SCHOOL VARIABLES AND PUPILS’ LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT IN EARLY CHILDHOOD CARE

SCHOOL VARIABLES AND PUPILS’ LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT IN EARLY CHILDHOOD CARE

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

In Nigeria and the world at large, education is seen as a pivot for human change and development. It is a process by which every society attempts to preserve and upgrade the accumulated knowledge, skills and attitude in its cultural setting and heritage in order to foster continuously the well-being of mankind and guarantee its survival against the unpredictable, at times hostile and destructive elements of man and nature (Nwagwu, 2001). Accordingly, Yoloye (2007) sees education as a weapon for combating ignorance, poverty and diseases, as a bridge between confusion and comprehension, as a dam for conserving man’s store of civilization and for generating the power to move to greater civilization, as a rocket for transporting man from a state of intellectual subservience to a state of intellectual sovereignty.

These laudable and significant roles of education to the overall development led to the establishment of schools in all parts of the country as well as the initiation of the teaching-learning process which of course is the platform through which the goals and philosophy of education are promoted.

Moreover, in Nigeria before the advent of Western education, the pattern of education was mostly informal. This system of education was often referred to as traditional or indigenous. Education was aimed at preparing the child for social responsibilities, job orientation, political, moral virtues and promotion of peace and order in the society (Nwagwu, 2001).

However, with the introduction of Western education by the Christian missionaries, schools were established to promote the teaching of the local inhabitants. Not only reading, writing and arithmetic as brought by the Christian missionaries but also the teaching of other languages especially English to enable people to interact with one another in the society. However, Johnson (2006) noted that the level of English language spoken both at home and in the school has an effect on a child’s language development. In homes where the parents use mother tongue to communicate with their children, children from such homes will find it difficult to measure up with other learners in terms of language development. The author further maintained that several school variables are known to influence language development of pupils in school. These variables include location of the school, availability of school facilities such as well equipped library, availability of teachers in the subject and qualification of teachers. Some of these variables have been given serious attention while others are not. It has therefore become necessary to examine school variables and language development among pupils in Early Childhood Care and Education in Nsit Ubium Local Government Area.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

For sometimes now, many patriotic citizens of our society have been viewing with serious concern the poor language development of pupils in school. This ugly situation according to Inyang (2008) is known to begin from the home, school and then generate to the wider society.

However, available data has shown that little or no research has been conducted along the line of school variables in relation to language development of pupils in Early Childhood Care and Education. It is on this expectation that this study wants to study the influence of non availability of school facilities such as well-equipped library, language teachers and the qualification of language teachers on pupils’ language development in Early Childhood Care and Education in Nsit Ubium Local Government Area.