STRATEGIES FOR UTILIZING CLOTHING IN TEACHING NURSERY SCHOOL CHILDREN IN LAGOS STATE

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to utilise clothing as a strategy for teaching nursery school children in Lagos state. Six research questions were answered and two hypotheses tested at 0.05 level of significance.  The area of the study was Lagos state. The study utilized  two different designs namely: the survey and Quasi experimental design involving the  pre-test and  post-test  treatment.  The  population  was  made  up  of  all  nursery  school  children  of Government and private schools in Lagos state and their teachers. Stratified random sampling technique was utilised to select the Local Government Area, schools, teachers and children that were involved in the study. The selected Local Government Areas (LGAs) for the survey and experimental studies were Kosofe, Somolu, Oshodi-Isolo, Badagry and Epe. However, the LGAs that participated in the  experimental section were Kosofe and Somolu under the Lagos state Education District two. The total number of schools utilised were six. The sample for the study was made up of three groups, two hundred and fifty teachers were utilised to answer  research  questions  for  the  survey  section  of  the  study.  The  second  group  of respondents  were sixteen teachers while the third group were 384 nursery school children who participated in the Quasi experimental section. To establish the reliability coefficient of the questionnaire used to collect data for the survey section of the study, the Cronbarch Alpha coefficient was utilised which was 0.9. Also the clothing lesson plans were trial tested on 20 randomly selected pupils in one of the schools that did not form part of the study. The test- retest method and Pearson product moment correlation was used to establish the reliability of the instruments. The reliability coefficient was 0.83. The performance of the groups on the achievement test was compared. A questionnaire was used to collect data from the teachers. Conventional  and  clothing  lesson  plans  in  the   five  mathematics  concepts  as  well  as achievement tests on the different concepts were used for data collection for the experimental studies. The mean, standard deviation and ANOVA were used for data analysis. The findings of the study revealed  among  others  that twelve  subjects  could be taught  nursery school children  using  clothing.  Thirty  concepts  in Mathematics  could  be  taught  using  clothing. Methods of teaching mathematics concepts using clothing were identified. The experimental group  of   nursery  school  children  taught  the  mathematics  concepts  utilising  clothing performed better than the controlled  group taught using the conventional method.  Twenty eight  problems  that  could  militate  against  the  teaching  of  the  selected   concepts  in mathematics using clothing were identified. Twenty one ways were identified for solving the problems militating against the teaching of mathematics concepts using clothing. Based on the  findings,  it  was  recommended  that:  clothing  should  be  included  in  all  instructional materials  for teaching all the subjects taught in  nursery schools. Clothing should be most utilised in nursery schools to teach all the mathematics concepts in this study. The clothing lesson plans used in this study should be incorporated into the curriculum of nursery schools.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

The importance of clothing to human life can never be over-emphasized.  Clothing is all items of apparel and adornment.  Clothing according to Wikipedia (2007) includes body decorations,  such as cosmetics, perfume, hair colour, marks on the skin, eyeglasses, handbags, shoe, socks, glove, cap, hat and hair arrangements,  jewellery, badges and  insigma of office or rank, extensions of the body in the form of canes, umbrellas and handkerchief. This is to say that clothing is covering for the body from the head to toe. Clothing can also be referred to as culture.

The use of clothing goes far beyond covering the body. Most people wear clothing but do not realize the importance as a learning tool for children. Rouse (1999) pointed out that the transmission of learned way of life is only possible because human beings have a highly developed and specialized ability to communicate clearly. Culture is a complex form of communicative system, therefore, non- verbal aspects of culture such as clothing communicates. Rouse (1999) opined that clothing is not a random or totally individual  affairs, it is a social activity, therefore,  expresses  messages  in a form that can be perceived by other people by standing for and representing the messages.

Clothing can be used in this regard as an important strategy in teaching various school subjects such as science, Mathematics, Arts, Social Studies most importantly in nursery schools where pupils need  to  be  taught  with  concrete  objects  for  better  understanding.  It is  in  this  regard  that  the National Policy on education of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (2004) section 2 No h gave  one of the objectives as to “teach the rudiments of numbers, letters, colours, shapes, forms through play”. In other words, the elements of design in clothing which are colour, shape, form, texture and line are Mathematical  concepts.  In  essence,  clothing  can  be  used  as  a  good  strategy  in  improving  the teaching of mathematics.

Mathematics as a subject plays an important role in the national development. It is the

recognition  of  this  role  that  the  study  of  Mathematics  is  made  compulsory  in  every  level  of education in Nigeria. This is why Salau (1995) noted that the skills and competences that will qualify students to gain entry into any tertiary institution and succeed in science and technology and related careers are at the heart of Mathematics.  Igbo (2006) in her study on identification of intervention package, for remediation of Mathematics disability in children pointed out that for some years now, the  performance   of  children   in  Mathematics   in  Nigerian   schools   has  been   very   poor  and disappointing. Igbo (2006) further stated that Mathematics disability starts as early as in pre-primary school  through  primary  school  and continues  thereafter,  unless  there is intervention  somewhere along the line.

Nursery  school  is an aspect  of pre-primary  education.  Olaitan  & Akpan  (2003)  stated  that nursery school seeks and addresses the growth needs of children between the ages of two and five years such that the pupils could successfully adapt to, and satisfy the primary school needs. In the nursery school,  children receive education which is commensurate  with the  children’s  tender age and  physique.   Weikart  (2000),  sees  nursery  school  as  a  “brilliantly  successful   experiment   in democratic living, in that children, 2-5 years of age, are received into a miniature community, where all have  equal  rights  and  equal  opportunities”.  Since nursery  education  is basic  in the country’s educational  system,  it is necessary  that children are  effectively  taught at this level. Barnett 2006 pointed out that, infancy to school age is a span of life when development is more rapid than at any other time in the life of an individual. It is at this time that it is easy for a child to learn and form habits,  and also politics  of social  interchange  is  established.    Nursery  school  teachers  introduce children  to  Mathematics  and  school  subjects  using  different  strategies  such  as  music,  dancing, storytelling,  films,  games,  artwork,  computers,  and  flash  cards.  The  delivery  of  quality  nursery education are characterized  by numerous challenges among which is teaching strategy. This is why Baba (2007) opined that teaching of nursery school children should not be a wholesome application

of  the  age-old  strategies  that  is  used  in  Primary  schools.  Treacy  and  Wiersema  (1994)  defined strategy  as a  term  that refers  to a  complex  web of  thoughts,  ideas,  insight,  experiences,  goals, expertise,  memories,  perceptions  and  expectations  that  provides  general  guidance  for  specific actions in pursuit of particular ends. This is to say that strategy is a plan or a vision and direction. Strategy is concerned with how an aim will be achieved.

The  poor  performance  of  students  in  Mathematics  according  to  Obodo  (1997)  has  been attributed  to the teaching  strategies  adopted  by Mathematics  teachers  in presenting instructions particularly  in  the  conventional  teaching  strategies  employed.  Teaching  is  the  guidance  of  the learner through planned activities so that the learner may acquire the riches and most appropriate learning  possible  from the learner’s  experiences.  This is why Igbo  (2006) pointed  out that young children appear more skilled at learning through touching and feeling than through vision. Modern education faces a lot of problems and attempt to solve the problems has led to the use of innovative teaching strategies.  The strategies involve the use of  all the senses (Kaura, 2007). Rogoff, Turkanis and Barlett (2001) support the Piagetan cognitive development view and, also believe that children learn best through  manipulation  of teaching  materials.  This is why Warren (2003) suggested  that clothes can be used to teach Mathematics, Science, vocabulary, Art and Social studies.

In  conventional   teaching  techniques,   that  is  the  strategies   used  presently,   in   teaching Mathematics  in Nigeria,  especially  in Lagos-State  nursery  schools  make it difficult  for  children  to understand  the concepts as a whole rather, the children understand  the concepts in isolation and learn parts without seeing wholes. Many scholars have employed  many strategies  including audio and visual,  such as television,  flash cards,  pictures,  charts,  pictures,  textbooks  storytelling,  music, dancing,  films,  games  and  artwork  to  teach  mathematics.  These  strategies  are  used  to  teach counting,  matching,  shapes, colours and measurement.  It has been observed  that these strategies could  be  improved  upon,  for  the  children’s  better  performance  and  solid  foundation  for  future

success in Mathematics. This has informed the researcher to carry out investigation on strategies for utilizing clothing for teaching nursery school children in Lagos-state.

Statement of the Problem

Nursery  school  education  lays  the foundation  for subsequent  learning  in schools.  Okeke (2004) stated that nursery school years are an active time for young children, their independence and initiative  enable them to explore their world in new ways.  Teachers  have  important  task of giving children numerous  and varied  opportunities  to promote their  development  during  nursery school  years including  physical  development,  thinking,  learning,  expressing  feelings,  awareness  of self and others.

The  strategy  for  teaching  nursery  school  children  presently  makes  the  children  acquire concepts  and skills through meaningful  activities  such as playing with blocks,  measuring  sand and water,  sorting  and classifying  materials,  drawing  and painting  and  observing  changes  around  the environment.   Nursery school teachers place great emphasis on activities such as singing, dancing, storytelling, colouring and drawing. This has not really helped to improve the teaching and learning of concepts and skills required in mathematics.

Mathematics  problems  are  common  at  all  levels.  There  are  many  constraints  affecting effective teaching  and learning of mathematics  in nursery schools in Nigeria,  particularly  in Lagos State. During the nursery school years in Nigeria as in Lagos State, many children cannot sort objects by size, match objects, understand  the language of mathematics,  or graps the concept of rational counting.(Igbo 2006).

Many scholars had carried out studies on: learning activities for development of pre-school children, achievement in mathematics and academic goal orientation in mathematics of the school- aged children; and intervention packages for remediation of mathematics disability in children. With

all the work  that people had done,  the pertinent  question  now is could any other  strategies  be utilized to improve the teaching  of mathematics,  particularly  in nursery school? Clothing plays an immensely  important  role  in  individual’s  life.  Most  people  wear  clothing  but  do  not  realize  its importance as a learning tool for children. This study will therefore seek to find out ways of utilizing this important aspect of human life (clothing) for teaching nursery school children.

Purpose of the Study

The major purpose of this study is to identify strategies for teaching nursery school children using clothing. Specifically, the study will:

1.           Identify subjects that should be taught nursery school children using clothing.

2.            Identify  concepts  in  mathematics   that  could  be  taught  nursery  school  children  using clothing.

3.            Use  clothing   creatively   to  teach   some   selected   concepts   in  Mathematics   (counting, matching, shapes, colours and measurement).

4.            Administer  an achievement  test in the different  concepts  in Mathematics  on the  nursery school children to ascertain their performance.

5.            Compare the performance of the two groups of nursery school children on the achievement tests.

6.           Find out the problems  that could militate against the teaching of the selected concepts in

Mathematics using clothing.

7.            Find out ways of  solving  the problems  militating  against  the use  of clothing  in  teaching nursery school children.

Significance of the Study

The  significance  of  this  study  will  in no little  way  provide  adequate  information  on  the strategies for utilizing clothing for teaching nursery school children. The findings will be of benefit to nursery  school  teachers  and Home Economics  teachers  especially  clothing  and  textiles  teachers, pupils, ministry of education,  educational  administrators  and curriculum planners, the government and the country at large.

The findings will be of benefit to the nursery school teachers because the teachers will  be exposed  to the use of innovative  strategies  that will  improve  the teaching  of  Mathematics.  The teachers will be aware of the varieties of instructional resources, the concrete objects used

for  teaching   in  a  strategic  way  for  the  children’s   better  understanding   of  the  concepts   of Mathematics.  This will reduce the pupils’ poor performance in Mathematics.  In the same vein, the study will reveal to the teachers of Home Economics, particularly the clothing and textiles teachers the innovative  teaching strategies.  The findings will guide the clothing and textile teachers on the ways of using clothing in teaching and learning situations.

The  findings  of  this  study  will  be  of  immense  benefits  to  the  pupils  if  the  strategy  is acceptable  and implemented.  There may be a sharp reduction  in the proportion  of  children  that drop out of school because of failure. This is because with the teaching strategies in the teaching of Mathematics, some of the Mathematics disabilities or educational problems of children will be taken care of before they manifest.  Since early years of a child is very crucial,  hence proper  education becomes necessary to prepare the child for the challenges in future. That is, the child will gain entry into  the  tertiary  institution  without  any  delay  because  Mathematics  is  one  of  the  compulsory requirements for admission into Nigerian tertiary institutions.

The Ministry of Education and policy makers will benefit from the findings of this study in that the findings will help in making necessary review and formulation of policies that will encourage

the training and re-training of nursery school teachers. This will make the teachers to learn various ways of enhancing their teaching.

The findings of this study will be of immense benefit to the educational  administrators and curriculum planners. The findings will help to develop appropriate Mathematics Curriculum that will incorporate  innovations  in the teaching strategies  at the nursery school level. The curriculum  that will facilitate the use of concrete objects in teaching. This will encourage learning through touching and feeling than through vision only.

The government  and the country at large will benefit from the findings of this study in that the national objective  of the nursery school education and the aim of the implementation of the Universal Basic Education (UBE) (2004) will be achieved. Mathematics plays an important role in the national development because it is the basis for science and technology. Science and technology is very important for the development of the nation’s economy. Therefore, if the findings of this study are implemented,  the country will be better off for it. Mathematics  disability starts as early as pre- primary school and continues. Therefore, if the child is given a solid foundation, the child will build on it and not depend on cheating  during examinations  or become  a drop out. The child will also become a good citizen thereby reducing the rate of crime in the nation.

Research Questions

The following research questions were formulated to guide the study:

1.           What subjects could be taught nursery school children using clothing?

2.           What concepts in mathematics could be taught nursery school children using clothing?

3.            How could clothing be used to teach selected mathematics concepts of counting, matching, shapes, colours and measurements.

4.            How did the two groups (control and experimental)  of nursery school children taught  the different Mathematics concepts perform in the achievement test.

5.           What  are  the  problems   militating   against   the  teaching   of  the  selected   concepts   in

Mathematics using clothing?

6.            How  could  the  problems  militating  against  the  use  of  clothing  to  teach  nursery  school children be solved.

Hypotheses

The following hypotheses will guide the study and will be tested at 0.05 level of significance.

1.   There is no significant difference in the mean performance of children taught Mathematics concepts of counting, matching, shapes, colour and measurement  using clothing and those taught using conventional methods of teaching.

2.             There is no significant difference in the mean performance of the boy nursery school child and the girl nursery school child taught Mathematic concepts of counting, matching, shapes, colour and measurements using clothing.

Scope of the Study

This study was delimited  to the use of quasi-experiment  method  and survey design involving  the teachers  and nursery school  children  and  the subjects  that can be taught  to the nursery  school children using clothing.

It was delimited to Mathematics. The Mathematics concepts were delimited to

–     recognition of numbers

–     associating numbers

–     shapes

–     shapes in sets

–     shapes and pictures

–     colours

–     colours and shapes

–     colouring number symbols

–     matching numbers with colours and shapes

–     measurement. The classes taught were delimited to nursery two only.

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