ABSRACT
Education is considered to be a basic
human right and a basic need as recognized in the 1989 convention of the rights
of the child which has won near universal ratification. Education starts from
an early age and this emphasizes the need for a lot of careful planning for
Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE). However, this emphasis has not been
put in Nigeria’s Early Childhood Education (ECD). This has left ECCE in the
hands of private providers and Non-Governmental Organizations without clear
guidelines. This has exposed Early Childhood Care and Education to various
problems that have hindered its development. To this end, this study aimed at
investigating the problems faced in the development of Early Childhood
Education in Nigeria. The locale of the study was Uyo. The study sample was
drawn from the 81 registered ECD centers in the study location. The researcher
selected a sample of 25% of the total number of centers. Sampling methods used
was stratified sampling whereby the centers were classified into various
categories according to type based on whether private, community or church
sponsored. The method of allocation was proportional allocation where 25% of
each category was selected. This translated to 11 community ECD centers, 4
private ECD centers and 6 church sponsored centers giving a total of 21
centers. The study considered two types of respondents from the target
population i.e. center administrators and the teachers. The administrators of
each of the sampled centers were selected for the study giving a total of 21
administrators. The teachers were selected randomly from a population of 216
teachers where 144 teachers were selected. The total sample size from a target
population of 297 individuals was 165 respondents which were considered an appropriate
sample size according to Krejcie and Morgan (1990). Data was collected using
questionnaires for the two types of respondents. An observation schedule was
used to collect data on physical facilities and instructional materials.
Quantitative data from the field was analyzed using descriptive statistics such
as frequencies and percentages. Qualitative data was analyzed by putting the
responses under themes consistent with the research objectives.
The major finding was that there was
a problem of lack of adequate physical facilities and instructional materials,
lack of standardized teaching methods, insufficient funds, inadequate skilled
personnel, parents’ ignorance and nutrition and health at the ECD centers.
Based on these findings it is recommended that the government provide funds to
improve on facilities in the ECD centers and also ensure adequate supervision
and facilitation of pre-schools to ensure to enhance quality assurance. The
government should come up with favorable terms of service for ECD teachers in
order to improve their morale and also standardize training and certification
of ECD teachers to ensure consistency of services provided.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER
ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the problem
1.2 Statement
of the problem
1.3 Purpose
of the study
1.4 Objectives
1.5 Research
questions
1.6 Rationale
for the study
1.7 Assumptions
1.8 Limitations
1.9 Delimitations
1.10 Theoretical
Framework
CHAPTER
TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Introduction
2.2 ECD
in the World
2.3 ECD
in Africa
2.4 ECD
in Nigeria.
2.5. ECD
in Uyo
2.6. Summary
CHAPTER
THREE
RESEARCH
METHODOLOGY
3.0 Introduction
3.1 Research
Design
3.2 Locale
of Study
3.3 Target
Population
3.4 Study
sample and Sampling procedure
3.5 Research
Instruments
3.6 Piloting
3.6.1 Validity
3.6.2 Reliability
3.7 Data
Collection procedure
3.8 Data
Analysis and Presentation
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA PRESENTATION,
ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
4.0 Introduction
4.1 Availability
of a curriculum guide at the ECD centers.
4.2 State
Of Physical Facilities and Instructional Materials in ECD Centers The second
4.3 Instructional
Methods used at the ECD centers.
4.4 Source
of Funds for the ECD Centers.
4.4 ECD
staff at ECD centers.
4.5. Challenges
Facing the Development of the ECD Sector.
4.6 Discussions
4.6.1 Curriculum
guide used at the ECD center
4.6.2 State
of physical facilities and instructional materials in the ECD centers.
4.6.3 Instructional
methods used in the ECD center
4.6.4 Sources
of funds for the ECD centers.
4.6.5 ECD
staff at ECD centers.
4.6.6 Challenges
facing the development of the ECD sector
CHAPTER
FIVE
SUMARRY, CONCLUSIONS
AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.0 Introduction
5.1 Summary
of the Findings
5.2 Conclusions
5.3 Recommendations
5.4 Suggestions
for further research
REFERENCES
QUESTIONNAIRE
QUESTIONNAIRE
FOR TEACHERS
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1
Background to the problem
Education is a key
phenomenon constituting developing of logistical, motor and knowledge skills as
well as potentialities and behavior. Sifuna defines education as a process by
which people are prepared to live effectively and efficiently in the physical
and social environment (Sifuna, 1990). As observed by participants in the world
conference on Education for All (EFA) that took place in Jomtien, Thailand in
March 1990, learning begins at birth (UNESCO, 1990). However it would be wrong
to say that the emphasis on Early Childhood Care and Education had its origin
in that conference. Child rearing was greatly emphasized even in the
traditional African Society. This society had an un-institutionalized system of
child rearing where by child rearing was the responsibility of the whole family
beginning with the mother and extending to other members of the larger family
and the community. The family and the whole community had collective
responsibility in initiating the child into the values and norms of the society
(Kabiru, 1993). The methods of teaching and learning in the traditional setting
were normally informal and children learnt as they participated and watched
others at work and play. Instructions were given through practical experiences
and learnt as they participated in daily activities. This system of Education
helped the young ones to learn new skills, ideas and facts of life that would
help them to become effective members of the society.
With the passage of time, socio-economic
changes the world over have necessitated the development of non-family day-care
institutions for children. These socio— economic changes include:
• The
money economy;
• Urbanization;
• Growing
multiple roles of mothers;
• Rise
in female headed households and
• Demand
for formal education
Pre-school education
as an organized affair is barely two hundred years old and began in Alsace in
the East of France (Deasy, 1978). From France it spread to England and then to
other parts of the world. In Nigeria the pre-schools where first introduced in
the large agricultural plantations and in major towns by the colonial
government way back in the 1940’s. The schools mainly fulfilled custodial
function (Kabiru, 1993). The biggest expansion of ECCE was after independence
in response to the call for harambee. This call was with the aim of
accelerating education development. Initially the pre-schools were supposed to
be custodial, non-teaching institutions. This view was maintained by the
government as late as 1970. However, due to the limited academic and
professional background, these centers have been gradually made into extensions
of the lower primary school in approach and content (Kabiru, 1993). Parents
view pre-schooling as an investment to the future success in schooling. The
strong demand for pre-school education to give a head-start to young children
by parents, communities, welfare organizations and the government has been
largely responsible for the rapid expansion of pre-school services in the
country. This expansion is in agreement with the Education for All (EFA) goals
agreed upon by the participants in the world conference held in Jomtien,
Thailand in 1990. A later conference meant to review the declarations of the
Jomtien Conference which was held in Dakar, Senegal, came up with strategies to
achieve the EFA goals. The participants agreed that to achieve the EFA goals,
emphasis must be put on expanding and improving comprehensive early childhood
care and education among other strategies. The participants observed that
starting from early childhood and extending through life, the learners of the
twenty first century will require access to high quality educational
opportunities that are responsive to their needs, equitable and gender
sensitive (UNESCO, 2000). To ensure quality, all children must be nurtured in a
safe and caring environment that will allow them to become healthy, alert and
secure and be able to learn. This was a confirmation to the 1990 World
Declaration on Education for All which stated that learning begins at birth and
encourages the development of early childhood care and education (UNESCO,
2007).
In Nigeria, the
government involvement and concern in pre-school education can be traced to the
early 1960’s.The legal framework for early childhood education was provided in
1963 when the Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Health were authorized
by the children’s and young person’s act to inspect pre-schools. In 1966, the
Ministry of Co-operatives and Social Services sought assistance from the German
Volunteer Services in Nigeria to train day care center personnel. From that
same year, the Ministry of Housing and Social Services began to register and
supervise all preschools, both community and private in the country. The
Ministry also provided supporting curriculum to schools by publishing a manual
for pre-school teachers in
1970. In 1980, the responsibility for
pre-school was re-assigned from the Ministry of Culture and Social Services to
the Ministry of Education. Currently the responsibility for pre-school
education is with the Ministry for Basic Education. The responsibilities of the
Ministry of Basic Education in regard to pre-school education include;
• Overall
provision of pre-school personnel;
• Development
of curriculum;
• Registration
of pre-schools and
• Inspection
and supervision of pre-school
These responsibilities are to be fulfilled
through the National Center for Early Childhood Education (NACECE) supported by
a national network of Study location Centers for Early Childhood Education
(DICECE).Early childhood services are offered at different levels (see the
table 1.1).
Table 1.1 Levels of Early Childhood Education offered in
Nigeria
|
Level
|
Nursery school
|
Pre-unit
|
Kindergarten
|
Play group
|
Madrassa
|
Home-
based care center
|
|
Age
|
3-5years
|
5 years
|
2-5years
|
2-5 years
|
2-7 years
|
0-3 years
|
|
Location
|
Rural and urban
|
Mostly
Urban
|
Rich
Urban
|
Rich urban
|
Rural and urban
|
Urban slums and
ASALs
|
|
Focus
|
Care and education
|
Education
|
Care and education
|
care and education
|
Care and
religious education
|
Care
|
Source: UNESCO
(2005)
However, despite the government involvement,
the provision of Early Childhood Education has been left in the hands of the
community groups, municipal councils and private sectors. This lack of full
Government involvement in the provision of ECE has also hindered effective
implementation of its responsibilities in Early Childhood
Education, consequently affecting
participation, quality and equity. This
study aimed at investigating the problems or challenges facing the development
of Early
Childhood Education in Nigeria.
1.2 Statement of the problem
Early Childhood Education and Care has
become an important support system to the family in child rearing. It is also
important in exposing the child to early life experiences that help the child
to cope with complex levels of cognition, emotion, socialization, speech and
body movements later in life. However, despite its importance, Early Childhood
Education in Nigeria is yet to develop to a level where it will be able to
match its importance. There is the problem of untrained teachers, poor
facilities among others. To this end, this study was to investigate the
problems encountered in the development of Early Childhood Education in Nigeria.
1.3 Purpose of the study
The
purpose of this study was to investigate the problems encountered in the
development of Early Childhood Education with the aim of looking for possible
solutions and give recommendations on how the problems can be addressed in
order to develop ECD in Nigeria
1.4 Objectives
1. To
determine if there is a policy guide on curriculum used in the ECD centers.
2. To
investigate if there are adequate physical facilities and instructional
materials in the ECD centers.
3. To
determine if there are standardized instructional methods
4. To
determine the source of funds for ECD centers
5. To
investigate if there is adequate staff in the ECD centers.
6. To
identify the challenges facing the development of the ECD sector.
1.5 Research questions
1. Is
there a policy guide on curriculum followed in the ECD centers?
2. What
is the state of physical facilities and instructional materials in the ECD
centers?
3. Are
there standardized instructional methods.
4. What
is the source of funds for ECD centers?
5. Is
there adequate staff in the ECD centers
6. What
are the challenges facing the development of the ECD sector?
1.6 Rationale for the study
The researcher believes that the findings
of this study will bring to the surface the problems that have plagued the development
of Early Childhood Education in Nigeria. The results of this study are very
beneficial to the policy makers to understand the problems facing the
development of the ECD sector and therefore come up with policies that will
guide the future of Early Childhood Education in Nigeria. The findings will
also benefit the academicians as reference and a basis for further studies in
Early Childhood Education.
1.7 Assumptions
In the study the following
assumptions were made.
1. All
the respondents were to be co-operative and provide reliable responses
2. The
ECD sector is faced with problems and
the researcher was to investigate these
problems
1.8 Limitations
1. The
study limited itself to only one Study location. For a more conclusive result
more Study locations would have been studied. However, this was not possible
due to financial constraints.
2. The
study limited itself to the opinions of a sampled population. This is because
getting the opinions of the whole population would have required considerable
time and other logistics.
1.9 Delimitations
1. The
proposed study confined itself to teachers and administrators in the ECD
centers who are directly involved in the provision of ECE and are familiar with
the every day running of the institutions.
1.10 Theoretical Framework
This study was based on Piaget’s Theory of
Cognitive Development (1967). Cognitive Development is that aspect that deals
with thinking, problem solving, intelligence and language. Piaget, a writer and
psychologist came up with a theory that tried to explain a child’s development.
Central to his child development structure is Piaget’s formulation of
maturational stages. In his developmental structure, he came up with four
stages which he argues that every child has to go through. These stages occur
in sequence and each must be negotiated in turn. Each child negotiates each
stage at different rates. The differentials in rate of entering and exiting the
stages are attributed to differentials in individual’s genetic timetables and in
cultural and environmental influences. The stage progression portion of
Piaget’s theory has
important implications to
learning.
1. Learning
is developmental and no child skips a stage
2. Individual
children may take different experiences to complete their development
3. Mental
Development does not merely click into place with each passing birthday
4. Learning
differs in capability, probably due to variations in their physical and mental
experiences. In the light of this children in the ECD centers should be treated
as unique individuals. The experiences that they are exposed to should also be
relevant to the stage of development the child is in so that they assist in
their development.
Piaget’s stages of cognitive
development are as follows:
1. Sensori-Motor
Stage (birth to 2years). In this stage the child learns through his senses i.e.
eyes, ears, nose, skin, and through his bodily movements. Children at this
stage react on things that are present to the environment. They only think of
objects they can see.
2. Pre-operational
stage (2yrs-7yrs). This stage is marked by the appearance of language and symbolic
functions. The child can use symbols and can judge on the basic of appearance
but cannot perform mental operations such as reversibility. At this stage the
child learns through imitation and only looks at things from their own
perspective. The pre-operational stage is characterized by two stages:
• Pre-
operational stage (2-4yrs); as children begin to symbolize their environment
and develop the ability to internalize objects and events, they first develop
premature objects which Piaget called Pre- Concepts. The child’s reasoning at
this stage is of two kinds; syncretic and transductive. In syncretic reasoning,
the pre-scholar is able to classify objects using limited and changing criteria
for sort, example and color. In transductive reasoning, the pre- scholar is
able to identify cause and effect relationships that link two specific events
that occur close together. In this kind of reasoning, the child also believes
that inanimate objects are alive.
• Intuitive
Stage (4-7yrs); In this stage, the children’s beliefs are generally based on
what they sense to be true rather that what logic or rational thought would
dictate. Pre-schoolers fall in this stage and it is this children’s education
that this study is concerned about.
Among Piaget’s contribution to Early
Childhood Education is the recognition that the child’s thinking process and
problem solving is quite different from that of the adults and older children.
From his theory; it is clear that a previous intelligence is a form of
adaptation to the environment. To Piaget, knowledge is not static but continues
to grow. As a child interacts with the environment, he forms mental structures
that Piaget called schemata. Each new experience brings new schemata and helps
the child to modify the old one.
Understanding a child’s
development is important in planning for their education.
This is because as brought out in Piaget’s theory, a child’s interaction
with the environment has a serious effect on his cognitive development. It is
therefore important in the planning for Early Childhood Care and Education to
consider the kind of environment that is desired to ensure the effectiveness of
Early Childhood Education. This study aimed at investigating the problems that
pose challenges to creation of such an environment and this theory served as a
basis of the study.
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