How teaching style effectiveness is seen in early childhood

education
Early childhood/pre-primary education is referred to as education

given in an educational institution to children prior to their entering

the primary school. It includes the crèche; kindergarten and the

nursery. Early childhood education is the overall development of the

child socially, physically and intellectually. Since it is seen as the

first phrase in a life-time of continuous learning and experience

from birth to old age.

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Early childhood education could be seen as from conception to six

years old the child undergoes rapid mental and physical

development, demanding for encouragement from all and sundry.

The concept of pre-primary education like most other concepts in

education cannot be pinned down to only one definition. Early

childhood education or pre-primary school education is a semi-

formal education arrangement usually outside the home whereby

children from about the age of three are exposed through play like

activities in a group setting to mental, social and physical learning

suited to their under developmental age until the mandatory age of

government approved formal schooling.

The following as other terms used for this level of education.

(a) Nursery school

(b) Pre-school

(c) Pervert cooperative nursery schools

(d) Laboratory or practicing nursery schools

(e) Kindergarten

(f) Day –care or child centres and

(g) Play group among others

PURPOSE OF EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION

Early Childhood Education assists in early monitoring and

sustenance of the intellectual, moral and physical abilities of the

children. Therefore the objectives of early childhood education as

enunciated in the National Policy on Education are as follows:-

(a) effect a smooth transition from the home to the school.

(b) prepare the child for primary level of education

(c) provide adequate care and supervision for the children while

their parents are at work (on the forms, in the markets, offices, etc)

(d) inculcate social norms

(e) inculcate in the child the spirit of enquiry and creativity through

the exploration of nature, the environment, art, music and playing

with toys etc.

(f) develop a sense of co-operation and team spirit.

(g) Learn good habits, especially good health habits, and

(h) teach the rudiments of numbers, letters, colours, shapes, forms

etc through play. It is interesting to note that to achieve the above,

government has a role to play which are as follow:

(i) establish pre-primary sections in existing public schools and

encourage both community/private efforts in the provisions of pre-

primary education.

(ii) make provision in teacher education programmes for

specialization in early childhood education.

(iii) ensure that the medium of instruction is principally the mother-

tongue or the language of the immediate community.

(iv) develop the orthography of many more Nigerian languages and

(v) produce textbooks in Nigerian languages

(vi) ensure that the main method of teaching at this level shall be

through play and that the curriculum of teacher education is

oriented to achieve this; regulate and control the operation of pre-

primary education.

(vii) Set and monitor minimum standard for early childcare centre

in the country and

(viii) Ensure full participation of government, communities and

teachers associations in the running and maintenance of early

childhood education facilities. Early Childhood Education and

Development is in fact a start to life and a reliable foundation to

continuing education. Learning begins at birth and at eight most

brain wiring, language abilities, physical capabilities and cognitive

foundations have been set in place. Investing in Early Childhood

Education is investing in the whole child and dividends continue to

pay off throughout the entire life cycle

TEACHING METHOD IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION

There are different teaching methods employed in science education

in Nigerian tertiary institutions. It is expected of a teacher to

implement a range of instructional strategies. That will bring

academic success to all the science students. For any method to be

able to bring good result in the present age, it should be a method

that promotes maximum social interaction. Social interaction

between students and between teacher and student plays a crucial

role in learning. These authors further stressed the need for the

students to be provided with a supportive, open and interactive

environment as this could help them discover knowledge. The

teaching methods commonly used in science education classes are

lecture and demonstration method

EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AND ROLE PLAY AS

TEACHING STYLE
This is dramatic play that is unrehearsed, spontaneous and

unstructured. In teaching-learning situation, role play is used to

help learners interpret certain situations. Topics that are taught

with role-play are such that relate problematic issues in real life.

Players are simply instructed to interpret such situations with their

perceptions and feelings expressed. This method helps learners

learn decision making, develop and express initiatives. Learners are

also helped to understand how others feel about certain issues or

conditions. To use this method for a lesson, teacher should:

 Ensure the problematic situations to be role-played are of interest

to learner.

 Story telling, pictures or other forms of illustration should be used

to clarify concepts to learners/actors before being asked to role-play

 Learners perceptions should be discussed and salient points

restated. Role play in early childhood is tailored towards displaying

and mimicking of parents, elder brothers and sisters, teachers and

methods. When children display this, care givers should not

interrupt this exercise. This method aids children to say what they

know or feel about an individual.

CONCLUSION
From the foregoing there is no gain saying that effective teaching

can not take place in isolation most especially at the foundational

stage which form the bedrock for subsequent education. However,

teachers need support to develop and use child centered teaching

methods so that children can participate more in the learning

process. There is a need to shift the forms of teaching from gaining

knowledge to using knowledge and skills based on cone of

experience. Therefore, it is obvious that successful teaching at the

pre-primary school level demands from teacher investigative

capability in order to make sensible decision on the choice of

method to adopt on the cone experience which is the process of

learning that begins in concrete experiences and move toward the

abstract if mastery is to be obtained in the child.