CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Most countries of the world have provided various educational programmes for their
citizens because education is recognized as the cornerstone for sustainable development. In
Nigeria, the Cross River state Education Sector Analysis (CRSESA), (2011) described
education as the bedrock for national and personal development because the socio-economic
development of any nation is wholly dependent on the level and quality of education given to
its citizens. According to Olalaye and Omotayo (2009), education is the fulcrum around
which development of any country revolves. In this context, education includes any
experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts. This is why
developed countries always guard their educational industries with jealousy and total
commitment. In order to address issues of holistic transformation, the Federal Republic of
Nigeria (2004) referred to education as an instrument ‘par excellence’ for national
development and has initiated several educational policies over the past decade. One of such
policies is the 2004 edition of the National Policy on Education, which specify the objectives
and guidelines of action on Early Childhood Education (ECE) (Agbo, 2008).
Early Childhood Education consists of varied formal or informal initiatives required
for children from birth to pre-school age to make them thrive. These activities are intended to
effect developmental changes in children prior to their entry into primary school. Mitchell
(2011) describe ECE as the overall development of the child; physically, socially and
intelligently. It is the foundation for a life-long education for children which provide for the
physical, motor, health, nutritional, intellectual, aesthetic, emotional and social development
of the pre-school child. According to Mezieobi (2006), if a child’s education can provide
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these vital fundamental necessities, it is likely to have an important and strong relationship
with the pupils’ performance at the primary school level and perhaps at the secondary and
tertiary levels. Developmental ideologies and theories of Dewey, Montessori, Piaget,
Chomsky, Vygotsky and so on influenced the practices of ECE (Bahago, 2010).
Contextually, ECE is the bedrock upon which excellent basic and sound education is built for
children through vigorous activities that lead to mental abilities at this stage.
Unprecedented attention to young children has created concerns on parents about
their children’s learning, and readiness for school. Parents are more concerned than ever
before about their children’s: learning, care, protection and readiness for school and values
for life challenges and others . Early childhood teachers are taking on the challenges of
serving all children equitably and well. And policymakers are looking carefully at the
outcomes reported for children participating in early education programs. Motivated by these
concerns and by the growing emphasis on accountability, parents, teachers and policymakers
all want more information as they make decisions on how to foster children’s early learning a
and development (Nakpodia, 2003). The World Declaration on the Survival, Protection and
development of Children in 1990 undertook a joint commitment to make an urgent universal
appeal to give every child a better future. In addition, the World Conference on Education for
All (EFA) and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC, 2005)
emphasized urgent priority to ensure access to improved quality of education for all children.
The Universal Basic Education (UBE) Act of 2000 cites ECE as an integral part of basic
education. Bush (2001) consider this a step in the right direction in achieving the EFA goals.
Prior to the introduction of Universal Basic Education, Nigeria had early childhood centres
managed basically by private sectors, thereby making this educational provision inaccessible
to every child. (Awoniyi, 2006).
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In pursuant of the development and implementation of the ECE, Sub-sections 13 of
the FRN (2004) National Policy on Education refers to ECE as the education given in an
educational institution to children prior to their entering the primary school. It includes the
crèche, the nursery and the kindergarten. It enumerated eight (8) objectives of early
childhood/pre-primary education to include: effecting a smooth transition from the home to
the school, preparing the child for the primary level of education, providing adequate care
and supervision for the children while their parents are at work, creating individuals who are
responsible citizens and so on. According to Napkodia (2010), the objectives cover
adequately the three main aspects of developmental domains as recommended by Benjamin
Bloom (cognitive, affective and psychomotor domains).
Using the whole- child concept, the objectives of ECE can be categorised as catering
for social, emotional, mental and physical needs of the child. So the ECE centres could be
regarded as an extension of the home because the primary concern of the home, namely,
social, emotional and mental adjustment, is majorly pursued in the ECE centres. This implies
that child-care facilities have to be provided, these facilities need to do more than just
provision of safety of the children but also to cater for intellectual development as well,
(Maduewesi, 2000).
To ensure the attainment of these objectives, the Government outlines its
responsibilities and strategies in the National Policy on Education to include:
Ø Encouraging private efforts in the provision of pre-primary education;
Ø Making provisions in teacher education programmes for specialization in early
child-hood education;
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Ø Ensuring that the medium of instruction is principally the mother tongue or the
language of the immediate community, and to this end, will develop and produce
textbooks in orthography of many more Nigerian languages;
Ø Ensuring that the main method of teaching at this level shall be through play and
that the curriculum of teacher education is oriented to achieve this;
Ø Regulating, monitoring, controlling and setting a minimum standard for the
operation of early childhood/pre-primary education;
Ø Ensuring full participation of government, communities and teachers’
associations in the running and maintenance of early childhood education
facilities (FRN, 2004).
The FRN placed the child at the centre of learning activities, but left out execution
mostly in the hands of ‘private owners’ most of whom lack knowledge of the national
philosophy behind ECE (FRN,2004). One wonders, if these ‘private owners’ can implement
the policy as was designed to be done (Borishade, 2009). The thrust of this study is find out
the extent of implementation of the stipulated FGN 2004 edition of the NPE Guidelines of
action on ECE. The guideline of action borders on: School establishment, teacher factors,
language of instruction, method of teaching among others. This NPE serve as a guide to the
current ECE and other levels of educational programme in the country. Eresimadu (2008)
insists: for this educational level to be a reality in Nigeria, the aspects of the 2004 edition of
the NPE, that stipulated government’s guidelines of action need to be considered seriously.
Supportively, Adenipekun (2004) ensued: for a nation to develop quality ECE programme,
faithful utilization of Government`s guidelines for such institutions is the only sure way.
Adesina (2007) opined: in spite the glaring recognition given to ECE programme the real
challenge will lie in the successful implementation of this educational policy guidelines by all
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stakeholders. Certainly, objectives of ECE in any country can only be achieved if the policy
is consistently and effectively implemented.
Implementation, simply put is the transformation of set plan or policy into action
which links the policy plans to their actual performance. It is a critical stage in the policy
planning process (Haddad, 2004). Policy implementation in this context refers to the
activities that are carried out in the light of established policies. It involves the process of
converting financial, material, technical and human inputs into outputs – goods and services.
Implementation is a major problem confronting developing nations such as Nigeria. In
implementing a plan, changes may be necessary due to unsatisfactory results or pressures
emanating from outside. According to Gallagher and Maxwell (2004), the mere translations
of abstract policy intentions into concrete implementation can cause redesign; qualifications
of the personnel to implement the plan and clear description of expectations or actual
performance expected in the specified task must be seriously considered. As such,
Adamolekun (2003) insists that if the goal of this programme is to provide the best possible
education for all Nigerian children, implementing personnel should be skilful and
knowledgeable. It is therefore necessary to assess policy implementation on ECE.
Assessment of policy implementation on ECE, in the context of the study, refers to evaluation
of how the government course of action has been utilized towards successful Early Childhood
educational programme (Ngwagwu, 2007).
Regrettably, eight years after the last revision (2004) of the NPE, most of the
measures and proposals seemed mere formalities. Nakpodia (2010) observed, the
government proposed encouraging private efforts in the establishment of ECE centres but
what is obtainable now is a far cry from all expectations. These private individuals open these
institutions without adequate planning, and the aftermath being a systematic mal-adjustment
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of our young ones. Similarly, where even standard ones exist, they are relatively few and
concentrated within the urban centres and hence elitist. Presently, there are so many illequipped,
sub-standard kindergarten and nursery institutions scattered all over the urban
centres and some in the rural centres of Nigeria (Amakievi, 2013) ). Standards or quality is an
anathema to most of these ECE centres. Most ECE centres even charge higher fees than what
many model secondary schools and even Federal universities do charge. The extra-ordinarily
prohibitive high cost has not been reciprocally matched by an encouraging provision of
facilities and basic equipment (UNESCO, 2009). The ECE being the ultimate background
needed by the child to smoothly transit to the formal school system need a solid foundation,
any shaky foundation naturally will affect the other levels .
The consequences of the above type of learning environment include; poor academic
performance , low enrolment, school drop- out and so on. Depemu (2004) stated; the Federal
Ministry of Education (FME) has been a concerned over the fate of pupils in public schools,
the past few years. Schools have been performing poorly in the national and placement
examinations in tests administered by state Education Service. The report by the FME
recently is that 16 million Nigerian children are not enrolled in schools across the country is
not a cheering news. Of that figure, 11 million should be in primary schools while the other
five million ought to be in secondary schools, (The Tide,2013). This situation has, for
sometimes now, remained a big challenge to the education sector and amounts to an
indictment on government’s inability to do all the right things. There is need for a lay down
solid foundation for future growth of the country children. Amakievi, (2013) argued that
with underperforming education sectors (heavy repetition rates and poor quality) early
dropouts might be perfectly rational in developing countries even in the absence of financial
constraints.
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There has been observed wide disparities in children educational standards and
learning achievements as a result of substantial rates of drop out – non-completion of school
programme. School Drop outs are children who start but do not complete a cycle of basic
education. Such children are leaving schooling without acquiring the most basic skills. Their
brief schooling experience consists frequently of limited learning opportunities in
overcrowded classrooms with insufficient learning materials and under-qualified teachers
(Alexander, 2008). Children of different ages and abilities are mixed together in single
classrooms without proper adaptation of teaching methods to improve learning and to induce
school engagement . Such schooling circumstances, jeopardise meaningful access to
education for many children for many children are registered in schools to participate but fail
to learn, enrolled for several years but fail to progress and drop out from school,( Ejieh
.2009).
Qualified teachers who are equipped with the desired knowledge, skills, competence
commitment, and are empowered to perform their tasks professionally are needed in schools
so as to prepare and equip learners for all aspects of life (Onyeachu, 2008). Actually, the
FRN (2004) affirmed that no educational system can rise above the level of its teachers,
thereby, identifying the fact that laudable educational initiatives can collapse simply because
the ‘teacher factor’ is not taken seriously. Policy implementation guidelines clearly
emphasized teacher specialization on ECE through teacher training colleges. Ironically, this
policy statements on this level of education seem to be a failed one as it is handled largely by
the Private Sector Who cannot afford to maintain professional personnel. Number of teachers
as reported by National Scientific Council on the Developing Child (NSCDC2004).; is
about 124,727 pre-primary school teachers for the 2004/2005 academic year for the entire
nation, (NSG, 2005). Nakpodia (2011) decried that currently the students participating in the
National Teachers Institute (NTI) programmes (Grade II as well as NCE) and the teeming
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population of students in most Nigerian colleges of education studying primary education
studies (PES) are not trained for early child education contexts. The training these students
receive makes them adequate for primary schooling only so there are no qualified ECE
teachers (Yusuf, 2010).
The school administrative structure affects the whole policy implementation and
functioning of the ECE programme. With the head teacher occupying the leadership position
Makinde, (2003) recommends that , he/she must possess adequate knowledge and technical
capability in facing the task ahead. Though as a school administrator, he/she is a teacher,
possessing teaching skills. He/she must be able to demonstrate the teaching ability and other
teachers should learn from him/her the techniques of teaching. According to Bahago (2010),
most school heads in Nigeria have no regular training courses , because it is believed that
he/she does not require any special training and all that is needed is experience on the job.
With rapid expansion of educational system, Schools are now becoming more complex and
projected increase in school sizes. It is now important that teachers in training who will
eventually head the school need to be knowledgeable in rudiments of ECE administration,
there is need to equip the teachers who will handle the situation and the accompanying
implementation problems effectively, (Akinbote, 2001).
The Nigerian Policy on Education of the FRN (2004) in its provision for pre-primary
education stipulated that : the government shall regulate and control the operation of preprimary
education but a look at most of our pre-primary schools show that this is done by
people that are corrupt leading to a mess of whole exercise. There is evidence of low
monitoring, regulatory and controlling exercise, ( Hamza,2004). The FGN recommended
that a Minimum Standard Package be developed and approved to ensure quality of service
delivery. It is still unclear how this package is being utilised as most the publc and private
ECE centres does support effective learning. Yusuf (2010) regretted that many ECE centres
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are substandard as they lack minimum standard package document for positive guide to the
operation ECE centres. Consequently, Ejieh,(2009), observed wide disparities in children
academic standard and learning achievements.
Additionally, it would appear that the use of mother tongue or the language of the
immediate environment for language of instruction as well as play-way method for teaching
are mere theoretical provisions that are not to be strictly adhered. Up to date, there are no
sufficient textbooks on many Nigerian language orthography to facilitate teaching and
learning in mother tongue for children at this level. The majority of those available are
foreign-based and expensive (Afolayan, 2010). Recent school census data disseminated by
the Federal Ministry of Education showed increase in participation in ECE programme with
more than 1.4 million young children enrolled nationwide in 2003, (Agbo, 2008). According
to the Summary of Cross River State Universal Basic Education Commission, school
attendance among children aged 0 to 5 is increasing especially in Ogoja Education Zone. In
2006, the percentage of children aged 0 to 5 enrolled in ECE programs reached 43%
compared to 27.5% in 1996 (CRSUBEC, 2007). However, Bahago (2010) observed that there
are significant differences regarding access to school between these age groups. Only 15.5%
of children in the 0-3 years group attended nursery schools in 2006, compared with 76% of
children aged 3-5 that had access to pre-school in the same year.
Play is enjoyable and spontaneous and helps the children learn social and motor
skills and cognitive thinking. The play method of teaching that is advocated in the National
Policy on pre-primary education is not effectively used in most of the schools, as most of the
teachers are not trained on the use of it. According to Agbo, (2008), Proprietors and teachers
provide the children with toys to play with mainly for recreational purposes and not for
instruction. Very few, if any, nursery school teachers in the country have received formal
training in the use of the play method. Through play, children learn family rules, develop
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language and socialization skills , communicate emotions, think and be creative and solve
problems. As they grow, play helps them learn how to act and what is expected of him or
her. Even Parents, need to make time to play with their children. Toys, materials, and sports
equipment should be provided so that they can play with others (Baker, 2002).
Despite the enunciated objectives of ECE programme and Government’s
commendable efforts towards realizing the objectives, the objectives of ECE has not been
fully realized. There exist indications of implementation pit falls evident in proliferation of
sub-standard ECE centres which result to the school dropout, low enrolment of pupils in
the primary school level. Regrettably, Ejieh (2009) decried: public schools in most states of
the federation are either in poor states of disrepairs and overcrowded or lack basic
infrastructural facilities necessary to aid learning. Addressing low school enrolment , The
Tide (2013) regrets a situation where children sit on bare floor for learning or study under the
trees. It is unthinkable to imagine how such a scenario can encourage school enrolment. Forty
per cent of Nigerian children aged 6-11 do not attend any primary school with the Northern
region recording the lowest school attendance rate in the country, particularly for girls.
Clearly, benefits that may be accrued from ECE and the commitments made by the
government notwithstanding, there still exists poor performance of ECE sector characterized
by low enrolment of children and high rate of dropouts of children who have phobia for
schooling. Similarly, the report of the Cross River State Universal Basic Education Board
(SUBEB) supervisory committee showed that in spite of all the laudable goals of NPE and
efforts made to improve the quality of ECE schools, there exists significant low academic
achievement of children who transit from ECE in most Local Government Areas in Cross
River State, especially the northern area, (SUBEB,2007). The situation has deteriorated to the
extent that primary school administrators doubt the preparedness of children promoted from
ECE centres to primary schools. It seems that children who go through ECE are not
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adequately prepared for entry into primary schools. This may cast aspersion on the way the
FGN policy guidelines on ECE are being implemented. Given the foundational and basic
importance of this level of education, it becomes pertinent to investigate the extent to which
government have actually aligned itself to the guidelines on the implementation of the ECE
programme in Ogoja Education Zone, Cross River State.
Statement of the Problem
Globally, Early Childhood Education (ECE) has been recognized as the fulcrum for
future education of children. The 2004 edition of the National Policy on Education is a
foundation guide to the establishment and management of early childhood services so as to
meet up with society’s expectations for children. Significant innovations on ECE has been
made in during the last eight years including; UBE Act of 2004 which expanded the scope
of ECE as an inclusion of Basic education, all primary schools must have a linkage of ECE
to carter for under school children. This approach is developmentally appropriate as planning
was based on observations of what children could do in the areas of physical, social,
emotional, language and intellectual development.
In spite of government declaration to participate actively in ECE, there is disparity on
the extent to which ECE policy has been implemented. This is a major gap that has left most
ECE centres in various parts of the country no more than mere exploitative mills where
children are gradually led to their intellectual deaths at such an early age. They lack material
resources, the facilities, personnel and so on, and where they are available they are grossly
inadequate. Consequently, there exist indications of implementation pitfalls characterized by
proliferation of substandard ECE centres, high rate of dropouts, poor performance, and low
enrolment of children in the primary schools among others. Cross River State as one of the 36
states in the Nigerian , and one of the six states in the South-South geo-political zone has not
been insulated from the various efforts at implementing ECE. Though successive
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governments in the state have tried to address the issue above, the effect of the policies and
programmes on reducing poor educational background among the populace has been that of
doubt.
The above trend portends danger not only for ECE pupils but also for their parents
and the nation as a whole. If ECE must play its role then the need to assess the extent of the
implementation of its policy strategies, becomes imperative. Hence, the question that the
study addresses: to what extent has the ECE programme been implemented in Ogoja
Education Zone of Cross River State?
Purpose of the Study
The general purpose of this study is to assess the extent to which the 2004 edition of
NPE Guidelines of action on ECE has been implemented at ECE centres in Ogoja Education
Zone of Cross River State. The study intends to determine specifically, the extent to which:
- Government has encouraged private efforts in the provision of ECE.
- Provisions in Teacher Training Institutions for students who want to specialize in early
childhood education have been made.
- The mother-tongue or the language of the immediate community has been used as the
medium of instruction.
- Play method of teaching has been used in ECE centres in Northern senatorial District ,
Cross River State.
- Government has been regulating, controlling, monitoring, supervising and enforcing
educational laws at ECE centres;
- ECE facilities have been provided and maintained by the government.
Significance of the Study
The study has both theoretical and practical significance.
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Theoretically, the outcome of the study will contribute to the general understanding
of the cognitive development of children. This will allow all stakeholders to fully appreciate
the cognitive, emotional, physical, social and educational growth that children go through
from birth and into early adulthood. Attention will be focused on the idea of developmentally
appropriate education— an education with environments, curriculum, materials, and
instruction that are suitable for students in terms of their physical and cognitive abilities.
Practically, the findings of the study will be of immense benefit to all stakeholders of
early childhood education: government, parents ,community, administrators, teachers and
care-givers and others who are concerned with the effective implementation of childhood
education. This is because assessment of the implementation of this policy remains vital
yardstick to ensure realization of the objectives of Childhood Education.
The findings on the extent of government encouragement to private efforts in the
provision of ECE would enable the government to know the extent its promise has been
fulfilled, and thus, be poised to adequately fill any gap. The private sector would be enable
to be poised at adequately demand for government’s assistance towards provision of ECE. It
would enable childhood education policy makers to formulate appropriate policies all geared
towards ensuring that the government adequately encourage private efforts in the provision of
ECE.
By providing information on the extent to which provisions has been made for
specialization in ECE carrier in Teacher Training Institutions, the attention of the government
will be drawn towards ensuring the establishment and provision of requisite resources for
students who want to specialize in early childhood education. The would equally discover
areas of need and give necessary assistance. Such Institutions would also utilize the
information to be poised at ensuring their continuous existence and sustainability by
maintenance of the facilities in their possession. Also, students, Parents and the community
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would appreciate this government’s effort and sought out ways they can complement
government efforts.
Information generated on the extent to which mother-tongue or the language of the
immediate community has been used as the medium of instruction would enable early
childhood educators to ensure that mother-tongue is effectively utilized as a medium of
instruction. Further, the information would guide FME in formulating appropriate policies
that facilitate the mother-tongue is effectively utilized as a medium of instruction. It would
enable various agents of socialization such as the family ensure that mother tongue is
effectively used in communication. It will further help the governmental and nongovernmental
organizations (NGOs) in providing assistance where necessary. Also, the
study would help the government to intervene and to help improve early child education
through the education of well qualified teachers and caretakers for the nation’s futures of
tomorrow.
The findings of the study on the extent to which play method of teaching has been
used in ECE centres in Ogoja Education Zone,, Cross River State would enable childhood
educators to adequately utilize play method of teaching. It would enable Ministry of
Education to formulate and implement appropriate policies all geared towards ensuring that
play method of teaching is adequately used in ECE centres. ECE administrators would also
utilize the information to adopt appropriate strategies towards ensuring that play method of
teaching is adequately used in ECE centres. It would enable school psychologists/guidance
counsellors to adopt appropriate strategies in rendering their services. Government and
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) will further utilize the information in providing
assistance where it is felt necessary.
By providing information on the extent to which government have been regulating,
controlling, monitoring, supervising and enforcing educational laws at ECE centres,
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government will in no small measure be poised at ensuring regulation and enforcing
educational laws at ECE centres through their various ministries of education. Also, the
government would intensify regular supervision and monitoring of activities of ECE through
inspectorate units for the sole purpose of supervisions and standardization of ECE centres
with regard to curricula, personnel, inspection, provision, maintenance and control of quality
facilities will be establish.
Information generated on the extent to which ECE facilities have been provided and
maintained by the government would enable the government through their various ministries
of education ensure that facilities are adequate properly maintained. ECE administrators
would also utilize the information to adopt appropriate strategies towards ensuring adequacy
and proper maintenance of ECE facilities by the government. It will enable parents and
guardians to complement government’s efforts in providing and maintaining ECE facilities. It
will further help the governmental and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in providing
assistance where it is felt necessary.
Scope of the Study
The study, assessment of policy implementation on Early Childhood Education (ECE),
will be carried out in all public and approved private primary schools in Ogoja Education
Zone of Cross River State using the head teachers and teachers as respondents. The content
scope is to determine the extent to which the government has participated in terms of:
management/administration of ECE including to: encourage private effort, provide for
training of specialist teachers, regulate the operation, provide and maintain facilities of ECE,
and also curriculum issues such as language of instruction and method of teaching.
Research Questions
The following research questions will guide the study:
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- To what extent has government encouraged private efforts in the provision of ECE
centres?
- To what extent has the government made provision for students who want to specialize
in ECE?
- To what extent has mother-tongue or the language of the immediate community been
used as a medium of instruction at ECE?
- To what extent has play method been applied as a method of teaching at ECE centres?
- To what extent has the government participated in regulating, controlling, monitoring,
supervising and enforcing the educational laws with regard to the establishment of
ECE schools?
- To what extent has the government provided and maintained ECE facilities?
Research Hypotheses
The study was be guided by one hypothesis to be tested at P<0.5 level of
significance:
There is no significant difference between the mean responses of head teachers and
teachers and on the extent of government participation in the implementation of early
childhood in Ogoja Education Zone, Cross River State.
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CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
This chapter reviewed previous literature related to this study. The review was
organised under the following sub-headings:
Conceptual Framework
– Concept of Education
– Concept of Early Childhood Education (ECE)
– Concept of National Policy on Education (NPE)
– Concept of Policy Implementation
– Concept of Assessment.
Theoretical Framework
– Behavioural theory
– Socio-cultural Learning Theory
– Cognitive-Developmental theory
– Self/Sensory Activity Theory
Empirical Studies
Extent of Teachers’ involvement in UBE
Perceptions of Teachers and Teaching: A Focus on Early Childhood Education
Assessing Quality in ECE
Assessment of PE and programme implementation of pre-primary School
Administration of Pre-Primary Schools
School based factors influencing implementation of ECDE curriculum
Summary of Review of literature
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Conceptual Framework
Concept of Education
The term “Education” originated from “Educere” a Latin word for “to lead forth” or
“to come out”. Education seeks to develop and nourish the innate good qualities and draw
out the best in every individual. According to Aries (2000), educating an individual is an
attempt to give him some desirable knowledge, understanding, skills, interests, attitudes and
critical ‘thinking. Education simply can be regarded as an activity or experience, which
brings the required changes in the behaviours of the learner. It enables a man to become more
efficient, to achieve with increasing facility the legitimate goals of his life. According to
Afolayan (2011), education involves a number of activities on the part of several people,
including the teacher, the pupil, parents, the governments and every citizen of the country. It
starts the very moment a person is born and ends when the person dies. According to Taiwo
(2007), education is the means through which individual acquire adequate and appropriate
knowledge, skills and attitudes and values, known as cognitive, psychomotor and affective
behaviours to be able to function optimally as a citizen. Invariably, education is a means of
preserving, transmitting and improving the culture of any society.
Education remains a priority of every nation as ‘breast milk’ for over all development
of her citizens. Mitchell, Anne; Ripple, & Chanan. (2005) regarded education as a key to
training individuals towards a reliable state of mind for it is an act that has a formative
effect on the mind, character or physical ability of an individual, Fafunwa (2003) described
education as “the aggregate of all the processes by which the child or young adult develops
the abilities, attitudes and other forms of behaviour which are positive to the society in which
he lives”. It is a powerful instrument devised by man for improving his lot which entails
inculcating the right attitudes, values, norms, abilities and skills in an individual to enable
him be a functional member of the society. Succinctly, the Federal Republic of Nigeria (FRN,
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2004) recognizes education as “an instrument par excellence’ for effecting national
development, geared towards self-realization, better human relationship, individual and
national efficiency, effective citizenship, national consciousness, national unity, as well as
towards social, cultural, economic political, scientific and technological progress.
Principles of education and school organization are rooted on the concepts of
Education given by prominent educationists: Education is something which makes man selfreliant
and selfless, is for liberation, for the realization of self, training of country and love of
the nation, one gets from nature, the manifestation of the divine perfection, already existing
in man and the widest road leading to the solution of all problems (Akinpelu, 2011). From
the view of Western philosophers like Socrates, Rousseau & Froebel “Education include:
the bringing out of the ideas of universal validity which are latent in the mind of every man,
developing in the body and soul of the pupil all the beauty and perfection which he is
capable of before he can speak or understand. It is the process through which a child makes
the internal- external, an unfoldment of what is already enfolded” Education involves the
process of providing information from teacher to pupil to help him/her develop physically,
mentally, socially, emotionally, spiritually, and economically from childhood (Reynoids,
2008). Education in the second half of the twentieth century has been characterized by
increases in the provision of educational programs for preschool-age children.
Concept of Early Childhood Education (ECE)
A child is a young human between birth and puberty, a period recognized as
childhood stages According to Melton, G. (2005)., a child is anybody who is 12 years or
below. But this has been modified a little recently. Thus, a child in Nigeria is now considered
to be anybody below the age of 18years. Baker (2002) observed that children gain variety of
experiences in the course of physical, intellectual, social and emotional growth and
developmental changes. He pointed out that “human life proceeds by stages that are
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influenced by variety of factors such as heredity; family; biological; economic and political
institution and critical life issues”. Barnett (2006) classified childhood stages to include:
neonates (ages 0–1 month); infant (ages 1 month – 1 year); toddler (ages 1–3 years);
preschooler (ages 4–6 years); school-aged child (ages 6–13 years). According to National
Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC, 2008), the early childhood period
is generally referred to as the period from birth till about the age of five or six. In other
words, it is the period before the official primary school age in Nigeria. Maduewesi (2005)
cited in Ibiam (2011) emphasized that support and care received by a child in terms of good
health, nutrition, psychological care and protection are crucial in the formation and
development of intelligence, personality and social behaviour.
The knowledge of the childhood developmental stages is of immense value to the
planning of any childhood programme. Depemu (2004) refers child development as the
biological, psychological and emotional changes that occur in human beings between birth
and the end of adolescence, as the individual progresses from dependency to increasing
autonomy. These developmental changes may be strongly influenced by genetic factors and
events during prenatal life. Human beings have a keen sense to adapt to their surroundings,
and this is what child development encompasses (Onibokun, 2007).The optimal development
of children is considered by Karoly (2010) as vital to society and so it is important to
understand the social, cognitive, emotional, and educational development of children.
Increased research and interest in this concept has resulted in innovations with specific regard
to practice that promotes early learning within the school system.
The concept of Early Childhood education has been with mankind from the onset of
human existence. It is the foundation upon which the success or failure of other levels of
education depends. This is predicated on many studies of children which revealed the
importance of early years in physical, social, emotional and intellectual development (Ugwu,
21
2011). Patterson (2009) opinionated; being the first formal education children receive under
the auspices of the teacher, the rest of the education system is built upon the ECE, any
defect at this stage could go a long way in affecting the later intellectual ability of the child.
On the contrary, any stimulation at this ‘critical’ period will greatly influence the child’s
success in life. Besides, the quality of inputs into primary school is determined at this stage.
Children, at this level, have wonderful impressionable minds and these minds need to
be well nurtured and developed from this early stage for future adjustment. Neuman (2003)
emphasised that children have a number of survival needs to contend with in their new
environment (School), such as protection from extreme cold or heat which require good
building and other facilities. They need sound nutrition (balanced diet) to enable them to be
healthy and resist diseases. Therefore, Mitchel et al, (2005) noted there is the need for
enriched stimulating environment. Regrettably, most of the proprietors, teachers, care-givers
of ECE centres are practically ignorant of child developmental stages and needs (Odukoya,
2009).
Early childhood education programme is generally divided into three age categories.
The first age category Day care /Crèche, which includes infants and toddlers who are
between the ages of birth and 3 years of age. According to Bredekamp (2997) the most
important factor for young infants is security with primary caregivers. Between the ages of 9
to 18 months, mobile infants are mostly concerned with exploration and between 18 and 36
months, the central focus of development is identity, and children become more independent.
The second age category of ECE includes Nursery who are 3 to 5 years of age. According to
Bredekamp, (2007) this period of development is characterized by rapid gross motor
development (e.g., jumping, hopping, skipping), refined movement of small muscles for
object manipulation, major increases in vocabulary and use of language, abstract
representation of mental constructs, and the development of relationships with other young
22
children. The final category of is the Kindergarten which includes those children in the age
range between 5 and 6 years of age. Bredekamp describe this level as a stage of Gross and
fine motor development characterized by children’s ability to perform controlled movements
and sequence motor skills. Greater reasoning, problem solving, and assimilation also
characterize children’s cognitive development at this stage. Kolawole (2009) observed that;
during the kindergarten years, children’s vocabulary increases at a rapid pace. In addition,
their written communication skills develop. Socially, the children begin to understand others’
perspectives, are concerned with fairness, and monitor their own behavior.
Benefits of Early Childhood Education
The benefits of the early childhood education can never be over emphasised. Meyers
(2006) described it as “a catalyst for all other schooling investments”. It is now a popular
thing throughout the modern world to send children to early schools because it has been
recognized all over the world as good place for the children before they start primary
education. So, Neuman, (2000) view the ECE as a must for all children based on the
following reasons:
In modern societies, married women are no longer full time housewives whose main
duty is to take care of the family because they are taking up paid employment, the African
extended family system whereby there are always people at home to look after the children is
gradually giving way. Moreover, house helps where available are now very expensive.
Therefore, in order to ensure safety and adequate care of the children while their parents are
at work, the nursery school is necessary (Reynoids, 2008). ECE provides children with very
good environment for socialization. There is no home, however wealthy that can provide the
type of environment which ECE schools provide for proper education of children. Therefore,
since children need a good environment for their proper social and emotional development, it
has become necessary for parents to keep their children in the ECE centres (Onibokun,2007).
23
For a child to realise his potentials depends on the type of stimulation and
encouragement he/she receives from home. However, Akinbote (2001),stated: as a result of
the socio-economic problems in Nigeria for example, many parents can no longer provide
their children the necessary stimulation which they need for their all round development.
Therefore, in order to prevent anything that will reduce or prevent the child’s rate of
maturation and high level of achievement, the ECE school is necessary for the child. In this
school the, child will receive the necessary opportunities which are not available at home
(Reynoids, 2001).
There are also some children with some problems which the parents may not actually
notice or identify. The problems could be physical such as bad sight or hearing problems. It
could also be emotional problems such as fear, restlessness, etc. The various experts in the
early schools could help to detect such problem early and advice the parents on how to
correct them. For proper social, emotional, physical and cognitive development of children,
the early school is a must for all children in modern societies.
The main function of ECE is to supplement the normal services which the home
render to children .This stage is the beginning of the link between the child and the social
world at large. Therefore, ECE centres should reflect the life at home while preparing the
child for life outside his home, (Sternberg, 2002). According to Bruce, (2002), the ECE is
the most important period in the development of an individual because ‘it comes first’ and
inevitably influences all subsequent developments. So “for structuring and providing positive
learning experiences fundamental for sound human growth, it serves and continue to serve
varied purposes such as Cognitive Development. The first of man’s great achievement is
learning to use his senses. This intellectual development is provided at ECE level through a
stimulating environment which enriches the child’s cognitive abilities and skills. According
to Bredekamp as the children happily play in the ECE centres, they are gradually introduced
24
to skills of formal education through listening, speaking, reading and writing. In this
technology age, they develop creative minds for scientific skills. So, toys and other learning
accessories are necessary.
Through early interaction with peers, children develop their language skills faster and
they feel secured and happy. Clifford, (2008) stated that ECE bring children from different
families together; they learn to live together like brothers and sisters. Consequently, the
children learn the value of unity, respect for other people’s rights, law-abiding, reducing
tribal and ethnic prejudices. So, Socialisation, acquisition of Physical and language
development through purposefully organised ECE environment is made simple at this level
of education,. Patterson, (2009) affirmed that; children to find expression in various ways to
their urges and drives. They do things and perform various physical activities more actively
than they could have done at home. They grow to retain good shape, maintain good health
and necessary physical agility needed in adulthood.
Morals and norms of the society is being inculcated in the children through ECE
programme for upward peace and harmonious living. Aries (2000) ensued: moral education
must start from the earliest stage of human life not at adult age when anti-social and antimoral
behaviours must have been formed, and breaking them would be difficult. Invariably,
ECE helps children develop good social, moral and emotional habits. Through the knowledge
of hygiene and health education children develop good health habits as they learn how to
wash their hands after playing, eating, toileting, brush their teeth, bathing and maintaining
their belongings.
From the foregoing, it is clear that ECE is a level of education that no child should
miss. Supportively, Aries, (2000) stressed on the need for policy guided curriculum, qualified
personnel, adequate quality facilities and suitable school environment for ECE activities.
25
Background of Early Childhood Education (ECE).
From the origin of Mankind, man has long realised the need to transmit knowledge,
skills and culture to the younger generation. As soon as the child is born, he is taught to
conform to the cultural norms of his/her society. So in every society, even the most primitive
one pays attention to the proper training of her young ones. So, the practice of early
childhood education did not begin today. A comparative history of various political, cultural
and economic events that marked world history and which has heavily influenced the
adoption of various approaches to early childhood education is important for appreciation and
assessment of its implementation in the present time (Akinbote, 2001). The review dates back
to old Greece, Rome, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, Enlightenment periods, traditional
African and in contemporary time.
Early childhood Education in Sparta
Generally, education and schooling can be traced to about 500 BC in old Greece.
Greece as the pioneer of civilization had many city states. But prominent amongst these were
Athens and Sparta. According to Akinbote (2001), history reveals that early training of the
Spartan Child was not only done at home with the mother of the child as teacher, but infant
education was a state concern. At infancy, elders examined the child carefully to see if his
physical and psychological posture would suit the aim of this predominantly militaristic state.
Where the child was found physically weak, he was immediately got rid of either through
exposure or given over to the healots . Every detail of the Spartan child’s life was directly
controlled by the state. The implication is that among the Spartans, only healthy children
were raised to become citizens (Akinbote, 2001).
With the emergence of Philosophers like Plato, Aristotle and Comenius, cognisance
was given to the need for early childhood education from birth till about age seven. This
period, in their view, should actually be devoted as the “proper” elementary schooling. Plato
26
and Aristotle recommended that the nursery schools for children should be between the ages
of three to seven years (3-7 yrs). For them, nursery education was intended to help the child
appreciate the world through his intellect and to develop his muscles through games (Charles,
2007). Play method was prescribed quite adequate in teaching the child at this stage. The
child’s mind is quite impressionable at birth and the influence of instruction can bring out the
best in the child. Education is regarded as the powerful tool for achieving one’s potentials,
which needs to be tapped early enough (Patterson, 2009).
Early childhood Education in Roman Empire
Before conquering Greece, the Romans never had a set standard on formal schooling
for the young child; education for the child was mostly a home affair. Their idea of preschool
education was learning the father’s trade, while the mother on the other hand took care of the
child’s moral training. The influence of Greek education brought about a new experience in
the Roman idea of education. This new Greco-Roman educational system introduced the
Ludus or elementary education amongst other stages of learning. The Ludus was the first
stage of learning. Specifically the Ludus preschool curriculum content had reading, writing
and Arithmetic using the play method (Awoniyi, 2009). Quintilian was an education theorist
who is much concerned for the child, and parental responsibility towards his normal and
effective growth. He insisted that the child as a learner need the right type of education. He
advocated early childhood education contrary to the Roman entry school age of seven years.
He is of the opinion that the elements of learning solely depends on memory, (Charlse, 2007).
Early Childhood Education in the Renaissance period.
In the middle ages there was no much attention to ECE, only the proposal of Pierre
Dubois for Head start education was quite useful. The Renaissance period witnessed the birth
of new ideas and knowledge of ancient Greek learning. Some notable scholars such as
Desdirus Erasmus (1446 – 1536) and Juan Luis Vives (1495 – 1553) contributed immensely
27
to the educational world view. All of them worked on a theory of early childhood education.
Along the line, Quintilian and Erasmus recommended that education should begin with the
first stage or pre-school stage because at this early stage, the child’s mind can easily acquire
the seeds of piety which will make him accustomed to the rudiments of good behaviour. They
also suggested that at this young age, subjects would be better learnt through games and
stories (Wallace, 2007).
Early Childhood Education in the Enlightenment Period
The Enlightenment Period came after the Renaissance. Generally, it witnessed a reshaping
and re-directing of society with education as the instrument to achieve it. It marked
an age when great thinkers through rational arguments made men see reason to change and
improve on human behaviour and attitude. Baker (2005), described the Enlightenment period
as “a movement borne out of destruction and revolution, but later grew to become an age of
great constructive ideals that is why the Period is also called the ‘Age of Reason”. It was also
in the light of this reasoning that great early childhood educators made valuable contributions
to the theory and practice of early childhood education.
The concept of Early Childhood Education in Africa.
In traditional African society, education was quite functional and aimed at training the
child to acquire knowledge and skills and imbibe the customs and norms of the people. The
African child is born into a family or society where he looks up to his ancestors and elders for
support. Thus, the traditional family with their communal living provided an anchorage for
the younger ones at a very early age; once the child was weaned, he was taught to accept
some moral responsibilities (Abolade, 2005). The African child in the traditional setting just
like the kindergarten school child in modern society was taught in the most practical way. He
was made to learn from older people, especially from his mother. He learnt through imitation,
28
recitation and demonstration in line with the view of social learning theorists (Abolade,
2005).
Early Childhood Education (ECE) in Nigeria:
The concept of ECE sprang from need to educate the child from birth. No matter how
informal, this concept dates back to pre-colonial era in Nigeria. In effect, pre-school
education had always existed in Nigeria even before the advent of western civilization and
formal education practice. Anderson, (2009) noted, the method of instruction like in the
traditional system of education consisted of role-playing, discovery, observation and
imitation, storytelling, learning by doing and so on.
Succinctly, before the coming of Western education, Nigerians had their own
educational practices and systems aimed at bringing up young ones in the way of life of the
people. The educational system was such that the children acquired skills, knowledge,
patterns of thought and attitudes which the communities recommended for effective living
(Anderson, 2009). Early childhood training includes toilet, health and meal habits. The child
was also taught respect for elders and simple gestures while exchanging greetings. The child
learns hospitality through friendliness and the need to accommodate people. Specifically the
mother plays the role of a teacher in the intellectual, social and emotional development of the
child. In 1842, Reverend Thomas Freeman, a Methodist Missionary established what he
termed the nursery of the Infant Church at Badagry. Lassa (2006) noted contrary to what the
term implied, it was not a nursery school, but more of a primary stage of learning with the
sole aim of propagating the Christian faith. Maturity for this first stage of learning was
attained once the child’s hand could go over his head to touch the opposite ear. In essence, he
remarked that there was actually no organised institution for pre-school education at this
period until between 1955 –1958; the whole idea of Universal Primary Education (U.P.E)
scheme evolved in the then Western and Eastern regions of Nigeria. Significantly too, pre29
school and child care centres were mostly in the hands of private proprietors (Onibokun,
2007).
This non-interference of government in pre-primary education continued until the
1969 Curriculum Conference. At the end of the conference, the committee recommended a
Head – Start programme for toddlers and children. The nursery and kindergarten schools
were to accommodate children between the ages of three and five years (Ogunyemi, 2009).
Later in the 1970s, there was the call for government to make more definite policies on the
preparatory role of pre-school institutions. In response to this, the Federal Government, in her
first major National Policy on Education in 1981, had a full section on pre-primary education.
In that section, pre-primary education was referred to as, “the education given in an
educational institution to children aged three to five years”.
Concept of National Policy on Education
The concept of Policy on education refers to a course of action (or a written
document) whereby the government determine decisions, actions on education matters that
will prove advantageous to the society in general (Depemu, 2004). Haddad (2004) described
Policy as programme of action adopted by a person, group, or government as a principle in
which there activities are based. In this context, policy is a course of action adopted by
government, business, and an organisation to base her programme of activities. The existing
policy on early childhood education highlights the objectives of early childhood education in
Nigeria as follows:
- Effecting a smooth transition from the home to the school.
- Preparing the child for the primary level of education.
- Providing adequate care and supervision for the children while their parents are at
work.
- Creating individuals who are responsible citizens.
30
- 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 and
so on.
- Teaching cooperation and team spirit.
- Teaching the rudiments of numbers, letters, colours, shapes forms, etc., through play.
- Teaching of good habits, especially good health habits.
The government authoritatively declared that achievement of the stated objectives of
early childhood education in Nigeria will be brought about via the following means:
- establishing pre-primary sections in existing public schools and encouraging both
community and private efforts in the provision of early childhood education;
- making provision in teacher education programmes for specialisation in early
childhood education;
- ensuring that the medium of instruction will principally be the mother tongue or the
language of the immediate community; and to this end: (i) developing the orthography
for many more Nigerian languages; and (ii) producing textbooks in Nigerian
languages;
- ensuring that the main method of teaching in the childhood education centres will be
through play, and that the curriculum of teacher education is appropriately oriented to
achieve this;
- regulating and controlling the operation of early childhood education – to this end, the
teacher pupil ratio is set at 1:25;
- setting and monitoring a minimum standard for early childcare centres in the country;
- ensuring full participation of government, communities and teachers’ associations in
the running, and
- maintenance of early childhood education facilities (FRN,2004).
31
The contents of the policy are detailed and planned because it is the stated goal of the
Nigerian government that its education system should be comparable to all others in the
world. The coverage of educational planning includes:
Finance: Educational planning is interested in the judicious use of funds allocated to
education. It plans for revenue, handles costing and budgeting in education.
Personnel: The adequacy in quantity and quality, training, the specialization, the trend in
growth overtime, constitutes the part of education planning coverage.
Physical Resources: The provision in quantity and quality of facilities, their utilization, their
distribution and the general plant planning is within the ambit of educational planning.
Programmes and Services: The organization, the patterns of activities and development
overtime.
Aims and Objectives: The formulation, the expectations and aspirations, the expected
outputs are parts of educational planning interests.
In addition to these measures, appropriate levels of Government (State and Local) are
required to establish and enforce educational laws that will ensure that established preprimary
schools are well-run, pre-primary teachers well qualified, and other appropriate
academic infrastructure provided. Ministries of education are expected to ensure maintenance
of high standards.
NPE in Cross River State
Improving early childhood education (ECE) is a priority topic in the Cross River state
strategic framework for education and training beyond 2020. This was prompted by zeal to
move the state out of doldrums of educational disadvantaged zone in Nigeria. In consensus
with the current National policy on Education (NPE) a guide for effective ECE was
formulated to prospective proprietors (CRSESA ,2011). Propelled by the adage which
states that: “The highest reward for a man’s toil is not what he gets from it, but what he
32
becomes by it”. the government embarked on a systematic, planned and sustainable
enhancement of the education sector through the development of functional infrastructure and
equipment for the acquisition of the requisite knowledge by all her citizens for their selfactualisation,
Edwards (2010). There is need to develop a blueprint or road map on the
strategies to be employed by all administrations as a key towards a sustained development
of the education sector (Betiang, 2011). Thus, the state educational Vision, Philosophy and
Goals outlined to include:
To be a leading Nigerian State with prosperous, healthy and well educated citizens;
living in harmony with people and nature and pursuing legitimate interest in freedom
moderated by Good Governance. Also to provide through access to qualitative education;
wealth via skill acquisition, empowerment, security, generation of skilled manpower in
science and technology for socio-economic development. So the State Ministry of Education
outlined the following objectives:
- To increase the number of school age population having access to Qualitative
Education from 54% to 100% and qualified secondary school leavers from 33% to
70% by 2012
- . To increase the level of skilled manpower from 30% to 70% by 2012
- To increase the literacy level in the state from 77.5% to 95% by 2012
The Cross River State Philosophy of Education is in tandem with the National Policy
on Education which is the guideline for effective management and implementation of
education at all tiers of government. The Cross River State policy guideline on ECE Policy is
a statement of intentions, expectations, goals, prescriptions, standards and requirements for
quality service delivery. The Goals of Education in Cross River State shall be to:
- provide and sustain unfettered access and equity to education for the total
development of the individual
33
- ensure and promote qualitative and functional education delivery at all levels so as to
imbue the citizenry with marketable skills
- promote job creation for self reliance and poverty reduction
- ensure periodic review, effectiveness and relevance of the curriculum at all levels to
meet the needs of society and the world of work
- Promote Information and Communication Technology (I CT) capability at all levels
- Inculcate the right type of values and attitudes for the survival of the individual in
Cross River State and the larger society
- Create an educational system conscious of globalized, competitive and knowledge
driven economy
- Afford every citizen the right to education irrespective of his or her health status.
Strategies for Implementation of the Policy
- The Cross River State Government shall strengthen the existing Early Childhood
Education (ECE) programme in all the Local Government Areas of the State.
However, government shall continue to encourage private participation of individuals
and corporate organizations in the education of the child at this level.
- The State Ministry of Education shall maintain a highly skilled manpower team to
monitor the establishment and running of all schools concerned with Early Childhood
Education (ECE) in the State.
- High standards shall be maintained in schools responsible for education at this level,
since Early Childhood Education (ECE) forms the foundation on which other levels of
education are built;
- All schools designated for Early Childhood Education (ECE) in Cross River State
shall obtain approval from the Ministry of Education before commencement;
34
- Any school found to operate below the stipulated minimum standards shall be denied
admission of new pupils for two years, failing which such a school, shall have its
approval withdrawn by the Ministry of Education.
- The Proprietors/Head Teachers of any school at this level shall be properly
certificated educationists from recognized tertiary institutions.
- All teachers/care givers employed to teach at this level must have at least the Nigeria
Certificate in Education (NCE);
- Frequent seminars, workshops, conferences and in-service training shall be organized
periodically for teachers by proprietors of Early Childhood Education (ECE) under
the supervision of the Ministry of Education, (CRSEA, 2011).
From the foregoing, it is clear that although early childhood education began as a
private sector enterprise in Nigeria, government’s participation and ownership particularly at
state and local government levels is expanding, courtesy of the UBE Act (2004) which makes
ECE an integral part of the UBE Programme. States that are implementing the UBE
Programme are expected to integrate ECE in their public schools. Such centres are non-fee
paying and are supported with materials and facilities, thereby making pre-schools affordable
and open to more children. Recent school census data disseminated by FGN/UBEC (2003)
showed increase in participation in early years’ programme with more than 1.4 million young
children enrolled nationwide in 2003. All these are evidenced by the strategies for policy
implementations.
Similarly, UNCEF’s intervention and support in local government areas has increased
access to ECE especially to remote communities, which now have at least an ECE facility,
home/centre based to cater for their young children. However, Betiang (2011) reported that a
large proportion of Nigeria’s children still lack access to or participate in early years
development programmes in the country. A Minimum Standard Package has been developed
35
and approved to ensure quality of service delivery both at the home-, community-, or schoolbased
centres. However, it is still unclear how this package is being used. Some attempt
should be being made at capacity building of the various operators, teachers and caregivers
on the use and application of the revised ECE curriculum and the Minimum Standard
Package (UNESCO, 2008). To ensure a systemic integration of ECE into teacher training
curriculum and assure production of quality manpower to implement the curriculum,
agreement has been reached with the National Commission of Colleges of Education on
mainstreaming ECE as a course in teacher training (Edwards, 2010).
Concept of Policy Implementation
Formulating a policy or designing a plan is meaningless except it is implemented.
Jones (2004) view ‘Implementation’ as the transformation of policy into action which is a
critical stage in the policy planning process because it links the policy plans to their actual
performance. Scholarly, education policy implementation has been defined in various ways:
According to Mkpa (2007), implementation of educational policy is “The task of translating
the policy into the operating tool by the combined efforts of the students, teachers and others
concerned”. Policy implementation refers to putting the policy into work for the achievement
of the goals for which the policy is designed, for implementation translates the objectives of a
policy from paper to practice, proposal into action” (Nwonga, 2003). Educational policy
implementation entails putting all that have been planned as a policy document into practice
in the classroom through the combined effort of the teachers, learners, school administrators,
parents as well as interaction with physical facilities, instructional materials and social
environment, (Onyeachu, 2008). Policy implementation in education in the course of the
study, entails interaction between stakeholders geared towards achieving the objectives of
education.
36
The success of the implementation of any new policy or plan, especially in a country
like Nigerian, depends largely on careful planning. Ugwu (2011) sees policy implementation
as the process of converting the financial, material, technical and human in-put viz goals and
services. Similarly, Afemikhe (2005) defines policy implementation as a stage of policy
making between the establishment of a policy and the consequences of the policy for the
people whom it affects; a phenomenon that involves a wide variety of the actions such as
issuing and enforcing directories, distributing of funds, and hiring personnel among others
(Odukoya, 2010). Policy implementation, therefore, is the stage that the strategies required to
translate the laudable government policies, programme plans into reality so as to realize
expected goals.
Once the government has legitimized public policy, the stipulations of that policy must
be put into action, administered, and enforced to bring about the desired change sought by the
policy-makers. Various government agencies and departments responsible for the respective
area of policy are formally made responsible for implementation. Policy implementation is
what happens after a bill becomes law (Ogunsaju, 2007). Therefore, the following must be
taken into consideration: staffing, directing and controlling. The actions involve the tasks to
be performed, responsibilities of personnel and methods of accomplishing activities.
Implementing personnel should be persons that are technically sound, skillful and
knowledgeable, to avoid trial and error. The policy makers cannot perform effectively
without regular assessment of the extent of the application of stipulated guidelines of action
for successful policy implementation (Igboabuchi, 2008).
Policy implementation strategies.
Appropriate strategies will go a long way to achieve successful programme
implementation. The choice of faulty strategy during policy implementation may spell doom
for such policy and the implementer. A beautifully contrived/conceived plan that cannot be
37
implemented is a failure. Assessing implementation of any educational policy deal much on
the managerial ability of the principal characters involved in the programme. The managers
influence planning, organisation, functions, leading and controlling that leads to effective
implementation of the planned programme (Onibokun, 2007). The key areas, according to
Ogunyemi (2009), include: teacher factor -qualification, recruitment and motivation, nonteaching
staff, teacher- pupils ratio syndrome, issue of minimum standard, curriculum
content, the use of mother tongue as a medium of instruction in Early Childhood Education,
funding of Early Childhood Education Programme in Nigeria, and supervision of Early
Childhood Education programme in Nigeria.
Teacher factor.
In paragraphs 23 to 27 of the UBE implementation guidelines, it is clearly stated that
‘no educational system can rise above the level of its teachers’, identifying the fact that
laudable educational initiatives have collapsed previously simply because the ‘teacher factor’
was not taken seriously. According to Ajayi (2008), this is the reason for the government’s
pronouncement that to ensure the success of UBE, teachers’ issues would be taken into
consideration, especially in the area of raising the level of teachers’ general education.
Currently the students participating in the National Teachers Institute (NTI) programmes
(Grade II as well as NCE) and the teeming population of students in most Nigerian colleges
of education studying primary education studies (PES) are not trained for early childhood
education contexts. Ajayi insisted that the training these students receive makes them
adequate for primary schooling only. The fact that the students are exposed to some child
psychology courses is far from being sufficient to regard them as early childhood educators.
Looking at the numerous universities in the country, it is apparent that only a very few
institutions run early childhood education as a discipline at an undergraduate level or a
postgraduate level, or on a part-time basis. The only identified ones are: University of Nigeria
38
Nsukka, University of Ibadan, University of Lagos, University of Ado-Ekiti, Adekunle
Ajasin University Akungba, Tai Solarin University of Education, Ijebu-Ode, University of
Uyo, Abakaliki, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. Students’ enrolment for early
childhood education courses in some Nigerian higher institutions for the past three sessions
ranges from ten (10) to thirty (30) students per year ((Organisation for Economic Cooperation
and Development ( OECD, 2004). Obemeata, (2005) opined that this is indicates
that the few institutions that run early childhood course have a relatively low number of
students enrolled and so the implications are:
- Though many teachers are said to be produced through the NTI programmes (Grade
II and NCE), regular NCE, and even Pivotal Teacher Training Programmes (PTTP),
which are mainly organized for the take-off of the UBE scheme, there are no
qualified teachers on the ground to work in the early childhood education centres in
schools. So far this has occurred in both the public and private sectors.
- The percentage of institutions offering the course and the number of students taking
up the course cannot satisfy the demand from the teeming population of over 12.73
million preschoolers in Nigeria (Awoniyi, 2006). Therefore, for the remediation of
the problem at hand, it is advisable that the available Grade II and NCE teachers be
given on-the-job training on a regular basis to keep them current in the current
educational programme that will adequately benefit these preschoolers.
Teacher/pupil ratio syndrome.
The teacher/pupil ratio of 1:25 with a helper/an assistant stated in the National Policy
on Education (FGN, 2004) for the Early childhood class is likely to be a problem in the sense
that the developmental characteristics and the needs of the preschoolers have not been
considered. The children at this level are so restless, extremely active and full of energy to
expend (Nwagbara, 2003). They are still dependent on adults for almost all their basic needs
39
– physical, intellectual, language, emotional and social skills, and therefore they require their
full attention and diverse activities to help to satisfy their basic needs. Centre for Early
Childhood Development and Education (CECDE, 2002) condemned a similar practice in
Ireland and stated that such a practice is unfavourable to child initiatives or to individual
attention being given to the children (even on the part of the teacher, it would be frustrating
and extremely difficult to achieve any worthwhile work). Mahon (2008) then suggested a
ratio of 1:4 for age zero=three (o-3) and a ratio one- eight (1:8) for ages four to six as
providing opportunities for adequate individual attention to every child in the class and,
hence, aiding optimal development of the children. If the ratio is not feasible in Nigeria it
would probably be the result of a shortage of manpower. The highest ratio for this level ought
not to exceed 1:15 with one assistant, or 1:25 with two assistants.
Issue of minimum standard.
Item no. 5, a statement in the National Policy action plans, stipulates that the
government will set minimum standard for early child care centres in the country, which
means that there will be a benchmark for all to follow in the operation of these educational
centres in the nation. According to Obanya, (2005), this is a welcome idea, in that it will be
a way to curb the nonchalant attitudes of many school proprietors who are much more
interested in the monetary gains from the early childhood education business rather than in
the provision of high-quality education for Nigerian children. He refers to them as a tripartite
model of quality dimension, they will be the yardstick to measure whether the service
provided is either adequate or below standard.
To set a standard for any educational programme, it is important to consider what
these standards look like. They are the universally accepted variables to determine quality
(World Education Forum, 2000). Reflection upon standards involves considering input such
as the building and other physical facilities provided in early childhood education centres;
40
process factors have to do with curriculum process, implementation and reform, while output
refers to the development status and learning of children (Aladejana and Adelodun, 2003).
The inherent variables can be expanded as follows: inputs incorporate responsive policy,
responsive curriculum, the teacher factor,, teaching-learning materials, infrastructure,
pedagogical space and funds; processes. He also includes school-level management, effective
teacher–learner interaction, professional teacher support, monitoring and evaluation, and
emphasis on learner’s success not only the mastery of subject matter.
In terms of outcomes, Osanyin (2005) identified people who have learnt how to learn
(which might mean being well educated), socially responsive citizens (that is, being
beneficial to their society), and a self-regenerating educational system. It is evident that these
issues have been identified and recognised by the government, and they are incorporated into
the policy. However, it would be pertinent to say right away that this issue of minimum
standard should not just be on paper, but rather that action should be set in motion to
determine what the level of expectation is for the standard at the three levels identified. Also,
experts in the field of early year’s education and other related fields should be vested with the
responsibility of setting the standard and monitoring the compliance both in the government
and in privately owned centres.
Curriculum and programme development.
The curriculum, described as the practical aspect of education, is another important
factor in the implementation of early childhood education programme. Ugwuanyi (2008)
observed that education is made real through the instrumentality of the curriculum, because
for education to be meaningful, it must reflect the culture of the place where it operates. This
means that the curriculum must reflect the way of life of the people that makes use of it.
The selection of instructional materials is the first of the five media utilization
principles; other forms include: readiness, control and action. According to Meyers (2006),
41
the teacher and school administrators should be knowledgeable in the content and objectives
of the instruction and age of the learner. In view of curriculum development, Bredekamp
(2007) posits that the early childhood education programme should take into consideration
the following:
- Maintenance and improvement of the mental and physical health
- Extending and deepening the understanding of his social world
- Developing his competence in the skills of skills of communication.
Open the window of life for him through music, drawing, arts drama, rhymes and so on.
Building and accommodation.
Building accommodation includes all available spaces in the classrooms, laboratories,
libraries, offices, convenience and so on. Assessing the various aspects of the building that
shelter the early childhood centre is necessary to ensure conformity to FGN recommended
standard. The school accommodation for the early schooling should be adequate for the
children, because they need space where they can play. The floor should be smooth enough
as not to pose danger to the children. There should be a multi-purpose hall for engaging the
children in drama and other in-door games ( Eresimadu, 2008).
Provision of facilities and equipment.
Facilities are plants, equipment, buildings, furniture such as table, chairs which
enables workers to perform their work effectively. To Ehiametalor (2006), facilities are
“those factors which enable production workers to achieve the goals of an organization.”
Supportively, Nwagbara (2003) noted that the use of instructional facilities enhances learning
experiences and leads to interaction within the learning environment. The issue at stake is to
what extent are these facilities being provided for effective implementation of Early
Childhood Education programme? Facilities are not provided adequately. What is found in
most secondary schools in Nigeria are dilapidated buildings, leaking roofs, lack of chairs and
42
tables for students and teachers use. Afolayan, (2010) remarked; These affect pupils’
performance especially in the public sector of primary education levels.
The use of mother tongue as a medium of instruction.
In the National Policy of Education, it has been stipulated that even at Early
Childhood Education level, the mother tongue or the language of the immediate environment
should be used as a language of instruction. Parents have not been favourably disposed to this
issue, since they seem to believe that the ability to communicate fluently in English is one of
the reasons why parents send their children to nursery schools. It has been established by
scholars that education in the mother tongue is more effective and relevant to the needs of
young children. Globally, it is posited that initial education in the mother tongue facilitates
second- or foreign-language learning (Obemeata, 2005). Invariably, the more accurate a
child’s knowledge is of his/her own language, the more efficient and adequate his/her
translation to English (as a second language) will be.
This was made apparent in the Ife Six-Year Primary Project. It showed positive
results for teaching in the mother tongue with a later effective transition to English. This
study could be used to enlighten parents on the impact of mother tongue on learning. One
problem associated with teaching in the mother tongue is that there are not sufficient books
for children at this level to interact with. The majority of those available are foreign-based
and expensive, making them unaffordable and not readily available to these children,
(Afolayan ,2010). The few home-based books that are available are of low quality, making
them unappealing and unattractive to read. There are virtually no reading materials for this
age range in the children’s indigenous languages (Ajayi, 2008). It then becomes a great
challenge to the government sector charged with the responsibility of book production,
scholars and educators in the area of children’s literature to wake up to their responsibility so
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that the Nigerian child might have an enabling environment to interact with in these
formative years.
Funding of Early Childhood Education programme in Nigeria.
To achieve success in any public service, the issue of finance/funding cannot be
overlooked. If education is poorly funded, it will affect the staffing, pupil: teacher ratio, the
provision of infrastructure and the like, which would have a grave effect on what is likely to
the quality of the output. This is the reason many developed nations make provision for the
funding of the services for their preschoolers. The funding of this segment is given a prime
place in the nation’s budget. For instance, America estimated the cost of providing a quality
preschool education to be ‘just under $70 billion a year’, ‘based on an annual cost-per-child
of around $8700’. This estimation covers ‘the full costs of the programs, including facilities,
administration, and support services … so that every child could participate’ (Ajayi, 2008). In
Ireland between 2000 and 2006, the total funding made available for child care is 436.7
million Euros (US$580 million).
These nations have identified the economic and social benefits of educating
preschoolers as a way of creating more proficient learners who will later become more
productive citizens. The benefits span through the lives of the children. Awoniyi (2001)
highlighted other gains to include: reduction in the rates of special education placement;
better class retention and lower attrition rates; reduction of public expenditure on the criminal
justice system because the crime rates are reduced while children are juveniles; as well as
many more benefits. No wonder the international consensus now is that ‘no nation can be
said to be serious if she does not place the required emphasis on comprehensive childhood
care and education’.
In light of this, now that Nigeria is committed to early childhood and socialisation, it
can learn from other nations that ‘education, is the right of every child’. It requires the government to make realistic budgets for this educational sector. At the same time, there
should be a proper monitoring and coordination of the disbursement of the funds earmarked
for the sector so that every child is truly taken care of.
Supervision and monitoring of Early Childhood Education programme in Nigeria.
There is the need to point out that laudable progammes with adequate facilities will
eventually crumble if there is no supervision. According to Ayeni (2000), the issue of
supervision is vital in the process of implementing early childhood education in Nigeria if
success is to be attained. Nwagbara (2003) have identified supervision as an indispensable
management key of any organisation. It then means that supervision should of necessity be an
integral part of early childhood education programmes so that the goal(s) may be achieved.
Supervision needs to be tailored towards constructive criticism and guidance so as to develop
a sense of confidence and competence in teachers, thereby leading to improvement. In this
way, regular and appropriate supervision in early childhood care education will help in
evaluating the programme as well as in decision-making processes.
The School Community
The town or village where the school situates is the school community. This
community is very important to the school as it influences the school activities in one way or
another. According to Ogunsaju (2007), since the school belongs to the community, it
becomes the responsibility of the principal to link with the community. In this case, the
principal will act as liaison officer, bringing the school to community people. He should brief
the community from time to time about the problems as well as the progress of the school,
and should not hesitate to call on them whenever the school needs the community help. To do
this effectively, the principal’s relationship with the community must be characterized by
honesty, sincerity and integrity. Supporting this view, Adesina (2007) posited that the school
must structure its curriculum to the personal and social problems of the community in which
the school exists.
To maintain healthy relationship, the school administrator should establish, develop
and maintain satisfactory relations with the community in which his/her school is located.
This can be achieved through visits, demonstrating active interest in the community life,
making him/her self accessible to parents and members of the community (Agosiobo, 2002).
Enabling environment.
Physical indoor and outdoor environment, which provides space, high quality
resources, accessibility and stability that are designed to promote young children’s physical,
mental and emotional health and well-being is indispensable in Early Childhood Education. It
is also an emotional environment providing warmth and acknowledgement of each child as
unique. A truly enabling environment ought to support children’s learning across the six areas
of learning of the Early Years Foundation Stage, and ensure that each child is a competent
learner from birth who can be resilient, capable, confident and self-assured (Onyeachu,
2008). Clearly, environment plays a key role in supporting and developing a child’s learning
and development because it: provides a child with stimulation and challenge, picks up on a
child’s interests and enables the child to explore and experiment and be comfortable to allow
for quiet, reflective and focused learning, may be in a comfortable book corner, as well as
more boisterous and physical play.
Supporting children learning across all six aspects of learning, allowing them to
practice their skills and develop new ones help them to learn about rules and how to
communicate with others; make creative and imaginative and permit them to take risks.
Ogunsaju (2006) insisted that an enabling environment provides a wide range of activities
and resources that are stimulating and encouraging participation to promote equality and
support children to develop a greater understanding of others’ needs, cultures, religions and
46
backgrounds. It also provides safety and emotional support to encourage independence and
help children to develop a positive attitude towards learning and development. It offer
challenge, and the opportunity to succeed and make positive contribution by children and
parents. Here their voices are listened to and acted upon, where they are consulted about
changes and developments in their setting. To access every Child’s learning outcomes matters
a lot. According to Eneasator (2006); children learn better in challenging and stimulating
environment characterised by quality physical setting of the classroom. Therefore, school
should be decorated with ornamental flowers, trees, nature corner and so on.
Going by the enunciated purposes and implemental strategies, it is apparent that
government showed great interest in the education of the young. One would think that the
government would facilitate the implementation of the programme. Regrettably, the
government just pulse at formulation of the policies. Thus, ECE became the most neglected
level of education in Nigeria. Private individuals, organisations such as church became
highest number of proprietors ((Reynoids, 2008). According Adebayo (2004), “there are quite
a number of ECE centres throughout Nigeria. Regulations governing their establishments,
operations and curricula differ from state to state”. Most of the proprietors, teachers and care
givers are neither professionals of early childhood education nor have the interest of the
children at heart. They see the school as business and therefore strive for profit. Some of the
proprietors employ qualified teachers just to lure government for approval and later they lay
these qualified teachers and employ unqualified ones to minimize cost and maximize profit (
Ogunyemi, 2009).
Early Childhood Education (ECE) is a topic of national importance. The need for
cognitive development and enhancing the quality of young children’s lives as proposed by
Plato and Piaget is also a national and international priority, expressed through research and
policy initiatives, programme development and advocacy. Thus, improving early childhood
47
education is a major theme globally. Efforts to develop appropriate curriculum for ECE in
Nigeria started about a decade ago. The first edition, developed in the late 1980s, emphasized
the holistic development of the child, catered for the physical development and stimulation of
the child, but was directed essentially at a classroom audience, and still left care of children in
the 0-3 year bracket. Thus, the policy was reviewed and revised in 2004 using an integrated
bottom up approach, targeting children age 0-5 years. This revised curriculum has been
approved for use by the government. The training manual is expected to promote the
integrated approach and converge all sectoral interventions – health, nutrition, water and
environmental sanitation, psycho-social care, early learning, child protection with the aim to
fulfilling the rights of all young children and creating a conducive environment for them to
survive, live, learn and reach their full potentials (Ajayi, 2008).
Concept of Assessment
There is need to define educational assessment in order to determine the extent of the
implementation of the early childhood programme. There is a great difference between
launching of a programme and successful implementation of the programme. Thus,
Assessment becomes imperative to ascertaining the extent to which the objectives has been
achieved.
As a concept, assessment refers to an evaluation of a particular situation or
programme. Assessing simply refers to the process of observing, measuring the progress and
documenting work done and how it is done in a particular programme. It is a basis for a
variety of educational decisions that affect the society and is used to determine the extent to
which an instructional strategy or program is working ( Rolnick, 2003). Assessment of the
plan being executed constitutes the final stage of the educational implementation planning
process. This is a stage at which the achievement or otherwise of the plan is constantly
reviewed and devalued to determine compliance to plan specification and the degree of
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success in the implementation of the overall policy objectives It is the main component of
any educational programme.
The shortcomings, inadequacies and the reasons for them are identified and analysed
at the assessment stage. This is the stage of policy feedback from the people the plan being is
meant for. The result of assessment of policy implementation serves as background or input
into the formulation of another policy plan; it could inform possible re-design of the plan. It
could also lead to partial review of plan or total reversal of policy plan (National Association
for Education of young Children [NAEYC], 2008). Assessing educational policy
implementation is very important in order to determine the quality of education being
provided for the young ones. Succinctly, the essential part of any educational programme is
the assessment of the implementation of its policy and this can be formal or informal in
nature. It helps to determine cost effectiveness, to determine whether the teaching programme
is effective in helping children to achieve the desired learning outcomes.
The concept of assessing the policy implementation of the ECE is the process of
collecting information for decision making in education about pupils, curricula and
educational programmes policy (Baird, 2008). Good quality measurements are a necessity for
better decision making but do not guarantee excellent decisions. Assessments are sine quo
non for determining goal attainment and this can be pursued by two types of control:
preventive and feedback. It can be used to enhance educational standard (Afemikhe, 2005).
Whenever there are discussions on assessment in Nigerian education, what readily come to
mind are public examinations epitomised in examinations conducted by the West African
Examinations Council (WAEC), National Business and Technical Examinations Board
(NABTEB) and the other public examination bodies.
There is usually a great demand for public examination to the extent that one loses
track of the fact that there are so school based examinations. Public examinations in Nigeria,
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and indeed all English speaking African countries, developed out of the need to provide a
generally acceptable standard of education in schools (Haddad, 2004). Assessment of
ECE programs, according to Afemikhe (2005), is a process that consists of four closely
related and ongoing processes: acquiring information from parents, recording observations of
children at play and in daily routines and interactions, developing a comprehensive
assessment of each child, and applying ongoing observations and assessments in curriculum
planning and implementation. In this context, assessment can be regarded as continuous
process which diagnoses the weakness and serve as a quality control mechanism to maintain
and maximise the efficiency of a given programme.
Assessment models.
In the view of Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC, 2008)
document, “assessment encompasses the many forms of evaluation available to educational
decision makers”. In the work of Babalola (2010), on the other hand, ‘assessment is used to
refer to an educational endeavour that is narrower in scope than the more encompassing
notion of “evaluation”; it refers to a specific procedure within a broader process of evaluation.
In a discussion on ways of assessing children and the curriculum, Bahago (2010) quoted from
a conversation at a conference: “assessment strategies tell you ‘what is’. Documentation
provides proof of ‘what is and evaluation tells you ‘what is in light of what should be…’. He
stated that “assessing children at any stage gives teachers information about the effectiveness
of educational processes and procedures. There are many assessment models and whenever
appropriate models are used they yield appropriate result. There are four constructs which
constitute the scope of assessment:
Input- provide information on how to utilize resources to meet programmme goals for
instance, to list the potentials of the school such as quality and quantity of teachers,
monitoring and supervision and the like.
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Context=provide rationale for justifying a particular type of programme with relation to set
objectives. This model study those things to be stressed such like enabling environmental
condition.
Process=provide feedback to project director on how the projector programme is progressing.
The main purpose of this is to monitor the various aspects of the project so that potential
problems could be identified and solved.
Product =is the final stage that provides information on the continuation or modification of
the programme based on the outcome of the project.
Purposes of Assessment
Assessment has many purposes which include:
- the need to diagnose difficulties, to revise curricula, to compare programmes/
teaching/ processes,
- to anticipate educational needs and the need to determine if objectives have been
achieved.
- For reasons of accountability, critiquing professional practice, valuing a programme,
improving outcomes for children and enhancing the quality of the educational
programme.
- To connect assessment and curriculum; reflect and be consistent with the philosophy
and values that underlie the curriculum. The goals of the curriculum should determine
assessment and not vice versa.
- Assessment is critical for a quality early childhood programme. It is an ongoing part
of the programme-planning process; without assessment, there can be no guarantee
that the programme meets its aims and objectives.
- To involve teachers which require training and support so that competence and
confidence is built among teachers (Stufflebean, 2006).
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Theoretical Framework
Practices for enhancing children’s early learning are influenced mostly by child
development theories. Theory is an orderly, integrated set of statements that describes,
explains, and predicts behaviour (Bush, 2001). Generally speaking there are four broad
theoretical perspectives that guide practice in ECE programme, behaviorism, cognitivedevelopmental
theory, socio-cultural theory, and ecological systems theory.
Behaviourism / Social Learning Theory
- F. Skinner (1904–1990) is most noted for his theory of behaviourism or more
specifically operant conditioning theory, which is based on the premise that children’s
behaviour can be increased based on the presentation of reinforcers and decreased through
punishment (Berk, 2000). Social learning theory, created by Albert Bandura, expands on
operant conditioning by adding the idea that imitation or observational learning increases the
chances that children will learn new behaviours. Generally speaking, behaviourists believe
that children’s development is outside of their own influence, that it is shaped by
environmental stimuli (Daniels 2003).
The following techniques are ideal for use in childhood education:
Drill: It is a teaching technique that involves steady repetition of a desired action. Drills are
most often used when teaching multiplication tables. Drills can also be used when teaching
things that require memorization such as geography and grammar.
Segmented Teaching: In this method, the teacher breaks a topic down into smaller,
comprehensive lessons. Each segment is built upon and connected together. For example,
children who are learning to read begin with identifying the sound of individual letters, then
letter blends, until they are able to read entire words.
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Modelling: Modelling, simply speaking, is learning by imitation. The teacher demonstrates
behaviours, which is then repeated by the student. Modelling is commonly used when
teaching language or writing to children.
Structured classroom routine: Children must be familiar with this routine. Structure maintains
the focus of the children on the teacher.
The above theory is relevant to the study in two folds as the application will foster:
higher achievement through familiarity which create comfort zone for children; periodic
assessment with children to determine their level of understanding; immediate feedback, or
reinforcement. Also, the policy on teacher specialisation and the concept of assessment is
therefore based on this theory.
Cognitive / Constructive Theory
Jean Piaget (1896–1980) is credited with the cognitive-developmental theory. Piaget
believe that the interaction of four components which serve as propellants result to cognitive
growth. Berks (2000), stated that the components include: maturation of both nervous and
endocrine system, experience involving action on the part of the learner, social interaction
for the observation of a wide variety of behaviours an finally, the self-regulation mechanism
that responds to environmental stimulation by constantly fitting new experiences into existing
cognitive structures (assimilation) and revising these structures to fit the new data
(accommodation) refers to as schemas. According to Berk (2000), Piaget “views the child as
actively constructing knowledge which takes place in stages” including the sensorimotor
stage (birth to 2 years), preoperational stage (2 to 7 years), concrete operational stage (7 to
11), and formal operational stage (11 and beyond). For the principle goal of education in the
schools should be creating men and women who are capable of doing new things, not simply
repeating what other generations have done, ( Daniels, 2007).
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The underlying concepts of cognitivism involve examining learning, memory,
problem solving skills, and intelligence. According to Berk and Winsler (2005) Cognitivists
want to understand how problem solving changes throughout childhood, how cultural
differences affect the way we view our own academic achievements, language development,
and much more. In early childhood education, we are concerned with the first two stages: the
sensorimotor and preoperational stage. At this stage, a child explores the world through his
senses: taste, touch, sight, sound, and smell and continues to develop language and thinking
skills, and typically lasts from age two until age seven. The child also becomes focused on
himself and how the world relates to him ( Evans,2006).
This theory has a lot of Classroom implications for instance: it is imperative that the
teacher not only create a setting that promotes learning, but also take time to understand each
child; children learn differently and are at various developmental levels. Teachers should be
able to manage their classrooms to incorporate diverse teaching, making learning interesting
by creating motivational learning environment that encourage children to do their best.
Children must be made to understand that the work they are performing is worthwhile. Two
factors that are critical to motivation include value and effort. Value measures the importance
of a pupils work to himself and others. Effort is the amount of time and energy the children
put into their work. Understanding the value of academic tasks and the effort needed to
complete those tasks can motivate children to perform better in the classroom environment.
Socio-Cultural theory
Piaget’s theory motivated Lev Vygotsky (1896–1934) to see a child development as
a kind of social constructivism, in which development is determined by culture. So the core
of Vygotsky’s theory is called the Socio-Cultural theory -an idea that development is the
result of the interactions between children and their social environment. According to Berk
and Winsler (2005) there are a number of tenets that are unique to social constructivism:
54
First, children’s culture influences the activities, language, and education to which children
are exposed, Second, while some development is innate or influenced by biology, higher
level of development is affected by culture. Finally, the theory incorporates the zone of
proximal development, that is, the range in children’s development between their ability to
perform a task independently and their ability to perform a skill with the assistance of a more
competent member of the their culture (adult or older child). (Daniels, 2003).
These interactions include those with parents and teachers, playmates and classmates, and
brothers and sisters. They also involve relationships with significant objects, such as books or
toys, and culturally specific practices that children engage in the classroom, at home, and on
the playground. Children are active partners in these interactions, constructing knowledge,
skills, and attitudes and not just mirroring the world around them.
Vygotsky opposed the psychologists who believed that children’s development occurs
spontaneously and cannot be affected by education. He also differed with those who claimed
that teaching had the power to alter development at any time regardless of the child’s age or
capacities. Instead, Vygotsky felt that learning could lead to development if it occurs within
the child’s Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD). The ZPD contains skills and concepts that
are not yet fully developed but are “on the edge of emergence” emerging only if the child is
given appropriate support. For the skills and concepts that lie outside a child’s ZPD, even
significant instructional efforts may fail to produce developmental gains.
Vygotsky recognized that the kind of assistance needed to help children develop new
skills and concepts within their ZPD took different forms for children of different ages. For
instance, fostering make-believe play with preschoolers could provide the same support that
formal instruction offers for older students. “A child’s greatest achievements are possible in
play, achievements that tomorrow will become her basic level of real action.” Lev Vygotsky
has contributed a wealth of ideas to early childhood education. Most important, he has shown
55
us how children’s efforts to understand the world around them, working in concert with
teachers’ sensitive, responsive interactions, rouses their young minds to life The theory is
relevant to the study as it relate to play as recommended method of teaching in ECE and
mother tongue or language of environment as mode of instruction.
Self-Activity Theory
Self-activity theory emphasis that a child should to be allowed to be led by his own
interests and to freely explores them. Prior to the above approach, ‘it was believed that young
children did not have the ability to focus or to develop cognitive and emotional skills before
this age. Friedrich Froebel (1782-1852) propounded the self Activity Theory because he
believe that learning begins when consciousness erupts.
Maria Montessori (1870 – 1952) was influenced by Froebel’s educational system
which was designed to meet each child’s need for: Physical activity; the development of
sensory awareness and physical dexterity; creative expression; exploration of ideas and
concepts; the pleasure of singing; the experience of living among others; satisfaction of the
soul. Such school must feature games, play, songs, stories and crafts to stimulate imagination
and develop physical and motor skills (Trabalzini, 2010). From her observations of retarded
children, she developed the sensory approach to learning which emphasis on children’s
desire to master skills. She developed a set of materials which were self-correcting, to be
used in a sequence from simple to complex and required the minimum guidance of teachers
because children are interested in work which adult called ‘play’. Teachers should take the
role of loving, supportive parent. The classroom, symbolically must viewed as an extension
of a lovely, thriving garden, and that which he needed most as a child.
The above approach is very relevant to the study as it is in line with the policy guide
specification on provision of quality curriculum, facilities, infrastructures and materials at
ECE centres. The school is expected to adapt to the best curriculum that suitably guide the
56
early learners. Also, on the government ensuring educational stakeholders are guided by the
above ideology as the emphasis is on ensuring that children learn under well programmed and
prepared environment that primarily suit the educational and developmental needs of the
children as the policy guideline stipulated.
Generally, each of the theories above have bearing with the set goals of early
childhood as indicated in the National Policy on Education (2004). These goals, as already
indicated, include to:
- effect a smooth transition from home to the school;
- prepare the child for the primary level of education;
- provide adequate care and supervision for the children while their parents are at work
(on the farms, in the market, offices etc);
- inculcate social norms;
- inculcate in the child the spirit of enquiry and creativity through the exploration of
nature, the environment art, music and playing with toys etc;
- develop a sense of co-operation and team-spirit;
- learn good habits, especially good health habits; and
- teach the rudiments of numbers, letters, colours, shape, forms etc through play.
The attainment of the above objectives, according to Bayle (2005), requires specialist
teachers with in-depth knowledge of children’s psychology, and who are competent in the use
of integrated approach to science and arts teaching. It also requires teachers whose teaching
practices take into consideration the fact that children learn better in the context of wellplanned,
and play-oriented activities. According to Shumow (2003), differences in
instructional practices are based on teachers’ theoretical orientations. Teachers who support
Vygotsky’s Socio-cultural or Social constructivists theory provide child-choice, guided
discovery, and cooperative learning opportunities. They emphasize critical thinking, problem
57
solving, and intrinsic motivation. Social constructivists build their practices around a
community of learners, instructional conversation, and authentic tasks. They emphasize
cultural literacy, collaboration, and metacognition.
Based on the above considerations therefore, this study will be anchored on Lev
Vygotsky’s socio-cultural theory because its tenets provide a reliable framework for the
realization of the objectives of the National Policy on Early Childhood Education which the
researcher is set to assess its implementation. The choice of this theory for this study is in
line with the views of Naumann (2005) which affirmed that other child development
theories emphasized teacher centred practices while socio-cultural theory emphasized childcentered
practices, Also it stressed on government, parent and community involvement in
out-of-school activities, cultural instruction, social cognition, cultural awareness, and
adaptive social and health habits.
Empirical Studies
These are studies that are related to policy implementation issues in early childhood
education.
Extent of Teachers’ involvement in UBE
A study on the extent of teachers’ awareness and involvement on implementation of
Universal Basic Education (UBE) was carried out by Chike ( 2008) in Enugu Urban Area.
The purpose of the study was basically to find out the extent to which teachers participate in
implementing the UBE in Enugu Urban Area. His research questions include: to what extent
are teachers qualified in terms of academic background?, what is the quality of learning in
early childhood schools?. The researcher used survey research design and collected his data
through a structured questionnaire of five point likert response type assigned numerical
values ranging from very good knowledge, good knowledge, little knowledge, very little
knowledge and no knowledge at all. Mean of 3.00 and above was used as an acceptance mean
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showing good of UBE while scores below 3.00 were taken as little of UBE. The findings
showed that the extent of pre- primary school teachers’ awareness and involvement was still
very low. The study suggested strategies to improve teachers’ awareness to include: seminars
and workshops, to retrain the already serving teachers, improving teachers’ condition of
service, professionalisation of teaching with articulated code of conduct, removing all quack
teachers and recruiting qualified teachers to replace them.
Perceptions of Teachers and Teaching: A Focus on Early Childhood Education
Teacher’s perception of the school climate seem to determine their attitude in the
school and classroom generally and which also seem to affect the children’s learning and
academic performances. What does it mean to be an early childhood teacher in Essex? How
do ECE teachers, head teachers, management board members and student teachers view the
nature and role of ECE teachers? How do they construe effective ECE teachers? To what
extent are they satisfied with different components of their role? What do they perceive as the
key challenges facing them as members of ECE? Data pertaining to all these questions and
more were generated from multiple scales within the questionnaire and from interviews and
focus groups with teachers, head teachers employed by Rolinck (2003) in carrying out a
cross sectional study on Early Childhood Development in Essex, England. Job satisfaction
questionnaire scale provides evidence of those areas of early childhood teachers/head
teachers’ work that they find very satisfying and those which are determined to be less than
satisfying was used as an instrument for data collection.
As part of the interview process management board members and head teachers, were
asked what attributes they looked for when appointing teachers. It is considered that those
responsible for appointing teachers would be able to articulate the qualities of good and
effective teachers that they would be seeking. Participants were also asked what they
construed as an effective teacher. Interview transcripts were scrutinised to reveal the ways in
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which good and effective teachers were described. Questionnaires provided a space where
respondents could make “any other comments that can enhance the recruitment and retention
of quality teachers”. These were transcribed verbatim and subject to content analysis. Out of
the 146 early childhood participants in the teacher and head teacher questionnaire, 33 (23%)
took the opportunity to write further comments.
The researcher analysed the data was using descriptive and inferential statistics. The
findings collectively reveal that the early childhood teachers, head teachers, management and
student teachers who participated in this study perceive that early childhood teachers are:
- able to establish caring and respectful relationships with children, parents and
colleagues;
- committed to professional development and ongoing learning;
- generally satisfied with their role;
- generally optimistic about government initiatives; and,
- able to identify some tensions and challenges facing ECE.
The result showed that most children become very similar with regard to
learning ability, rate of learning and motivation for further learning when provided
with favourable condition. In contrast, when the children are provided with
unfavourable learning conditions, they become dissimilar with regard to learning
ability, rate of learning and motivation for further learning. He therefore, concluded
that one of the ways to improve the academic performance of a class is to improve the
class-learning climate. Furthermore, Glatthorn , (2004) noted; “much educational
innovations have been centred on: changing the learning environment, developing
new arrangement of time, staff provision, creating space, provision of resources and
pupil grouping. All in an attempt to improve the children performance.
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Assessing Quality in ECE
Quality indicators in early childhood education in Ekiti State were evaluated as
Olaleye and Omotayo (2009) carried out study on ‘Assessing Quality in Early Childhood
Education in Ekiti-State, Nigeria. The researchers based their study on quality indicators such
as; quality of teachers and care givers, suitability of teaching materials and infrastructures and
so on. The main research questions that guided their study included: to what extent have
proprietors/proprietress of early childhood schools provided conducive environment for
teaching and learning? What is the of learning outcomes in the early childhood schools? It is
a descriptive research design of the survey type. Twelve (12) private nursery schools
randomly selected in Ado-Ekiti Local Government Area of Ekiti State. Data were collected
using a 20-item structured questionnaire administered on 120 respondents consisting of
teachers and head teachers. Data were analyzed using mean and percentages. Findings
showed that the quality of early childhood education is averagely good specifically the
learning activities were found to be fair while that of learning environment of some schools
were found to be good. The qualities of academic staff have been found to be low, parents
participation in schools’ management was also found to be low. There was the neglect of the
use of mother-tongue. Recommendations were made towards achieving high quality
childhood education in the state: need to employ qualified teachers who will work in the pre
– school centres; Working with parents and pre-schools caregivers to support children from
Birth to three; In-service training should be regularly organized teachers.; Effective control
should be exercised over the childhood Education Programmes; establishment of nursery
schools in the rural areas.
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Assessment of Physical Education and programme implementation of pre-primary
school
In Nnewi Local Government Area in Anambra State of Nigeria, Uzoma (2004)
carried out a study on the assessment of Physical Education (PE) and programme
implementation of pre-primary school in primary schools. The study was guided by the
following research questions: how do pre – primary school head teachers assess the
implementation of PE? What is the qualification of PE teachers of the pre-primary education
programme?. The researcher adopted a cross sectional survey design which being both
descriptive and exploratory entails a once and for all observation of some of the different
stakeholders of pre-primary education. The descriptive survey research design was adopted.
Oral interview, questionnaire and a checklist for personal observation were the instrument for
data collection. Data collected was analysed using simple descriptive statistics such as means
and percentages. The findings of the study revealed that the implementation of pre-primary
education programme was generally poor due to Some militating factors including:
inadequate personnel, funds, facilities and equipment and accommodation, have proved
obstacle to effective implementation of pre-primary education. The researcher recommended
among others; an enabling law to compel parents to leave no child behind should be enforced,
to give national recognition to individual private organization and local communities who
have contributed by way of establishment or financial backing to the pre-primary education
programme and so on as practical steps that could be taken to move education forward in
Nigeria.
Administration of Pre-Primary Schools
A study on administration of nursery schools in Four (4) out of Five (5) government
approved nursery school in Nsukka urban was carried out by Ojukwu (2003). The purpose of
the study was to survey how approved early childhood schools in Nsukka Urban were
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administered. The researcher posed questions such as: What makes an individual or an
organization legible to establish nursery school?, How far are nursery schools in Nsukka
Urban conform to Enugu State set standard for nursery schools to guide the study. The four
administrators of these schools and fifteen teachers (15) were sampled and the structured
questionnaire was administered to them and data was collected and analysed. The data was
analysed with percentage and findings revealed that: the curricula of nursery schools in
Nsukka Urban do not satisfy the objectives of pre- primary education in Nigeria; the
administrators are to appreciable extent effective in the management of personnel even
though they need the service attendants; the management of pupil/teacher ratio, funds, and
equipment are ineffective. From the findings the researcher made among others the following
recommendations towards effective management of nursery schools in Nsukka Urban: the
government should regulate and control the operation of nursery schools, the government
should review and enforce established nursery educational laws ,both the government and
individuals to pay more attention to the establishment of nursery education.
Extent of policy Implementation
In Isi-Uzo Local Government Education Auhtority of Enugu state, Ugwu (2011)
carried out a study on policy implementation in Early Childhood Education and Care. The
main purpose of the study was to find out the extent of in which policy on pre-primary
education has been implemented and to identify factors that hinder the success of the preprimary
education programme. The researcher employed survey research design and sample
comprised of 96 head teachers randomly selected using simple random sampling technique
from Isi- Uzo Local Government Education Authority. A 17-item questionnaire with a
reliability index of 0.62 face validated by experts in childhood Education and measurement
and Evaluation was used for study. Mean and standard deviation were used in data analysis.
The findings revealed that apart from encouraging private efforts in the provision of
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Pre-primary education, the government has failed in its responsibilities in implementing the
policy on early childhood care programme. Some factors such as lack of adequate funds,
unqualified personnel were identified as responsible for this anomaly. Among others the
researcher recommended that the government and all stakeholders’ should ensure effective
implementation of the policy by providing all that is needed for the policy to work.
School based factors influencing implementation of ECDE curriculum
There are real concerns raised by stakeholders regarding the quality of education in
Early Childhood Development and Education (ECDE) centers in Kenya. There doubts over
the conditions of learning crucial in determining quality of education. The quest to discover
education quality based conditions prompted Zadock Murundu1, Francis Indoshi and
Michael Okwara (2010) to embarked on a study on: School based factors influencing
implementation of early childhood development and education curriculum in Emuhaya
District, Kenya. Specifically the study was to explore the influence of: learning environment,
grouping practice, teacher-child ratio, medium of instruction, daily schedule, health and
nutrition on implementation of ECDE curriculum.
The study was based on descriptive survey design. 65 ECDE teachers drawn from 32
ECDE centres in Emuhaya District, Kenya selected by simple random technique were used as
sample for the study. Data were collected by questionnaires and focused group discussion
guide and was analyzed by the use of descriptive statistics, namely frequency and
percentage. Qualitative data was categorized and reported in emergent themes. The
researchers findings include: that lack of suitable teaching and learning resources,
inappropriate diet, understaffing, inappropriate medium of instruction and teacher-child ratio,
and poor grouping practices were the factors hindering effective implementation of the
curriculum in ECDE centres. The study recommends among others that a program should be
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designed to build community capacities for the development and equipment of ECDE centres
in partnership with the government and other stakeholders.
Summary of Literature Review
Education has been viewed as a veritable instrument for the realization of the goals
and aspirations of any nation. The benefit of ECE was stressed. The ECE is not restricted to
Nigeria or Africa only but is a worldwide phenomenon. So, background of the ECE
programme was discussed revealing the philosophers who contributed to the practice of early
childhood learning. The functions of ECE was stressed including cognitive, social, emotional,
physical and intellectual development of the learner. Based on the above functions, the FGN
outlined its objectives and policy statement on strategies for faithful implementation of ECE
programme. Equally, the FGN authorised state governments down to Local government
through their educational authorities to plan educational strategies in conformity with
national philosophy and objectives. Therefore, ECE programme policy implementation
strategies were equally outlined.
Most importantly, the importance of assessing the extent of the execution of the
outlined policy guidelines at early childhood centres were discussed. This assessment is
based on the implementation guidelines of the Federal ministry of education for early
childhood education programme. The review of related literature attests that any planned
programme should be periodically assessed or reviewed for necessary adjustment in the
implementation strategies. Otherwise, actualization of this important programme may end up
a mirage in spite of government’s laudable implementation strategies.
However, considerable impact of the existing early childhood programmes had been
recorded. The major constrains to the successful implementation of the ECE programmes
were highlighted to include: lack of adequate fund, lack of quality and quantity personnel,
lack of enabling environment and so on. The theoretical perspective of ECE was also
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discussed where some child developmental psychologists and their various contributions to
ECE in relation to the current practices in Nigeria were stressed.
Finally, empirical studies on findings and conclusions of some previous researchers
on various aspect of Pre-primary education at different times and parts of the world were
discussed. The previous researchers focused on the management, administrative, evaluation
of nursery, primary, secondary schools programme. It appears that not much work has been
done on the area of execution of the policy on early childhood Education. Thus the
researcher’s interest and desire to carry out the present study was sustained and the outcome
would facilitate the awareness on the need for children to start school early and in a very
pliable school environment. Hence, this study will contribute in improving ECE programme
in Ogoja Education Zone and beyond.