ABSTRACT
This research work “influence of nursery education on the academic performance of Primary school pupils” is aimed at highlighting the impacts of nursery education on pupils. That is to say whether pupils who attended nursery school before primary run a better change of performing better than those who did not have the chance of attending nursery school in Ijebu East and Ijebu North local government areas both in Ogun State. A total number of 160 primary one pupils were randomly selected from 4 public primary schools in Ogun State. The main instrument used for the study was an achievement test comprising of two subjects, Mathematics, and English Language to test the cognitive abilities and social skills of primary school pupils. Four research questions and four hypotheses guided this study. The major instrument used for collecting data was a questionnaire. The data collected were analyzed through the use of simple average mean score. It was discovered that nursery education has a great impact on performance of primary school students. Most meaningful and lasting learning takes place when all the necessary things are positively put in place. Problems facing by nursery education is as a result of lack of qualified teachers in adequate learning materials. On this basis of such findings, recommendation were made that, governments should be involved in the development of nursery education in the Nigerian system of education.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the study
Education being an indispensable tool in nations building is a process of systematic training and instruction designed to transmit knowledge and acquisition of skills potentials and also abilities which will enable an individual to contribute efficiently to the growth and development of his society and nation. It involves all round development of an individual social, physical, moral and intellectually (Osakwe, 2006). It is therefore glaring that early childhood education has influence in a child later academic achievement. This has motivated the development of a number of pre-school institutions.
More recently, formal kindergarten programmes have been designed to prevent high drop-out and low levels of intellectual functioning that are found in disadvantaged children as early as two or three years of age (Fafunwa, 2012). Ministry of Education knowing extensively the importance of nursery education on the academic performance of pupils in Nigeria and in the world at large.
Nursery education as defined by Omozeghian (2014) is the education meant for children between the ages of 3-5. The National policy on education (2014) sees pre-primary education as the education given in an institution to children aged 3-5 years plus prior to their entering the primary school. It means it is a special kind of education provided in an institution prior the children entering the primary school. Having known the importance of pre-school or nursery education, the government encouraged private efforts in the establishment of these institutions. Also, in recent years the government sponsors the pre-primary school levels in public primary school in the country (Nigeria).
Learning according to Osakwe (2006) is a natural process of pursuing meaningful goals, discovering and constructing meaning from information and experience filtered through the learners unique perceptions, thoughts, and feelings. Hence, when the child is born into the world learning commences immediately to enable the child get adapted to the new environment. The child learns to feed, hear, see and respond to stimuli, before learning to sit, walk, talk and behave like people around him. The drive for curiosity is innate in every child and can be developed to yield greater results by given him early education.
Nursery education experience according to Barnard (2001) positively affects later home and school involvement in education. A child who fails to acquire nursery education may suffer emotionally, socially, intellectually and even physically if he is taking to the primary school without nursery education experience that will give him a solid foundation in the primary school. Therefore, for effective and efficient unlocking and development of the child’s later abilities, attitudes and other forms of behaviour of positive values in the society in which he lives early childhood education becomes very important. This is important because researches on early childhood education experiences have great impact on all areas of the child’s development and had suggested that the first teaches is extremely an important person in the child’s life.
According to Feeney et al. (2012) early childhood is an asset of immense value in the later academic pursuit of a child and much more later in life. This early experience exposes the child to all fields which give him an edge over those who did attend nursery school in the primary school as the confidence in his learning capability which he acquired from the nursery school is lifted to the primary school. This eventually aids and facilitates his learning. The early childhood institution aims at developing the cognitive and affective potentials of the child at an early age.
Anderson (2002) is of the view that when children are exposed to early childhood education, they develop superior communication skills, necessary physical abilities and social unit needed in adult life and an increased cognitive and effect educational balance. Having realized the importance of nursery education, the government encouraged private efforts in the establishment of this institution. Also, in recent years the government now sponsors the pre-school levels of public primary schools in the country. Also the government has a deliberate attempt to raise the quality of education at all levels in order to make the product of our educational system more useful to our society. Therefore, early childhood education will provide that vital physical, psychomotor, affective, cognitive, social potentials which are fundamental to human life that will play essential role in the primary and even more in later life of the individual.
Primary education is meant to lay a sound basis for scientific and reflective thinking in a child. It gives the child opportunities for developing manipulative skills that will enable the child function effectively in the society within the limits of the child’s capacity. Among all, primary education targets at moulding the child’s character, develop sound attitude and morals in him/her. Primary education helps a child to acquire citizenship education that will help him/her to participate effectively in the life of the society. It also helps a child to have a base from which he/she can further his/her education.
Considering the explanations above, the researcher would want to reframe the topic to read, the change brought about by early childhood education on the reading and writing skills or abilities of a child in primary school. This study attempts to investigate the influence of nursery education on pupil’s academic performance in some selected primary schools.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Psychologist such as Sigmund Freud and Erik Erikson have the opinion that early childhood experiences have a lot of influence on the later life of an individual. The rearing practices which the child is exposed to influence the value, norms and belief of the individual even in later life. The content of the knowledge which the child is exposed to early in life is the bedrock to later education. There is a scriptural injunction that says “train up the child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it”. Proverbs 22 verse 6.
From this injunction, the manner of teaching a child in the pre-primary school days go a long way to help him develop his cognitive, social and motor skills early enough as these would be lacking in children who did not attend nursery school.
Nursery education as an important component of the educational system plays a significant role in the determination of a child’s academic performance in primary school. Nursery education is expected to equip a child with the necessary norms and values of life, but it is faced with these challenges. Nursery education should have the capacity of placing a child on a good academic plane before his/her primary level. It is indeed the pivot around which every academic activity revolves.The argument that female children seem to be brighter in academics looks real but critical analysis reveals that boys tend to outwit the girls later in their academic lives. This could be attributed to some natural and physical factors such as: problems of early childhood growth and development, varying strength, effect of rural and urban areas. Therefore the problem of this study is to find out the extent to which nursery education influences pupils academic performance and as well as the later educational life of the child.
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