ABSTRACT
The study
attempted to investigate the effects of early childhood education on the
cognitive development of primary one pupils in Kosofe Local Government Area of
Lagos State. In this study, extensive and relevant literature review was
carried out under related sub-headings. The descriptive research survey was
used in this study in order to carry out the objective assessment of the
opinions of the respondents selected for this study. In addition, the
questionnaire was adopted for the collection of data necessary for this study,
while the sampling technique was applied in selecting the samples for this
study. In total, four null hypotheses were generated and tested in this study,
with the application of both the Pearson Product Moment Correlation and the t-test
of independence variable. At the end of the analyses, the following results
emerged: that there is a significant relationship between pre-primary school
education and cognitive development among children in schools, there is a
significant difference between pre-primary school education and children’s
school achievement in schools, that no significant difference exists between
the speech development of children taught by parents and those taught by
teachers and that there is a significant gender difference in cognitive
development by children due to attendance of pre-primary education. Based on
the conclusions of this study, the researcher recommended that the National
Policy on Education should be reviewed to include among others the education of
the Nigerian child from 0 – 2 years.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE
Introduction
Background to the Study
Statement of the Problem
Purpose of the Study
Research Questions
Research Hypotheses
Significance of the Study
Scope of the Study
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
Introduction
Language and Linguistic Development
Intellectual Growth and Potential for
Learning
Personality and Emotional Development
Early Childhood Education Curriculum
Objectives of Early Childhood
Education
Designing a Curriculum for ECE
The Philosophical Bases of
Pre-Primary Education
The National Policy on Pre-Primary
Education
Early Child Care Development and
Education (ECCDE) Project
Characteristics of Early Childhood
Development
Parental Role in Early Childhood
Development
Parental Education
Effect of Pre-Primary Education on
Speech Development of Children
Summary of Review
CHAPTER THREE
Research Methodology
Research Design
Sample and Sampling Technique
Population of the Study
Instrumentation
Reliability of the Instrument
Procedure for Data Collection
Method of Statistical Analysis
CHAPTER FOUR
Data Analysis and Results
Descriptive Analysis of Bio-Data
According to Sex, Age, Religion, Qualification, Marital Status and Experience
of Respondents
Description of Teachers’ Responses to
the Questionnaire together with the Research Questions
Descriptive Analysis of Bio-Data of
Students According to their Sex; Age, Religion and Class
Descriptive Analysis of Data
Collected from Students together with the Research Questions
Summary of Findings
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Summary of the Study
Conclusions
Recommendations
REFERENCES
Teachers’ Questionnaire
Students’ Questionnaire
CHAPTER ONE
Introduction/Background
to the Study
A baby is in the
making as soon as conception takes place. Normally, it takes 9 months for a
full grown baby in the womb to be born into the world, barring all accidents
and pre-mature delivery. A baby right from conception, is a unique individual
with his or her special characteristics, Caplan and Caplan (1995). According to
them, the nature of children is such that no two children are completely the
same or alike in everything not even identical twins. Thus, there are obvious
differences that differentiate one child from another. Nwagbara (2003), the
complexities in children result both from nature and nurture. Children go
through different stages of development that is, from birth to young adults.
This early years from 2 years to 6 years are critical in their development.
During this period, children’s physical, mental and psychological development
take a leap as they are in a constant state of flux. They are in the process of
undergoing great changes and making significant development strides, especially
in the area of language acquisition and development.
It is believed that
children’s reading matter should be linked to their own spoken language as well
as to their interest and experiences for intellectual growth. The focus on the
cognitive growth of children is a welcome development (Anyanwu, 1991). This is
because the brain of a youngster is “tabula rasa” ready to be occupied.
Realizing that, educators go into searching for the appropriate stimuli that
can yield the best result for the children. Webber (1970) opines that it must
be recognized that something can be done about children’s intelligence as a
result of the type of experiences provided for them.
Aiyedun (1984) is of
the opinion that story books provide such experiences that can make for the
intellectual growth of children. According to him, stories provide and improve
reading, writing and thinking skills especially as they stimulate the intellect.
Stories foster understanding of human actions. Just one story can form the
bases for more detailed exploration of other actions. Selected experiences as
reflected in story books give children the opportunity to use words that are
familiar to them through their family life. Children are thus encouraged to
extend vocabulary appropriately. Not only that they learn the vocabulary of
colours, shapes, textures etc early in life as their story books are almost
always pictorial. For the intellectual development of children, story books
give the practice of the four language skills – listening, speaking, reading
and writing. They also help children to learn new words as well as alternative
meanings of words contextually. This is possible, especially if the language of
the stories is not too simple.
According
to Anyamelue (2003), it is important to give young children the quality care,
nutrition and stimulation they need for healthy growth and development.
Moreover, the holistic care of young children has been receiving recognition
both in Nigeria
and internationally. This was prominent in the CRC and re-echoed more recently
at the Dakar World Education Forum, 2000. At the forum, the goal of expanding
and improving comprehensive early childcare and education was re-affirmed.
One of the main
features of early childhood is the rapid development of the brain. According to
Godges (2001) “the last three months of prenatal life and the first two years
after birth have been termed the most critical period to brain growth spurt”.
This is because, during this period, more than half of the adult brain weight
is added. It grows tremendously in the first few years of life, increasing to
about 2/3 of adult weight by the end of the first year and to about 7.5% by the
age of two years and 90% by the age of five. Thus, a five year old’s brain has
developed almost to the level of an adult’s.
However, because of
the rapid growth of the brain, the child needs adequate nutrition at this
period. This is because, poor nutrition before and after birth and in the first
few years of life can seriously hamper brain development. This can lead to
neurological and behavioural disorders, which may manifest in learning
disabilities.
There is research
evidence to show that a baby’s brain is composed of trillions of neutrons
waiting to be woven into the “intricate tapestry of the mind”. The experiences
of childhood determine which neutrons are used, that wire the circuits of the
brain. According to Hodges (2001), Begley observes that “the experiences of childhood
determine whether a child grows up to be intelligent or dull, fearful or self
assured, articulate or tongue tied”.
As Munonye (2002) puts
it, there is also scientific evidence on the importance of adequate stimulation
during early childhood period, necessary for the child’s cognitive development.
There are definite periods in childhood development when the environment can
influence how the brain is “wired” for certain functions like language, music,
physical activity and even mathematics. It therefore means that the brain must
receive the appropriate stimuli at the crucial time to perform these functions,
else it may be impossible for it to “re-wire” itself later in life. Early
childhood period therefore is a period that should be handled with utmost care.
Statement
of the Problem
Most children these
days do not develop cognitively due to lack of early childhood education which
is mainly given to children firstly by their parents and secondly by their
teachers who are also regarded as surrogate parents in the school. Majority of
pupils in primary one in the Nigerian school system, did not pass through the
pre-primary schools where children are taught basically through the methods befitting
to the children’s learnability and comprehension in the early stage of life.
Because of this lapse, most children in the primary schools fail to grasp the
content of their lessons due to the fact that they started their early
education from the stem instead of from the root.
Also, most of the
teachers who are employed to teach at the primary one schools, do not apply the
correct teaching methods that are comprehensible to the child, hence most
children do not have high academic achievement in the early stages of their
primary school education. Due to low cognitive development of the children,
there has been poor academic performance virtually at all stages of our
educational system. This is because what a child could not achieve during the
early education, will be difficult for him/her to achieve at the apex stage of his/her
educational life.
This study sets out to
examine the effect of early childhood education on the cognitive development of
primary one pupils.
Purpose
of the Study
The specific
objectives will include the following:
(1) To examine whether there is relationship
between primary school education and cognitive development among children in
schools.
(2) To investigate whether there is a
difference between primary school education and speech development among
children in schools.
(3) To differentiate between the cognitive
development of children who were taught by their parents and those who were
taught by teachers.
(4)
To investigate whether there is general
difference in the cognitive development of children who had pre-primary
education and those who did not.
(5)
To find out whether there is gender difference
in the cognitive development due to pre-primary school education.
Research Questions
The
following research questions will be asked in this study thus:
(1) Is there any relationship between primary
school education and cognitive development among children in schools?
(2) To what extent can there be any difference
between pre-primary school education and speech development among children in
primary schools?
(3)
How can we differentiate between the cognitive
development of children who were taught by their parents and those who were
taught by their teachers?
(4)
How can we investigate whether there is
general difference in the speech development of children who had pre-primary
education and those who did not?
(5)
Will there be any gender difference in the
cognitive development of children due to pre-primary education?
Research Hypotheses
The following research
hypotheses will be formulated and tested in this study:
1.
There will be no significant relationship
between pre-primary school education and cognitive development among children
in schools.
2.
There will be no significant difference
between pre-primary school education and children’s school achievement in
schools.
3.
There will be no significant difference
between the speech development of children who were taught by their parents and
those who were taught by teachers.
4.
There will be no significant gender difference
in the cognitive development of children due to pre-primary education.
Significance
of the Study
The study will be of great benefit to the following
individuals:
(1) Children will
benefit from the findings and recommendations of this study because it will
help their teachers and parents to be in good positions to help in teaching or
instructing them on the appropriate language to be learned in their
communities.
(2) With the recommendation of this study,
teachers would be exposed to know how best to go about teaching or handling
children at the lower level of our school system, the primary school. Not only
that, they would be exposed to the appropriate methods to be used in teaching
language to the child in school, especially at the primary school system.
(3) Parents would have a better insight on the
essence of teaching the child to gain mastery of the language of his/her
environment. Most parents do not know that they are the first teachers of the
child at home. This study will expose them to the knowledge that they should be
the first people to impart knowledge to the child, especially concerning
children’s language development. With this study and its recommendations,
parents would be able to know the best techniques to be always used in teaching
language to the children.
(4) The society will be exposed to the proper
knowledge of language acquisition to the child in the society. With the
recommendations, the society will be able to know how best to assist the child
in the area of acquisition and mastery of language.
Scope
of the Study
This study will cover
all the schools (primary) in Kosofe Local Government Area of Lagos State. Its
main focus will be on the investigation of the effect of primary education on
cognitive development of the child in the primary schools in Lagos State.
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