Influence of Parental Care on Preschool Pupils Learning Outcomes In District III Ikoyi Lagos
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Influence of Parental Care on Preschool Pupils Learning Outcomes In District III Ikoyi Lagos
Chapter one
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background Of the Study
Education in the second half of the twentieth century was marked by an expansion in the availability of educational programs for preschool children. The federally sponsored Head Start program, developed in the 1960s to assist children in overcoming the cognitive, social, emotional, and physical deficiencies that typically accompany growing up in economically impoverished parents, has sparked the most preschool educational activities.
Parental involvement in their early children’s education is a crucial entitlement and obligation. Both the OECD (2006) and UNICEF (2008a) suggest that early childhood education services should respect mothers’ and dads’ rights to be informed, comment on, and participate in important choices affecting their child.
Research indicates that there is a significant need and demand for a parental component in early childhood education services. Research also shows that parental involvement in ECEC programs improves children’s achievement and adaptability (Desforges and Abouchaar, 2003).
When schools, families, and community groups collaborate to enhance learning, children do better in school, stay in school longer, and enjoy it more. Parental involvement over the last decade indicates that regardless of family income or background, “students with involved parents are more likely to earn higher grades and test scores, enrol in higher-level programs, be promoted, pass their classes, earn credits, attend school regularly
have better social skills, show improved behaviour, adapt well to school, and graduate to postsecondary education” (Henderson and Map, 2002).
A parent is the child’s first and most important teacher in life, and he or she is expected to participate actively in the child’s preschool journey since it is considered that parents and children should grow together and have a rewarding preschool experience. This is followed by school life, where students are expected to achieve well academically.
The parent is expected to support the child in all aspects, including socially, physically, cognitively, and emotionally (Epstein 2001). According to research, children who participate in their formal education with their parents or other relevant adults perform better in school.
Some benefits of measuring parental participation in school include improved grades and test scores, long-term academic accomplishment, good attitudes and behaviours, and more successful programs (Epstein, 2001).
The first six years of a child’s life are considered the most crucial for healthy growth. Because human development is basically cumulative, investment in programs for the youngest children aged 0 to 6 years has begun to be recognised as the very cornerstone for basic education and lifelong learning and development.
The discipline of childcare has evolved throughout time, shaped by research and firsthand experience, into a cohesive vision for early childhood care and education.
According to Schweinhart (1985), one-fourth of all children under the age of six live in poverty, and three-fifths of mothers with three- and four-year-old children work outside the home. However, less than 20% of the nation’s three and four-year-olds from low-income households are currently enrolled in Head Start programs.
In addition to the widely acknowledged necessity to provide additional assistance to children from low-income families, there is another reason for the substantial increase in educational programs for children before the first grade. This is the previously mentioned increase in the number of working mothers.
Many parents who are not at home with their children during the day are dissatisfied with unstructured day care or babysitting and would prefer for their children to participate in more formal learning opportunities. Some of the increased interest in and push for structured preschool programs stems from the misguided belief that education is a race to be won, with those who start first being more likely to finish ahead.
Many educators and academics believe that early childhood education promotes children’s cognitive and social development. These proponents, including nearly all of the academics and theorists whose work was studied in order to compile this text, base their belief on personal observation and the numerous scientific studies tying early childhood programs to desirable outcomes.
It is worth noting, however, that certain educators, such as Elkind (1988), Katz (1987), Zigler (1986), and representatives of the National Association for the teaching of Young Children (1986), caution against overly formal, highly structured teaching for very young children. These and other writers have identified three significant problems to school-based programs.
Puleo (1988) highlights the challenges surrounding the half-day/full-day kindergarten debate. They emphasise that some educators and academics believe that the extra hours are excessively exhausting for young children, and that increasing allocated time does not always improve program quality.
Given the wide range of claims and reservations about preschool and kindergarten programs, it is critical to investigate what well-designed research studies indicate about the long and short-term consequences of early childhood education.
It is also critical to evaluate whether alternative models for early childhood programs create different effects–for example, whether didactic, teacher-directed programs or less-structured, “discovery” models offer better cognitive and behavioural outcomes.
Parents and teachers, as system stakeholders, must be aware and attentive of the importance of insisting on high safety standards at the centres, as well as good personnel.
The turnover rate of childcare personnel, exhaustion, and emotional discomfort are all legitimate concerns that parents should be aware of and guard against for the sake of their children.
However, it should be remembered that at the opposite end of the economic spectrum, there is a big number of children who do not even have the luxury of holding a pencil between their fingers and scribbling on paper, let alone holding a book in their hands. Addressing children at the extremes of the economic divide is both a worry and a significant problem.
The pre-school education component of ECCE has been shown to improve retention rates and primary grade achievement. However, it is crucial to emphasise that attending pre-school does not ensure higher academic accomplishment.
Quality factors, such as a healthy atmosphere, exciting activities, and supportive, caring teachers, are essential for children’s overall development.
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