ABSTRACT
The study assessed the management of childcare centers in Umuahia and its environs. Result from the study review that Nursery/Kindergarten was the best type of childcare center children attends in Umuahia; others were Day Care and Nanny Care. Play time, Resting time, Sleeping time, Story time, Poems, Prayer time, Drama time, Reading time and Watching cartoons are the activities included in the childcare centers children attend in Umuahia. The Hygienic conditions of childcare centers in Umuahia were Clean classroom, Clean toilet, Washing hands before eating, Washing hands after using the toilet, Neat surroundings, Sanitized toys, Designated refuse dump, Proper food storage, and Trash cans lined with polythene. Result also review that the standard of services rendered by the childcare centers in Umuahia are Expensive school fees, Few caregivers, High quality caregivers, and low quality caregivers. The study therefore recommended that activities planned by the childcare centers in Umuahia should be increased so as to give the children sense of home. Also childcare facilities, hygienic conditions of childcare centers, standard of services rendered by the childcare centers in Umuahia should be taken into policy considerations.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title Page i
Approval ii
Certification iii
Dedication iv
Acknowledgement v
Table of contents vi
List of
tables vii
Abstract viii
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the study 1
1.2 Statement of problem 4
1.3 Objective of the study 5
1.4 Research questions 5
1.5 Significance of the study 5
CHAPTER
TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Conceptual Framework 8
2.1.1 Influence of working mothers on childcare 10
2.1.2 Positive Influence of Child Care Centers 11
2.1.3 Health Care and Safety Practices Adopted by
Caregivers 13
2.2 Theoretical Framework 15
2.2.1 Emotional and Psychological Development 15
2.2.2 Cognitive Development 16
2.2.3 Physical Development 20
2.2.4 Language Development 20
2.2.5 Social Development 22
2.2.6 Social Play 23
2.3 Related Empirical Studies 24
2.4 Summary of Literature 26
CHAPTER
THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 Research Design 28
3.2 Area of the study 28
3.3 Population of the Study 29
3.4 Sample and Sampling Technique 29
3.5 Instrument for Data Collection 29
3.6 Validation of the Instrument 29
3.7 Data Collection Technique 30
3.8 Data Analysis Technique 30
CHAPTER
FOUR: DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS
4.1 Demographic Data of Respondents 31
4.2.1 Research Question 1 32
4.2.2 Research Question 2 34
4.2.3 Research Question 3 36
4.2.4 Research Question 4 37
4.2.5 Research Question 5 39
4.2.6 Research Question 6 41
CHAPTER
FIVE: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 Summary 44
5.1.1 Restatement of Problem 44
5.1.2 Description of Procedure Used 44
5.1.3 Major Findings
5.2 Conclusion 45
5.3 Recommendation 45
5.4 Suggestion for Further Studies 46
5.5 Contribution to Knowledge 46
REFERENCE
LIST OF
TABLES
Table 1: Demographic characteristics of working
mothers in Umuahia and its environs.
Table 2: Type of childcare centers children attend in
Umuahia.
Table 3: Activities planned by the childcare in
Umuahia.
Table 4: Hygienic conditions of childcare centers in
Umuahia.
Table 5: Standard of services rendered by the
childcare centers in Umuahia.
Table 6: Ways of improving the state of childcare
centers in Umuahia.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1
Background
of the Study
Working
mothers refers to mothers who work outside the home for income, in addition to
the responsibilities of raising their families (Working mothers magazine 2001).
Working mothers are experts through training and experience having certain
professional degrees from professional schools, a license or certificate,
experience or references, they include lecturers, medical doctors, lawyers,
social workers, politician, engineers, bankers, and secretaries, among others.
Working mothers are employed outside their homes and they often juggle
household chores and official responsibilities together with bringing up her
children the comprehensive care that they deserve (Aguirre, 2006).
Traditionally family
roles are changing; women are turned out in large number in the work force due
to economic necessity. The attitude towards working mothers seems to be that,
mothers are not allowed to compromise on home life, and if they do, they are
made to feel the error of their ways (Draznin, 2004). Working mothers who
decided to work outside the home need to be clear about their priorities.
Working mothers should decide, if they would be happy having servants or family
members to look after the children during the working hours. Working mothers
juggle work life and home; it is not really easy to cope with the pressures of
high-stress job and the demands of caring for the family (Wilson, 2006).
They do face some common
difficulties which are inevitable and unavoidable. The home has been stated
especially for all mothers. It is true that mothers should give more time to
rising up their children. Some working mothers allow nannies to perform their
tasks, and most times, the result of using nannies to raise up the kids may
affect children’s well being (Dubeck, 1998).
Bring
up the children while working may be strenuous for the modern successful
mother. It is generally mothers who seem to arrange childcare, take on
responsibilities for transport to childcare facilities before and after work
along with all other preparation required just to get the children to school
(Edelman, 2002).
Early
childcare is a very important and overlooked component of children development.
Childcare providers are our children’s first teachers and therefore play an
integral role in our systems of early childhood education. Quality childcare
from a young age can have a huge impact on the future successes of children
(“The cost of childcare” Retrieved June 2004).Low-income families, center care
is of higher average quality than the home-based care (Chase-Lansdale, Coley
& Grining, 2001). In addition, center care is associated with better
cognitive and language development for young children than is home-based care (
NIRCHD, ECCRN, 2002).
Due to the situation of
the economy and changes in the levels and living standard of people around
Umuahia, many parents engaged in different work and activities to uplift their
living standards and financial requirement of the people. Most of the parents
involved in the different work activities are parents of toddlers and infants
(Ijere and Mbanasor, 1988).
According to Diane Bales,
(2015), Learning centers can be a great way for early childhood educators to
help organize their childcare space and help expose children to different
educational experiences. He also gave some tips on how childcare centers should
be managed.
Keep
it simple; Start by choosing a location for each center. Look at all of the
space used by the children. Note the overall size, location of doors and
windows, sinks or water sources, electric outlets, necessary traffic patterns,
and permanent fixtures or equipment. Choose which learning centers will be
included: Consider starting with areas that are most familiar to children such
as creative art, dramatic play/housekeeping, constructive play, science, language
arts, sand/water, writing, manipulative, reading, math.
Think
through a plan for each center: For each center that is chosen, determine;
i. How
much space is needed?
ii.
How many children can the
area and activity accommodate at one time?
iii.
What appropriate materials
are currently available?
iv.
What needs to be added to
furnish and equip the area?
Make
it manageable: Arrange only the number of centers that can fit comfortably into
the available space. Decide which one will be the first to be set up and
introduced to children. Remember that children will need direction and time to
become familiar with the changes.
Set
rules for centers as needed: Establish how many children each area can
accommodate at one time, how the number of children in each area will be controlled,
how or if time limits will be imposed, and how areas will be cleaned up.
Plan
how to introduce learning centers to children: Explain what materials and
activities will be available, how children can choose, and what rules will
apply.
Observe
and evaluate: Set up notebooks or other ways to keep written track of how the
children respond to the environment. Use this to evaluate the current setup,
the need for new materials, or ideas for future changes.
In
line with the National Policy of Education (2004) on Early Childhood Education,
the objectives of ECE were started as follows:
i. Effecting
a smooth transition from the home to the school
ii. Preparing
the child for the primary level of education.
iii. Providing
adequate care and supervision for children while their parents are at work.
iv. Inculcating
in the child the spirit of enquiry and creativity through the exploration of
nature and the local environment, playing with toys, artistic and musical
activities, etc.
v. Teaching
cooperation and team spirit.
vi. Teaching
the rudiments of numbers, colors, shapes, letters, forms, etc through play.
vii. Teaching
of good habit especially good health habit.
1.2 Statement of Problem
Many
young working mothers experience a lot of difficulties as regard to their
children’s care. Problem of home accident such as razing houses, cuts, burns,
falls, poisoning etc as result of lack of proper care and protection of
children in Umuahia. Kidnapping of children for money rituals is also a result
of inadequate care and supervision of kids by their parents due to the nature
and type of work the parents are engaged in. These seem to be the greatest
problem facing working mothers in Umuahia.
Ijere
and Mbanasor (1998) reported that many working parents are parents of infants
and toddlers hence, they hire babysitters who give little or no attention to
most of the child’s physical needs. This has confronted many working parents
even threaten their marriage. Most employers don’t allow extra payment for
members to attend to the needs of their children during working hours. This can
trigger some loss of pay if a working mother was absent from work without
advance notice from the management (Edelman, 2002).
An
increasing worrying issue faced by working mothers is that of childcare. It has
been estimated that while working mothers from middle-income households will
spend an average of six percent of their income on childcare, for those who
live in poverty; this figure rises to twenty-five percent. This may account for
the increase families and are becoming linked with other issues, such as the
increase of violence and crime by youngsters within society. Many of these
centers in their quest for profit, offer low quality facilities and hygiene
levels, resulting in an unacceptable high rate of accidents and the spread of
minor diseases such as cold and diarrhea (Ewan, 1999)
1.3 Objective of the Study
The
main objective of the study is working mothers’ perception on the management of
childcare centers in Umuahia and its environs. Specifically, the study will
identify the following;
i.
Childcare centers
children attend in Umuahia and its environs.
ii.
Activities planned by the
childcare centers children attend in Umuahia.
iii.
Childcare facilities
found at the childcare in Umuahia.
iv.
Hygienic conditions of
childcare centers in Umuahia.
v.
Standards of services
rendered by the childcare centers in Umuahia.
vi.
Ways of improving the
state of these centers in Umuahia.
1.4 Research Questions
i.
What are the types of
childcare centers children attend in Umuahia and its environs?
ii.
What are the activities
planned by the childcare centers children attend in Umuahia?
iii.
What are the childcare
facilities found at the childcare in Umuahia?
iv.
What are the hygienic
conditions of childcare centers in Umuahia?
v.
What are the standards of
services rendered by the childcare centers in Umuahia?
vi.
What are the ways of
improving the state of these centers in Umuahia?
1.5 Significance of the Study
This
work will be relevant to kids, working parents and part-time workers, the
management or owners of the centers and the society at large
Kids
who attend such programmes will improve in learning skills, ability and
knowledge. They learn how to associate with others and society at large. They
benefit by been more self sufficient and react well to separation from their
parents (Schaefer, 1983). Good daycare centers include a mix of activities
during the day to teach different skills such as singing, dancing, and
storytelling which the kids are likely to learn from. Toddlers also benefit
from the chance to socialize with other children, which they may not get to do
as often or at all when a nanny or relative care for them at home. According to
the “National Center for Education Statistics”, roughly 60 percent of young children
attend some form of pre-primary school program. Whether the specific center
calls itself an early learning center, preschool, nursery or childcare, daycare
can have a profound effect on a child’s development. From bringing on budding
socialization skills to affecting behavior, the daycare plays a pivotal role in
the growth and changes of early childhood.
Ongoing
research by the “National Institute of Child Health and Human Development”
suggests that children in quality daycare centers may have an intellectual edge
over those in other type of care. Among the reasons, children get to be with
plenty of other children to develop both language skills, communication and
social skills in these setting. For older children, the skills they learn at
preschool and childcare centers mean they start school feeling confident and
able to cope with the classroom. All this encouraging research means that
parents don’t have to beat themselves up if they need to send their children to
childcare. Too often parents feel guilty when they make this decision, but the
evidence shows that mother care is good for children and so is good daycare.
Children
are not the only ones who can benefit from daycare according to the university
of Chicago sociologist, Mario Small. Smalls research suggest that parents that
take advantage of childcare are also building “Social Capital”, and that can be
a great thing; especially for new parents. Small found that “mothers using
childcare reap social, psychological, and even financial rewards”. We know that
when searching for a daycare, your main focus is on your children, but what if
your life could benefit too from using a daycare instead of a babysitter?
One
of the biggest benefits that small found were the friendships that the mothers
made among themselves. At first, small admits “I assumed mothers would only
make superficial friends through childcare centers. Who has the time to sit and
gossip when more often than not, mothers need childcare in the first place
because they work outside the home? There were also the “Hi and bye”
relationships described as compartmentally strong friendships, and as small
calls them extended mothers’ support systems even though they rarely resulted
in meetings outside the center.
Another
benefit for parents who use childcare is having the peace of mind of knowing
someone will be there to take care of your children. There’s no wondering what
to do if the babysitter gets sick or has a fender bender. B y choosing a quality daycare you can
meet the people who will be taking care of your children every day and get to
know them as much as you would a babysitter. Along with knowing that there will
always be someone there to tend to your children’s’ needs, you know they will
be well trained and certified to provide an educational and stimulating
environment for them.
Also,
working parents and part time workers benefit in such a way that they will
concentrate on their duties in their different workplaces. It will also enable
them to partake in training opportunities and fieldwork, provide adequate care
and supervision to the kids needs.
The
management and or owners of the centers will benefit by earning revenue from
such investment and hence improve on their standard of living. The society at
large will benefit in that standard of education will improve from grass root.
Also, living standard of people in general will suit the economy of the country
because many parents that are of working age are in paid job.
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