FACTORS THAT AFFECT THE GROWTH AND PERFORMANCE OF SCHOOLS AND CHILDCARE PROVIDERS IN ENUGU STATE

1.1 Introduction

The physical performance of children and the outdoor environment as pedagogical space for toddlers have been described previously (Krombholz 2006, 2012; Moser and Martinsen 2010). Many children fail to develop the appropriate language skill may be because their teachers in the school, their parents at home have lost the focus and have failed to see the need in assisting the child to develop his/her linguistic prowess or skills which is very important in human life. As children were not taught by those who are in position to teach how to develop appropriate language skills, these children grow up losing the grip of either their mother tongue or the English Language which is the second official language of instruction to the child.

As a prelude to other parts of this study, this chapter will discuss the background upon which this study was initiated, the statement of problems that led to this study, the Aim and Objectives of the study. Others are Significance of the study, Scope of work, Research hypothesis and questions, Limitations of the Study and Definition of technical terms.

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1.2 Background of Study

Childcare centers play significant role in the early development of the child. Child care also referred to as day care, is the care and supervision of a child or multiple children at a time, whose ages range from six weeks to thirteen years. Child care is the action or skill of looking after children by a day-care center, nannies, babysitter, teachers or other providers (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2011). Childhood care and education/intervention programs that is been done in schools have been shown to significantly enhance children’s prospects for academic success by reducing the probability of referral to special education, grade retention, and leaving school prior to high school graduation, which in turns facilitates the growth and performance of schools (Smith, 2002). In addition, Childhood care demonstrates significant return on investment over children’s lifetimes according to cost-benefit analyses.

Perhaps one of the most important functions of childcare provider programs is providing a strong foundation for literacy development, bearing in mind that poor academic skills are strongly associated with dropping out of school and delinquency (McLoyd, 1998). However, there is an important caveat with regard to these research findings, only Childhood care and education programs of high quality are associated with positive outcomes which also bring the school to lime light in terms of growth and performance. According to Jencks & Phillips (1998), poor quality programs appear to be associated with negative child outcomes and, unfortunately, the very children most likely to benefit from Childhood care are the least likely to be enrolled in high-quality schools. New research is revealing how high-quality schools may be supporting children’s language and literacy development and that the impact of specific preschool language and literacy activities may depend on children’s language and emergent literacy skills.

Perhaps the most robust predictors of school success are child related factors which are their early oral language skills, including vocabulary, use of complex sentences, and metalinguistic awareness (of which phonological awareness is one element). Emergent literacy skills, including letter knowledge, knowledge about letter–sound correspondence and understanding the purposes of reading and writing, are also associated with later school success (Bowman et al, 2001).

Overall, there is good evidence that parents and teachers, as well as home and school environments, can influence the development of these school child skills and thereafter raises the performance and growth of the school being attended. Thus, Childhood programs organized by school management that focus on strengthening children’s language, literacy, and self-regulation across multiple contexts typically prove to be most effective in promoting school success. The study seeks to appraise the factors that affect the growth and performance of schools and child care providers in Imo State.

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1.3 Statement of Problems

There are factors which affect the growth and performance of schools and childcare providers. These include poverty, developmental and learning disabilities, belonging to an ethnic minority, and speaking English as a second language, among other things (McLoyd, 1998). Therefore it is necessary that educators and policy makers implement policies which engender quality education system and child care and education programs. It is also essential that an effective monitoring and evaluation mechanisam be implemented to access the impact of child care and quality education programs on the development of the child. The problem confronting the study is to appraise the factors that affect the growth and performance of schools and child care providers in Imo State.

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1.4 Aim and Objectives of Study

The aim of the study is to appraise the factors that affect the growth and performance of schools and child care providers in Imo State. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out as follows:

1. To understand the reasons for poor growth and performance of schools and childcare providers in Imo State.
2. To examine if the teachers are responsible for the poor growth and performance.
3. To study the factors that enhances growth and performance of schools and childcare centers.

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1.5 Research Questions

The study came up with research questions so as to be able to ascertain the above stated objectives. The specific research questions for the study are stated below as follows:

• What are the reasons for poor growth and performance of schools and childcare providers in Imo State?
• Are the teachers responsible for the poor growth and performance?
• What are the factors that enhance growth and performance of schools and childcare centers?

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1.6 Research Hypothesis

In order to pursue the objective of this study, the following generalized statements have been designed to guide and aids in obtaining the result for the experiment to be conducted. For this work, the null hypothesis will be represented with H0 while the alternative hypothesis will be represented with hypothesis H1.

• H0: There is no significant influence of the schools’ performance on students’ academic achievement.
• H1: There is a significant influence of the schools’ performance on students’ academic achievement.

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1.7 Significance of Study

The study appraises the factors that affect the growth and performance of schools and child care providers in Imo State. It provides relevant data for the effective formulation and implementation of policies to enhance the realization of envisaged objective.

This study will be of immense benefit to other researchers who intend to know more on this study and can also be used by non-researchers to build more on their research work. This study contributes to knowledge and could serve as a guide for other study.

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1.8 Scope of Study

The study focuses on the Factors that Affect the Growth and Performance of Schools and Childcare Providers using Imo State as a case study.

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1.9 Limitations of the Study

During the course of this study, many things militated against its completion, some of which are:

1. Time Constraint: The time frame given to accomplish this project was very short due to school academic calendar and it was carried out under pressure which made the researcher not to implement some necessary features.
2. Research material: availability of research material is a major setback to the scope of the study.
3. Frequent power failure: This made the researcher append more money on fuel to ensure sustainable power.
4. Financial Constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).

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1.10 Definition of Terms

Childcare Defined: Child care also referred to as day care, is the care and supervision of a child or multiple children at a time, whose ages range from six weeks to thirteen years. Child care is the action or skill of looking after children by a day-care center, nannies, babysitter, teachers or other providers.

Educational Supervision Defined: Educational Supervision consist of all effort involving school officials directed at t providing leadership to educational workers or teachers to enhance an improved educational system and institution. The process involves the deployment of human and material resources.

Education Defined: Education is viewed as the process of inviting truth and possibility. It is the wise, hopeful and respectful cultivation of learning undertaken in the belief that all should have the chance to share in life.