INFLUENCE OF PARENTAL CARE ON PRESCHOOL PUPILS LEARNING OUTCOMES
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INFLUENCE OF PARENTAL CARE ON PRESCHOOL PUPILS LEARNING OUTCOMES
CHAPITRE ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background Of The Study
Increases in the provision of educational programmes for preschool-age children characterised schooling throughout the second half of the twentieth century.
The federally financed Head Start programme, developed in the 1960s to help children overcome the cognitive, social, emotional, and physical deficiencies that typically accompany growing up in economically impoverished parents, has been the largest wave of preschool education activity.
Parental involvement in their children’s education is a vital right and obligation. The OECD (2006) and UNICEF (2008a) both suggest that early childhood education services should respect mothers’ and dads’ rights to be informed about, comment on, and participate in crucial decisions affecting their child.
According to research, there is a significant need and desire for a parental component in early childhood education services. According to research, parental involvement in ECEC programmes improves children’s achievement and adaptation (Desforges and Abouchaar, 2003).
Children perform better in school, remain in school longer, and enjoy school more when schools, families, and community groups collaborate to enhance learning.
According to Henderson and Map (2002), “students with involved parents are more likely to earn higher grades and test scores, enroll in higher-level programmes,
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” regardless of family income or background.
A parent is a kid’s first and most important teacher in life, and he or she is expected to be involved in the child’s preschool journey since it is considered that a parent and child should grow together and have a rewarding preschool experience.
This is followed by school life, when strong academic performance is anticipated. The parent is expected to support the child in all areas, including social, physical, mental, and emotional support (Epstein, 2001). According to studies, children whose parents and/or other significant adults participate in their formal education perform better in school.
Higher grades and test scores, long-term academic accomplishment, good attitudes and behaviours, and more successful programmes have all been cited as benefits of parental involvement in education (Epstein, 2001).
The first six years of a child’s existence are known to be the most important for optimal growth. Because human development is primarily a cumulative process, investment in courses 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.
Over time, the field of childcare has evolved into a coherent vision for early childhood care and education, motivated by research and front-line experiences.
According to Schweinhart (1985), one-fourth of all children under the age of six live in poverty, and three-fifths of women with three- and four-year-old children now work outside the home.
However, less than 20% of the nation’s three and four-year-olds from low-income households are enrolled in Head Start programmes.
There is another explanation for the rapid expansion in educational programmes for children before first grade, in addition to the widely acknowledged need to provide some type of supplemental help to children from low-income parents.
This is the previously mentioned increase in the number of working mothers. Many parents who are not at home with their children throughout the day prefer that their children participate in more formal learning activities rather than unstructured day care or babysitting.
Some of the increased interest in and push for structured preschool programmes stems from the misguided belief that education is a race to be won, and those who start first are more likely to finish first.
Many educators and researchers believe that early childhood education benefits children’s cognitive and social development.
These proponents, who include nearly all of the academics and theorists whose work was consulted in order to compile this text, base their belief on personal observation as well as numerous scientific studies correlating early childhood programmes to desirable results.
However, other educators, like Elkind (1988), Katz (1987), Zigler (1986), and representatives of the National Association for the teaching of Young Children (1986), warn against overly formal, highly structured teaching for very young children. Three key objections to school-based programmes have been raised by these and other writers.
Puleo (1988) highlights the challenges surrounding the half-day/full-day kindergarten debate. They point out that some educators and academics believe that the extra hours are excessively taxing for young children, and that increasing allowed time does not always improve programme quality.
Given the variety of claims and misgivings about preschool and kindergarten programmes, 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 establish whether alternative models for early childhood programmes create different effects–for example, whether didactic, teacher-directed programmes or less-structured, “discovery” models produce greater cognitive and behavioural outcomes.
As stakeholders in the system, parents and teachers must be aware and alert of the need to insist on safety standards and good personnel at these centres. Childcare staff turnover, fatigue, and mental distress are real concerns that parents must be aware of and defend against in the best interests of their children.
It should be mentioned, however, that at the opposite end of the economic spectrum, there is a big number of children who do not even have the luxury of having a pencil between their fingers and scribbling on paper,
let alone holding a book in their hands. Addressing children at such economic extremes is not only a worry, but also a significant challenge.
The pre-school education component of ECCE has been shown to improve retention and achievement levels in elementary grades. It is crucial to emphasise, however, that attending pre-school does not ensure improved academic accomplishment.
Quality factors such as a healthy atmosphere, exciting activities, and encouraging, caring teachers are critical to ensuring children’s overall development.
There is enough evidence to suggest that early infancy is the greatest time to stop the intergenerational cycle of numerous disadvantages–chronic malnutrition, poor health, gender discrimination, and low socioeconomic position.
Holistic family and community-based interventions in early infancy to promote and protect excellent health, nutrition, cognitive and psychosocial development have life-long advantages.
It is critical that all stakeholders (children, parents, neighbourhoods, and society at large) in the system, as well as advocates for children’s well-being,
recognise the importance of adhering to the spirit and letter of ECCE rather than being driven by competitiveness and/or commercialization. Quality and accountability for the use of public monies, as well as childcare as a public service, must be prioritised.
As stakeholders in the system, parents and teachers must be aware and alert of the need to insist on safety standards and good personnel at these centres.
Childcare staff turnover, fatigue, and mental distress are real concerns that parents must be aware of and defend against in the best interests of their children.
It should be mentioned, however, that at the opposite end of the economic spectrum, there is a big number of children who do not even have the luxury of having a pencil between their fingers and scribbling on paper,
let alone holding a book in their hands. Addressing children at such economic extremes is not only a worry, but also a significant challenge.
1.2 Statement of the Problems
One of the issues that has always arisen in society is the lack of competent hands to instruct children at an early stage of their lives. It was the impetus for a research launched by the Federal Ministry of Education,
the World Bank, and UNICEF to assess the ability of current teacher education institutes in order to improve the abilities of in-service teachers and pre-service early childhood educators in Nigeria.
Parents of preschool children frequently confront particular problems that prevent them from addressing the needs of their children.
Inadequate time, career or job type, level of education, order of priority, set home environment, opinion to voluntary work at school, time taken to respond to school activities such as buying instruction materials, attending parents meetings, conferences, sports, academic clinic day, disciplinary cases,
and also discussing the academic progress of the child are examples. If the aforementioned criteria are not met, the child is likely to underperform since he or she is not receiving appropriate assistance. Inadequate parental participation may result in a child’s low academic achievement.
Risk factors in the child’s environment (the family, the neighbourhood) have a negative impact on the child’s development of intellectual skills, school achievement, social-emotional competence, social adjustment, and health, even to the point where poverty causes irreversible changes in brain functioning (Hackman and Farrah, 2009).
According to Edin and Lein (1997), child care and medical care arrangements in low-income families are unstable or of poor quality. Furthermore, their economic difficulties frequently leads to chronic stress. This is particularly common in low-income people since they have fewer means to deal with such incidents.
The link between economic status and mental health is significant because poor mental health is associated with harsh, inconsistent, less involved parenting and fewer caring interactions.
As a result, this has been linked to behavioural concerns, such as youngsters being more likely to engage in fights and less capable of working with peers; and it can create severe attention challenges, leading to decreased school performance.
Despite the key importance of responsive parenting in several research frameworks, descriptive studies provide much of what we know about this parenting style. As a result, we can only infer the significance of responsive parenting.
To assume a causal influence of responsive parenting on child outcomes, data from experimental research with random assignment would be required.
1.3 Purpose Of The Study
The goal of this study is to look critically at parental care and students’ learning results in school. Among the specific goals are the following:
To investigate the role of parents in the learning outcomes of preschool children in their early life.
To see if the socio-demographic variables of the parents influence the learning results of preschool children.
To investigate the factors that influence parental involvement in early childhood education.
Recommend ways to raise the rate and involvement of parents in the learning outcomes of preschool children.
1.4 Research Questions
To what extent will parents impact the learning results of early preschool students?
Do socioeconomic circumstances influence preschool students’ learning outcomes?
What influences parental involvement in early childhood education?
What are the measures that will raise the rate and involvement of parents in the learning outcomes of preschool children?
1.5 Research Hypotheses
For the investigation, the following hypothesis was developed:
Ho: There is no link between parental care and preschool students’ learning outcomes.
H1: There is a link between parental care and preschool students’ learning results.
1.6 Scope Of The Study
The study looked at parental caring and students’ educational outcomes. An examination of Education District IV in Yaba, Lagos. The study would be limited to five pre-nursery schools in Lagos’s district IV, Yaba.
1.7 Importance of the Research
The study’s significance stems from the belief that the findings will be useful to:
The Ministry of Education, where the study might be utilised to develop policies to improve early childhood education in the classroom.
Furthermore, the study will be used by the Ministry of Education and other government policymaking bodies, particularly in the measures they take to address the identified barriers to early childhood education.
The study’s findings will indicate the best techniques or actions to follow in order to improve the quality of early childhood education in Lagos state, which helps to encourage parental care, teacher productivity, and an effective school system as a whole.
1.8 Operational Definitions Of Terms
Definitions for the following terms are supplied in relation to this study in order to clarify each in the context of the topic:
Parental Care: Parental care is a behavioural and evolutionary approach used by parents to invest in the evolutionary fitness of their children.
Preschool: Education provided to children from birth until around the age of eight years.
Learning outcomes are statements that summarise substantial and vital learning that students have achieved and can demonstrate reliably at the end of a course or programme.
Infant/Toddler Education: A subset of early childhood education that refers to the education of children from birth to the age of two.
A classroom is a room where a group of students or pupils is taught.
Childhood is defined as the period of time between birth and adolescence.
Education: The process of assisting learning, or the development of knowledge, skills, values, culture, and habits, is known as education.
Family principles: These are apparently learnt principles inside a conventional family unit, typically strong moral standards and discipline.
A parent is a person whose gamete produced a child, a male through the sperm and a female through the ovum.
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