Browsing by Author "Olabisi, T. B."

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Pre-school teachers’ knowledge of early childhood assessment and domains of learning commonly assessed in Ondo West Local Government Area, Ondo State, Nigeria
(2018) Amosun, M. D.; Olabisi, T. B.
Children have unique nature and characteristics. Because of this, regular and holistic assessment of their learning and development is necessary. This could be done through observation, administration of standardized and teacher-made assessment instrument and children work. For assessment of pre-school children to be done effectively, teachers at this level of education need to have good knowledge of what early childhood assessment is all about. This study, therefore, examined pre-school teachers’ knowledge of early childhood assessment and domains commonly assessed in early childhood education centres in Ondo West Local Government Area of Ondo State. The study adopted descriptive survey design. The sample for the study comprised one hundred preprimary school teachers selected from both public and private schools through the use of purposive sampling. "Test on Teachers’ Knowledge of Early Childhood Assessment” (r=0.79) and “Checklist on Domains Commonly Assessed by Pre-school Teachers” (r=0.80) were instruments used for the study. Data collected were analysed using percentage, mean and standard deviation. Findings from the study revealed that the pre- primary school teachers’ level of knowledge on early childhood assessment in Ondo West Local Government Area was low (x = 38.71; SD = 16.31). Cognitive domain was the one most commonly assessed by the pre-primary school teachers (x = 3.40); with less emphasis on the assessment of other developmental domains which are the physical (x=1.58), social (x=1.60) and emotional (x=1.46). The implication is that, since the pre-schoolers are not properly assessed in all the domains of development through the use of appropriate assessment tools, they will not have the advantage of experiencing holistic development. It was, therefore, recommended that Pre-service ECE teacher education programmes should be reviewed such that teachers-in-training can acquire appropriate knowledge and skills in ECE assessment. School heads and owners should also organize in-service training, seminars and workshops on assessment in early childhood education periodically so as to train and expose the pre-primary school teachers to contemporary assessment practices in early childhood education.
Preschool teachers’ awareness, content knowledge, pedagogical skills and children’s emergent literacy in Ibadan, Oyo State
(Department of Special Education, University of Ibadan, 2018-07) Amosun, M. D.; Olabisi, T. B.
The primary function of language is communication. Learning about literacy begins long before children can read and write in the conventional sense. Most children at risk of school failure benefit more from high quality experiences as effective instruction in the early years can have a great impact on children's language and literacy development. In the absence of such effective instruction, differences in children understanding and use of language may vary greatly by age three. Reading skills provide a solid foundation for children's academic success. Children who read well tend to read more and, as a result, acquire more knowledge in many content domains. Although, many children learn to read without significant problem, but so many are having serious difficulty in reading which stems from lack of basic skills in emergent literacy. This study adopted a survey design of the correlational type. Random sampling technique was used to select three local government areas in Ibadan metropolis. Purposive sampling technique was used to select 10 participating preschools from each local government area with thirty (30) preschool teachers and (302) preschool children in all. Two validated instruments were adapted namely Preschool Teachers' Awareness, Knowledge of and Pedagogical Skills in Emergent Literacy Questionnaire (Pre-TAKE) and Preschool Children's Emergent literacy Assessment (PCELA) with reliability coefficient at (a = .89) and (r = .51) respectively. The data collected were analysed using multiple regression analysis to test the hypotheses. The findings revealed a significant relationship between teachers' awareness (r = 0.047; p < 0.05), content knowledge (r = 0.000; p<0.05) and the level of children's emergent literacy respectively, but there was no significant relationship between teachers' pedagogical skills (r = 0.91 ;p>0. 05) and the level of children's emergent literacy in Ibadan metropolis. In view of these findings, it was recommended that preschool teachers should be aware of children's emergent literacy and equipped with an extensive content knowledge, a repertoire of effective teaching strategies and decision making and problem solving skills to cater for children's needs. Through proper training and support, preschool teachers can acquire the expertise in literacy instruction and thus be successful in promoting literacy skills and motivation of preschool children.