CHALLENGES OF EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION IN NIGERIA

CHALLENGES OF EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION IN NIGERIA

The major problems of Early Childhood Education encountered in Nigeria which has made Nigeria not up to standard countries such as United State of America, England, Australia Etc.

These Problems are:

·         The Quality of Teachers:

It is a fact that a well qualified teaching staff is the first step in any attempt to train a skilled man power in any society.

In other word, there cannot be progress in any system of education. Poorly trained teachers in Nigeria were identified, by Taiwo. C. G. (1982) and they are the poor quality of teachers produced and low output but it does not mean all the teachers produced were bad.

Infact, some of them were good and dedicated. Most teachers are not dedicated to the fact that, they will not be given good salary or benefits and so they will begin to be selling in school premises and concentrating in class. Surveys conducted by the Situation and Policy Analysis of Basic Education (SAPA).

What about 25% of teachers in schools had NCE (The Nigeria Certificate in Education).

·         Inadequate Planning and Supervision:

Most schools are not being assessed in the last two decades but in the 19^th century, inspectors were frequent in schools and most especially now in the rural areas are not visited by inspectors in years some schools falsify the figures of staffs, students and available facilities. Being sent to the states and federal ministry of education.

·         Inadequate Instructional Material:

Some parents don’t have enough money to buy a lot of materials and government usually provide a way to get highly subsidized rates like note books, text books and writing materials and for the schools; tables, chairs. But enough materials are not usually provided for the school and children.

·         Poor Learning Environment:

 There are many schools that don’t have enough classrooms. In some cases, rain storms have removed the roof of some of the classrooms. There could be a lot of noise and distraction in some areas where schools are located.

·         Illiteracy and Ignorance of Some Parents in conclusion, there are many problems confronting pre primary education in Nigeria.  Many children do not have the opportunity of reaching pre-primary education, if not some of them that are attending pre-school establishment are not having what they will be having in terms of early encouragement.

HISTORY OF EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION

History meaning evolution, in the 18^th century the Portuguese missionaries revisited Nigeria with the aim of Evangelism and they brought their children to Nigeria and there was a problem of lack of education for the children. The first nursery school was established by the missionary between 1842 – 1843 and the name is called Nursery of The Infant Church in Badagry, Lagos. The History of Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) refers to the development of care and education of children from birth through eight years old throughout history. Arrangements for fulfilling these societal roles have evolved over time and remain varied in Nigeria, often reflecting family and community structures as well as the social and economic roles of women and men.

The Developmental Approach (Trends)

The developmental interaction approach is based on the theories of Jean Piaget, Erik Erikson, John Dewy, Lucy Sprague Mitchell, Maria Montessori etc. The approach focuses or learning through discovery

·         Jean Jacques Rousseau: He recommended that teachers should exploit individual children’s interests in order to make sure each child obtains the information most essential to his personal and individual development.  The five developmental domains of childhood include; self-actualization, esteem, love/belonging, safety and psychological.

·         Jean Piaget’s Constructivist Theory  

It gained influence in the 1970s and 1980s. Although Piaget himself was primarily interested in a descriptive psychology of cognitive development, he believed that learning comes from within children construct their own knowledge of the world through experience and subsequent reflection. They assimilate new information that they encounter.

·         David Kolb’s Experimental Leaning Theory which was influenced by John Dewey argues that children need to experience things in order to learn.

·         Locke (1632 – 1704)

He believed interactions with people and the environment affects children’s development and parents were the first educators. They should taught positive associations from their early lives in order to develop effectively.

·         The Reggio Emilia Approach is an educational philosophy focused on preschool and primary education.  It is based on the principles of respect, responsibility and community through exploration and discovery through a self - guided curriculum. It is an assumption that children form their own personality during early years of development.