ASSESSMENT OF PARENT AND TEACHERS ATTITUDE TOWARDS EARLY CHILDHOOD CARE DEVELOPMENT AND EDUCATION PROGRAM

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.

TABLE OF CONTENT

Title page

Approval page

Dedication

Acknowledgment

Abstract

Table of content

CHAPETR ONE

1.0   INTRODUCTION 

1.1        Background of the study

1.2        Statement of problem

1.3        Objective of the study

1.4        Research Hypotheses

1.5        Significance of the study

1.6        Scope and limitation of the study

1.7       Definition of terms

1.8       Organization of the study

CHAPETR TWO

2.0   LITERATURE REVIEW

CHAPETR THREE

3.0        Research methodology

3.1    sources of data collection

3.3        Population of the study

3.4        Sampling and sampling distribution

3.5        Validation of research instrument

3.6        Method of data analysis

CHAPTER FOUR

DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

4.1 Introductions

4.2 Data analysis

CHAPTER FIVE

5.1 Introduction

5.2 Summary

5.3 Conclusion

5.4 Recommendation

Appendix

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

• Background of 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 Implementation 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). education in the second half of the twentieth century has been characterized by increases in the provision of educational programs for preschool-age children. The largest wave of preschool education activity has been the federally funded Head Start program, established in the 1960s to help children overcome the cognitive, social, emotional, and physical deficits that frequently accompany growing up in economically deprived homes. By providing an array of educational and social services to children and their families, Head Start programs are designed to foster general well-being and enhance school readiness, so that these children might gain the full benefit of their school experiences and be more successful in life generally.

If Head Start and other programs for economically disadvantaged children can be shown to make a positive difference in these children’s school and life experiences, their impact can be very widespread. Schweinhart (1985) points out that one-fourth of all children under the age of six are living in poverty, and that three-fifths of the mothers of three- and four-yearold children now work outside the home. However, fewer than 20 percent of the nation’s three and four-year-olds from poor families are currently enrolled in Head Start programs. Kindergarten enrollment has also increased dramatically in recent years. While only seven states mandate kindergarten attendance, about 95 percent of all children currently attend kindergarten (Sava 1987), and 23 percent of these attend full-day programs (Karweit 1988). In addition to the generally recognized need to provide some kind of extra support to children from low-income homes, there is another reason for the dramatic increase in educational programs for children before first grade. This is the increase, alluded to above, of mothers in the workforce. Many parents who are not at home with their children in the daytime are not satisfied with unstructured day care or babysitting, preferring that their children participate in more formal learning experiences. Finally, some of the increased interest in and push for structured preschool programs comes from the unfortunate notion, held by some, that education is a race to be won, and those who start first are more likely to finish ahead. Commenting on this source of pressure for preschool education, Elkind (1988) says: …the choice of the phrase “Head Start” was unfortunate. “Head Start” does imply a race. And not surprisingly, when middle income parents heard that low-income children were being given a “Head Start,” they wanted a similar “Head Start” for their children. A great many educators and researchers view early childhood education as beneficial to children’s cognitive and social development. These proponents including virtually all of the researchers and theorists whose work was consulted in order to prepare this document base their conviction on personal observation and on the many research studies linking early childhood programs to desirable outcomes. It is important to note, however, that some educators, such as Elkind (1988), Katz (1987), Zigler (1986), and representatives of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (1986) warn against too much formal, highly structured education for very young children. These and other writers have called attention to three major objections to school-based programs. As summarized by Katz, these objections include: • Such programs, because they are to be conducted in schools normally serving elementary-age children, will inevitably adopt formal academic teaching methods that early childhood specialists generally consider developmentally inappropriate for under-sixyear-olds. • Research reporting positive long-term benefits of early education programs is based on the kind of high quality of staff and program implementation unlikely to be duplicated in most school districts. • Others…cite the special risks of public school programs for young black children, suggesting that such children need comprehensive programs that include health, nutrition, social services, and parent involvement, as well as informal curriculum/methods. In addition, writers such as Herman (1984) and Puleo (1988) call attention to the issues surrounding the half-day/full-day kindergarten controversy. They note that some educators and researchers feel that the additional hours are too fatiguing for young children and that, in any case, increasing allocated time does not necessarily enhance program quality. Given this array of assertions and reservations about preschool and kindergarten programs, it is important to examine what well-designed research studies reveal about the longand short-term effects of early childhood education. It is also important to determine whether different effects are produced by different models for early childhood programs–to determine, for example, whether didactic, teacher-directed programs or less-structured, “discovery” models produce superior cognitive and behavioral outcomes. Finally, we need to determine whether different populations of students respond differently to early childhood education in general or to particular program models. “The relationship of the early childhood education research to the general effective schooling research is also of interest to teachers, administrators, theorists, and researchers. The effective schooling research base developed over the past two decades tells us a great deal about what school and classroom practices are effective for students in general”.

• STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Kindergarten enrollment has also increased dramatically in recent years. While only seven states mandate kindergarten attendance, about 95 percent of all children currently attend kindergarten (Sava 1987), and 23 percent of these attend full-day programs (Karweit 1988). In addition to the generally recognized need to provide some kind of extra support to children from low-income homes, there is another reason for the dramatic increase in educational programs for children before first grade. This is the increase, alluded to above, of mothers in the workforce. Many parents who are not at home with their children in the daytime are not satisfied with unstructured day care or babysitting, preferring that their children participate in more formal learning experiences. Some of the increased interest in and push for structured preschool programs comes from the unfortunate notion, held by some, that education is a race to be won, and those who start first are more likely to finish ahead. Commenting on this source of pressure for preschool education. It is in view of the above that the researcher intend to assess parent and teachers attitude towards childhood care development and education program

• OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

The main objective of this study is to assess parent and teachers attitude towards early childhood care development and education program; but to aid the completion of the study, the researcher intend to achieve the following specific objective;

1. To ascertain the effect of parent attitude towards early childhood care development program
2. To examine the relationship between early childhood care development program and educational programs from preschool

• To examine the impact of early childhood development program on the academic performance of the child

1. To examine the role of parent in ensuring early child education
   • RESEARCH HYPOTHESES

The following research hypotheses were formulated by the researcher;

H₀:  there is no significant relationship between early childhood care development program and educational programs from preschool

H₁:  there is a significant relationship between early childhood care development program and educational programs from preschool

H₀:  parent and teachers has a negative attitude towards early childhood care development and educational programs

H₂:  parent and teachers has a positive attitude towards early childhood care development and educational programs

• SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

It is believed that at the completion of the study, the findings will be of great importance to the management of preschools in training her teachers on how to imbibe a negative attitude towards early childhood care development and educational programs, the study will also be of great importance to parent as the study seek to explore the benefit of early childhood care development and educational programs;

The study will also be useful to researchers who intend to embark on a study in a similar topic as the study will serve as a reference point to further studies, finally the study will be of importance to student, teachers, lecturers, academia’s and the general public as the study will add to the pool of existing literature and also contribute to knowledge

• SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

The scope of the study covers an assessment of parent and teachers attitude towards early childhood care development and education program; but in the cause of the study, there were some factors that limited the scope of the study;

1. a) AVAILABILITY OF RESEARCH MATERIAL: The research material available to the researcher is insufficient, thereby limiting the study
2. b) TIME: The time frame allocated to the study does not enhance wider coverage as the researcher has to combine other academic activities and examinations with the study.
3. c) Finance: Limited Access to the required finance makes it difficult to broaden the scope of the study;

1.7 OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF TERMS

Childhood

Childhood is the age span ranging from birth to adolescence. According to Piaget’s theory of cognitive development, childhood consists of two stages: preoperational stage and concrete operational stage

Parent

A parent is a caregiver of the offspring in their own species. In humans, a parent is the caretaker of a child (where “child” refers to offspring, not necessarily age). A biological parent is a person whose gamete resulted in a child, a male through the sperm, and a female through the ovum.

Teachers

A teacher is a person who helps others to acquire knowledge, competences or values. Informally the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone

Attitude

In psychology, attitude is a psychological construct, a mental and emotional entity that inheres in, or characterizes a person. They are complex and an acquired state through experiences.

 

1.8 ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY

This research work is organized in five chapters, for easy understanding, as follows

Chapter one is concern with the introduction, which consist of the (overview, of the study), historical background, statement of problem, objectives of the study, research hypotheses, significance of the study, scope and limitation of the study, definition of terms and historical background of the study. Chapter two highlights the theoretical framework on which the study is based, thus the review of related literature. Chapter three deals on the research design and methodology adopted in the study. Chapter four concentrate on the data collection and analysis and presentation of finding.  Chapter five gives summary, conclusion, and recommendations made of the study

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