TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title Page i
- Background to the Study 1
- Statement of the Problem 3
- Objectives of the Study 5
- Research Questions 5
- Significance of the Study 6
- Scope and Delimitation of the Study 7
- Operational Definition of Terms 7
CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF THE RELATED LITERATURE
- Introduction 9
- Concept of Early Childhood Care Development Education 9
- Early Childhood Care Development Education in Developed,
Developing Nations and Nigeria 13
- Early Childhood Care Development Education in the National Policy
on Education 19
- Concept of Attitude 20
- Parental Attitude Towards Early Childhood Care, Development
and Education 29
- Teachers Attitudes Towards the Development of Early Childhood
Care, Development and Education Programme 30
- Psychosocial Stimulation/Early Learning 31
- Early Childhood Care, Development and Education Policy Control 33
- Review of Empirical Studies 34
- Summary and Uniqueness of the Study 36
CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
- Introduction 38
- Research Design 38
- Population of the Study 38
- Sample and Sampling Technique 39
- Instrument for Data Collection 40
- Validity of the Instrukment 40
- Reliability of the Instrument 40
- Method for Data Collection 41
- Data Analysis Technique 41
CHAPTER FOUR: DATA ANALYSIS AND PRESENTATION
- Introduction 42
- Presentation of Data 42
- Summary of Major Findings 53
- Discussion of Findings 54
CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
- Summary 61
- Conclusion 62
- Recommendations 63
- Suggestions for Further Studies 64
References 65
Appendices 69
LIST OF TABLES
Table Title Page
- : Respondents’ Biodata 42
- : Respondents’ Opinion on the attitude of parents towards ECCDE 44
- : Respondents Opinion on the attitude of teacher towards ECCDE Programme 46
- : Respondents’ Opinion on the Adequacy of Parental and Teachers’
Support to ECCDE Programme 48
- : Respondents’ Opinion on the Factors Affecting Parental and Teachers’ Support to ECCDE 50
- : Respondents’ Opinion on the Qualification and Nature of
Teachers Handling the ECCDE Programme 52
Abstract
This study assessed the attitudes of parents and teachers towards Early Childhood Care and Education Programme in sokoto state. A total of 152 respondents, comprising of parents and teachers who are officials of Parents-Teachers Association in each of the 23 Local Government Areas in the state, were used as sample and the selection of the sample was based on the Research Advisors (2006) sampling procedure. The instrument used for data collection in the study was a researcher constructed questionnaire titled Parents and Teachers Attitude Assessment Scale (PTAAS). Descriptive survey method was used for the study. The findings of the study revealed among other thing, that the attitude of both parents and teachers towards early childhood education is not positive, and that teachers handling public ECCE centers in the state are not well qualified. Consequently, it is recommended that both parents and teachers should develop positive attitude towards early childhood care of education; parents should take keen interest in the ECCE programme and teachers to be more committed and dedicated to their duties. Equally, teachers with the right qualification and proper training in the field should be made to handle public ECCE centers in the state.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
- Background to the Study
Early Childhood Care, Development and Education programme plays significant role as it helps children in successful completion of Basic Education. It provides the foundation for all-round development and enables the child to understand various issues. Children at the early stage of learning need to be encouraged to develop positive attitude through child to child interaction. The early childhood education is designed carefully to provide wholesome growth and development of children. Children that receive quality early childhood education are more likely to succeed in school and in life (Harkness and Super, 1991). Early Childhood Care, Development and Education (ECCDE) is therefore an integral part of child rearing experience provided by any agency for all children. Providers of Early Childhood Care, Development and Education in Nigeria and Sokoto state in particular include; day care centers, Nursery schools and kindergarten centers. The Early Childhood Care, Development and Education programme is one of the components of Nigeria’s Universal Basic Education (UBE) Scheme as enshrined in the (FRN, 2000) (UBE Implmentation Guidelines, 1999).
Parents and teachers/caregivers play an important role in the Early Childhood Care, Development and Education. Their involvement is linked to children’s total learning. Parents believe that three to six is the right age for
children to receive early childhood education, as the child is able to understand things well, thereby removing the child’s illiteracy (Corner, 1991).
Nigeria is among the E-9 countries; the nine countries in the world with largest concentration of illiterate adults and which are committed to total eradication of illiteracy within the shortest possible time and equally committed to the development of care and education services for young children. To accomplish this effort, the Federal Government of Nigeria in September, 1999 introduced the Universal Basic Education Programme (UBEP) as a means to overcome problems associated with the education system in the country, with much emphasis on basic education. UBE Programme is a reform aimed at tackling inequality, opportunities and improving quality in education at the basic level. It is said that the programme was introduced by the Federal Government in order to remove distortion and inconsistencies in basic education delivery and to reinforce the implementation of the National Policy on Education as well as to ensure access, equity and quality of basic education throughout the country (Tahir 2006).
Early Childhood Care, Development and Education (ECCDE) education can be said to be the education provided for children 0-3 years in Day care centers and for children 3 years to less than 6 years in Nursery schools. It can also be said to be a community based, low-cost project for the holistic development of the child from 0-6 years. ECCDE also refers to a comprehensive approach to policies and programmes for children from birth to six years of age which seek the full involvement of parents and caregivers for the purpose of protecting children’s
rights to develop their full cognitive, emotional, social and physical potentials (Universal Basic Education, 2005).
Careful observation however, reveals that at present, the attitude of parents and teachers towards western education generally can be described as encouraging. This is evident in the parent zeal to send their sons and daughters to primary schools coupled with increase in the number of primary school teachers in most states in Nigeria. However, there are some parents who are still not comfortable with the primary education sector for lack of quality. Looking at the problem surrounding primary education, specifically the issue of quality led to the development and adoption of the National Integrated Early Childhood Development (IECE) policy in 2007 to cater for children age 0 – 5 years. The goal of this policy is to expand and integrate early childhood development.
The introduction of ECCDE was made with the hope that parents will respond by sending their children to ECCDE centers for cognitive and psychomotor development, as pre-requisite learning experience for acquiring sound primary education. It is based on this ground therefore, that this study was carried out to assess the attitude of parents and teachers towards Early Childhood Care, Development and Education programme in Sokoto State.
Statement of the Problem
Early Childhood Care, Development and Education programme is a component of the Universal Basic Education Scheme introduced in Nigeria in 1999 by the Federal Government with the sole aim of providing early literacy skills, health and nutritional care for all round development of preschool children, so that on getting to primary schools in the later years, such children will perform optimally thereby enhancing the quality of primary education. In view of this, the ECCDE programme seem to be a promising package which is expected by Government to receive an overwhelming support from parents and be handle effectively by teachers/caregiver. However, the situation in sokoto state is far from this expectation. Most of the public Early Childhood Care, Development and Education centers in rural towns are not having full patronage from parents. Equally, children of preschool age that are yet to be enrolled into Early Childhood Education could be seen in large numbers in many homes within rural and urban communities in the state. The human right act states that everyone has the right to education, similarly, the Universal Basic Education Act declares that every child of school going age should be enrolled in schools or ECCDE centers. Therefore, refusal by parents of pre-school children to enroll their children into ECCDE centers signifies cultivation of negative attitude towards child learning and it also means denial of children’s fundamental rights and a violation of both the human rights and the UBE acts. This of course is a problem that requires urgent investigation. This therefore, formed the basis for this study which was aimed at assessing the attitude of parents and teachers towards Early Child Care and Education in Sokoto state.
Objectives of the Study
This main objective of this study is to access the attitude of parents and teachers towards Early Childhood Care, Development and Education (ECCDE) programme in Sokoto State. However other specific objectives include:
- To find out the attitude of parent towards Early Childhood Care, Development and Education Programme in Sokoto state.
- To find out the attitude of teachers toward Early Childhood Care, Development and Education Programme in Sokoto state.
- To determine the adequacy of parents and teachers’ support to Early Childhood Care, Development and Education Programme in Sokoto state.
- To find out the factors affecting parental and teachers support to Early Childhood Care, Development and Education Programme in Sokoto state.
- To determine the qualification and nature of teachers handling Early Childhood Care, Development and Education Programme in Sokoto state.
