CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

Quality education at the early years of a child is very important and there is no gain saying the fact that these formative years have great impact on the later life of the child and consequently national development. In essence, the physical, emotional and cognitive development of the child, if properly taken care of would benefit the child and the nation in general. This is why the Education for All (EFA) goal urges all nations to expand early childhood care and education services to all children particularly the vulnerable and disadvantaged by the year 2015.

The education system in Nigeria before 1999 was six years in primary school, three years junior secondary school and three years senior school. The Federal Government of Nigeria in the 6th edition of the National Policy on Education is very clear on the importance of basic education as the edition highlights and emphasises among others; “the consolidation of Kindergarten, Primary and Junior Secondary education to a 10-year Basic Education in line with the UBE and its establishment Act”.

In Nigeria, pre-primary education caters for children aged 3-5 years, prior to their entering primary school and is aimed at facilitating a smooth transition from home to school; providing adequate care and supervision for children while their parents are at work (on the farms, in the markets, offices, and so on); preparing the child for primary education; inculcating social norms; 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; teaching co-operation and team spirit; teaching the rudiments of numbers, letters, colours, shapes, forms, and so forth, through play; and teaching good habits especially good health habits.

The curriculum was however, reviewed and revised in 2003/2004 using an integrated bottom up approach, targeting children aged 0-5 years. This revised curriculum was approved for use by the government, and a training manual to facilitate the use of the curriculum was in the process of development. The training manual was 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.

Early ChildhoodCare Development and Education (ECCDE) centres, day care centres and play groups are usually for children aged 0-2 years and 2-3 years. The UBE Act (2004) has an expanded scope which includes programmes and initiatives for early childhood education and development. The UBE programme has made provision for every public primary school to have a pre-primary school linkage to cater for children aged 3-5 years. Now that the Early Childhood Development programme is covered bythe UBE law, government ownership at State/LGA/community levels is certain to increase, particularly regarding centres catering for the 3-5 year olds.

The early years of a child‟s life are the most important to the formation of intelligence, personality and social behavior of a child. The years before a child reaches Kindergarten are among the most critical in his or her life to influence learning. That is why modern societies show serious concern for the education of their young ones by providing needed support to prepare them to succeed later in school. However, reports across the globe revealed that an estimated figure of one hundred million children struggle daily for survival in villages and cities, and are exposed to the risks of hunger, poverty, disease, illiteracy and abuses. The need to address the problems and salvage these children and the next generation of children from these menace, necessitated the Early Childhood Care Development and Education programme. The aim of ECCDE is to foster the proper development of the children, identify and address their problems, harness their potentials, shape their character, enhance their learning as well as equip them for life, so that their actions are directed towards positive personal, communal and global development in all ramifications of life.

All these notwithstanding, it is important to highlight that if efforts are not made to evaluate the curriculum implementation of early childhood care development and education, the programme may face challenges just like the UPE programme not only in the North-West Geo-political zone of Nigeria but also throughout the country. Early years in life (0-8) are the most substantial to the formation of intelligence, personality and social behaviour of a child. Hence, the reason why this study sought to find out the challenges facing the ECCDE curriculum implementation from 2004-2015 in order to draw the attention of stakeholders for remedial actions to facilitate effective implementation of the programme in the zone.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

Effective implementation of the ECCDE curriculum requires various types of resources, which include physical facilities such as infrastructure, instructional and text materials, human resources and fund. However, it is a known fact that an appreciable number of the established pre-primary/nursery schools do not meet the conventional standards in terms of building, ventilation, sanitation, equipment, illumination and infrastructure. Other related problems are inadequacy of space, equipment and facilities that include classrooms, libraries, staff, laboratories and furniture. Most buildings in which some of the nursery schools are situated are far from ideal as some of them are not primarily meant for such institutions. Some of the schools are situated in dwelling houses or large halls and in some, face-to-face type of rooms are used as classrooms. Moreover, little consideration was given to site selection, accessibility, freedom from health and noise hazards and physical safety. Some classrooms even led directly to the main road or to wide gutters.

Similarly a number of teachers in the pre-primary schools, apart from being inadequate, are not also qualified and majority of them have not received the special ECCDE teaching training programmes. In addition to the poor teaching methods are lack of materials such as toys, diagrams, charts, pictorials as part of instructional requirements. Other challenges include un-stimulating learning environments, preponderance of unqualified caregivers and high cost of education as well as exploitative and profiteering tendencies on the part of proprietors of ECCDE schools/centres.

Other challenges are the issue of minimum standard and lack of standard curriculum; the use of mother tongue as a medium of instruction in ECE; and funding as well as supervision of the programme in Nigeria. Additional challenges are the issue of monitoring and evaluation as well as the establishment and management of ECCDE schools. Therefore, the aim of this research is to evaluate the attitude of early childhood education students towards the study of early childhood education in college of education.

1.3 Objectives of the Study

The objective of this study is to evaluate the attitude of early childhood education students towards the study of early childhood education in college of education. Specifically, the study seeks to:

1. Assess whether the early childhood care development and education curriculum prepares students for tertiary education;

2. Determine the qualifications of ECCDE teachers and their accessibility to the specialization programmes in early childhood care development and education in College of Education;

3. Ascertain the adequacy of provision of educational resources in the centres for early childhood care development and education;

4. Assess the academic performance of students who attended the ECCDE programme and those who did not.

1.4 Research Questions

The main purpose of this research is to find answers to the following questions:

1. To what extent does the early childhood care development and education curriculum prepares students for tertiary education?

2. What are the qualifications of ECCDE teachers and their accessibility to the specialization programmes in early childhood care development and education in College of Education?

3. What is the level of adequacy of provision of educational resources in the centres for early childhood care development and education?

4. What is difference between the academic performance of students who attended the ECCDE programme and those who did not?

1.5 Research Hypotheses

The following hypotheses were proposed based on the afore-mentioned research questions:

1. There is no significant difference in the opinions of respondents on the extent to which ECCDE prepares students for tertiary education.

2. There is no significant relationship between the qualification of ECCDE teachers and their having access to the specialization programme in early childhood care development and education.

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3. There is no significant difference in the provision of adequate educational resources for early childhood care development and education.

4. There is no significant difference in the academic performance of students who attended the ECCDE programme and those who did not.

1.6 Significance of the Study

The purpose of any research is to make a significant contribution to knowledge. This research, therefore, makes a general evaluation of resources, which are very important and necessary for the successful implementation of early childhood care development and education curriculum. The findings will be useful to curriculum planners and other stakeholders, such as the Federal Ministry of Education (FME), Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), the States Universal Education Boards (SUBEBs), Local Government Education Authorities (LGEAs), teachers, parents and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in guiding them to appreciate the significance of the programme as well as in the provision of resources required for the successful implementation of the ECCDE curriculum.

Furthermore, the research will bring to light the need for the authorities concerned to ensure that teachers involved in early childhood care development and education specialize in that field in order to achieve the objectives behind the programme. In the same vein, the findings will highlight to NGOs those States or LGEAs that need assistance in terms of provision/rehabilitation of infrastructures, instructional materials, teacher training and the like towards successful implementation of the programme.

The findings of the research will draw the attention of the parents/guardians and the society at large to the crucial role the ECCDE programme plays in shaping the academic performance of children at the later stage of their educational development. This will further underscore the need to give priority and place emphasis by all and sundry on the programme, which can be termed as the “solid foundation of education”. Similarly, the outcome of the study will reveal to those States in the North-West Geo-political zone of Nigeria,the LGEAsthat are in need of resources both human and material, for the successful and effective implementation of the ECCDE programme.Finally, the research will highlight to those authorities that have roles to play in the implementation of the ECCDE programme such as UBEC, SUBEBs, LGEAs, NGOs, Schools/Centres, teachers and parents as well as the communities, the inadequacy or unavailability of resources facing the programme especially in their areas.

1.7 Scope of the Study

The Study is delimited to students that offer early childhood care development and education in College of Education. Though, essential to the success of the implementation of ECCDE beyond the scope of this study, was the quality (qualification), quantity (number) of teachers and teacher-pupils ratio that is 25-30 pupils per teacher and a caregiver. The study also examined the roles of the participants in curriculum implementation namely, the Universal Basic Education Boards with specific reference to policy implementation.

1.8 Operational Definition of Terms

Early Childhood: It is the period of a child‟s life from 0-8 years. However, in Nigeria, it is the period between 0-5 years- a time that is critical to the holistic development of the child.

Care: Care is the action taken to ensure the protection and support for the health of the child. It entails the provision of stimulating and safe environment, adequate and balanced diet, love, acceptance, affection, interaction and other actions that respect the rights of the child.

Education: In this context, education means teaching, caring and training of the young children between the age of 0-6 for acquiring skills, values and desirable norms, through the principles of child independence, observing the child, following the child, correcting the child, prepared environment and absorbent minds.

ECCDE Curriculum: In this context, curriculum is everything the children undergoing the ECCDE programme do, see, hear and feel.