CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.   

        BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

The history of education in Nigeria which back to the 19th century has its root of emergence with the coming and introduction of the ancestral world with its effect of civilization. This is witnessed in the last two decades in Nigeria and to formalize a great upsurge of interest in the pre-primary institution both at the government and the private sector. Hence the ancient development of pre-primary education has important intoxication in the transformation of this stage of educational levels this witnessed in the hours of 1970s with subsequent education reforms as at that time which gave result of basic and strong recommendation like the fare report commission of 1971 by UNESCO, based on the realization that the child need basic skills on the realization that the child need basic skills to achieve success in learning and thus the best time to acquire these skill as early childhood. This hardly and this demand that childhood formal education is best time to acquire these skill as early childhood. This hardly and this demand that childhood. This hardly and this demand that childhood formal education is best attained in the nursery academic level.

In the same vein the national policy on education (2004) section 2 which defines “nursery education some as the education activities where varieties of material are used to prepare the child for a better educational orientation. Children here have often fall between the age of 2-6 or 3-6 years of which are always on the guide of a teacher qualified in the field of early childhood education. Here the children are provided with items always from home. where they can begin to learn and cope with their feeling alone. This nursery education is a period looked upon as a period of careful preparation for a happy and fruitful social integration into a primary school. Here the school seeks to explore learning experience along. Its usually modern times that will form a strong and sound base for a more formal education.

In like manner the cognitive theory of Piaget stated that thinking begins with the formation of cognitive schematics. The acquisition of language which frees children from the need to manipulate raw reality in order to form cognitive schematics Paige’s postulation on cognitive development has its substantially enriched educational practices and principles more often than any other theory. Hence this theory tend to examine on the importance of interaction in early childhood education with the enabling environment providing the child every basic opportunity to experience assimilation and accommodation

To achieve these free styled experiments in childhood learning fast in assimilation and accommodation, the government or the private individuals should thus enrich the nursery education with wide varieties of objects materials and the equipments for these children to always play tough, feel, manipulate and solve problems to enhance adequate learning proceedings. Subsequently, some educationist, psychologist even sociologist believe that early childhood education is very essential, since the child’s basic personality and mental capacity in which he will function depends on levels. This nursery education which is the level. This nursery education which is the pre-primary education is careful p[planned to encourage children to learn through exploration, experimentation and discovery hence this programme is specially designed to help pr-school children open up to facilities and coordinate the workings of their inner self. This is helping children to develop their potentials.

In the attempts made to lay a much better phenomena towards the childhood education, Pestalozzi (1971) constructor division of knowledge from numbers and words. While preserving the importance of sensory experience and activity in early education. He believed that nature must be organized for the child, so that he can benefit from his sensory impressions. Montessori (1907) continue this trend of education the young child by regulating his sensory motor interaction with selected objects in the environment. The central piece about this approach is that the child inactive inquisitive organism who can discover knowledge through guided exercise of his senses and his body the nursery education help the children to enter this period with the ability to use language and symbols to represents objects events and ideas with fully development concept of object performances. This is virtually ego ostracism which characterizes, the child cognitive level. In children especially, there are three major kinds of development. These are the physical, intellectual and social development. These are development tend to unfolds as the child group children development do not unfold rather they need experience to enable them make satisfactory visual and moral discrimination and to acquire suitable motto skills. Hence this stage in learning is referred to as beginning of through which is the transition period from sensory motor to the pre-operational period of cognitive development, where the child begins to use symbols to represent objects. Here the child starts to thing in advance for actions. This significant of motor development during infancy or nursery education vital and basic prerequisite to child development