CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION
1.0 Background to the Study

Education is an indispensable tool in nations building. It is a process of systematic training and

instruction designed to transmit knowledge and acquisition of skill, potentials and abilities which

will enable an individual to contribute efficiently to the growth and development of his/her

society and nation. It involves all round development of an individual physically, socially,

morally, intellectually, and mentally (Osakwe, 2006).One of the important research findings of

20th century was the recognition that early childhood and primary education stages play the key

role in the development of the personality of children. Similar attention in high quality early

childhood education has never occurred before.

ICT can be defined as “anything which allows us to get information, to communicate with each

other, or to have an effect on the environment using electronic or digital equipment”. In early

childhood education (ECE), the term ICT could include computer hardware and software, digital

cameras and video cameras, the Internet, telecommunication tools, programmable toys, and

many other devices and resources. The literature suggests at least three reasons why ICT matters

in early childhood education. First, ICT already has an effect on the people and environments

that surround young children’s learning. Second, these technologies offer new opportunities to

strengthen many aspects of early childhood education practice. Third, there is support and

interest across the whole education sector for the development and integration of ICT into

education policy, curriculum, and practice. However, there is a clear consensus in the literature

that the introduction and use of ICT in early childhood education should be grounded in a clear

understanding of the purposes, practices, and social context of early childhood education. There
is a growing recognition of the many different ways that ICT can contribute to, or transform, the

activities, roles, and relationships experienced by children and adults in early childhood

education settings. The literature indicates the importance of practitioners and other adults in

early childhood education settings having guidance and opportunities to become capable,

competent, and informed about the educational role and potential of ICT, and support to use ICT

to strengthen many aspects of early childhood education practice.

Information and Communication Technology according to (Ikoh and Nwankwo, 2013) plays an

important role in the teaching and learning in Early childhood. It is a powerful means of

communication and education. Due to its interactive nature, it has the potential to meet the needs

of providing practical ways of constructively directing their own learning activities and complete

tasks in a way to meet their own interests and need. There is little doubt that ICT plays a

significant role in the everyday lives of people in these current times. As Yelland (2006) notes,

“the very nature of our work and leisure time has been transformed, due to the presence of

Information and Communication Technologies.” It has pervaded homes and society at large and

this influences many aspects of most children’s everyday lives. As a tool, "ICT has the potential

to transform the way that education is delivered" (Fisher 2001). ICT can facilitate differentiation

and individualization in education: it makes it possible to tailor both the content and the

presentation of the subject matter to the individual background, experience and needs of

students. In addition, as Schiller & Tillett (2004) said “ICT enhances what is possible by

amplifying what teachers are able to do, by providing an entry point to content and enquiries that

were not possible without the use of ICT, by extending what students are able to produce as a

result of their investigations, and finally by providing teachers with the opportunity to become

learners again.”
The initial interest in the presence of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in

Early Childhood Education (ECE) stemmed from extensive teaching experiences in the early

childhood sector, where it was evident that ICT was becoming an increasing fixture in the

teaching and learning environment. More recently, this interest shifted into a slightly different

direction when working with early childhood student teachers within the teacher education

context. It became increasingly apparent that teachers and student teachers displayed varying

views of the part they considered ICT played or should play within these settings, coupled with

how they chose to use or not to employ ICT resources. Haugland (2000) argued that computers

and Information Communication Technology can be used in (developmentally) appropriate ways

with very young children when they are ready to learn using information Communication

Technology (ICT).

The author recommended that computers be introduced to young children when they are about

three years of age. Information Communication Technology offers a multiplicity of uses and can

be integrated into meaningful and learning opportunities for children, assist in administration and

management of tasks. It has tremendous potentials to enhance early learning experiences,

professional development, communicating with families and communities and administration in

early childhood education services. Until fairly recently the bulk of literature in relation to ICT,

was centered predominantly on the compulsory education sector. While ICT within the schooling

sector has long been considered an integral component of the curriculum, the use of ICT within

early childhood education had been afforded less attention. This lack of attention did not

necessarily mean however, that ICT was nonexistent or not implemented within early childhood

contexts. Several studies suggest that small groups of early childhood teachers have been

implementing and integrating lCT within their teaching and learning contexts over a number of
years. These innovative practices have contributed to increasing the profile of early childhood

education both locally and internationally.

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are inundating the daily lives of children

(Tapscott, 2017). Although the issue of appropriateness of computers and ICT in early childhood

education (ECE) still lingers (Cordes & Miller 2014), most research supports the benefits of ICT

for young children’s social and cognitive development. Early childhood educators are now

moving away from asking the simple question of whether technology is developmentally

appropriate for young children. Rather, they are more concerned with how ICT can be effectively

used to facilitate children’s learning and development.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

The increasing pervasiveness of ICT has led some parents, teachers, and children’s advocates to

question its usefulness to the cognitive, emotional, social, and developmental needs of young

children. More often than not, the argument is focused on young children’s use of computers and

computer games and questions are raised on these two accounts.

Healey (2008) cautioned that the use of computers is damaging to young children’s development

as well as their learning. Stating that young children need human support and verbal interaction,

she concluded that as computers fail to offer intercessory experiences to enhance learning, they

are inappropriate as an educational resource for children below the age of about 7 years as using

computers before the age of 7 subtracts from important developmental tasks’. It is therefore a

part of the background that the study seeks to examine the effect of Information and

communication technology in Early Childhood Education.

1.3 Research Questions

i. What is the level of availability of ICT facilities in early childhood classroom?

ii. How effective is ICT on the academic performance of children in Early Childhood

Education classrooms?

iii. What are the perceived advantages of using ICT in early childhood school’ Education?

iv. What are the challenges of ICT usage in early childhood classroom?

1.4 Research Objectives

i. To determine the level of availability of ICT facilities in early childhood education

ii. To examine the effectiveness of ICT on the academic performance of children in early

childhood education

iii. To examine the advantages of using ICT in early childhood school education

iv. To determine the challenges of ICT usage in early childhood education

1.5 Research Hypotheses

H01: ICT has significant effect on early childhood education

H02: ICT does not has significant effect on the development of childhood education

1.6 Significance of the Study

Early childhood education has enormous individual, social and economic benefits. Early

childhood programmes complement the roles of parents and other carers in raising children

during the early years. The early childhood years set the foundation for life, ensuring that
children have positive experiences and that their needs for health, stimulation and support are

met, and that they learn to interact with their surroundings.

The OECD (2006) argues that early childhood education enables women to participate in the

labour market, thereby contributing to economic growth. The OECD (2006:12) posits: “Because

economic prosperity depends on maintaining a high employment population ratio, the wish to

bring more women into the labour market has been a key driver of government interest in

expanding ECCE services”. Governments’ interest in the economic benefits of ECCE is reflected

in the African targets for early education, known as the African Targets. These targets, which

were agreed at the Africa Union summit in 2006, simply set targets for childcare places for

children aged 0-3 and 3 to mandatory school age, to be achieved by 2010. While such ECCE

policies, which focus on employment and gender equality, are essential, they are, unfortunately,

inadequate. There is need to go beyond the provision of childcare places to comprehensive

services for children, that take the needs and the rights of children into account. This approach is

supported by (UNESCO 2007), which argues that early childhood programmes should have as

their core objective the well-being and holistic development of children’s capacities.

1.7 Scope and Limitation of the Study

This research shall discuss effects of information and communication technology (ICT) in early

childhood education. It will go deep in explaining the impact of ICT on early children education.

The study will be limited to parents in Ijebu North Local government.

1.8 Operational Definition of Terms

Information Communication Technology: Information and communications technology (ICT) is

an extensional term for information technology (IT) that stresses the role of unified
communications and the integration of telecommunications (telephone lines and wireless signals)

and computers, as well as necessary enterprise software, middleware, storage and audiovisual,

that enable users to access, store, transmit, understand and manipulate information.

Education: Education is the transmission of knowledge, skills, and character traits. There are

many debates about its precise definition, for example, about which aims it tries to achieve. A

further issue is whether part of the meaning of education is that the change in the student is an

improvement.

Child Education: Education is the transmission of knowledge, skills, and character traits. There

are many debates about its precise definition, for example, about which aims it tries to achieve.

A further issue is whether part of the meaning of education is that the change in the student is an

improvement.

Cognitive Flexibility: Cognitive flexibility is an intrinsic property of a cognitive system often

associated with the mental ability to adjust its activity and content, switch between different task

rules and corresponding behavioral responses, maintain multiple concepts simultaneously and

shift internal attention between them