On Pre-School Education

Quality early childhood education has many social and intellectual benefits. Studies have shown that it helps to reduce dropout rates in schools and reduces delinquency in teenage. Research has unveiled that boys from broken families exhibit anti social behaviour when they go to school but those who go to good ECE centres have good social and cognitive skills.

Findings also show that girls who do not get sound education and care during infancy show increased risk of mental health problems such as depression in adulthood.

ECE helps children acquire at a formative age positive behaviour, attentiveness, cognitive and social skills and responsiveness to a changing environment. The quality of care children get before the age of five influences learning later in life.

Studies have also shown that when children are enrolled in high quality early childhood education, they exhibit few problems and are better socially adjusted. They also tend to comply with and are less resistant to adult requests, more cooperative, responsive, innovative and attached to their teachers.

In many pre-school and lower primary schools, a lot of  effort is made to have children acquire literacy and numerical skills. The three to seven years’ olds are subjected to arithmetic, addition, subtraction, division and multiplication. The teachers also spend a lot of time teaching English vowels, spelling, grammar and pronunciation. Much of this "academic" curriculum, would be better spent exploring the arts such as music, art, dance.

In many pre-primary schools and lower primary classes, however, there is little if any creative play. Yet educational research has shown that free and imaginative play is the MOST IMPORTANT activity among children.

Psychologists and child educators say children learn a broad range of cognitive, social, physical and linguistic skills best through play. In free play, which psychologists recommend for children in early childhood education, a child-alone or with others – using objects in their immediate environment, creates scenes and acts imaginary scenarios.

The capacity for imaginative play is directly related to verbal fluency, creative or divergent thinking and the ability to think. Imaginative or free play is the tool that every child uses to learn to cope with life.

This means that when they are denied opportunities for free play, children’s emotional development and coping skills are imperiled. It is therefore wrong pedagogy for teachers to put pressure on toddlers to acquire academic skills at the expense of play.

Free play helps develop imaginative power. Children attempt to imitate the feelings and emotional expressions of adults- joy and anger among others. Excessive use of electronic toys can overwhelm a child and since they are fixed rather than open ended, they limit use of imagination.

Early childhood teachers should use imaginative play, the critical tool in a child’s development.