked this way:

“Because the children are many, I cannot supervise them all, I may not know what the pupils at the end there. So, I have set them as their own spies or supervisors, so they will come and report to me, and I know what is going on there. And also, we have classroom rules so if someone does something that is against the classroom......” (KT 15)

Simply, this participant commented on how she does constant supervision like this:

“Well, I make sure that I’m not distracted, like my eyes are always on them.” (KT 5)

On the same angle, this participant commented this:

“We usually advise them not to go far, for instance, if is time for break, we usually advise them to play at our playground here, because some will be going to the JHS, and we are not there to supervise what is going on there, so sometimes some of the primary teachers and JHS teachers do draw our attention that our kids are going far, so we should just call them, for them to come closer.” (KT 9)

3.4. Closeness Supervision

When teachers supervise children, they must examine how they place themselves in both the out-door and in-door environments. A similar study posit that, teachers must position themselves in such a way that they are aware of their entire environment and see as many children as they can in one class period [23]. Through that, the safety of all children would be ensured at all times by visual or auditory monitoring methods. The teachers must maintain close supervision over all learners in areas where there is a risk of injury due to potentially hazardous equipment [23]. This will ensure that, students do not become ill or injured while at school, and that they are kept secure, comfortable, and under careful observation at all times. Participants explained how they closely supervise their learners during in-door activities. Most were of the view that, normally don’t sit down except only when they are marking. So, in this case, they don’t sit or stand at one place, they move from table to table, so sometimes it becomes difficult to find some children fighting or engage in harmful play. Generally, all participants during in-door supervision were very close to their learners. Some participants had this to say on their closed supervision:

“I am not too close because they are many. So, you can be closer to some of them, some too will pass some where you will not even see them. So, I will be closer to some kids but some I can't be too close to them.” (KT 3)

This was further corroborated by another participant who said that:

“We allow them, we give them the chance to just play around but as they are playing, we make sure that we are watching them.... The distance is specifically, is not that close. If it is close then it means that when they are running around, we the teachers too are running after them or be on the field with them.” (KT 5)

Similarly, another teacher remarked this way:

“Not too close, so if am to say, 8-10 metres away so that they feel free to play. If am much in them, they will think that madam don’t want me to play, madam don’t want me to do that, so you give them space.” (KT 13)

The participant responded this way:

“We sit there, we don’t let them go far away from where ever we are. We are normally close with them and doing observation and sometimes too when they are playing and we see that they can be hurt you just call their attention to whatever they are doing and then they come to their senses. Even during break, they want to give the rules.” (KT 8)

3.5. Attentive Supervision

Teacher supervises their learners by keeping eye on, listening to, and instructing them while they are in the service to ensure that they are safe, engaged, and learning about the world in which they reside. A study revealed that learners have strong believe that when the teacher is not looking, they are more likely to engage in inappropriate behaviours []. Several strategies for maintaining active scanning including constant turning and head swivelling, as well as frequent glances around the room. Participants were asked to share their knowledge on how they attentively supervise their learners to ensure their safety [25]. Generally, most responses from the participants were similar with exception of some who tried to exhibited some attitude within the aspect of attention supervision. Some participants noted that: “I do normally become absent minded sometimes but I always just pay attention to whatever they have been doing.” (KT 3)

Another participant responded that:

“I listen to whatever they tell me, because they are kids, it may be what they are telling me is very necessary, so even when am doing something and a kid comes; madam, madam, this child is doing this thing, I just say, where is He/She?. And I just go and see whether is true or not because it may be, I may be sitting there but my mind may not be there” (KT 9)

Another participant further noted that:

“If I am close to them then my attention is there, unless maybe am here that I will not get much attention to them. But if am with one table, my attention will not be at the other table, my attention will be at the specific table. My attention is divided when attending to children at a particular table.” (KT 15)

Similarly, this is what another participant told on attentive supervision:

“Once they are kids, that one you have to be very vigilant, because once they are children. If you are marking their exercise books, when you are teaching, your eyes may go round in the class. Yes, so that if someone is misbehaving, you know it fast in early stage, that one you correct the person before it becomes too late.” (KT 11)

Findings from the researchers’ observation in relation to teacher supervision of learners at kindergarten learning environment established that most of the teacher fall short in their role as supervisors for their learners’ safety. Some of the participants are simply ignorant about their role to ensuring safe school environment for their learners. It was revealed from the observation that, majority of participants do not pay close attention to their learners and their environment at both in-door and out-door. During observation, the researcher found harmful materials such as kebab sticks, exposed nails in broken desks and stones at the playground which were not properly checked. Few participants who tried to pay attention to these learners does it poorly with constant distractions. Also, it was revealed that, all most all kindergarten teachers do not supervise learners during out-door play activities to ensure their safety. From the participants’ disposition, they seem not care or were engaged so much that, they can not supervise their learner at all during out-door. However, some few teachers who tried to assume their supervisory role when learners are trapped in harmful situation or about to experience that risk. Again, findings from the observation in relation to closeness supervision shows that, few participants who supervises their learners are most of the time so distant from them. The distance is wide that, teachers can not salvage a child if the child should plunge into danger or be harmed. More so, the observation shows that, very few participants constantly supervise their leaners. These participants tried to break the barriers of intermittent supervision rotating their roles to ensure continuity in supervision. In the same way, there was a major challenge in terms of teacher-learner ratio in supervision of learners. From the observation, some classrooms have one teacher handling the learners. Some classrooms too, has two staffs with a huge number of learners in class. This made sufficient adult to care for the number of learners uneven. The study observation reflected in the responses given by both participants during the interview sessions.

Results of the study revealed that most of kindergarten teachers appears to have fair knowledge in terms in-door supervision. Kindergarten teachers assumes their supervisory roles by going round check on learners, how they are feeling including inside of the classroom. Some objects that are not safe learners in the classroom are checked and removed from the classroom. Other too made sure learners do not hold any sharp object, especially pins and blades. For orderliness in the classroom, teachers enforced rules that deter learners from fighting in the classroom. And for those are offended are advised to report to the teacher. This is in consonance with previous study that, in quest of teacher creating a conducive environment for children, it is possible to prevent accidents and danger by removing obstacles and hazardous materials from children's paths and must be aware of where children will be and how they will use the equipment for supervision when setting up the environment [23].

Also, the study indicated that, kindergarten teachers do not supervise learners’ out-door activity. Almost all teacher said they barely attend to the learners during out-door activities or break time. This study found that, teacher used that time to eat since it is the only time to rest after teaching. Subsequent study revealed that, they do not supervise learners’ out-door activities because it is the only moment, they use to write their home works and exercises. In congruence with this finding an earlier study state that, because outdoor time is perceived as a break from classroom activities, teachers frequently believe that play is not essential to the learning process [22]. To some teachers, in order avoid out-door supervision, learners are made to remain in-door without going out. However, the finding of the present study observed that, certain proportion of the teachers intermittently and poorly supervise learners out-door activities as they sit aloof with the claim that, they can not run after the learners when playing out side. These findings are corroborated with a similar study that out-door environments are important for all aspects of a child's development, but early childhood teachers underestimate the importance of outdoor environments in their students' development [21].

Again, results on the teachers’ constant supervision revealed that, some teachers constantly supervise their learners for their safety. Some teacher interviewed suggested that, they constantly guide and direct their learners because the moment that you leave them, problem result. Some teacher support that, they constantly keep their eyes on the learner when they are playing and even when they eating. This confirms the earlier study that, teachers supervise children at all times and intervene when dangerous behaviour or injuries are observed in order to prevent them from becoming ill [18]. Nonetheless, the study found some teacher used the learners as their own spies to constantly report to the teacher since they are many. Others teachers from the interview suggest that they since they find themselves in the school, they tried to avoid any distractions on their way. The finding of the current study affirms those found in the previous study that, during constant supervision no room is given to intermittent visual and auditory checks on the learners’ behaviour for safety [15].

This segment of the results reveals how teachers closely supervise their learners to ensure their safety. As part of the role teacher play in supervising their learners, it emerged in the study that, all teachers interviewed do not maintain close distant to learners when supervising them. It was revealed that, as result of the lack of proximity in supervision teacher could not promptly salvage the learners when they find themselves in danger. This statement is in agreement with the report made by Tanah Merah Child Care Centre in Australia's report on Supervision Policy that, teachers must maintain close supervision over all learners in areas where there is a risk of injury due to potentially hazardous equipment [23]. It was also observed that, some teachers do not maintain closeness supervision because it is a source of distraction to children play. Similarly, it was observed that, in order for learners to be close, some teachers made leaners to play around them thereby restricting them from playing at their comfortable places. This statement seems to be disagreed to the findings of research made by other researchers that explained that, closeness of teachers and caregivers to their learners predicts the likelihood of an accident occurring [15].

Finally, the result of the study on the attentive supervision suggests that, most teachers are not very attentive to both learners and their environment. The study observed that, some teachers are sometimes absent-minded. This statement was cautioned by an earlier study that when learners believe that the teacher is not looking, inappropriate behaviours may likely to occur. Some maintained that, being attentive to the learners places the teacher to be a good listener [4]. For some teachers, they give attention to learners when they are closer. To corroborate this statement, another study advanced that, the human element of ensuring that teachers and other school personnel have their ears to the ground as well as their eyes wide open on a daily basis is the most effective way of determining whether or not there are potential problems in the school building or environment [33]. Subsequently, however, the study found that some teachers are vigilant and attentive with the reason that, the learners are young and even when busy, eyes must constantly go round to oversee learners. The findings of this study can be related to a study that, being attentive encompassed a supervisor's level of engagement with a child, which ranged from direct visual contact with the child to having no visual contact with the child [15]. To maintain attentive supervision, a similar confirmed that, such practice includes constant turning and head swiveling, as well as frequent glances around the room [25].

The study indicated that, kindergarten teachers do not supervise their learners during out-door activities or at playground, thinking it is the available time to relax after learners are out to play. The study also revealed that, kindergarten teachers do not pay close attention to learners and their physical environment to detect danger and threats. Also, in relation to proximity in supervision, the study found that, kindergarten teachers do not maintain physical closeness supervision of their learners to promptly salvage them from occurring danger during supervision. It is recommended that, the Ministry of Education (MoE), Ghana Education Service (GES), and other Agencies in Education (AiE) should strategically and periodically organize workshop trainings and seminars on teacher supervision and safety for kindergarten teachers. This will help them acquire basic knowledge and skills on how to adopt best supervisory practices in order to address safety issues in kindergarten schools. It is also recommended that, Tertiary institutions like the teaching universities and colleges of education should mount courses specifically for Teachers Supervision and School Safety for pre-service teachers and school administrators.

Conflicts of Interest

The author declares that there is no conflict of interest regarding the publication of this article.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization: IA; Methodology: IA, RK and EAA; Software: IA,RK and EAA.; Validation: IA, and RK.; Formal analysis: IA,RK and EAA; Investigation: IA,RK and EAA; Resources: IA, RK and EAA; Data Curation: IA, RK and EAA.; Writing – original draft preparation: IA.; Writing: IA,RK and EAA; Visualization: IA,RK and EAA; Supervision: IA, RK and EAA.; Project administration: IA, RK and EAA; Funding acquisition: IA,RK and EAA

Funding

This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors. It was solely funded by the researchers.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank all of the participants of this research.