Digitally Signed by: Content manager’s Name

DN : CN = Weabmaster’s name

O= University of Nigeria, Nsukka

OU = Innovation Centre

Nwamarah Uche

Faculty of Education

Department of Education Foundatons

PERCEPTION OF PARENTS ON OVER-

SCHOOLING OF CHILDREN AT THE PRE-

PRIMARY EDUCATION IN ONITSHA

EDUCATIONAL ZONE OF ANAMBRA STATE

OKONKWO, STELLA CHIZOBA

PG/M.ED/11/58843

2

PERCEPTION OF PARENTS ON OVER-SCHOOLING OF

CHILDREN AT THE PRE-PRIMARY EDUCATION IN

ONITSHA EDUCATIONAL ZONE OF ANAMBRA STATE

BY

OKONKWO, STELLA CHIZOBA

PG/M.ED/11/58843

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FOUNDATIONS,

FACULTY OF EDUCATION,

UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSUKKA

SEPTEMBER, 2014

i

TITLE PAGE

PERCEPTION OF PARENTS ON OVER-SCHOOLING OF CHILDREN AT THE PRE-

PRIMARY EDUCATION IN ONITSHA EDUCATIONAL ZONE OF ANAMBRA STATE

BY

OKONKWO, STELLA CHIZOBA

PG/M.ED/11/58843

A PROJECT SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

FOUNDATIONS, FACULTY OF EDUCATION,

UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSUKKA

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF

MASTER OF EDUCATION (M.ED) IN CHILDHOOD EDUCATION

SEPTEMBER, 2014

ii

APPROVAL PAGE

This work by Okonkwo, Stella Chizoba (Reg. No. PG/M.ED/11/58843) has been

approved for the Department of Education Foundations by:

________________________ _________________________

Prof. Julie U. Ibiam Prof. C.J.A. Onwuka

Supervisor Head of Department

________________________ _________________________

Internal Examiner External Examiner

_______________________

Prof. Uju Umo

Dean, Faculty of Education

iii

CERTIFICATION

Okonkwo, Stella Chizoba, a Postgraduate Student of the Department of Education

Foundations with Reg. No. PG/M.ED/11/58843 has satisfactorily completed the research

requirements for the award of Master of Education. The work embodied in this project is original

and has not been submitted in part or in full for another degree of this or any other university.

________________________ _________________________

Okonkwo, Stella Chizoba Prof. Julie U. Ibiam

Student Supervisor

iv

DEDICATION

This piece of work is dedicated to my husband who is the love of my life, Professor

Thomas M. Okonkwo and our lovely children Obiora, Chibundo, Ebube, Nnamdi, Ifeanyi,

Ikenna and little Izunna.

v

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The study reached this stage by the Grace of God Almighty. I just say a big thank you

awesome God for sparing my life from the ill-health that befell me during the fieldwork. I cannot

thank you enough.

The researcher says a big thank you to my supervisor, Prof. Julie U. Ibiam, a mother in a

million. She is both my supervisor and my motivator, who will always want me to be on this

work and not to relent because of my tight official duties. Prof., you are great. Her advice and

guidance helped the researcher a lot.

The researcher is greatly indebted to Dr. C.I. Ugwu of the Nnamdi Azikiwe Library,

UNN. An academic guru, who agreed to read and guide the researcher in this research work. The

researcher greatly appreciates his willingness to assist her whenever she approached him for

guidance right from the onset of this study despite his tight schedules. May God reward him.

The researcher’s special thanks go to her husband, Professor Tom M. Okonkwo for his

financial assistance and encouragement throughout the research work. The researcher also

appreciates her amiable children Obiora, Chibundo, Ebube, Nnamdi, Ifeanyi, Ikenna and the

little Izunna for their patience, understanding and prayers during this research period. I love you

all.

vi

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE i

APPROVAL PAGE ii

CERTIFICATION iii

DEDICATION iv

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT v

TABLE OF CONTENTS vi

LIST OF TABLES ix

ABSTRACT x

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1

Background of the Study 1

Statement of the Problem 14

Purpose of the Study 15

Significance of the Study 16

Scope of the Study 17

Research Questions 18

Hypotheses 18

CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF LITERATURE 19

Conceptual Framework 20

Concept of Perception 20

Concept of Parents 20

Concept of Child/Childhood/Pre-Primary School Child 24

vii

Concept of Pre-Primary Education 30

Concept of Over-Schooling 37

Concept of Homework 41

Theoretical Framework 46

Jean Piaget Intellectual Development Theory (1896-1980) 46

Harvighurst Developmental Tasks Theory 47

Erik Homberger Erikson’s Psychosocial Development Theory 48

Review of Empirical Studies 49

Summary of Review of Literature 54

CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHOD 56

Design of the study 56

Area of the Study 56

Population of the Study 57

Sample and Sampling Technique 57

Instrument for Data Collection 58

Validation of the Instrument 58

Reliability of the Instrument 59

Method of Data Collection 59

Method of Data Analysis 60

CHAPTER FOUR: DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS 61

Research Question One 61

Research Question Two 62

viii

Research Question Three 63

Research Question Four 65

Research Question Five 66

Hypothesis One 68

Hypothesis Two 69

Summary of Major Findings 69

CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSION OF RESULTS, EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATION,

CONCLUSION, RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUMMARY 72

Discussion of Result 72

Implications of the Study 76

Conclusion 78

Recommendations 79

Limitations of the Study 80

Suggestions for Further Studies 81

Summary of the Study 81

REFERENCES 85

APPENDICES 93

ix

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: Mean Rating of the perception of parents on keeping children in school after normal

school period. 61

Table 2: Mean Rating of the perception of parents on the volume of homework given to children

at the pre-primary school level. 62

Table 3: Mean Ratings of the perception of parents on the academic work of children at this pre-

primary level of education. 64

Table 4: Mean Ratings of the perception of parents on the influence of over-schooling on

children at this level of education. 65

Table 5: Mean Ratings of the perception of parents on the possible solutions to over-schooling

of children at the pre-primary education. 66

Table 6: The t-test statistics of the mean rating of perceptions of civil servants and

businessmen/women as parents on the influence of over-schooling on pre-primary

school children. 68

Table 7: The t-test statistics of the mean rating of perceptions of civil servants and

businessmen/women on the possible solutions of over-schooling of pre-primary school

children. 69

x

ABSTRACT

Over-schooling at the pre-primary school is a serious violation of the provisions of National

Policy on Education. It is seen as over burdening, over tasking and over-tutoring of the pre-

primary school children. The study was carried out to ascertain the perception of parents on over-

schooling of these young children using Onitsha educational zone as the area of study. Five

research questions and two null hypotheses were formulated while a descriptive survey design

was employed. The population of the study was made up of 2,440 parents of young children who

attend private pre-primary schools in the Onitsha educational zone. Parents’ Perception on Over-

schooling of Children Questionnaire (PPOCQ) was used for data collection. The questionnaire

was validated by three experts while the trial testing was done outside the area of study.

Cronbach alpha method was used to establish the internal consistency of the instrument. Data

collected were analysed using descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) and t-test

statistic was used to test the hypotheses formulated to guide this study. The findings of the

research showed that there was over-schooling at this level of education, but unfortunately the

parents were ignorant of its negative influences on the young children. The study recommended

among other things that parents should be part of the decision making body of the pre-primary

schools, that is, being part of the Parent-Teacher Association of the schools.

1

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

The concept of a child differs from one culture to another. Some cultures regard one as a

child if one is not married, no matter one’s age. According to Opara (2012), a child is a young

person, especially between infancy and youth. In the Nigerian Legal system, a child is one that is

below the age of 18 years. This is because the person cannot vote or be voted for. He/she is not

also qualified to drive. This is in line with article 1 of the Convention on the Right of the Child

by United Nations. Furthermore, Umobi and Igu (2010) define a child as a boy or a girl at any

age between infancy and adolescence, a new infant, or a person of any age in relation to his

parents.

The Federal Republic of Nigeria (2004) in her National Policy on Education posits that

the pre-primary school child falls within the age bracket of 0-6 years while Maduewesi (1999)

views pre-primary school children as young children between 2-5 years engaged in specially

designed academic programmes before the age of formal schooling. It is necessary that all who

are involved in the education of the child understand and get acquinted with the pre-primary

school child.

The pre-primary school children possess certain characteristics which are peculiar to

them. According to Abidoye and Agusiobo (2000), these pre-school children are egocentric. That

is, they view the world from their own perspectives. They are curious in nature. Their world is

filled with excitement. The curiosity varies according to the center of interest at any given time.

The children love exploration and in fact, they are investigators. Their love for exploration is

1

2

demonstrated in their spoiling of new toys and trying to put them together again. Abidoye and

Agusiobi(2000) see the children as being energetic and because of this, they cannot sit still for

long periods of time. They prefer to do things than listen. Even while listening, they move their

bodies restlessly. These pre-school children like to achieve their objectives. They often spend

unusual length of time and efforts to solve problems that interest them. Problem solved gives

them a feeling of satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment. Hence, they are persistent.

More interestingly, children are valuable assets from God. They are fragile and the future of

any society. That is why they must be well protected and nurtured. They must be well taught

both at home and at school. This is because this stage is a critical and delicate period of human

life when children are easily influenced and the consequences of such influence greatly affect

their adulthood. As observed by Anon (2013a), under the age of six, children absorb information

without effort, and this stage of development provides critical foundation for the children’s

character, learning and growth. Therefore, in the view of Ibiam (2012), it is necessary for

parents, guardians, care-givers and adults to teach children values and social lessons and also

provide them with good academic guide while in school.

Parents are caretakers of their children. Hornby (2006) defines parents as a person’s

father and mother. Parents, especially mothers, are responsible for the overall care given to the

child such as feeding, hygiene and medical care. Therefore, the child needs care and balanced

diet for proper early development. This is because proper nutrition is necessary for the

development of the brain which in turn is important for intellectual, cognitive and psychomotor

development in the child (Ngwoke and Eze, 2010). The efficiency of parents in taking up this

responsibility depends on their level of education and exposure.

3

Parents can be educated or un-educated, some are civil servants while some could be in

business. The educated parents are parents with higher education qualifications. They get

involved in their children’s education early enough unlike the non-educated ones. They get

involved in their children’s education by reading to the children at home, teaching songs or

nursery rhymes and assisting in homework. Parental education influences expectations of

children. Therefore, having higher parental education is significantly related to higher

expectations of children’s achievement (Gratz, 2006).

The un-educated parents are parents who do not have formal education and usually have

lower income. Gratz (2006) observes that these parents often have to work longer hours to earn

their small salaries. This leaves less time for them to assist their children in reading and even

getting involved in their learning process. Gratz (2006) further observes that low income parents

may not be neglectful parents but it is easy for them to slip into the stereotype under extreme

pressure. Hence, most of them may not adequately provide appropriate educational guide to their

children due to lack of appropriate knowledge and time.

Parents who are civil servants are those under the employment of the government, either

at the Federal, State or Local government level. According to Kwaghga (2010), civil servants are

a body of men and women employed in a civil capacity and non political career basis by the

Federal and State government primarily to render services in form of advice, formulation and

implementation of policies of the government. They are appointed on merit on the basis of fair

and open competition. They are expected to carry out their roles with dedication and

commitment to civil service and its core values which are integrity, honesty, objectivity and

impartiality (Civil Service Code, 2010).They offer services within the working hours determined

4

by the general or specific provisions in effect. In the event of extraordinary and urgent official

needs, civil servants also offer their services beyond the working hours or during non working

days (Ministry of the Interior, Public Administration and Decentralization,1999).

Business parents may be involved in micro, small or medium scale business. According

to Luetkenhorst, Geiger, Ozsoy and Fidan (2004), micro, small and medium scale businesses

make important contributions to economic and social development. In economics, they constitute

the vast majority of business establishments. They are usually responsible for the majority of

jobs creation. They account for one- third to two- third of the turnover of private sector. In

developing countries, they are seen as a major “self help” instrument for poverty eradication.

Constant (2008) observes that while big companies create jobs and stimulate innovation, self

employment contribute to job creation and economic growth, alleviating welfare burden and

leading many to economic and social advancement. Discussing about business women, Constant

(2008) said that the reason why women choose self employment was that they could easily

combine work and family responsibilities. They could even conduct business from home while

simultaneously satisfying domestic responsibilities.

Therefore, irrespective of parents’ status in life, they benefit from pre-primary education

programme which provides adequate care and supervision of their children while they are away

for the day’s business. Therefore, perceptions and involvement in the proper education of the

children, which begin from the home, may vary from parent to parent.

The home is very important in the education of children. The home background plays a

significant role in a child’s orientation about literacy and education. In his view, Smetana (1990)

posited that the most effective parenting style for facilitating children’s success as well as their

5

general nurturance seemed to involve being authoritative. This starts right from the home, as

early as when the children are undergoing pre-primary education. Smetana(1990) further

observed that pre-schoolers did not learn to read without parental instructions, hence learning to

read and write could be traced back to the preschoolers’ home background.

At school, particularly at the pre-primary level, the children ought to be taught according

to the provisions and guidelines of the National Policy on Education, (Federal Republic of

Nigeria, 2004), which recommends teaching of rudiments of numbers, letters, colours, shapes,

forms, among others, through play. The Federal Republic of Nigeria (2004) in her National

Policy on Education defined pre-primary education as the education given in an educational

institution to children prior to their entering the primary school. It comprises the crèche/day care

(0-2years), nursery/play group (3-5years) and kindergarten (5-6years). It consists of activities

that facilitate a child’s learning, growth and development. This level of education is important as

it strengthens the child’s self esteem and provides positive learning experiences as well as

opportunities to interact with peers in diverse ways.

Pre-primary education is very important because it is the early years that determine what

the adult becomes. As summarized by Amajirionwu cited in Maduewesi (1999), early childhood

education is necessary as a lifelong source of developing interest and aspiration among young

children. This level of education provides one of the environmental influences that gradually

interact with the developing abilities and dispositions of young children to form all aspects of

their personalities- social, emotional, affective, moral, physical, intellectual, creative abilities,

among others .Therefore, this level of education is not academic- oriented, but a play level

during which children are prepared through play, for actual schooling. It is more of a social

6

service, and custodian in nature. It can be provided by the government, community or private

individual. It may be integrated into a primary school or can stand alone. Chijioke(1996)

observed that some families took care of and educated their young children at home but, majority

of the families also employed other people to take temporary responsibility for the care and

education of their children at home, childcare centers and nursery schools. Crahay (1990) also

observed that the mothers no longer routinely cared for their young children on full time basis as

a result of their remarkable increase in women’s labour force participation and participation in

education and learning. Therefore arrangements are made for the care of young children and

infants during the working or school hours of their parent(s). Hence, this led to the emergence of

early childhood care and education or what we refer to today as pre-primary education (Ibiam,

2012). Hence, at the pre- primary schools children are taken care of while their parents are away

for their daily businesses.

However, serious violation of the provisions and guidelines of the National Policy on

Education are observed at this level, such as over-schooling of the children. Government

provided a simple curriculum as a guideline for the operations at this level. This simple guideline

allows the teaching of children through play. Curriculum, as explained by Umobong, Akubuiro

and Idika (2012) is the official and authentic content which translates the expectations of the

society into bits of knowledge, skills and attitudes that should be transmitted to learners with a

given course or programme in both formal and non formal school setting.

Most often the pre-primary level of education is misinterpreted to be a stage for actual

schooling where children are expected to learn difficult tasks, hence making the curriculum

complex. This contradicts the provisions of the National Policy on Education. In supporting

7

government position, Weikart (1990) said that the appropriate curriculum for children at the pre-

primary level should be focused on development of dispositions which would enhance further

learning. For Weikart(1990), this curriculum should enable children develop a disposition for

curiosity, friendliness, problem solving, interest in reading and numbers and for seeing school as

a positive and supportive place. Ibiam and Aleke (2012) expressed dissatisfaction as

contradiction of these provisions and guidelines on the curriculum have resulted in teaching the

children things that are actually beyond their intellectual development by overloading,

overtasking and overburdening the children, which is referred to as over-schooling. Ibiam and

Aleke(2012) further observed that most proprietors and teachers expose these children to real

teaching of numbers and numeracy which contradicts government’s provisions.

There is also the problem of non- uniformity of the curriculum used by different

providers of pre-primary education. The non-uniformity of the curriculum used by different

schools poses a lot of problems especially as government does not adequately monitor the pre-

school programme. Ibiam( 2012), advised that as a result of the young children’s learning

pattern, social, emotional and cognitive development should be at the children’s pace taking

place through play and active method, rather than having the curriculum of a particular class or

school being overloaded beyond the level of the children. Another ugly situation is that most

teachers at this level of education are professionally unqualified, under-skilled, undereducated or

under-schooled to actually understand the goals and purposes of this level of education as

provided by the FRN (2004) in her National Policy on Education and the learning theories. Some

parents and guardians support the idea that their children and wards be given more schooling to

cover every aspect of the curriculum. This equally leads to over-schooling.

8

The concept of over-schooling has two key words- ‘over’ and ‘schooling’. Hornby (2006)

defines ‘over’ as something being above or beyond while “schooling” is defined as instruction at

school. For Anon (2013b), schooling is defined as a formal form of education where pupils are

taught subjects in a classroom based on a curriculum. Thus, over-schooling means undergoing

and undertaking the act or process of being trained, being drilled, instructed, taught or educated

far above or in excess of what is provided in the curriculum. However, this concept of over-

schooling is not yet fully understood but it is explained in terms of over-education which is

defined as the phenomenon in which individuals feel burdened or oppressed by the weight of

their education (Bishop 1995). Furthermore, Leuven and Oosterbeek (2011) perceived over-

schooling as the difference between a worker’s attained or completed level of school and the

level of schooling required for the job the worker holds.

An individual therefore, can be said to be over-schooled if his or her educational level

exceeds the required level of education to do his or her job. In the researcher’s view, over-

schooling is the overburdening, overtasking or overtutoring of children with school-related

activities which will give them no opportunity to adequately interact with their environment,

especially through play. For the purpose of this research work, the researcher shall discuss over-

schooling in relation to children at the nursery/play group level. Dimensions of over- schooling

to be considered include: staying long hours in school, volume of tasks usually given as

homework, academic work involvement of children at school, influence of over-schooling on the

children and the possible solutions of over-schooling.

Over-schooling at the pre-primary level of education can be stressful to the children and

in fact, makes school to be stressful. An over-schooled child, according to Joshua (2012), is

9

regarded as one who has schooled beyond the level expected of him/her, or one who has spent a

number of years in excess of the number required or expected of him/her. In fact, as a result of

the overload of the curriculum of most schools at this level, children are made to stay for a long

time in school in an attempt for the school to cover the curriculum without considering the

adverse effect this long stay may have on the children. Having children stay long in school does

not encourage creativity which is acquired through free play. Anderson-McNamee and Bailey

(2010) noted that play could be beneficial to children as it could help them to learn, to socialize,

explore their immediate environment, develop an attitude of critical and reflective thinking

which encourages creativity, mental and physical development and learning. Supporting this

view, Okafor (2010) observed that children could be curious and this natural inclination of theirs

should not be hindered but rather they should be allowed to discover facts by themselves by

verifying it in an open domain of experience. Children should be allowed to be children.

Umobong, Akubuiro and Idika (2012) citing Holts (2005), observed that too much schooling

could work against education.

Educators too often overlook the fact that children learn more outside the classroom than

in the classroom. Keeping children after the normal school period for extra lessons up to 4.00pm

or 5.00pm when they will be picked by their parents at the end of their business or work may not

be beneficial to the children. Unfortunately, the proprietors are more interested in the economic

rather than the educational or social consideration. The profit component is pursued with much

vigor to the detriment of pursuing the lofty goals highlighted at this level of education (Joshua,

2012). The unqualified, under skilled and under schooled teachers also champion this course of

engaging these children after normal period due largely to ignorance of the guidelines.

10

Another aspect of over-schooling to be considered in this research work is the volume of

homework given to the children at this level. Marzano and Pickering (2007) defined homework

as any task assigned to students by school teachers meant to be carried out during non-school

hours. Spellings (2005) believes that homework is beneficial to pupils as it helps them to develop

good study habits and positive attitude, it teaches them to work independently, encourages self

discipline and responsibility. Spellings believes also that assignments provide some children with

their first chance to manage time and to meet deadline, create greater understanding between

families and teachers and provide opportunities for increased communication. Home work, if

well monitored actually, keeps families informed about what their children are learning and also

helps the children to do better in school if the assignment is meaningful, completed successfully

and returned to the children with constructive comments from the teacher. Homework that is

meaningful should have a specific purpose, come with clear instructions, be fairly well matched

to the ability of the child and also helps to develop the child’s knowledge and skills. This was

earlier observed by Iroegbu (2003) who noted that instructional activities should be given to

children according to their age and developmental stage. Spellings (2005) posited that children in

kindergarten through second grade should be allowed 10 to 20 minutes of homework each school

day while in the third through sixth grade, children should benefit from 30 to 60 minutes a day.

Children leave school late in the day and go home with strenuous homework which may be

beyond their developmental task of pre-operational stage, under which nursery/group level falls.

For example, they may be required to mould or draw objects, do addition or subtraction which,

of course, they do mentally and not by reasoning. This actually violates developmental task

orientation according to psychology of learning. Again, the proprietors and the professionally

11

unqualified teachers feel that children can learn only if they are given a lot of home work

(Umobong et al.2012). This is one of the reasons they keep children after the normal hours up to

4.00pm to 5.00pm and they still go home with homework assignment to be submitted the next

day.

Some overzealous parents may also push their children to jump to the next higher class,

without considering the children’s readiness and ability to cope with the new task. This violates

Harvighurst’s developmental task theory which states that when the time is right, the ability to

learn a particular task will be possible. It is as a result of this inability to cope with the task, that

homework is done by their parents. This amounts to over-schooling. Marzano and Pickering

(2007) observed that the issue of homework had been a perennial topic of debate in education.

Attitude towards it has been cyclical and throughout the first decade of the 20th

century,

educators commonly believed that homework helped to create a disciplined mind, but much

later, there was a growing concern that homework was interferring with other home activities.

This sparked a reaction against it with some learning theorists claiming that it could be

detrimental to students’ mental health. Kleeneze (2013) believes that spending more time on

homework adversely affects children’s scores in schools and also leads to depression in children

and suggests that children should be allowed 8hours of play and 8hours of rest (sleep) in a day.

Additionally, Kralovec and Buell (2000), Bennett and Kalish (2006), believe that much

homework harm children’s health and family time. It stresses parents because they will need to

sit down to help their children with the homework. However, Marzon and Pickering (2007)

believed that homework should not be abandoned but that the quality should be improved to

match the age of the children.

12

Over involvement of the children in academic activities at this level is also another aspect

of over-schooling. As observed by Umobong, et al. (2012), when the missionaries initially

introduced formal education, children enrolled in school at the age of 5 or 6 when they were

considered mature enough to be able to cope with the rigors associated with school. Today the

story is different as children get enrolled at the very tender age of less than 2 years. These

children are made to sit down for a very long period engaging in one academic work or the other

in the day without enough recreational activities. However, Benavente (2006) sees academic

involvement of children as beneficial. For him, it would keep children safe and protect them

from negative and unsafe behavior outside the school. Young children also benefit especially

from the social skills development and improved academic skills. But having them get over

involved in academic activities is bad. Umobong, et al posited that over involvement of children

in only academic related activities is a major encroachment on the amount of time families spend

together. Tugend (2011) also frowned seriously at over involvement of children in the school

academic activities and posited that it depleted parents of their financial resources and emotional

energy as these parents spend a lot to keep these children for so long in school. It also reduced

drastically the attachment children should have with their parents. Many children, as a result of

being over involved in only academic activities, lose out on the simple pleasure of play

(Umobong, et al, 2012).

During childhood, play provides an excellent opportunity to learn and practice skills

likely to enhance lifelong fitness and good health. Early mastery of these basic skills crucially

helps the children to perform and understand the value of these activities better in their education

or as adults. According to Eurydice-Network (2013), play fights against sedentary life style and

13

obesity. Therefore, children should be allowed to play adequately because play is children’s

work. This is lacking in most of our private pre-primary schools as a result of the over

involvement of the children in academic related activities with little or no break time. For

instance, children may be required to recite numbers from 1, 2. 3 up to 100, recite thirty- six

states and their capitals, eventually, they still move into the computer room to learn computer.

This is over-schooling. At this level, school related activities should not be overstretched because

learning does not occur only within the school environment. George W Bush as cited by

Spellings(2005), observed that quality learning and education of our children at this level should

not be compromised and when it comes to the education of our children, failure is not an option.

Psychology teaches that children have very short attentive span. They cannot sit down at

one place for a long time unlike adults. Of course, attention is very important in any learning

situation because unless pupils pay attention in class, little or no learning can take place (Ibiam

and Aleke, 2012). Over-tutoring as observed by Uganga (2012) might lead to overstimulation of

the learner’s brain which could be detrimental to the learner’s wellbeing and could lead to

nervous disorder, depression and insanity. Wendy (2011) while expressing fear over this issue of

over-schooling, stated that excessive tutoring could damage a child’s intrinsic motivation and

self esteem. Children need a lot of time to relax and play for mental, intellectual, social, physical

and emotional development. Play promotes mastery of the environment and practical skill which

helps them to appreciate their world. This is actually lacking in our contemporary early

childhood education due to the problem of over-schooling.

As important as the perception of parents on over-schooling is to the wellbeing of their

children, it has been found that studies in this area are scanty. The only study in this area in

14

Nigeria was the one conducted by Umobong, et al., (2012). Though this study was limited in

scope as it covered schools in Akwa Ibom, there is need to understand how parents feel about the

over-schooling of their children in other states in Nigeria to compare results and findings and

make recommendations for the proper education of children at the pre-primary education level.

Based on this need, the present study attempts to study a similar view of parents but in Onitsha

educational zone of Anambra State.

Statement of the Problem

The purpose of pre-primary education, among other things, include to effect a smooth

transition from home to the school, prepare the children for the primary level of education,

provide adequate care and supervision for the children while their parents are at work (market,

farm or office etc), inculcate social norms and to teach children the rudiments of numbers,

letters, colours, shapes, forms etc through play. In other words, this level of education is meant to

guide the growth of a child by promoting responsible behavior, respect for others and the

willingness to follow general acceptable rules. It is not meant for actual teaching.

This level which is meant to be more of social service and custodian in nature is greatly

abused by the proprietors, teachers and the parents. Unfortunately, government controls a very

insignificant number of schools at this level, organizations (including religious bodies) and

private individuals dominate the scene. The National Policy on Education provided a simple

curriculum for this level where little teaching is done through play but this is often not followed

as the proprietors overload the curriculum to the point that these children are made to stay long

in school in order for the school to cover the curriculum, sometimes not necessarily for

educational or social reasons but for economic consideration. In addition, most teachers at this

15

level do not have teaching experience and requisite qualifications. Consequently, they teach the

children what is beyond their intellectual development by overloading, overtasking and

overburdening them. For instance, they make the children to recite the thirty-six states and their

capitals, mould or draw objects, do addition and subtraction; they are given difficult and

strenuous homework at the end of the stressful day that may last for 1hour or 2 hours, to be

submitted the next school day. Most parents contribute to the problem of over-schooling as they

tend to believe that the longer the children stay in school, the more they learn. As a result, they

send their children to private schools where they stay long hours in school and also attend

schools during the holidays. For such parents, this is “computer age” and they want to push their

children to move fast in order to meet up with the new trend. This amounts to over-schooling.

Over-schooling at this level can be stressful to the children and in fact makes schooling to

be very stressful. Children at this level are denied rest and play which are very necessary for their

cognitive, social, emotional and physical development. They are simply exposed to information

above and beyond their chronological age and developmental task. Overstimulation of their brain

through overtutoring may be detrimental to their mental development and functioning.

As over-schooling of children is gaining grounds, particularly in Nigerian private

schools, there is a great need to understand the perceptions or view of parents on over-schooling

of children at this level of education, and this is the focus of this study.

Purpose of the Study

The general purpose of the study is to investigate the perception of parents on over-

schooling of their children at the pre-primary education level in Onitsha Education Zone of

Anambra state. Specifically, the study seeks to:

16

i. Ascertain the perception of parents on keeping pre-primary children in school after the

normal school period,

ii. Ascertain the perception of parents on the volume of homework given to children at the

pre-primary education,

iii. Determine the perception of parents on the academic work of children at the pre-primary

level of education,

iv. Determine the perception of parents on the influence of over-schooling on children at

this level and

v. Determine parents’ opinion on the possible solutions to over-schooling of children at this

level.

Significance of the Study

The findings of this study have both theoretical and practical significance. The study is

anchored on Developmental task theory.

Robert J. Harvighurst’s developmental tasks theory has great relevance to this research

work. It talks about ‘timing’ and ‘teachable moment’. In handling children at the pre-primary

level, timing is very essential. If well timed, children at this level should only be taught things

that are within their developmental and chronological age, not to be overburdened and

overtasked through over-schooling and overtutoring. At their level, they should be taught with

simple curriculum as provided by the National Policy on Education and be prepared adequately

for movement to the primary school where the actual teaching should be done. This is supported

by the theory which states that when the timing is right, the ability to learn a particular task will

be possible, Harvighurst referred to this as a “teachable moment”. Hence unless the time is right,

17

learning will not occur. He therefore advocates that the developmental stage of children should

always be considered in handling children at this level.

Practically, the findings of the research work will be beneficial to the following:- the

children, parents, teachers and government. Children will spend the normal school period of six

(6) hours in the school, be given homework that matches their age and developmental level to

enable them have adequate time for play and rest for proper mental and physical development.

To the parents, it will enable them understand the danger and adverse effect of over-

schooling, give them time and opportunity to establish good parent-child relationship. It will also

help them to have a good link with the children’s pre-school in order to be part of the school

decision making e.g. being members of school Parent-Teacher Association (PTA.)

To the teachers, it will help them to follow the simple curriculum provided by the

National Policy on Education which will result to lots of leverage and stress-free teaching as

most teaching and learning will be done through play. Finally, the Government will benefit when

the purpose and guidelines provided by the National Policy on Education are implemented

because children will grow normally to become responsible citizens later in life.

Scope of the Study

The study was delimited to Onitsha Education Zone of Anambra state. Content wise, the

research investigation would be on the view of parents on keeping children in school after

normal school period; the view of parents on the volume of homework given to children at the

nursery level of education; the view of parents on the academic work involvement of children at

the nursery level of education; the view of parents on the influence of over-schooling on these

18

children; and finally the view parents on the possible solution to over-schooling at this level of

education.

Research Questions

The following research questions were posed to guide the study:

i. What are the perceptions of parents on keeping children in school after normal school

period?

ii. What are the perceptions of parents on the volume of homework given to children at this

level?

iii. What are the perceptions of parents on the academic work of children at this level?

iv. What are the perceptions of parents on the influence of over-schooling on children at this

level of education?

v. What are the opinions of parents on the possible solutions to over-schooling of children at

this level of education?

Hypotheses

The following null hypotheses were postulated to guide the study and were tested at 0.05 level of

probability.

Ho1: There is no significant difference between the perception of civil servants and

businessmen/women as parents on the influence of over-schooling on pre-primary school

children.

Ho2: There is no significant difference between the perception of civil servants and

businessmen/women as parents on the possible solutions to over-schooling of pre-primary

school children.

19

CHAPTER TWO

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

The review of literature is organized under the following subheadings: Conceptual Framework;

Theoretical Framework; Review of Empirical Studies and Summary of Review of Literature.

Conceptual Framework

- Concept of Perception

- Concept of Child/childhood/Pre-primary School Child

- Concept of Parents and Home

- Concept of Pre-primary Education

- Concept of Over- Schooling

- Concept of Homework

Theoretical Framework

- Jean Piaget’s Intellectual Development Theory

- Harvighurst’s Development Tasks Theory

- Erik Homberger Erikson’s Psychological Development Theory

Review of Empirical Studies

- Studies on Early Childhood/Pre-primary Education

- Studies on Over-Schooling

Summary of Review of Literature

19

20

Conceptual Framework

Concept of Perception

Perception involves the five senses; touch, sight, taste, smell and hearing. It helps one to

make up one’s conscious experience and allows one to interact with people and objects around

him. It is our sensory experience of the world around us. Perception does not only involve

becoming consciously aware of the stimuli but it is also necessary for the brain to categorize and

interpret what it is we are sensing (Romanov,2011). The ability to interpret and give meaning to

the object of perception is known as recognition. This recognition stage is an essential part of

perception since it allows us to make sense of the world around us. By placing objects in

meaningful categories, one is able to understand and react to the world around us. Unlike our

physical abilities, our perception is limitless and it is one thing that can be changed and

developed. It includes senses, feelings, ideas, thoughts and theories, concept is its final point and

it allows one to see differences. According to Romanov(2011), perception is one’s ability to

understand the difference. It is also the way in which something is regarded, understood or

interpreted. Therefore, human beings, exemplified by parents have different perceptions about

the world around them, about contemporary issues such as over schooling of children at the pre-

primary education.

Concept of Parents

A parent is either a father or mother of a child. The future of any child is in the hands of

the parents. Apart from bearing children, parents have the unique responsibility of bringing up

these children up to be well educated and responsible citizens of the society. Hence, parents can

either make or mar their children’s future by being careful or being careless (Maduewesi, 1997).

21

They are the major teachers during the early childhood period and whatever pattern or habits

they set up as foundation will be the pattern which the child will carry almost throughout life.

They handle children at a stage that children can easily learn and whatever they learn, they learn

very well and it stays with them. This is supported by Uzodimma and Onwurah (2011), who

observed that the characters of children which evolve from the home environment influence their

intellectual development and their learning even at school.

Those parents who encourage their children to find out things, to touch and handle things,

engage in free play, to examine and ask questions are better parents than those who discourage

questions, who frown at children touching and handling things and being engaged in free play.

Parents who explain things and answer their children’s questions, tell them stories and show

them interesting things, who converse with even their young children are better parents. These

parents adopt authoritative parenting style. They are better teachers of their children than those

who do the opposite. Authoritative parenting style is the best in handling children, particularly at

the early stage of life (Bariumd cited in Ijzendoorn and Bus, 1990). Furthermore, Maduewesi

(1997) advised that parents should spend time talking with, not just to, young children and to

encourage them to find out things for themselves and to do things for themselves because it is

better to leave them to suffer a little as long as it would not hurt them. This way, they learn a bit

of self reliance. This is achieved by allowing children freedom to play, through this, they find out

some information through personal experience. Parents also play important roles in the

development of young children’s positive attitude towards learning and education.

Parental behavior therefore, during the pre-educational level of the children affects the

children’s academic competences in future. This fact was supported by Esu (2000) when he

22

observed that parents are the most single factor in providing the essential kernel of constructive

early experiences in their children at home.

The home as a fundamental social institution, since the creation of man, has remained the

leading agent of socialization. Hence, education of the children begins at home. According to

Nwabachili and Egue (1993), as cited by Okolo (2000), socialization is the process through

which an individual learns his social roles or internalizes the norms or values of any group or

society. The home, according to Morrison (2004) should be an environment where the child can

only socialize well if she feels a strong sense of security, comfort and trust.

Parents therefore, have the responsibility of ensuring that their children are socialized to

become part and parcel of the society. Hence, the home is the first and most powerful among

other socialization agents of the larger society from sociological perspective. It is identified as

the chief vehicle for the socialization of the child during the period of between 0-6 years (Okolo,

2000). In the view of Umeano and Akaneme (2011), children begin learning from the time they

are born. They also observed that where children spend their time before they enter pre-primary

education has an effect on both their readiness for school and their chances for life-time

achievement. This view had earlier been observed by Santrock (2005) who posits that competent

parents of children at the pre-primary school set aside regular time to be with the children, listen

to them and respond to their questions, become involved in the children’s play and show interest

in the children’s pre-school activities.

Parents should support their children’s efforts in school, help them with their problem

when they seek advice, communicate regularly with teachers and participate in school functions.

Schools and parents can cooperate to provide young children with the best pre-primary education

23

experiences. According to Joe and Davis (2009), there are common educational activities that

parents are expected to engage in with their children at home. These include assisting with

homework and school related projects, reading books with their children, visiting libraries and

other cultural activities, ensuring that children are prepared for school and school related rules

within the home. But unfortunately, most parents overlook these important activities during the

preschool years.

Home environment is one of the determinants of the children’s school learning. It lays

the foundation upon which the school can continue. It helps the children lay the proper

foundations realizing their aspirations. The attitudes and potential patterns of the people at home

enable the child to prepare for future living (Okafor, 2008).Furthermore, Uzodimma and

Onwurah (2011) observed that home background was the cradle of mental development which

one might regard as education. Hence, the home is the bedrock of the society which provides

initial training and educational foundations of the children. Therefore, if the foundation laid by

the home is weak, the school has a weak structure to build upon.

The way parents perceive learning and education greatly influence their attitude to

children’s learning at school. Their perception will influence their attitude towards the education

and learning of their children. The home environment therefore, may constitute positive or

negative influence on children learning and successful adult lives. This view had earlier been

observed by Orthungur (1990) who posits that a good home prepares good children for the

school and the society while a bad home feeds the school with problematic children. Again,

parental occupation, often, influences their perception towards their children’s education and

learning. Children of professionals like medical doctors, teachers, lawyers, engineers, among

24

others, are often intelligent models because these parents make sure that their children at the pre-

primary education are given quality education commensurate to developmental age. This is

unlike most parents who are farmers, businessmen/women/ traders and other unskilled laborers

who may not actually understand the need for adequate schooling at this age. Some of these, in

the latter category, may prefer to enroll their children in private pre-primary schools and also

encourage these children at this age to be involved in long holiday lessons.

From the above, it can be said that the way the child responds to school and learning is

highly dependent on the pattern of parenting and perception of parents at home. In summary,

Maduewesi and Akahara (1996) advised that parents should give their children the opportunity

of attending good pre-primary schools. This, of course will depend on the awareness of parents,

their spending power and location. They are further advised not to abandon their children at this

level to the whims of the pre-primary school teachers and proprietors but should show real and

committed interest in what is happening to their children while at school. They should also

ensure that their children are in good health and are well fed and provided for. They should

minimize their children’s agony by ensuring that they are taken home for lunch and rest soon

after close of school each day.

Concept of Child/Childhood/Pre-Primary School Child

Actually, it is a complex venture delving into the concept of a child as many views on

this abound. Among such views are the ones of Umobi and Iguh (2010) who see a child as a boy

or girl at any age between infancy and adolescence. Umobi and Iguh (2010), citing the Black’s

Dictionary, define a child as a person under the age of majority. Children are assets and gifts

from God. They represent the future. It is generally accepted that child and childhood years span

25

from birth to eighteen years. But, Bajpai (2007) noted that according to Article I of the United

Nations Conventions on the Right of the Child (1989), a child means every human being within

the age of eighteen years unless under the law applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier.

Biologically, a child is anyone between the stage of infancy and adulthood. A child is a human

being between the stages of birth and puberty. Legally defined, child refers to a minor or

somebody who is yet to become an adult. The article thus grants individual countries the

discretion to determine by law whether childhood ceases at 12, 14, 16 or whatever age is found

appropriate. Legally, in Nigeria, a child is a person under the age of eighteen years.

Children are born biological organisms but their capacity for learning elevates them to a

social status. Furthermore, Bajpai (2007), said that the word ‘child’ has been used to denote

relationship and indicate capacity and as a time of special protection. They inherit their original

nature but acquire their human nature, made up of a collection of traits, all of them essentially

human (Maduewesi, 1997). A child, as stated in Nigeria and the Rights of the Child (1999) and

according to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989), is any human being below the age

of eighteen years. Article Two of the Children And Young Persons Act (CYPA) enacted in

Eastern, Western and Northern regions see a child as a person who has attained the age of

fourteen years and is under the age of seventeen years while the immigration Acts sees a child

below 16 years as minor (Alemika, Chukwuma, Lafratta, Messerli and Souckova, 2005). The

African charter on the rights and welfare of the child defines a child as every human being below

the age of eighteen years (Ugwu, 2012).

Children are at their most vulnerable stage when they are very young. The first few years

of life are the time that children need love, care and attention. These are also the years when they

26

can be influenced most. During the early years, they develop rapidly- physically, emotionally,

socially, intellectually- and if they are not given the attention they need they will fail to flourish

and will have problems in later years (Cohen and Chetley, 1994). They also observed that the

values, attitudes and characteristics that children acquire during the first few years of life will last

throughout life. Children represent the future. Investing in them and their healthy development

has benefits for the society as a whole, for parents, and family and also for the children

themselves. Children are active learners. They construct their own knowledge and understanding

of the world through repeated interactions with people and with materials in their environments.

The more stimulating their environment and the more opportunities they have to explore, to

question, to experiment, to play and to symbolize, the better prepared they are for later life. In

the Nigerian education system, childhood stages span the period of 0-12 years Pre-primary

childhood spans from 0-6years. Thus, there do not appear to be any criteria or scientific

parameter for determining a child. Customarily, in some ethnic groups a boy remains a child

until initiated into an age grade society or until he is old enough to contribute financially to

community development (Chukwu and Ajala, 2012).

The definitions of childhood vary from country to country and from region to region.

Most countries, like Nigeria, view childhood in terms of chronological age, while others consider

socio-economic factors in determining childhood (Nte, Eke and Igbanibo,2014). According to

Olaitan and Akpan (2003), childhood is a unique, precious and critical period for effective

development. It is the foundation of the world’s future and must be the highest priority

(UNICEF, 2004). This is because this phase is critical and sensitive and it is a period when rapid

growth and development is greater than any other developmental stage. Whatever happens at this

27

stage, success or failure leaves a lasting impression. Therefore early childhood is regarded as the

foundation period of life. It is the period that holds the key to the maximum development of a

child (Obiweluozo, 2012). Hence, Bellamy (2005) sees it as the foundation hopes for a better

future. Maduewesi (1999) noted that it is a period for effective development of attitudes, feelings

and values. This is part of the knowledge that actually leads to the emphasis and support of free

play, individual and permissive attention, attention to aesthetics and provision of attractive

surrounding in the nursery and pre-primary schools.

At this period, children are known for certain characteristics that are peculiar to them.

Knowledge of these characteristics is important in guiding children’s development. For instance,

during early childhood, children are physically active. They run around, kick, jump, and climb

chairs and other objects and through this they develop the explorative ability and subsequently

intellectual ability. Supporting this, Evans, Myers and IIfeld (2000) observe that children are

naturally motivated to explore and to attempt to master their environment. For Essa (2007), as

cited by Obiweluozo (2012),children’s running is pleasurable in itself rather than means of

getting somewhere fast. In fact, playing is a characteristic of this period. Playing is work for

children just as adults are engaged in work. Emenogu (1996) observed that a three-year old child,

when called by her parents told them she was very busy and she would not come to eat until she

finishes with what she was busy with.

This period is characterized by a stage when young children are intellectually curious and

explorative in nature. They learn easily through rote memorization and recitation. Therefore,

teachers should expose them to tasks that match their chronological and developmental age. At

28

this period, they have short attention span and should not be allowed to sit down for a long time

in learning process.

Children in the pre-primary level of education are morally and emotionally good. They

are honest and truthful. They are literal minded. They believe and trust entirely unlike adults.

This is why teachers at this level should help them to learn to be, learn to live and take

responsibility. They must be helped to have basic trust and initiative which they need for higher

learning as Erickson’s psychosocial theory of basic trust versus basic mistrust and initiative

versus guilt suggests, not overburdening them with much responsibility at this pre-primary level

of education. According to Obinaju and Umoh (2012), this period of early childhood, if properly

handled, provides lifelong opportunities for good health, growth and development. It makes for

positive changes in the life of a child. That is why this period requires a quality and intensity of

care, nutrition and stimulation which determines to a large extent, the level of physical and

cognitive development a child can attain. This necessitates the need for comprehensive early

childhood education.

It is very necessary that all who are involved in the education of the child understand

and acquaint themselves with the concept of a pre-primary school child. According to Essa

(2011), there is no doubt that a child’s first years are the most important in the life of a human

being, or that attention in the early years is beneficial to the children themselves, the family and

the society as a whole. The National Policy on Education FRN (2004) posits that the pre-primary

school child falls within the age bracket of 0-6 years while Maduewesi (1999) views pre-school

children as young children between 2-5 years engaged in specially designed academic

programmes before the age of formal schooling. According to her, these children fall within Jean

29

Piaget pre-operational period of intellectual development (2-6 years) and are normally found in

the nursery and kindergarten schools. At this stage, a pre-school child is egocentric, his major

cognitive task is the conquest of symbols and he begins to make use of symbols. He asks a lot of

questions, begins to take part in symbolic plays. He is very good in acquiring and making use of

language. He also tries hard to differentiate between dream and self made up play and reality

among other characteristics. By the end of the preoperational stage, he begins to understand

concepts of relative size, he can select biggest and smallest from a given number of objects. He

begins to make use of numbers and words without understanding them. Merrily and Terman as

cited by Maduewesi and Akahara (1996) said these children at the age of 4 and 5 can count up to

four and by the time they are 6, they can count up to 12. Emenogu (1996) also viewed pre-

primary school children as pre-primary school aged children. That is, children who are in the age

range just before the age of beginning primary school (officially put at 6years). Normally, they

are aged between 2 to 5 years. This is the same age range sometimes referred to as early

childhood period.

Erickson sees these children as being in the initiative versus guilt level while Piaget

looks at them at the pre-operational level and Brunner calls this stage iconic representational

level. Hence, the pre-school child can take initiative in doing what he wants to do but when he

fails doubt may creep in. The child, at this stage, begins to represent objects with symbols and

starts to do mental work. He learns through activities. Pre-school children require enough

organized structured activities which will permit some amount of self direction, a lot of time for

play, rich nature, language and Mathematics corners for motivation while manipulating and

exploring the objects to think and to talk about them. They therefore are liberal minded, have

30

short attention span, love exploration, are enthusiastic learners, active learners and lovers of free

play. Hence, at this level they should not be exposed to real teaching and teaching should be

through play. These children trust adults to help them learn, and they believe everything that

adults tell them. This is why it is absolutely necessary to have quality, skilled and well educated

characters to handle them at this pre-primary education because the influence of such adults is

critical in their lives.

Concept of Pre-Primary Education

The idea of having children educated early has been of great interest to various countries

and cultures in the world. As reported by Maduewesi (1999), the early Greeks such as Socrates

(469-399BC), Plato (425-347BC), Aristotle (384-322BC) and others before and after them, all

spoke about the education of the child. There were people like Comenius, Pestalozzi, Rousseau,

Dewey, Kilpatrick, Froebel, Maria Montessori and others whose works on children reflect and

blend into nursery Schools. The years 1750 to 1910 marked the beginning of a group concept in

the education of young children. Maduewesi (1997) observed that during the period, nursery

Schools were introduced to help solve the problem of poor conditions found amongst the

children of the poor or working mothers. It was primarily for the custody of children. She further

noted that Rousseau carried out the first successful campaign to fight for children’s rights while

Friedrich Froebel formulated the first theory of how children should be educated. In fact,

according to Morrison (2004), Froebel was the first to advocate a communal education for young

children outside the house. Until Froebel, young children were educated in the home by their

mothers. His ideas for educating children as a group in a special place outside the home were

revolutionary. In the USA, the work of Dewey, Kilpatrick and Parker enlarged and modified the

31

earlier notions. They rejected Rousseau’s and Froebel’s theories. Binet, Thorndike and Hall, also

took the children’s problem of education into the laboratory and dealt with it scientifically. Much

later, a new study movement arose which developed an interest in mental hygiene. This period

followed the First World War. The first infant school was opened by John Frederick Oberlin at

Walback, France in 1769.

During the time of industrial revolution, pioneering programmes influencing child-care

centre were under way. Owen (1782-1852), a British social theorist and writer established an

infant school for children aged 2-5 who were provided with good food and play materials. He

was the first to encourage teacher’s preparation for teaching the young as noted by (Etuk, 2000).

However, with the coming of the Renaissance and the Reformation by the 15th century, new

ways of thinking dawned and evening spread (Maduewesi, 1999). Among the contributors were

John Amos Comenius- his humanistic philosophy was clearly enunciated in his educational

treatise- The Great Didactic; John Lock who supported the use of play in childhood education;

Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) who was the father of child centered education; Johann

Pestalozzi (1746-1826) who stressed that the hand, the heart and the head must all be integral

part of the school curriculum; Friedrich Froebel (1782-1852) known as the father of kindergarten

and Maria Montessori (1870-1952), the first female doctor in Italy. She believed that the first six

years were critical for child development and became an advocate for a prepared learning

environment. Chijioke (1996) observed also that pre-primary education originated in Europe.

This background is useful for the understanding of the origin of early childhood education

borrowed into Nigeria. Several other terms used to describe early childhood education include

32

nursery school, pre-school and pre-primary school. Kindergarten is usually the last stage of the

nursery school programme.

Before Nigeria became an independent nation, daycare centers and pre-school

institutions were rarely in existence. Grandmothers, mothers, older siblings and relatives were

taking care of majority of the children. Extended family members and indeed every woman in

the neighbourhood were involved in the care and education of children. Folktales and admonition

were forms of care and education offered to children (Chukwu, 2011).

The introduction of western type of pre-primary education into Nigeria came with the

missionaries who started western education about the middle of the last century and was

preserved for children of the colonial officials. The earliest Nigerian beneficiaries of early

childhood education were naturally those who associated with the missionaries. At this time

there were very few pre-primary schools because many members of the society lived together

and young children were reared in the respective homes and there was no population explosion.

This early pre-primary education was organized in the churches by wives of the missionaries for

their children, or by nuns, for children of foreign and local dignitaries around. According to

Maduewesi (1999), their early locations must have included Abeokuta, Lagos, Onitsha, Calabar,

Bonny, Warri, among others. Unfortunately, there is little documentation about such schools.

Initially, Government and the general Nigerian public did not show interest to participate in this

level of education. Proprietors were active providing the facilities, until about forty years ago,

more especially since the end of Nigerian Civil War when there was an upsurge of interest in

sending children to pre-primary school by parents (Maduewesi and Akahara, 1996). More

industries began to spring up in urban towns and people rushed from the villages to urban centers

33

to work in industries. The change in work ethics required more formal education. This brought

about the introduction of Universal Primary Education (UPE). This made it possible for every

child to go to school without paying school fees. This therefore highlighted the need for pre-

primary education because many children who used to play at home and were cared for by their

older siblings had to go to school (Maduewesi and Akahara, 1996). Parents in townships also

needed the pre-primary schools as areas where their children could stay until they returned from

work. The need for pre-primary school therefore increased with rapid urbanization,

industrialization and paid employment. Furthermore, in the process of post civil rehabilitation,

some Nigerian families, among the educated frequently travelled to western European countries

where they observed and imbibed the early education habits and practices of their hosts and on

return, required similar services in Nigeria.

Pre-primary education, also known as early childhood education or Early Child Care and

Development Education (ECCDE), is an education given to children prior to their entering the

primary school. They include the crèche (0-2years), the nursery (3-5years) and the kindergarten

(5-6years) (FRN, 2004). The purposes include to effect a smooth transition from the home to the

school; prepare the child for the primary level of education; provide adequate care and

supervision for the children while their parents are at work (on the farms, in the market, offices,

etc); inculcate social norms; inculcate in the child the spirit of enquiry and creativity through the

exploration of nature, the environment, art, music and playing with toys, etc; develop a sense of

co-operation and team spirit; learn good habits, especially good health habits; and teach the

rudiments of numbers, letters, colours, shapes, forms, among others, through play.

34

These objectives cover the developmental aspects of the cognitive, affective and

psychomotor domains. Early childhood education is of immeasurable importance for the total

development of the child. It provides the needs of a child since parents cannot be expected to

possess the skill and time required for the new methods of dealing with children. The Nigerian

Educational and Research Development Council (NERDC, 1998) noted that children cannot get

as much of what they need at home as in a nursery school. Russel (1996) also noted that children

need the companionship of other children at this stage and only the rich can provide the space

and the environment that best suit the young children. Such things, if provided privately for one

family of children, produce pride of possession and a feeling of superiority which are

extraordinarily harmful morally. Therefore, Nwankwo (2012) solicits that all children

particularly from the age of two be part of the early childhood education in the neighbourhood

school. Early childhood education has actually become an essential service in Nigeria. According

to Maduewesi (1999), it is a semi-formal arrangement, usually outside the home, where young

children are exposed, through play like activities in a group setting, to mental, social and

physical learning suited to their developmental stages. It is a formative period of the total

development of the child. At this level, children should be allowed reasonable freedom for them

to express themselves through activities.

Play is the surest way to attaining the objectives of this level of education and discovery

method should be encouraged. Parents should participate in the early education of their young

children and the rudiments of reading, writing and computation should be learned at this period.

It is patronized by all classes of parents- farmers, traders, civil servants, politicians, technicians,

businessmen and all categories of persons. The importance of this level of education cannot be

35

overemphasized because it is the early years that determine what the adult becomes. As

summarized by Amajirionwu cited by Maduewesi (1999) early childhood education is necessary

as a lifelong source of developing interest and aspiration among young children. Hence, it should

be humanistic and progressive. Children’s needs and interest should therefore form the basis of

early childhood education. The immediate environment should also provide for their interests

and needs.

Like many good ventures, pre-primary education in Nigeria faces many challenges. The

National Policy on Education FRN (2004) states categorically the actions to be taken by

Government for the success of the pre-primary education in Nigeria. They include government

undertaking to encourage private effort; make provisions for the training of the pre-primary

teachers; ensure that mother tongue or language of the immediate community is used in the pre-

primary education; produce textbooks in Nigeria languages; ensure that teaching methods

emphasize play approach; regulate operations of pre-primary institutions; ensure that staff are

trained and equipment provided; review laws and enforce education laws regulating the

establishment of pre-primary schools; to ensure that those opened are well run, well staffed and

that the Ministry of Education ensures maintenance of standards through inspection. Maduewesi

(1999) noted that only the first undertaking that is, to encourage private efforts, could be said to

have been implemented universally in the country, while the others have been largely neglected.

There are feeble and weak efforts on the part of government to regulate and inspect erection of

pre-primary schools. Supporting this, Nwankwo (2012), observes that early childhood education

over the years, has remained an unmonitored, all-comers zone, where qualification to run a

school is simply the desire to set up one. Private individuals, proprietors and religious bodies

36

actually dominate the setting up of these schools, while government contributes insignificantly.

Most times the desire for setting up these schools is mainly for economic reasons rather than

education or social considerations. The profit component is pursued with much vigour to the

detriment of pursuing the lofty goals of the National Policy Education (Joshua, 2012).

Maduewesi (2005) further observed that these private institutions are operated without national

curriculum. Where they do, there is no regulation and supervision in the implementation of the

curriculum. Again, regrettably, the administrative and teaching personnel in most early

childhood institutions in Nigeria are grossly under-schooled, under-skilled and unqualified.

There are also no standard criteria to access the learning outcomes, to know specifically

whether it has actually inculcated the right type of attitudes and values and trained the mind in

the understanding of the world around him. Sunday as cited by Nwankwo (2012) lamented that

the basic knowledge of child psychology which is essentially for managing and guiding the

developing psychology skill of children at this level is news to most proprietors and teachers of

such schools. Also, Nwankwo (2012) expressed worries as the teachers are either people with

questionable oral and written communication in every language, or primary and secondary

school drop-outs whose major qualification for the job is that they offer cheap, and unskilled

labour. It is easy to imagine the result of running such a school where unskilled persons

supposedly impact knowledge, which sometimes they do in disused and abandoned buildings.

Another big challenge is that this level of education has been highly commercialized as found in

big and semi-urban cities (Nwagbara, 2000).

37

Concept of Over-Schooling

Over-schooling is a construct in economics of education. This concept is not yet fully

understood and explained in education literature despite the research efforts done in many

countries such as Netherlands, United States of America, Germany, Spain, Portugal, and United

Kingdom, among others (Joshua, 2012). In most of these studies, over-schooling appears more as

an economic term or concept and their results are published in economic related journals. Such

researchers include Leuven and Oostebeek (2011) who defined over-schooling as the difference

between a worker’s attained or completed level of schooling and the level of schooling required

for the job the worker holds. Also, Verhaest and Omey (2009) defined over-schooling as a

situation in which an individual has more education than his job required for him to perform

adequately. Over-schooling involves the process of educational mismatch, that is, when the

attained educational level exceeds the required level (Ibe-bassey, 2012).

Over-schooling, according has two key terms, ‘over’ and ‘schooling’. Hornby (2006)

defines ‘over’ as being above while ‘schooling’ means the act or process of being trained,

instructed, taught or educated in a school. Blaise-Okezie (2011) also says that schooling can be

said to be where the process of teaching and learning is done at specific times at particular places

outside the home. Therefore, an over-schooled individual is one who has schooled or been taught

in a school, beyond the level expected of him/her or one who has spent number of years in

excess of the number required or expected of him/her. This level expected must match

individual’s development and different categories of jobs or careers.

Some of the learning tasks and instructional activities including homework given to

these vulnerable children are quite strenuous and embarrassing, far beyond the developmental

38

tasks associated with their ages. Supporting this view, Joshua (2012) observes that over-

schooling equally occurs at the early childhood education. There is a serious violation of the

developmental task orientation that psychology of learning has presented. For Joshua (2012),

over-schooling also involves keeping these young children back in schools compulsorily for

extra teaching (lesson) till 3-4 pm. This contradicts any known learning principle or law and

challenges the common sense of even the non-educationists. He further expressed worries

because as a result of over-schooling at this level, these innocent and vulnerable children are

being overburdened and over-tasked by their task masters, some of whom are under-skilled,

under-educated, under-schooled and under-qualified. The number of hours that these children

spend in school is too much for their ages. Hence they are over-schooled.

Today’s changing world has led to pressure that affects children’s development.

Increased urbanization, changing patterns of employment and mass migration of people within

and across national borders have all led to profound social changes in most countries (Cohen and

Chetley, 1994). As a result, there is over-schooling of the children. According to Hulbert (2010),

over-schooling is the push to excel both in and outside the classroom. In his opinion, it is a

means of pushing pupils to succeed, a form of vigorous self-discipline resulting in top

performance with the end justifying the means. Supporting the idea, Etiubon (2012), Ibiam and

Aleke (2012) view over-schooling as a strong push by overzealous parents to make children

succeed in their academic pursuit at all costs, an act of making children consider themselves

exceptional in academic standards and this actually puts children under enormous pressure in

other to satisfy parents’ yearnings. Also, some parents, as a result of their low economic status,

39

make their children to jump to the next class without considering the child’s capability to cope in

the new class.

Over-schooling could also be explained in terms of the act of young children being taught

more than usual or too much at school. This too much study eventually leads to overloading.

This is what happens when young children are exposed to excessive schooling without

necessarily minding their biological and chronological age and their level of readiness. They are

said to be over-schooled (Ibiam and Aleke, 2012). Over-schooling at the pre-primary school is

also seen from the angle of difficult, strenuous and the amount of homework given to these

children which does not match their development level and the chronological age. According to

Umobong, et al. (2012), so many people feel that children can learn only if they are

overburdened with a lot of homework. On daily basis, pupils are made to stay in school till

4:00pm and still go home with much homework, which may last up to two or more hours, to be

submitted the following day. For instance, children at age 3 are given homework to write 1 to

100 and are asked to go to internet and download household utensils. They are required to define

concepts far above their learning abilities and to draw domestic animals, mould cup or lizard

using clay or paper mash, to write 36 states and their capitals, among others. Even at such tender

age, they are forced to learn to read. They learn to do addition and subtraction and of course,

mentally by memory and not by reasoning. This amounts to over-schooling because the children

are burnt out or teachers do not assign things worth the extra time.

The concept of over-schooling can be explained in terms of the length of time spent by

children in school activities. As a result of the society’s relentless focus on education or rather

exams and results, the average child in Nigeria and the world over attends, not only regular

40

school, but also a series after school and holiday lessons that are run privately where they cram

English, Mathematics and other core subjects into their already tired heads. Almost 80% of

children in Nigeria are forced to attend such lessons either in the school premises or at home

despite the normal school hours (Umobong, et al.2012). The consequence of this too much

involvement in school related and overloaded academic activities, is that children have little or

no time for play. This indeed is detrimental to their overall development and also has negative

influence on both students’ academic performance and study skills either positively or

negatively.

Other authors have various explanations of Over-Schooling. According to Ibiam and

Aleke (2012), over-schooling can be explained in relation with curriculum overload at the pre-

primary education level. The curriculum of a particular class of school may be overloaded

beyond the level of the children of that class or school. For instance, the curriculum for the pre-

primary education level stipulates learning by play. But in practice, most schools and teachers do

real teaching of number and numeracy at that level. These children are also made to learn topics

or subjects which are above their learning ability and level of education as prescribed by the

National Policy on Education. Woolfolk (2008) explained over-schooling in terms of long

learning hours on the part of these young children. Spending more time on a task does not

guarantee an increase in learning. Children cannot sit still or pay attention for long. This is

observed by Ibiam and Aleke (2012) who said that attention is necessary for learning because

unless children pay attention in class, little or no learning can occur.

Therefore, over-schooling may have grave consequences on the young children, parents,

teachers and even curriculum implementation. It may have more negative consequences than

41

positive ones. Spending more time than necessary in order to acquire knowledge, skill, attitude,

values, among others, may lead to more learning and may impede comprehension and

assimilation of those cherished outcomes of education. It may collaborate Plato’s saying that

knowledge which is acquired under compulsion has no hold on the mind (Udosen and Alfred,

2012). Knowledge is a whole and the child experiences the world in totality. The child’s

development should be holistic and concurrent. Better education takes place when the child is

viewed as a whole person and not when the child’s development is fragmented. The situation

whereby the child’s intellectual development is heightened to the detriment of other aspects is

inappropriate and it is termed mis-education (Abidoye and Agusiobo, 2000).

Concept of Homework

Homework is teachers assigned and teacher monitored learning experience which takes

place outside the classroom. It is a planned part of the education process designed to enhance

student’s learning (Cooper,1989). Gill and Schlossman (2000) observed that the issues of

homework have been perennial topics of debate in education and attitudes towards them have

been cyclical. Marzano and Pickering (2007) also observed that throughout the first few decades

of the 20th

century, educators commonly believed that homework helped create disciplined

minds. By 1940, growing concern that homework interfered with other home activities sparked a

reaction against it. This trend was reversed in the late 1950’s when the Soviets’ launch of sputnik

led to concern that U.S. education lacked rigor. Then, schools saw more rigorous homework as

partial solution to the problem.

By 1980, the trend reversed again, with some learning theorists claiming that homework

could be detrimental to students’ mental health. Since then, several arguments have continued to

42

proliferate for and against homework. Although many people think of homework as doing more

harm than good by causing copious amount of unnecessary stress to everyone, others believe it

has great advantages for children by encouraging them think more independently outside the

classroom.

Homework is beneficial because through practice and participation in learning tasks,

homework can improve the children’s achievement. This is supported by Goldstein and

Zentall(1999) who also believe that if homework is accurately completed, the children will

definitely increase mastery of basic academic skills such as reading, writing and Mathematics. It

can also strengthen their sense of responsibility. E-skool (2010) also supported the importance of

homework. For him, homework improves the children’s thinking and memory, helps them to

develop positive study skill and habits that will serve them well throughout life and encourages

them to use time wisely. It also teaches them to work independently, to take responsibility for

their work, allows them to review and practice what has been covered in class; helps them to get

ready for the next day’s class, and to learn to use resources such as libraries, reference materials

and computer websites to find information. It encourages them to explore subjects more fully

than classroom time permits; allows them to extend learning by applying skills to new situations;

it helps them integrate learning by applying many different skills to a single task such as book

report or science project. It also helps parents learn more about what their children are learning

in school which helps in the effective communication with the schools and also encourages

parents to spark the children’s enthusiasm.

Several authors have also shown that in elementary school, homework helps build

learning and study habits in children. Such authors include Cooper (1989); Cooper, Lindsay, Nye

43

and Greathouse (1998); Georges and Elliot (1999) as cited by Armes (2011). Keith (1992) as

citied by Armes (2011) opines that 30 minutes of daily homework in high school can increase a

student’s GPA to half a point.

Some authors equally have contrary views about homework. Kohn (2006) views

homework as harmful. In his article, Edweek article, he did not find any correlation between

homework and improved standardized assessment scores. Supporting his view, Kralovec and

Buell (2000) said that homework disrupts families, overburdens children and limits learning.

Judd (1998) warns that homework is not always a good thing and can harm the children. Bennett

and Kalish (2006) support their views but were particularly concerned about the amount of

homework given to children. They felt that homework is actually hurting our children. For them,

too much homework harms the children’s health and family time. They believe that teachers are

not well trained on how to assign homework. Researchers like Good and Brophy (2003)

condemn assigning too much homework to children. Others include Cooper, Robinson and Petall

(2006) who issued a strong warning against too much homework.

The pressure of having to complete homework every night is quite daunting for most

children and they need to refresh their minds and bodies. Again, it reduces the amount of time

that children could be spending with their families. Family time is especially important to

growing children and without it, social problems can crop up and a family unit can be

compromised by lack of time being spent together. This is supported by Email NewsLetter(2012)

where it is noted that preschool children should not be given homework because they need time

to relax and take their minds off work. Homework can cause conflict between children and

parents when the parent wants the children to do their homework but meets resistance from the

44

children to do an overwhelming task. Furthermore, too much homework can encourage cheating

because children end up copying off one another in an attempt to finish all the assignment. They

end up being rewarded for cheating which does not benefit them at all.

Finally, a lot of teachers do not often have time to grade papers properly as they are too

busy with designing lesson plans and consulting teaching resources. Goldstein and Zentall

(1999) are of the view that as children grow older, homework and the amount spent should

increase in importance. Therefore, pre-school children should have little or no homework for

their age. For Lacovara (2010), homework has both advantages and disadvantages. Homework,

for him, at an early age can help the children develop good habits and attitudes, teaches them to

work independently and leads to good family benefits which lead to more communication and

interest from home to school. It is good that young children have time for non-traditional

learning of skills such as reading for pleasure, making friends, playing games, getting exercise or

frankly just being children. With this mindset, he feels that homework is unnecessary, especially

at the early age. Hence, the American Educational Research Association as cited by Lacovora

(2010) is of the opinion that whenever homework crowds out social experience, outdoor

recreation and creative activities and whenever it usurps time that should be devoted to sleep, it

is not meeting the basic needs of children and adolescents.

Ideally, the purpose of homework is to help reinforce what is taught in class. Sometimes

its purpose is to gather extra information beyond what was taught in class. Unfortunately, some

teachers who do not understand its meaning just give it as something to keep the children busy

(Kurtus, 2012).

45

Fig I: Schematic diagram of the conceptual framework

The schematic representation above is the summary of what the researcher sets out to

study. Childhood is a period (0 – 6 years) when children are meant to be taken care of at home

by responsible adults. However, due to the busy engagement of parents, some

businessmen/women and some civil servants, these young children are taken to the pre-primary

school.

This child who is a school child is exposed to pre-primary school education.

Unfortunately, the young school child is exposed to knowledge and learning too much for his

age, that is, he is over-schooled. This is exemplified by the volume of homework he is given

which eventually is done by his parent.

From the Diagram, the study would want to ascertain the perception of parents on the

over-schooling of these young children.

Childhood

Pre-primary Education

School Home Parents’ Perception

Influence

on

School Child

Over-schooling Homework

Academic work

Long hours in

school

46

Theoretical Framework

A theory consists of statements and assumptions about relationships, principles and data

designed to explain and predict a phenomenon. The theories under review here are appropriate

for application if the needs of children are to be met in the quality pre-primary education. Three

of such theories are referred to and they are:

Jean Piaget Intellectual Development Theory (1896-1980)

This theory was propounded by Jean Piaget, a Swiss Psychologist in 1964. His theory

seeks to explain how individuals perceive, think, understand and learn. The theory believes that

children develop ways of thinking and understanding by their actions and interaction with the

physical world. Piaget in his cognitive development theory identified periods or stages of

cognitive development. He described the development of thinking as passing through the

following stages: sensorimotor stage (0-2 years), pre-operational stage (2-7 years), concrete

operations stage (7-12 years) and formal operations stage (12-15 years). For him, pre-primary

children come under stage 2 of his theory of intellectual development–the pre-operational stage

(2-7 years). He believes that in early childhood education children play an active role in their

own cognitive development; mental and physical activities are important for cognitive

development. Experiences constitute the raw material necessary to develop mental structures

and that children develop cognitively through interaction with and adaptation to the environment.

Therefore, he concludes that children’s thinking is not quantitatively different from adult

thought.

At this stage, the child asks a lot of questions, begins to take part in symbolic play. If

curricula do not take into account their level of conceptual development, learning would be

47

inefficient. This theory is relevant to this present study in that it will help all stakeholders –

government, proprietors and teachers, to be acquainted with information on how children learn,

and that thinking about and understanding this makes it easier for the planning of the curriculum

and their teaching to match their developmental level.

Harvighurst Developmental Tasks Theory

The theory was propounded by Robert J. Harvighurst in 1952.The theory states that a

task arises at or about a certain period in the life of an individual. Successful achievement leads

to his happiness and success with later tasks. Failure leads to unhappiness in the individuals,

disapproval by the society and difficulty with the later tasks. Harvighurt’s contribution was in the

form of developmental tasks which the growing person must master if development is normal.

The idea contained in his work is that some of the problems which young children encounter at

various stages of their lives have a special importance because solving them prepares them for

the next stage of development. For instance, the pre-school child prepares herself through play

experiences at this level of education for the more complex activities of the primary school.

The developmental tasks aim to serve as guidelines, to enable the individual to know

what the society expects of him at a given age. They motivate the individual to do what the

social group expects him to do at certain times in his life, and they also serve to warn and inform

the individual regarding what he is expected to do when he reaches the next stage of

development in the life span. This theory is relevant to the present study in that understanding

these tasks is useful in defining educational objectives and timing educational efforts. Therefore,

the importance of learning through play at this stage should not be jettisoned as play is the major

48

task at this level of development, if this level is successfully resolved, transition to the next

higher level will be smooth.

Erik Homberger Erikson’s Psychosocial Development Theory (1902-1994)

This theory is closely related to Harvighurst developmental task theory. It was

propounded by Erik Homberger Erikson in 1950. The theory states that at each stage, crisis

occurs that should be resolved if there is be to healthy progress to the next stage. He proposed

that developmental changes occurring throughout one’s life may be perceived as a series of eight

stages, with each stage focusing on a developmental task, crises or challenge or turning point in

one’s life span. During the pre-school years, it is essential to enhance autonomy, preschoolers

should be encouraged to engage in free experimentation under teacher’s guidance. At the

kindergarten level, teachers should permit self-initiated activities and intervene only when a

child infringes on other children’s rights. Erikson’s theory is vital to the preschoolers because he

believes that cognitive development occurs hand in hand with social development and they

cannot be separated. It has relevance to this study in that too much of a prescribed curriculum (an

aspect of over-schooling) might limit the development of autonomy and initiative and probably

introduce doubt and guilt. Furthermore, the theory is related to this work because at pre- school

level, infants develop a basic trust or mistrust of others through their relationship with their

parents. If their parents respond to their needs (feeding, sleep and relaxation of bowels), they

develop social trust and they become reluctant to let their mothers out of sight without undue

anxiety or rage. The degree of trust which infants develop will depend on the quality of parent-

child relationship. If the child fails to develop basic social trust during this stage, a distrust of

49

other people may lead to unhappiness and considerable personality difficulties in later life.

Parents play a major role in helping the child to form a sense of basic trust.

During the autonomy versus doubt or shame stage, children start to develop autonomy

and confidence in their abilities when they are taught how to master tasks or do things for

themselves. If the child is made to feel that independent efforts are wrong, by their parents’

criticism, then shame and self doubt develop instead of autonomy.

At the initiative versus guilt stage, children no longer rely on others to provide tasks for

them. They initiate actions on their own and begin to do them themselves and ask for help only

when they need it. If they receive encouragement and praises from their parents they develop

positive feeling and guilt will be avoided. If their parents respond by discouraging children’s

initiative, criticizing it or ignoring the children when they ask for help they develop a sense of

guilt about performing tasks. The guilt, if it remains, can cause individuals to become

considerably over-controlled and excessively inhibited.

At the Kindergarten level, teachers should permit self- initiated activities and intervene

only when a child infringes on other children’s rights. Erickson’s theory is vital to the

preschoolers because he believes that cognitive development occurs hand in hand with social

development and they cannot be separated. Hence, in accordance with Erickson’s theory, too

much of a prescribed curriculum might limit the development of autonomy and initiative and

instead probably introduce doubt and guilt.

Review of Empirical Studies

Some empirical studies have been conducted in the area of early childhood education in

Nigeria in relation to over-schooling in Nigeria. The reports are presented as follows:

50

I Studies on Early Childhood Education

Ibiam (2011) reported an empirical study carried out in Abia and Ebonyi States entitled

“Ignored areas militating against the effective actualization of the goals of the early childhood

education in Abia and Ebonyi States of Nigeria.” It was a descriptive survey. The population of

the study was 278 respondents including 5 permanent Secretaries and 5 Directors of Education.

Six research questions guided the study. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire. It

was constructed on a 4 point Likert type scale.

Two specialists in Early Childhood Education and one specialist in Curriculum Studies

validated the instrument. Mean and standard deviation were used in the analysis.The results

show that there are many ignored areas militating against the effective actualization of the goals

of early childhood education in Nigeria. Based on the findings, it was recommended, among

others, that the Government should ensure that pre-primary schools meet the minimum standards

in terms of teachers. The non actualization of these goals by the government actually led to the

problem of over-schooling which the present study is investigating. Most teachers recruited at

this level are underschooled and underskilled to handle children at this pre primary school. This

study is related to the present research because the non actualization of the goals of early

childhood education gave rise to the problem of over-schooling at this level of education. Mean

and standard deviation will also be employed by the present study.

Ugwu (2011) carried out an empirical study to find out the extent of implementation of

the policy on early childhood education. She employed a descriptive survey design. The sample

comprised 96 head teachers randomly selected using the simple random sampling technique from

Isi-uzo Local Government Education Authority of Enugu State. Two research questions guided

51

the study. A 17-item questionnaire which was face validated by experts in Childhood Education

and Measurement and Evaluation was used for the study. A four point modifier Likert-type scale

of Great Extent (GE), Moderate Extent (ME), Little Extent (LE), No Extent (NE) weighted

4,3,2,1 respectively was used. Reliability index of 0.62 was got. Mean and standard deviation

were used to analyze data. The study discovered that, apart from encouraging private efforts in

the provision of pre-primary education, government has failed to implement the policy on pre-

primary education. Some factors were identified as responsible for this anomaly. It was

recommended, among others, that Government and all stakeholders should ensure the effective

implementation of the policy by providing all that is needed for the policy to work. This study

has a great relevance to the present one as the inability of government to fully implement the

policy on pre-primary education also gave rise to problem of over-schooling about which the

present study sets to find out the perception of parents on. This present study will also use mean

and standard deviation in the data analysis.

ii Studies on Over-Schooling:

Ibiam and Aleke (2012) carried out a study to examine over-schooling as a threat to

childhood education in Nsukka Local Government Authority. It was a descriptive survey design.

A total of 120 parents from six private and six public schools that have Early Child Care

Education (ECCE) randomly selected formed the population of the study. Three research

questions guided the study. Data were collected using the instrument constructed by the

researchers. The instrument was captioned over-schooling: Threat to Early Childhood Education

Questionnaire QTECEQ. The questionnaire has a 4 point rating scale. This instrument was

validated by three experts, one in Childhood Education, one in Educational Psychology and one

52

in Measurement and Evaluation. Descriptive survey design was used to find the threats of over-

schooling on pre-primary school children. Mean was used to analyze the data on a bench mark of

2.50. Results showed that over-schooling is a threat to early childhood education. Some

recommendations were made among which is government , educational administrators,

supervisory and inspectorate division should help in monitoring and enforcing guidelines and

policies for the education of the child to avoid creating over-schooling at this foundation level of

education. This work has a great relationship with the present as it sets out to determine

perception of parents on over-schooling which actually is a threat at this level of education.

Mean will also be used by the present researcher for data analysis, using 2.50 as a bench mark.

In another descriptive study, Umobong, Akubuiro and Idika (2012) in their study on

parents’ perception of over-schooling at the pre-primary education level, examined the opinions

of parents about over-schooling in Uyo, Akwa Ibom state. The study specifically examined

parents’ opinion about length of time children spent in school, amount of homework, amount of

school involvement at children’s age and effect of over-schooling on children and parents. On

the design, a phenomenological approach was taken for the study. Semi structured interview with

a series of discussion formed the initial framework followed by a structured questionnaire on a 4

point Likert scale. The population comprised all parents whose young children attend private

nursery/primary schools in Uyo, Akwa Ibom state. A sample of 200 parents was used. The data

obtained were analyzed using descriptive statistics, that is, frequency, percentage, mean and

standard deviation. Four research questions guided the study. The result of the study showed that

parents were of the opinion that the length of time children spent in school was much, the

amount of homework was much, children were overloaded with school activities that did not

53

match their age and over-schooling affects both the children, parents and the overall family.

Based on the findings, recommendations were made among which is that stakeholders in

education should be made to realize that children need to have time for fun and also develop

their interest. The present study will utilize descriptive statistics and 4-point Likert scale

questionnaire just as was done in this study being reported as the two studies deal with

perception of parents on over-schooling of pre-schoolers but in different states.

Similarly, Etiubon (2012) carried out a study to investigate over-schooling and students’

study skills in junior secondary schools basic science in ten private schools in Ikot Ekpene LGA

of Akwa Ibom. It was a descriptive survey design. The population comprised of all JSS1 and

JSS2 basic science students in Ikot Ekpene Local Government Area. From which a sample of

200 JSS1 and JSS2 basic science students were drawn using stratified random sampling

technique. Two research questions guided the study. Instrument for data collection was Basic

Science Students’ Questionnaire (BSSSQ)

Validation of the instrument was done by two experienced Chemistry graduate teachers

and two test and measurement experts. Cronbach alpha was used to determine the reliability

which yielded a coefficient of 0.85 and the data collected were analyzed using mean (X). Results

showed that there was a significant effect of over-schooling on basic science students study

skills. There were gender related differences in that the males were influenced by over-schooling

on their writing skill and the females were influenced by over-schooling on listening skill. The

study, therefore recommended, among others, that students should be given adequate time after

school to relax and practice efficient utilization of study skills to facilitate knowledge grasp of

basic science. This study is relevant to the present study because the problem of over-schooling

54

as it affects children was investigated even though at different levels of education. Cronbach

alpha and mean will also be employed by the present researcher.

Summary of Review of Literature

The review was done under the conceptual framework, theoretical framework and review

of empirical studies. The review revealed that a lot of work had been done on the area of pre-

primary education. Some authorities in early childhood education traced the history of pre-

primary education to 1750 to 1910 when group concept in the education in Nigeria was dated

back to the British colonial era when only the colonial administrators had the privilege of giving

their young children pre-school education. The researcher also looked at the concept of pre-

primary/early childhood education and the pre-school child. At the pre-school age range, the

child is in a world of his own with his unique characteristics. Accordingly, a child is regarded a

minor from birth to the legal age of maturity, for whom parents, caregivers, foster parents, public

or private firm, are responsible. Early childhood refers to the pre-school years and occurs

between zero to six years. Also early childhood education refers to the education given in an

educational institution to children prior to their entering into primary school and it includes the

crèche, the nursery and the kindergarten. The conceptual study shows that over-schooling occurs

when children are over tasked, over burdened, over loaded and over tutored and that this may be

detrimental to their development and learning.

The theoretical framework highlighted three theories such as Piaget’s cognitive

developmental theory, Harvighurst developmental tasks theory and Erik H Erikson psycho-social

developmental theory. Jean Piaget’s theory explains how children perceive, think, understand

and learn. He emphasized that children develop ways of thinking and understanding by their

55

actions and interaction with the physical world. Harvighurst’s idea is that some of the problems

which young children encounter at various stages of their development are important in that

solving them prepares them for the next stage of development. Erikson’s theory, which is closely

related to Harvighurst’s emphasizes that a crisis at a certain stage must be successfully resolved

if there must be a healthy progress to the next stage. Therefore, the importance of learning

through play at this level of young children’s development should not be played down on as play

is the major task for this level of development. And if this level is successfully conquered,

transition to the next stage will be smooth.

The review of related empirical studies highlighted the findings of some studies on

childhood education and over-schooling in Nigeria. It is discovered that the empirical studies

conducted in early childhood education focused mainly on identifying areas of weakness of the

pre-primary education programme, non implementation of policy and other ignored areas

militating against the actualization of the goals of the pre-primary education in Nigeria. This

weakness actually gave rise to the problem of over-schooling at this level which some studies

also reviewed. Though research work had been carried out in the area of over-schooling as it

affected pre-primary school in Nigeria, no such study has been done in Onitsha educational zone

and it is this gap that this present study intends to fill.

56

CHAPTER THREE

RESEARCH METHOD

In this chapter, the design of the study, area of the study, population of the study, sample

and sampling technique, instrument for data collection, validation of the instrument, reliability of

the instrument, method of data collection and method of data analysis are discussed.

Design of the study

The design used in this study is descriptive survey. A descriptive study seeks or uses the

sample data of investigation to document, describe and explain what is existent or non- existent,

or the present status of a phenomenon being investigated. It is also used to measure public

opinions on major burning social, political and educational issues. Nworgu, (2006) defined a

descriptive survey research as one in which a group of people or items is studied by collecting

and analyzing data from only a few people or item considered to be representative of the entire

group. The reason for the choice of this design is because it is one in which information is

collected without manipulating the environment. Therefore, information that will be collected

will actually measure or describe the problem as it is.

Area of the Study

This study was carried out in Onitsha Education Zone of Anambra state. Onitsha is

6o10

1N 6

o47

1E. It is bounded on the East by Nkpor and Obosi; on the west by Asaba/River

Niger; on the North by Nsugbe and on the South by Ogbaru (Anon 2014). Onitsha Education

Zone is made of two local Government areas, namely Onitsha North and Onitsha South local

government areas.

56

57

The choice of Onitsha Education Zone for this study is as a result of its cosmopolitan nature

which has a huge number of inhabitants and great economic activities taking place there. Again many

private schools, including pre-primary schools, exist there. Parents are literates and semi illiterates

and can afford to send their children to private schools. Besides, since the inception of pre- primary

education in the city in the early 70s, no study has been carried out to ascertain parents’ view or

perception about over- schooling of children in the area.

Population of the Study

Onitsha has one hundred and eighty- six (186) government approved pre-primary schools,

out of which sixty- four (64) are government owned, while one hundred and twenty- two (122) are

private establishments. The 122 private schools, with 2,440 children have a target population of

2,440 parents (Ministry of Education, Onitsha, 2014, Onitsha L.G.A Headquarters, 2014). Therefore,

the population of this study was made up of 2,440 parents of children attending private pre-primary

school in Onitsha Education Zone of Anambra state.

Sample and Sampling Technique

The sample for the study was 240. Simple random sampling technique was used to select

10% of the parents. This is in line with Mkpa (1997) who stated that when a population is in few

thousand then 10% would be selected as sample. In other words, 12 private pre-primary schools from

the 122 private pre-primary schools in Onitsha Education Zone were used. Then, from each of the 12

selected schools, 20 parents were selected for the study. This gave a total of 240 parents who

constituted the respondents for the study. This number was randomly selected using a table of

random numbering to avoid bias and to ensure that the population being sampled was a

representative of the entire population, that is, it yielded research data that could be generalized to the

target population.

58

Instrument for Data Collection

The researcher developed the questionnaire which was titled Parents Perception on the

Over-schooling of Children at the Pre-primary Education level (PPOCPE). The questionnaire

consisted of two Sections. Section 1 consisted of demographic information of parents in terms of

occupational status. Section 2 of the questionnaire consisted of thirty-one (31) items which

measured the parents’ perception on over-schooling of the young children at this level. A four (4)

point Likert scale of strongly agree (4), agree (3), disagree (2), and strongly disagree (1) was

used. Each parent was required to tick (√) on the options mostly appropriate to him or her.

Cluster A sought information on perception of parents on the action of keeping children

in school after normal school period; cluster B sought information on perception of parents on

volume of homework given to children; cluster C elicited information on the perception of

parents on the academic work involvement of children at pre-primary level of education; cluster

D for information on perception of parents on the influence of over-schooling on the children,

and cluster E for information on perception of parents on their opinion on the possible solution of

over-schooling of children.

Validation of the Instrument

The instrument was given to three experts for face validation. One of the validates was

from Childhood Education, one from Measurement and Evaluation and one from Library and

Information Sciences, all in the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. These validates scrutinized the

items of the instrument in terms of relevance to the study, the adequacy of the items in collecting

data to address the purpose of the study. They also examined the level and appropriateness of

language of the items of the instrument. The experts examined the clusters and matched them

59

with the research questions and hypotheses. The items which contents were not clearly stated

were restructured and rewritten in respect of the experts’ directives. Corrections emanating from

the validation were used for the final draft of the instrument.

Reliability of the Instrument

Twenty (20) copies of the questionnaire was trial tested on a sample of 20 parents of

young children who attend two different private pre-primary schools in Nsukka Education Zone

in Enugu state. The result of the trial test was used to determine the internal consistency

reliability of the instrument using Cronbach Alpha method. According to (Nworgu, 2006),

Cronbach’s Alpha method is used when the instrument is polytomously scored, which applies to

the present instrument. The reliability coefficients for the various clusters are: Cluster A is 0.81;

Cluster B is 0.84; Cluster C is 0.78; Cluster D is 0.81; and Cluster E is 0.91. The overall

reliability coefficient of the instrument is 0.92.

Method of Data Collection

The direct delivery and retrieval method to administer the instrument was employed. .

The copies of the questionnaire were administered to twenty parents from each of the randomly

selected 15 private pre-primary schools in Onitsha Education Zone of Anambra state through the

help of two research assistants. These research assistants helped in the distribution of the

questionnaire to the parents.

The respondents who were able to complete the instrument were allowed to do that,

while assistance was given to those who could not do that on their own. The completed copies of

questionnaire were collected back. Two hundred and sixty four (264) copies of the questionnaire

were distributed while two hundred and thirty (237) were returned and used for the analysis

60

therefore the response rate was obtained by number of copies of questionnaire used divided by

number of copies distributed, multiplied by 100, i.e response rate =

%8.891

100=×

ddistributecopiesofNo

usedcopiesofNo

Method of Data Analysis

Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Research questions 1, 2, 3 4 and 5 were answered

using mean and standard deviation. T-test of independent variables was used to test the

hypotheses. The cut-off mark for acceptance of each item of the instrument was a mean of 2.50,

obtained by dividing the sum of response categories with the number of response categories ie

,50.24

10

4

4321==

+++ while any item with a mean less than 2.50 was rejected. The two

null hypotheses for this study were tested at 0.05 level of significance. Also Software Package

for Social Science (SPSS) was sued for the analysis. Decision rule: If the exact probability value

is less than the level of significance, reject the null hypothesis and if otherwise accept the null

hypothesis.

61

CHAPTER FOUR

DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS

This chapter presents the data collected and analysed for the study. The analyzed data

were used for answering the research questions and the hypotheses which guided the study.

Research Question One

What are the perceptions of parents on keeping children in school after normal school

period?

The data for answering question one are presented in Table 1 below:

Table 1: Mean Rating of the perception of parents on keeping children in school after

normal school period.

S/N Item Statements N x SD Decision

1 Most of what children do in lesson after school is not

necessary.

237

2.08

1.02

Disagree

2 Keeping children too long in school creates opportunities

for interaction with friend and classmates

237

2.48

0.94

Disagree

3 The children are not too young to be kept long after school.

237

2.29

0.99

Disagree

4 Children are kept longer in school not necessarily for

learning but to help parents who may not have help at

home.

237

2.73

1.01

Agree

5 This is computer age, children must stay longer hours in

school to meet up with the new trend of things if they must

develop properly.

237

2.38

1.05

Disagree

6 Keeping young children after normal school period is more

beneficial to the owner of the school than the children

237

1.99

0.95

Disagree

Overall 237 2.33 0.99 Disagree

61

62

Data presented in Table 1 above shows the mean ratings of the responses of the parents of

the pre-primary school pupils. Items 1,2,3,5 and 6 were rated below the cut-off point value of

2.50 on a 4 point rating scale while item 4 was rated above the cut-off point value.

The above findings indicated that parents disagree to the fact that children are not young

to be kept long after school, that most of what they do in lesson after school is necessary, hence

does not create opportunity for interaction between them and their classmates and friends.

Parents also disagree to the fact that even though this is computer age that children should be

kept in school to meet up with the new trend of things. Furthermore, they disagree that the long

hours children stay in school after school period is more beneficial to the owners than to the

children. However, they agree that children are kept back after normal school period to help

parents who may not have help at home. Therefore, generally parents both businessmen/women

and civil servants disagree to the fact that children are kept in school after normal school period.

( )99.0,33.2 == SDx

Research Question Two

What are the perceptions of parents on the volume of homework given to children at this

level?

Table 2: Mean Rating of the perception of parents on the volume of homework given to

children at the pre-primary school level.

The data for answering research question 2 are presented in Table 2 below:

S/N Item Statements N x SD Decision

1 Too much homework develops in children good study

habits

237

2.88

1.00

Agree

2 Children do not need too much homework to succeed 237 2.44 0.93 Disagree

63

3 Most homeworks are often too demanding for children’s

age.

237

2.67

0.87

Agree

4 Children get so tired after the long school in stay that

doing homework becomes a burden

237

2.68

0.93

Agree

5 Too much homework is good to prevent them from much

playing

237

2.84

0.88

Agree

6 Too many homework prevents the children from learning

home chores

237

2.43

0.93

Disagree

Overall 237 2.66 0.92 Agree

Data presented in Table 2 shows the mean ratings of the responses of parents of the pre-

primary school children on the volume of homework given to the children at this level. Items 1,

3, 4, and 5 were rated above the cut-off point value of 2.50 on a 4-pont rating scale while items 2

and 6 were rated below the cut-off value. The above findings indicated that most parents agreed

and supported the idea of given much homework to children at this level, for them, lot of

homework helps the children to develop good study habit and to actually succeed. It prevents

them from too much play which they feel is not needed for this age. They still agreed to the fact

that children get burdened with too much homework after a long stay in school as become what

the children are given are often too demanding for their age. However they disagreed that too

many homework prevents children from learning home chores. But generally, in their perception,

parents support the claim that a lot of homework is given to children at the level.

( )92.0,66.2 == SDx

Research Question Three

What are the perceptions of parents on the academic work of children at this level?

64

Table 3: Mean Ratings of the perception of parents on the academic work of children at

this pre-primary level of education.

S/N Item Statements N x SD Decision

1 Children should not just be taught the rudiments of

numbers, letters, colours and form at the level of

education.

237

2.35

1.05

Disagree

2 Children at this level should be allowed to play, more

especially with toys than any schools academic work at

school

237

2.33

0.09

Disagree

3 The instruction given to children are just enough for their

age

237

2.59

0.76

Agree

4 Most times, the academic work given to the children is

too high for their age

237

2.59

0.93

Agree

5 I do not bother whether or not my child is taught things

that are higher than his age.

237

2.11

0.96

Disagree

6 Little teaching with a lot of play is only good for this

level because it enable, the children exhibit attitude of

enquiry and creativity at home.

237

2.68

1.00

Agree

Overall 237 2.44 0.80 Disagree

Data presented in Table 3 shows the mean ratings of the responses of parents on the

academic work of children at this level. Items 3,4 and 6 indicate parents agreement that at this

level the instruction given to children are just adequate, but that most times it is high for their

age. They support the idea of having little teaching with a lot of play but disagreed that level

should be allowed to play with toys and taught just rudiment of numbers, letter and colours.

Therefore generally, parents disagree that the academic work given to children at this level is

much, for them real teaching should be done and not just teaching the rudiments of numbers,

letter and colour ( )80.0,44.2 == SDx .

65

Research Question Four

What are the perceptions of parents on the influence of over-schooling on children at this

level of education?

Table 4: Mean Ratings of the perception of parents on the influence of over-schooling on

children at this level of education.

S/N Item Statements N x SD Decision

1 Too much engagement in school activities contribute to

children’s rebellious behaviour.

237

1.98

0.88

Disagree

2 Due to too much school work, the children have no time for

leisure

237

2.46

0.87

Disagree

3 Too much school work does not leave anytime for proper

family interactions

237

2.37

0.97

Disagree

4 The children pass through a lot of stress by over-staying at

school.

237

2.54

0.93

Agree

5 Too much involvement in the school activities is bad for the

children at this age

237

2.31

0.94

Disagree

6 Too much involvement keeps them safe and protects them

from negative and unsafe behaviour outside the school.

237

2.89

0.88

Agree

Overall 237 2.43 0.91 Disagree

Data presented in Table 4 indicate the mean responses of parents on the influence of

over-schooling on children at the pre-primary education level. Items 1, 2, 3, and 5 indicate

parents-disagreement on the influence of over-schooling my on the children at this level. Their

mean values of 1.98, 2.46, 2.37 and 2.31 respectively were below the cut-off point value of 2.50

on a 4- point rating scale, while the items 5 and 6 indicate parents agreement on the influence of

66

over-schooling on the children. Their mean values of 2.54 and 2.89 are greater than the cut-off

point value of 2.50.

The above findings indicate that most parents did not agree that rebellious behaviour of

children, lack of leisure, no proper family interaction were as a result of their too much

involvement in school activities. Therefore, on the overall, parents did not agree that over-

schooling has serious negative influence on their children ( )91.0,43.2 == SDx

Research Question Five

What are the perceptions of parents on possible solutions of over-schooling of children at

the pre-primary level of education?

The data for answering research question 5 are presented in Table 5 below

Table 5: Mean Ratings of the perception of parents on the possible solutions to over-

schooling of children at the pre-primary education.

S/N Item Statements N x SD Decision

1 Children should be collected immediately school closes

between 12 noon and 1.00pm

237

2.70

1.00

Agree

2 Parents should be part of the decision making body of the

school to ensure that their children at this level are not given

too much education.

237

2.68

0.97

Agree

3 Parents should be conversant with the provisions of the

National Policy on Education to ensure that the guidelines

are followed in handling their children at this level.

237

2.93

0.98

Agree

4 Sending children to public/government owned pre-primary

school is better than sending them to private ones.

237

1.92

0.88

Disagree

5 Children at this level should not be allowed to be involved in

both after school and holiday lessons

237

2.33

1.05

Disagree

67

6 Government monitoring of the activities of pre-primary

schools (both private and public ones) will ensure strict

compliance to the guidelines of the pre-primary education.

237

3.24

0.87

Agree

7 Organizing refresher courses for pre-primary school teachers

from time to time is necessary.

237

3.35

0.92

Agree

Overall 237 2.74 0.95 Agree

Data presented in Table 5 indicate the mean responses of parents on the possible

solutions of over-schooling at the pre-primary level of education. Items 1, 2, 3, 6, and 7 indicate

parents agreement to ways of solving the problem of over-schooling at this level, while items 4

and 5 indicate their disagreement. Their mean values were matched with the cut-off point value

of 2.50 on a 4-point rating scale.

The above findings indicate that parents agree that the problems of over-schooling could

be solved if children are collected from school between 12 noon and 1.00pm. Other areas they

supported is that parents should be part of the decision-making body of the school, and be made

to the conversant with the provisions of government guidelines for pre-primary education

contained in the National Policy on Education. They also agreed that effective school monitoring

by government would assist. They agreed strongly that a refresher course should be organized

for teachers form time to time who handle those children to equip them with the government

approved best practices for that level of education. However, they disagreed that children at this

level should not be involved in after school and holiday lessons. They also did not agree that

public schools are better than private schools in terms of education of the pre-primary school

children. On the overall, parents agreed that the problem of over-schooling can possibly be

solved ( )95.0,74.2 == SDx .

68

Hypothesis One (Ho1)

There is no significant difference between the perception of civil servants and

businessmen/women as parents on the influence of over-schooling on pre-primary school

children.

The data for testing hypothesis I (Ho1) were presented on Table 6 below:

Table 6: The t-test statistics of the mean rating of perceptions of civil servants and

businessmen/women as parents on the influence of over-schooling on pre-primary

school children.

Table for Ho1

Parents N x SD df t Sig (2- tailed

test)

Decision

Civil servants 115 2.46 0.47 235 0.98 0.33 Not Significant

Businessmen/women 122 2.39 0.54 0.33

Data presented in table 6 above indicate that the t value of 0.33 is less than the level of

significance (p < 0.05) at 235 degree of freedom (df). Appling the decision rule for the software

package for social sciences (SPSS) that if the exact probability value is less than the level of

significance reject the null hypothesis and if otherwise accept the null hypothesis. Therefore the

null hypothesis is rejected. This implies that there is no significant difference between the mean

ratings of civil servants and Businessmen/women perception on the influence of over-schooling

of the pre-primary school children (t = 0.98, P > 0.05).

69

Hypothesis Two (Ho2)

There is no significant difference between the perception of civil servants and

businessmen/women as parents on the possible solutions of over-schooling at the pre-primary

school level.

The data for testing hypothesis 2 (Ho2) were presented on Table 7 below:

Table 7: The t-test statistics of the mean rating of perceptions of civil servants and

businessmen/women on the possible solutions of over-schooling of pre-primary

school children.

Table for Ho2

Parents N x SD df t Sig (2- tailed

test)

Decision

Civil servants 115 2.86 0.46 235 3.46 .001 Significant

Businessmen/women 122 2.62 0.60

Data presented in table 7 above indicate that the t value 0.001 is less than the level of

significance (p < 0.05) at 235 degree of freedom (df). Appling the decision rule for the Software

Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) that if the exact probability value is less than the level of

significance I reject the null hypothesis, if otherwise accept the null hypothesis. The null

hypothesis is therefore rejected. This implies that there is a significant difference between the

mean ratings of civil servants and businessmen/women perception on the possible solution of

over-schooling at the pre-primary level of education (t = 3.46, P < 0.05).

Summary of Major Findings

Based on the research questions and the null hypotheses that guided the study, a number

of findings were made. The result revealed that.

70

(i) Parents, both civil and businessmen/women, did not support the idea of keeping

children in school after the normal school period.

(ii) Parents, both civil and businessmen/women, did agree that children at this level are

given too much homework.

(iii) Parents, both civil servants and businessmen/women, disagreed that the academic

work given to children at this level is much. These parents believed that real teaching

should be done and not just teaching them the rudiments of numbers, letters and

colours.

(iv) Parents, both civil servants and businessmen/women did not agree that over-

schooling has influence on pre-primary children.

(v) Parents, both civil servants and businessmen/women agreed that the problems of

over-schooling could possibly be solved. They agreed that parents should collect their

children from school between 12 noon and 1.00pm. Also, parents should be part of

the decision making body of the school by being part of the PTA. Strict monitoring of

the activities of the pre-primary schools both private and government owned by the

government could help enforce compliance with the guidelines of the National policy

on Education at this level etc.

(vi) There is no significant difference between the mean ratings of civil servants and

businessmen/women on the influence of over-schooling on the pre-primary school

children.

71

(vii) There is a significant difference between the mean ratings of civil servants and

businessmen/women on the possible solution of over-schooling at the pre-primary

school level.

72

CHAPTER FIVE

DISCUSSION OF RESULTS, EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATION, CONCLUSION,

RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUMMARY

This chapter deals with the discussion of the findings of the study. The conclusion drawn

from the findings and suggestions for further research are also highlighted. Finally, the

limitations of the study as well as a brief summary of the entire work are presented.

Discussion of Result

The findings of this study are discussed in line with the research questions and

hypotheses that were formulated to guide the study. Specifically the study was discussed

according to the following sub-headings:

- keeping pre-primary school children in school after normal school period

- volume of homework given to children at the pre-primary level of education

- academic work given to children at the pre-primary level of education

- influence of over-schooling on the pre-primary level of education.

- Possible solutions to over-schooling of school children.

Keeping Pre-primary School Children in School after Normal School Period

The results of this study indicated that parents, both civil servants and

businessmen/women disagreed that the children actually spend a long time after the normal

school period. Eventhough they felt that the children are not young to be kept after normal

school period. They agree that the long time they should spend in school would be to help

parents who may not have help at home, and create opportunity for interaction between them,

their classmates and friends. This finding agrees with the findings of Umobong et al. (2012), who

72

73

agree that this is so because many times even the teachers themselves get tired after spending the

first few hours with the children. Having to spend extra hours will just amount to waste of the

children’s leisure hours since the children and the teachers are already too tired to be effective.

However, some parents felt that keeping children long after the normal school period should be

to assist parents who may not have help at home. This is because most parents, both civil

servants and businessmen/women feel that there is much security leaving the children at school

with their teachers than keeping them at home with no help or an incapable hand. Therefore, the

practice is that they dump these children at school in the morning while going for their day’s

business only to collect them late in the evening at the end of the day’s business.

Volume of Homework given to Children at the Pre-Primary Level of Education

The result reveals that parents agree that the volume of homework given to children at

this level is much. They believe that the much homework is good in developing good study

habits in children and that they need a lot of it to succeed, as it prevents them from much

playing. This is in line with the findings of Spellings (2005) who observed that homework could

be beneficial to pupils as it helps them to develop good study habits and positive attitudes, it

teaches them to work independently, encourages self discipline and responsibility. Parents also

agreed that even though homework is good, that most of the homework given to these children is

too demanding for their age, that these children get so tired after the long stay in school that

doing homework becomes a burden to them, in which case parents will be the ones to do the

homework for the children. This amounts to over-schooling. This finding agrees with that of

Iroegbu (2003) who therefore advised that instructional activities should be given to children

according to their age and developmental stage. Contrary to the view of parents, Kleeneze (2013)

74

in his findings discovered that spending more time on homework adversely affects children’s

scores in schools, and also leads to depression in children and suggests that children should be

allowed 8 hours of play and 8 hours of rest (sleep) in a day. Furthermore, Kralovec and Buell

(2000), Bennett and Kalish (2006), in their findings discovered that much homework harm

children’s health and family time. In line with the researcher’s finding on the volume of

homework given to these young ones, Umobong et al (2012) frown seriously that teachers in

private schools do not seem to bother about the volume of homework they give to children at this

age. The homework is too demanding that at the end of the day, not only the child is stressed up,

but the parents who have to assist in doing the homework and the entire family live in many

cases is tampered with as a result of the day to day effort in tackling the too much homework for

two or more children. Umobong et al. (2012) therefore advised for a reduction in the volume of

homework given to these pre-primary school children to allow them time for leisure.

Academic Work given to Children at the Pre-Primary Level of Education

Concerning the academic work for the children at the pre-primary school, parents agree

that real teaching should be done with play at this level, not just teaching them the rudiment of

numbers, letters and forms. Even though they agree that the instruction given to them is adequate

but that most of the time the academic work they are exposed to is too high for their age. Hence,

this over involvement of the children in the academic work constitute over-schooling.

From the response of parents on this, it appears most parents were ignorant of the

provisions of the National Policy on Education on pre-primary education. The Federal

Government is her National Policy on Education provided that teaching should just be on

rudiment of numbers, letter and forms and not real teaching. What is seen from the finding is that

75

real teaching goes on at this level; hence children are over involved in academic related

activities. This trend is dangerous because involvement of children in only academic related

activities is a major enchroachment on the amount of time families spend together. Tugend

(2011) also corroborated this finding as he observed that this trend reduces drastically the

attachment children should have with their parents. Over-involvement of pre-primary school

children in academic related work or activities is a serious violation of the guidelines as provided

by the National Policy on Education.

Influence of Over-schooling on the Pre-primary Level of Education

The result of the influence of over-schooling on children at this level reveal that parents

used as respondents do not actually understand the negative influence of over schooling on these

children. That explains why private schools in Onitsha Education zone are highly patronized by

them. Onitsha, being a cosmopolitan city is very busy with trade, involving businessmen/women

and even civil servants who engage in similar activities to have ends meet. Hence, the need to

educate parents on the negative influences of over-schooling of children at this level.

From the results, parents disagreed that over-schooling could contribute to children’s

rebellious behaviour, deprive them of leisure and proper interactions with families. However,

they see over-schooling as helping to keep the children safe and protect them from negative and

unsafe behaviour outside the school. This view of parents is actually based on ignorance as

efforts need to be made to educate parents on the danger and negative influence of over-

schooling. Over-schooling has terrible negative influence of children. This is in line with the

findings of Uganga (2012) who said that over-tutoring might lead to over stimulation of the

learner’s brain which could be detrimental to the learner’s wellbeing. It could lead to nervous

76

disorder, depression and insanity. Wendy (2011) also expressed fear over the problem of over-

schooling as he states that excessive tutoring could damage a child’s intrinsic motivation and self

esteem. Furthermore, according to Umobong et al. (2012), psychologists blame the culture of

over-schooling children for all manner of social ills, from immoral practices, unacceptable to the

society to the disobedience and stubbornness found in children at the primary school age.

Possible Solution to Over-schooling of School Children

Generally, parents agreed that this problem of over-schooling exists in Onitsha

Educational Zone. In their view the problem can be solved if parents are made to pick their

children from school as soon as school dismisses between 12 noon and 1.00pm, Again, parents

should be part of the decision making body of the school, for example PTA, to ensure that they

monitor how the children at that level are handled. If parents are made to be conversant with the

provisions of National Policy on Educations for pre-primary they could be better educated to

fight the problem of over-schooling of the children at this level. Government can help put a stop

to this problem of over-schooling if they effectively monitor the activities of pre-primary

schools. More importantly, the teachers handling children at this stage should be knowledgeable

enough on the guideline of the pre-primary education through occasional refresher course.

Implications of the Study

The findings of the study revealed that parents did not support the idea of keeping young

children back in school after the normal school period. Government should be able to enforce

this through strict monitoring of the activities of these schools. Parents, also as members of the

Parent-Teacher Association of the schools, should ensure that these children are not kept back in

77

schools after the normal school period through dialogue and participation in the decision making

of the schools.

The findings of this study reveal the response of parents on the volume of homework

given to pre-primary school children, their response on the amount of the academic work given

to the children while in school and also their response to the influence of over-schooling on these

children. Although parents agreed that the volume of homework given to these children is much,

they still opted that real teaching be done at this level and not just to expose the children to

rudiments of numbers, letters, colours etc. Parents displayed ignorance on the serious negative

influence of over-schooling on these children. From the above, it is observed that parents are

ignorant of what over-schooling actually is and its effect on their children. Hence they prefer to

send their children at this pre-primary school age to private schools where over-schooling is

prevalent than sending them to the government owned schools. The implication is that there is

need to organize seminar from time to time by government to educate parents on what over-

schooling actually is, its negative influence on children which definitely will affect their adult

life in the society.

The findings also revealed that the problem of over-schooling can possibly be solved.

This implies that there is need for parents, having been properly educated on the

guidelines/provisions of the National Policy on Education should be part of the decision making

body of the school. That is being part of the school’s Parent – Teacher Association (PTA) to

ensure that NPE guidelines on pre-primary level of education are fully implemented. It also

implies that Government should have an effective monitoring of the activities of both private and

government owned pre-primary schools to ensure strict compliance to the guidelines/provisions

78

of the National Policy on Education concerning this level of education. They should be ready to

sanction any school that violates the guidelines. Another implication of this finding is that

teachers who teach children at this level must possess good qualification in pre-primary

education from good and recognized higher institutions. At these higher institutions, the teachers

would be exposed to the provisions of the National Policy on Education as regards the pre-

primary education. With the employment of qualified teachers, the issue of over-schooling at this

level may be reduced. This is necessary because it was observed that the problem of over-

schooling is partly caused by the recruitment of uneducated, unskillful and unqualified teachers

teaching children at this level.

Conclusion

In conclusion, parents overall view is that children should not be kept in school beyond

the normal school period, even for those parents who do not have help at home. This is so

because if children are allowed to stay long in school they will not have enough time for free

play. This does not encourage creativity.

Parents perceived the volume of homework given to these young children at this age to

be much and a reduction in this would allow them time for leisure. However, they maintained

that these children should be exposed to real teaching at school and not just the rudiments of

numbers, lettered, colours etc.

It would appear from this study that parents are ignorant of the devastating influence of

over-schooling on the young children and therefore, the researcher suggests that adequate

awareness be made about this ugly monster of over-schooling and its negative consequences on

79

young children through seminars by Government and personal campaign to educate parents

accordingly.

Finally, parents agreed that the problem of over-schooling could possibly be solved

through various ways among which is parents being part of the decision making body of the

schools, that is, being part of the Parent Teacher Association (PTA). Effective monitoring of the

activities of the pre-schools by Government is very necessary to ensure strict compliance to the

guidelines as provided by the National policy on Education as it affects this level of education.

Recommendations

Based on the findings of the study, the researcher recommends that:

i. Children should not be kept in school beyond the normal school period of 12.00 noon to

1.00pm for whatever reason. Government should ensure that defaulting schools in this

regard are severely sanctioned.

ii. Parents should be part of the decision making body of the school, that is, being members

of the school’s Parent Teacher Association.

iii. Seminars should be organized from time to time for parents by churches and Non-

Governmental Organizations (NGO) to educate parents on the psychological implication

of over-schooling of children at the pre-primary school level.

iv. The National Policy on Education should be mass produced by the Federal Government

and ensure that this important book is given to parents of these children at the point of

registration of their children at school.

v. Tertiary institutions, especially Universities should mount diploma or degree programme

in pre-primary education to train graduates in pre-primary education. These will

80

eventually be employed to teach the pre-primary school children in both private and

public primary schools. This will enable teachers to follow the simple curriculum

provided by the National policy on Education which will result to lots of leverage and

stress-free teaching as most teaching and learning will be done through play.

vi. Government should ensure proper monitoring and supervision of the activities of both

private and public schools on regular basis. They should ensure strict compliance to the

provisions of the National Policy on Education. Sanctions should be made on defaulting

schools, because if the purpose and guidelines provided by the National Policy on

Education are implemented children would grow normally to become responsible

citizens later in life.

vii. Government should organize seminars for Heads of public and private pre-primary

schools to harmonize their activities, and the curriculum they use. This will ensure that

children are not overburdened with homework, school activities etc.

viii. Teachers should teach children at this level of education using the specified guidelines in

the National Policy on Education.

Limitations of the Study

The following limitations were inherent in this study. The private schools used for the

research work were so scattered in Onitsha Educational Zone that a heavy amount of money was

spent by the researcher on Okada transport to get to the schools.

Secondly, getting the respondents to complete the questionnaire was not easy. Private

schools were used and the administration of the questionnaire was done through the teachers or

school coordinators with the approval of the proprietors. As a result, the administration of the

81

questionnaire was very suspicious because the proprietors did not know how the outcome will

affect their operations. There was no direct contact with the respondents, hence many copies of

the questionnaires were returned uncompleted or poorly completed while some were not returned

at all.

Suggestions for Further Studies

Based on the findings of the study, the researcher suggests the following for further

studies. The research was carried out in Onitsha Educational zone of Anambra state; further

studies can be carried out in other towns in Anambra state and also another state of the

Federation for comparative analysis. Further research could also be carried out to investigate the

academic performance of over-schooled pre-school children at their primary or secondary school

level of education.

Summary of the Study

Over-schooling which is gradually gaining grounds in Nigerian educational system,

particularly at the pre-primary level of education is worrisome. Children at this foundational

level of education are denied time for fun, leisure and the opportunity to develop their interest

through interaction with nature. This denial at this foundation level can affect their adult life.

Unfortunately most parents are ignorant of the effect of overburdening, overtasking and over-

schooling of these very young brains. The need for the study motivated the researcher to embark

on the study to ascertain the perception of parents on over-schooling of children at the pre-

primary level of education in Onitsha Educational zone.

To guide the study, the following research questions were asked.

82

• What are the perception of parents on keeping children in school after normal school

period?

• What are the perceptions of parents on the volume of homework given to children at this

level?

• What are perceptions of parents on the academic work of children at this level?

• What are the perceptions of parents on the influence of over-schooling on children at this

level of education?

• What are the opinions of parents on the possible solutions of over-schooling at the level?

While the following null hypotheses were formulated and tested at 0.05 level of significance.

Ho1: There is no significant difference between the perception of civil servants and

businessmen/women as parents on the influence of over-schooling on pre-primary school

children.

Ho2: There is no significant difference between the perception of civil servants and

businessmen/women as parents on the possible solutions of over-schooling of pre-

primary school children.

The conceptual framework focused on perception, parents, child/childhood/pre-primary

school child, pre-primary education, over-schooling and homework.

The theoretical framework dealt on Jean Piaget Intellectual Development Theory,

Harvighurst Developmental Tasks Theory and Erik Homberger Erikson’s Psychosocial

Development Theory. Five (5) studies that are related to the problem under study were reviewed.

The design used for the study is a descriptive survey and the area of the study is Onitsha

Educational zone of Anambra state. The instrument titled Parents Perception on the Over-

83

schooling of Children at the Pre-primary Education level (PPOCPE) was developed by the

researcher to guide the study. The instrument was validated by three experts from the Faculty of

Education, University of Nigeria, Nsukka. The reliability of the instrument was determined,

using cronbach alpha testing method.

The population of the study comprised of all parents of pupils who attend private pre-

primary school in Onitsha educational zone. The direct derect delivery method was used to

administer and collect data from the respondents. The researcher employed the services of a

research assistant. The five researcher questions were analyzed using mean and Standard

Deviation, t-test statistics was used to test the null hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The

results of the findings showed that:

• Parents, both civil and businessmen/women, did not support the idea of keeping children

in school after the normal school period.

• Parents, both civil servant and businessmen/women agreed that children at this level are

given too much homework.

• Parents, both civil and businessmen/women agree that there should be real teaching to

children at this level, and not just exposing them to rudiments of numbers, letters,

colours etc.

• Parents, both civil servants and businessmen/women did not agree that over-schooling

have serious negative influence on pre-primary school, and I believe, this is as a result of

ignorance on their part.

• Parents, both civil servants and businessmen/women agree there is over-schooling at this

level and that this problem of over-schooling can possibly be solved.

84

• There is no significant difference between the mean ratings of civil servants and

businessmen/women on the influence of over-schooling on the pre-primary school

children.

• There is a significant difference between the mean ratings of civil servants and

businessmen/women on the possible solutions of over-schooling at the pre-primary

school level.

The findings of the study were thoroughly discussed, their educational implications

stressed. The researcher also made some recommendations. Suggestions for further studies and

limitations were also emphasized.

85

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APPENDIX 1

QUESTIONNAIRE

Faculty of Education

Department of Education Foundations

University of Nigeria, Nsukka

1st July 2014.

Dear respondents,

I am a postgraduate student of the Department of Education Foundations of the

University of Nigeria, Nsukka. I am currently carrying out a research on perception of parents on

over-schooling of children at the pre-primary education in Onitsha Education Zone of Anambra

state.

The questionnaire items are meant to elicit information from you which is purely for

academic purposes. I therefore appeal to you passionately to help me fill these questionnaire

items as any information given would be held in utmost confidence.

Thanks for your co-operation

Yours Sincerely,

Okonkwo, Stella C.

Researcher

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APPENDIX II

Perception of parents on over-schooling of children at the pre-primary education level in

Onitsha Education Zone (PPOCPE) questionnaire

INSTRUCTION

Do not write your name on the questionnaire. Your honest and unbiased responses to the

questions are very necessary. Read each item in section 2 carefully and think about how each is

related to the over-schooling of the child/children. Indicate whether you strongly agree, agree,

disagree or strongly disagree on the clusters A-E and indicate the extent of your agreement or

disagreement by ticking strongly agree, agree, disagree or strongly disagree.

Tick (√) on the responses in sections 1 and 2 most appealing to you

SECTION I: BIO – DATA OF PARENTS

OCCUPATIONAL STATUS

CIVIL SERVANT

BUSINESSMAN/WOMAN