Proceedings of the 18th International Academic Conference, London

EDUCATION, CARE AND WELLBEING OF CHILDREN IN PRE-SCHOOLS AS A CORRELATE FOR EMPOWERMENT AND CHANGE IN THE NIGERIAN SOCIETY.

AKEREDOLU OLUKEMI, OLUFUNMILOLA, DAGUNDURO OLAYINKA M

Abstract:

Learning is closely intertwined with wellbeing. The school environment, as a context of learning, has been found to play an important role in children’s social, emotional and behavioral development (Gutman and Feinstein, 2008). It has been observed by many scholars that “high-quality early education produces long-lasting benefits” (Schweinhart & Weikart 1997; National Research Council & Institute of Medicine 2000; Peisner- Feinberg et al. 2000; National Research Council 2001; Reynolds et al. 2001; Campbell et al. 2002). With this evidence, the Nigerian federal, state, and local decision makers are asking critical questions about young children’s education. What should children be taught in the early years from birth through age eight? How would we know if they are developing well and learning what we want them to learn? And how can we decide whether programs for children from infancy through the primary grades are doing a good job? Are the school environment and feeding culture addressing children’s wellbeing in school? Answers to these questions about early childhood education curriculum, child assessment, and program evaluation— are the foundation statement of this paper which adopted the descriptive survey design. This paper is therefore interested in investigating the Effect of Early Childhood Care Education and Wellbeing as a Correlate for Empowerment and Change in the Nigerian Society. The study amongst other things recommends that victimization and bullying should not be encouraged in pre- school; schools should be well funded and teachers should be appropriately trained. Equally, schools should provide balanced mid-day meals to children to cater for malnourishment wherever applicable. This study is noteworthy because it advocates spending on children’s education as an economic investment in a society's future.

Keywords: Children; Education; Early Childhood Curriculum; program evaluation; Victimization; Bullying; Empowerment and Change.

DOI: 10.20472/IAC.2015.018.093

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