Effect of Early Childhood Education on the Cognitive Development of Primary One Pupils
Chapter One
Objective of the Study
The specific objectives will include the following:
- To examine whether there is relationship between primary school education and cognitive development among children in schools.
- To investigate whether there is a difference between primary school education and speech development among children in schools.
- To differentiate between the cognitive developments of children who were taught by their parents and those who were taught by teachers.
- To investigate whether there is a general difference in the cognitive development of children who had pre-primary education and those who did not.
- To find out whether there is a gender difference in cognitive development due to pre-primary school education.
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED AND RELEVANT LITERATURE
Introduction
Throughout the past 200 years many countries had questioned the value of early childhood education and what role this early education plays in subsequent academic achievement and socialization in the primary grades. Against this backdrop, many parents have been on the dilemma of deciding whether or not to send their children to early childhood education (Gregory, 2004). The foregoing concern was the basis for the initiative of the convention on the rights of the child, drafted by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) and adopted by the General Assembly of the UN in 1989 (United Nations Children’s Fund [UNICEF], 1998). Most countries have turned to universal pre-primary education in order to give children a belter start to life (Myers, 1995; OECD, 2002; UNESCO, 2004). There is however some general agreement among experts around the world from developing as well as developed nations that early childhood care and education programs are not only desirable but essential for many children (Sylva & Pugh, 2005). Gregory (2004) argues that early childhood education years are the most important for teaching a child how to love learning. In addition, children also learn how to communicate with others, how to express their feelings and how to develop their creative educational abilities. Success in pre-school establishes a foundation for a child’s later academic and emotional development. Blau and Currie (2004) and Heckman (2006) argue that attending pre-primary school increases average grades, class participation, behavioral skills, socialization and self-control in primary schools.
Moreover, behavioral skills are as important as cognitive skills to future success in life. In Kenya, for many years, since the Government took over the management of ECE services through the Presidential Circular Number One of 1980, there has been a debate on the trajectories for delivering early childhood education. The objectives of Early Childhood Development Programme in Kenya include: providing education geared towards development of the child’s mental and physical capabilities; It is also aimed at improving the status of the child’s health; care and nutritional needs, and link him/her with health services such as immunization, health check-ups and growth monitoring and promotion. It is also aimed at enriching the child’s experiences to enable him/her cope better with primary schools life (MoE, 2008). Among the drastic changes that children encounter when moving from one environment to the next-are: changes in attitudes on the part of both teachers and parents; changes in expectations; changes in classroom arrangement, an increase in the number of subjects;
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research Design
The researcher used descriptive research survey design in building up this project work the choice of this research design was considered appropriate because of its advantages of identifying attributes of a large population from a group of individuals. The design was suitable for the study as the study sought to examine the effect of early childhood education on the cognitive development of primary one pupils.
Sources of Data Collection
Data were collected from two main sources namely:
Primary source and Secondary source
Primary source:
These are materials of statistical investigation which were collected by the research for a particular purpose. They can be obtained through a survey, observation questionnaire or as experiment; the researcher has adopted the questionnaire method for this study.
Secondary source:
These are data from textbook Journal handset etc. they arise as byproducts of the same other purposes. Example administration, various other unpublished works and write ups were also used.
Population of the Study
Population of a study is a group of persons or aggregate items, things the researcher is interested in gathering information which will help to examine the effect of early childhood education on the cognitive development of primary one pupils. A total of two hundred (200) respondents (Parents and Teachers) from four communities.
CHAPTER FOUR
PRESENTATION ANALYSIS INTERPRETATION OF DATA
Introduction
Efforts will be made at this stage to present, analyze and interpret the data collected during the field survey. This presentation will be based on the responses from the completed questionnaires. The result of this exercise will be summarized in tabular forms for easy references and analysis. It will also show answers to questions relating to the research questions for this research study. The researcher employed simple percentage in the analysis.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
Introduction
It is important to reiterate that the objective of this study was to examine the effect of early childhood education on the cognitive development of primary one pupils.
In the preceding chapter, the relevant data collected for this study were presented, critically analyzed and appropriate interpretation given.
In this chapter, certain recommendations are made which in the opinion of the researcher are drawn from the findings of the study.
Summary
This study was undertaken to examine the effect of early childhood education on the cognitive development of primary one pupils. The study opened with chapter one where the statement of the problem was clearly defined. The study objectives and research hypotheses were defined and formulated respectively. The study reviewed related and relevant literatures. The chapter two gave the conceptual framework, empirical and theoretical studies. The third chapter described the methodology employed by the researcher in collecting both the primary and the secondary data. The research method employed here is the descriptive survey method. The study analyzed and presented the data collected in tables and tested the hypotheses using the chi-square statistical tool. While the fifth chapter gives the study summary and conclusion.
Conclusion
The study concludes that Early Childhood Education (ECE) prepares pupils to join primary school by enabling them to learn some basic counting, mathematics and speaking which was not the case among pupils that had not attended the ECE. It was also concluded that pupils who had attended ECE were able to interact with fellow pupils and teachers better that those who had not attended ECE. It was also concluded that pupils who had attended the ECE had usually lower scores at least at the beginning in form one. It was also concluded that pupils from private ECEs performs better than those who had attended public centers.
Recommendation
The study recommended that parents should be sensitized on the need to take their children to the ECE before taking them to formal primary schools. It was also recommended that public ECE centers should be well organized to offer better education to the pupils. Finally, it was recommended that teachers should take special care of the pupils who had not attended ECE so that they are able to fit better in class.
REFERENCES
- Bainbridge, J., Marcia, M., Sakiko, T., & Waldfoge, J. 1. (2004). Who Gets an Early Education? Family Income and the Gaps in Enrollment of 3 to 5 year olds from 1968-2000.
- Barnett, S. (1993). Benefits of Compensatory Preschool Education. Journal of Human Resources, 279-312.
- Barnett, S. (1995). Long-Term Effects of Early Childhood Programs on Cognitive and School Outcomes. The Future of Children, 25-50. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1602366
- Berlinski, S., & Galiani, S. (2004). The Effect of a Large Expansion of Pre-Primary School Facilities on Preschool Attendance and Maternal Employment. Institute for Fiscal Studies Working Paper # 0430, London.
- Blau, D., & Currie, J. (2004). Preschool, Day Care, and After School Care: Who’s Minding the Kids? NBER Working Paper # 10670, Cambridge MA.
- Borg, W. R., & Gall, M. D. (1989). Educational Research: An Introduction (5lh ed.). New York: Longman. Cascio, E. (2004). Schooling Attainment and the Introduction of Kindergartens into Public Schools.
