CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

History is not clear when man started inhabiting this earth, but there is some account which suggests that man came to the earth in almost the same way as wild animals around him, without weapons, houses and language. Man learnt about his environment, which enabled him to determine what was to be eaten and what was not to be eaten. Educational activities at the time were simple but functional in the sense that they were taught to contribute to the needs of the society.

The above analysis reveals that although early man was not as developed as we are today, he had great capacity dictated by circumstances, to learn a grate deal of things for the survival and for the good of his environment. Man, therefore, is basically a learning animal and education must provide him with the necessary challenges to learn. It stands to reason that education and man are inextricably interrelated. Education is derived from the Latin word educare which means to draw out. Education can therefore be defined as a process of drawing out and developing the potentialities of an individual. In order words, education is a systematic process whereby an individuals is exposed to and  provided with the opportunities of acquiring knowledge, skills, values and  attitudes which develop cumulatively with a view to:

1.   Preparing him well to enable him satisfactorily integrate effectively in the society;

2.   Pursue a career; and

3.   Sharpen his quest for continuous learning. Lucy Ekwueme (2001)

Education has several roles. It opens the door for one to attain economic, social, cultural, politician and  scientific progress. Education is not only that passing on knowledge and cultural heritage from one generation to the next, but that providing people with skills that will enable them to analyze, diagnose, perform, questions and think. Industrialization, migration and urbanization have, according to the world forum on education (2001) impacted heavily on the field of early education these effect changes in the structure and composition of the family and the decline in infant motility, necessitating attention to the education and development of children who now survive but may be in conductions that negatively affect development.

No nation can afford to neglect the education of its children because the children are the future asserts of their various societies. Wheeler (1967) asserts that every society educates its own children so  as to make them fit into that society. Stenhouse (1976) also affirms that is the society that dictates the content and the standards of is education. Such education starts from the early years of life with its underlying goals derived from the society desire to support, stimulate and guide the developmental processes of the child in the  direction of competence.

Nigeria educators have realized that the future of the Nigeria society depends on laying a sound foundation for the children in early years of life it is therefore importance that appropriate and meaningful early educational  experiences one offered to the children.

Like the other systems of education in this country, early childhood education, which take place within the four walls or no educational institution, is a heritage of the colonial masters. The period 1842-1848 was one of intensive missionary activity. When the colonial masters  first arrived, their wives were left at home. Graduially, the wives came to join their husbands. The need to have a school for their children. The first school in Nigeria established by the missionaries in Badagry in  the 1840s was called the “nursery of the infant church”. However, contrary to its name, the school was a primary school. The then colonial master paid no attention to pre-primary school education.

Usually, in every primary school there was a nursery attached. The nursery classes so established saved as feeder schools.

The 1969 national curriculum conferences was the very first time mention was made of the education of children between 3 and 5 years of age.

The pre-primary education has three basic dimensions which are the daycare centre, which provide care of children as a substitute for that of the home where they or their parents are considered to be in special need of such help. The kindergarten caters for children between three and four years of age. While the nursery school accepts children the ages of four and six years and prepares the child for entry to the primary school by developing his linguistic and mathematical abilities nursery school serves other purposes such as serving the children whose homes are socially or educationally unsatisfactory; serving the children whose mother had to go to work; and serving as a place where early diagnosis of individual handicaps could be made and paper remedial treatment given in order to rescue the deprived child.

Nursery education originated from the western world, exclusively for the infants of the wealthy parents until the masses had a breakthrough government pronouncements to make kindergarten or nursery school compulsory and free in many parts of developed countries.

In 1990, at the world conference  of education for All (EFA) in Jomtien, and EFA summit in New Delhi (1993), the declaration signed by 38 African countries recognized the importance or early childhood development. It regarded basic education as the foundation for life long learning and human development on which a country may build, systematically, further levels and types of education and training. It thus strongly recommended an expansion of early childhood development activities, exploration of all available instruments of information, communication and social action, to assist people to acquire the minimum basic learning necessary for a better life.

The ultimate purpose of an effective teaching is to bring about learning on the part of the  learner. The symbol of learning outcome is “change in behavior”. This explains why learning is often defined as any “change in behavior that is consequential on or due to experience” (Akande, 1985). A man of great learning is a man of understanding and therefore an educated man. In the other hand teaching is a  cluster of actions and expressions that take place in a classroom involving exchange of ideas and materials, between a teacher and the students with the intention of developing cognitive, psychomotor, affective and aesthetic goals in the students. Lucy Ekwueme (2001) it is the teacher’s task to provide experiences which support, stimulate and structure children’s learning to bring about a progression or understanding appropriate to the child’s needs and abilities. It is therefore important for the teacher to use teaching materials or aid to make teaching and learning simple, interesting, systematic, positively interactive and meaningful educational experiences.

The value of teaching materials or aids in the educational process cannot be over-emphasized. It has been indicated that the use of locally made materials is beneficial to the development of the nursery children. Although, these materials may be available but effectively used by the teacher or the teacher lacks the skills to use  them or they are not available. In the course of educating the child’s senses through which the child acquires experiences that lay the foundation of knowledge. The more senses you appeal to in a lesson, the richer the experience and knowledge that result there from Akande, M.O (2002).

Educational activities intends helping the child to take cognizance of his human nature, and finish him with the elements of knowledge and provide a link between the child and nature. UNICEF (1980) has reminded:

“That concern for  comprehensive child development naturally includes concern for the survival, health care and growth monitoring of children and attention to the learning and stimulation required to help them realize their full potential, the intellectual, social and emotional aspects of the child’s development. Systematic attention should be given to creating a stimulating environment for the psychosocial development of the young child. Activities should be tailored to the local context and should aim both to draw on and to strengthen the resources available in the family and the community. Particular attention should be paid to the needs of mother during pregnancy  and of children from birth to 2years of age, as well as to ensuring that programmes for 3 to 6 years olds address a broad range or urgent developmental needs, especially  those of children living in poverty and affected adversely by forces or social-economic change”.

The environment in this phenomena having direct or indirect influence on man in a given place. Human beings, human behaviours, societal law, values and customs, natural, physical features and the prevailing socio-political situations are components of the environment. All these components of the environment exert a measure on what, when, how and where we teach.

Some scholars (smith, Stanley and shore) rightly accentuate the significance of environment when they assert that the “ curriculum is interwoven with the social fabric that sustain it” the environment in this context is the society. The social fabric is the network of interdependent variables which have direct or indirect influence on educational activities within a given place. Educational activities are based on the problems and opportunities that exist in a given environment. Materials for teaching in terms of learning experiences and audio-visual aids are derived from the environment. Educationists have also discovered that there is a subtle relationship between the effect of the environment on children and the study by children on the environment. Besides the social environment is both context and content in education because what is considered important in the school. The school itself  is an integral part of the social environment. Thus, the pupils also learn about themselves when they are taught facts of the environment.

Considering all of the above, teaching and learning aid/materials should be used to make teaching and learning simple, interesting systematic, positively interactive and meaningful educational experiences.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

The study intend to unfold the non-availability, and lack of adequate skills to use locally made instructional materials for effective teaching/learning by children in nursery schools.

1.3 Purpose of the Study

The study has the overall purpose of evaluating the locally made instructional materials used in the teaching of nursery school children in Apapa local government area.

Specifically, the study is designed with the following objectives.

-      To determine the utilization of local made instructional materials in nursery schools.

-      To assess the appropriateness of the availability of locally made instructional materials in the effective teaching of nursery school children.

1.4 Research Question

In order to achieve the desired objectives the following research questions were posited to guide the study.

-      To what extent are instructional materials available to educate nursery school children in Lagos state?

-      To what extent is the adequate initialization of instructional made materials used for effective implementation of nursery school children education in Lagos state?

1.5 Research Hypotheses

In order to provide answers to the question above, the following null hypotheses were formulated:

There is no significant relationship between the availability of locally made instructional materials and effective implementation of nursery school children education.

There is no significant relationship between the adequate Utilization of locally made instructional of the nursery school.

1.6 Significant of the Study

These study attempts to identify the use locally made materials in the teaching of nursery school children as a distinguish factor for school effectiveness and efficiency. However, a critical analysis or this study will enable school proprietors and school heads such as head Masters/ Mistress, head teachers etcetera understand the fact that the use of locally made materials is a cogent factors if the school is to attain its aim of producing, breeding individuals that will be useful to themselves and to the society at large. Furthermore, this study will enable the government understand there is need for the use of locally made materials in the teaching of nursery school children in order to bring about the intended learning out come in individuals.

1.7 Scope/Limitation of the Study

This study covered only Apapa local education district. The nursery schools randomly selected from this area.

The research was limited by a number of factors among which were transportation problem within the state, finance problem, time constraint.