THE CREATION AND APPLICATION OF TEACHING  MATERIALS IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION

CHAPTER ONE
 INTRODUCTION

1.1    BACKGROUND OF THE PROBLEM

Early childhood education begins in the early years of a child's life, with underlying goals drawn from a desire to encourage, stimulate, and lead the child's growth in the direction of competence, particularly communicative competence ( Ajibade, 2001). The ultimate goal of good teaching and learning is for the learner to learn, and the symbol of learning outcome is a change in behavior that occurs as a result of the experience (Akande, 2002). According to Ekwueme (2001), it is the teacher's responsibility to create experiences that support, stimulate, and structure children's learning so that they advance and comprehend in ways that are suitable to their needs and capacities. As a result, it is critical for the teacher to employ teaching materials and aids in order to make teaching and learning more relevant. According to Ekpo (2004), teaching materials are frequently employed to compensate for sense organ deficiencies or to boost the capability of the dominating organs. They must be relevant to the achievement of effective learning and the curriculum's goals. Experts from many domains reviewed and processed the teaching materials throughout their creation. When original resources are not accessible for use in teaching and learning, different types and formats of teaching materials might be used, according to Olumorin (2009). For example, imported charts with "A" for Apple and "B" for Balloon are used in African pre-school classes, but a locally developed chart that reflects things that can be easily observed in the child's environment, such as "A" for Ant, "B" for Basket, and "C" for cutlass, can be utilized. It is against this backdrop that the need to devise approaches to facilitate the utilization of local resources in the development of teaching materials (Igwe, 2000). Various writers have defined teaching materials. Teaching materials are referred to as learning materials by Agun (1988), who sees them as concrete or physical objects that provide sound, visual, or both to the sense organs during teaching and learning. Aguna (2005) sees them as a concrete or physical object that provides sound, visual, or both to the sense organs during teaching and learning. All types of information carriers that may be utilized to support and encourage successful teaching and learning activities will be included in teaching materials (Obu, 2003). Teachers have an endless supply of teaching material to employ in order to improve the quality of their education. In truth, the teacher's inventiveness, originality, and imagination are limitless. Locally produced teaching methods, according to Romsik (2005), help young children develop communicative competence. Locally generated teaching materials may be considered as a tool that assists or stimulates the development of early language abilities and lays the scene for subsequent vocabulary growth, according to the researchers. Most instructors do not utilize them, robbing children of the benefits that come with using them. There are no teaching aids in certain circumstances, and even the teachers lack the ability to improvise locally manufactured materials to improve learning and communication competency among pre-schoolers (Seveck, 2005). As a result, the purpose of this study was to see if using locally generated teaching materials had any implications for successful teaching and learning as well as the development of communicative competence in early childhood education.

1.2    STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The process of teaching and learning Early childhood teaching resources should be utilized to make teaching and learning enjoyable, methodical, positively participatory, and meaningful educational experiences (sloan, 2003). The importance of teaching materials in the educational process, particularly in early childhood education, cannot be overstated, and where they are absent, improvisation should be made (Lai, 2005). The usage of locally created materials is good to the early pre-scholars' development. These materials may be available in some schools, but their impact is contingent on the teacher's ability to use them effectively. Some teaching materials may be provided, but a teacher who is unfamiliar with improvisation might disregard them while teaching and learning (Love, 2004). This might compromise the educational process' efficacy and obstruct the proper development of a child's communication skills. Most instructors are unable to improvise with what is available in their surroundings in order to successfully drive home the lesson given and develop communicative competence in early childhood learners when teaching materials are scarce (Bright, 2002). As a result, the goal of this study is to see if using locally generated teaching materials will aid increase effective teaching and learning as well as encourage communicative competence development in young children.

1.3   OBJECTIVES  OF THE STUDY

The goal of this study is to look at how instructional materials are made and used in pre-primary schools in Abeokuta, Ogun State. The study's objectives are to:

i. Determine how much and to what extent teaching materials are available in the selected pre-primary schools.

ii. The implications for successful teaching and learning in early childhood education.

iii. Emphasize how frequently instructors in the sample schools create and use instructional materials.

iv. How it affects the development of communicative ability in young children.

v. Investigate the extent to which instructors in pre-primary schools improvise teaching materials.

1.4    RESEARCH QUESTIONS

 i.  How much and to what extent teaching materials are available in the selected pre-primary schools?

ii. What are the  implications for successful teaching and learning in early childhood education?

iii.  How frequently do instructors in the sample schools create and use teaching materials?

iv. How does it  affect the development of communicative ability in young children?

v. What is the extent to which instructors in pre-primary schools improvise teaching materials?

1.5    SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This research will benefit children, teachers, parents, and the government. The outcomes of this study will assist students in recognizing the importance of using teaching materials in all school disciplines, particularly in core topics. This research is important to parents and guardians because it will help them realize the necessity of using instructional materials to assist their children learn all of the subjects they are taught. This will encourage them to work together with school officials to supply the essential academic materials for use in pre-primary school classrooms. This study will also aid the government and education policymakers since it will help them understand the role of teaching materials in pedagogical practice and the necessity for local manufacturing. This will encourage them to supply the essential educational resources for use in pre-primary schools, as well as financially reward instructors who produce teaching resources.

1.6    SCOPE OF THE STUDY

This research is confined to pre-primary school teachers in a few randomly chosen schools in Abeokuta South Local Government Area  Ogun State.

1.7     DEFINITION OF TERMS

Teaching materials: These are items that are utilized in the teaching and learning process to help students learn more effectively.

Production: Creating teaching and learning resources.

 Utilization:Making use of something.

Teaching aids: are devices that help teachers and students learn more effectively.

Visual aids: are regulated visual experiences that are offered to students in order to give them a real and correct picture or impression.

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