1 CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION Background of the Study A child is a member of the society and as well a citizen of a nation who has every right for survival, growth and development. A child as described by Bernard (2001) is every human being below 18 years of age. According to United Nations International Children Emergency Fund (UNICEF) (2007), childhood stage covers the crèche, the nursery or early childhood (0-5) years, primary school (6-12) years and secondary school (12 -18) years. The childhood period is a sensitive stage in the life of every individual requiring special care and attention. For instance, Anyakoha and Eluwa (2008) noted that, a child is a young person who depends on others for the provision of daily food, clothing and shelter. In the concept of this study, a child is a young person at early childhood stage of 0-5 years in pre-primary schools
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CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
A child is a member of the society and as well a citizen of a nation who
has every right for survival, growth and development. A child as described by
Bernard (2001) is every human being below 18 years of age. According to United
Nations International Children Emergency Fund (UNICEF) (2007), childhood
stage covers the crèche, the nursery or early childhood (0-5) years, primary
school (6-12) years and secondary school (12 -18) years. The childhood period is
a sensitive stage in the life of every individual requiring special care and
attention. For instance, Anyakoha and Eluwa (2008) noted that, a child is a young
person who depends on others for the provision of daily food, clothing and
shelter. In the concept of this study, a child is a young person at early childhood
stage of 0-5 years in pre-primary schools under the careful and consistent
attention of the care-givers.
Evans, Myers and Ilford (2000) affirmed that a child with consistent
caring attention is generally better nourished, less likely to be sick and learn
better than a child who does not receive such care. The care, attention and respect
to be given to the child are specified by the rights of the child. Evans, et al (2000)
reported further that the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the child
specified among others that:
all children without distinction of gender, race, language, religion or of
any other kind should have the opportunity to develop to full potential.
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children, by reason of their physical and mental vulnerability, need special
safeguards and care.
children living in difficult circumstances need special consideration.
Parent, families, men as well as women, have the primary responsibility
for the upbringing, development and education of their children.
government should establish a policy environment that ensures families
and communities fulfil their responsibilities of child caring and protection.
The report of NERDC/UNICEF (2013) showed that rights of Nigerian
child are clustered into four main domains which include: survival rights,
protection rights, participation rights and development rights. For the child to
survive and steadily develop, someone has to care for him to reach his full
potential and development. This is because, the child’s physical and
psychological needs must be met by one or more people who understand what
children, in general need, and what the particular child under his/her care needs.
Thus, the child’s growth and development in all aspects (health, cognition,
perception, personhood, response to the environment among others) depends on
the capacity of adults in whose care the child rests for assistance and support.
Anuna (2005) reported that the child as the hope of further human existence
needs love, attention and care for meaningful growth and development.
Development of every human person is a continuous process which starts
from conception. Development is a product of interaction of inherited
potentialities and the environment, maturation and learning. Izuwa (2002) viewed
development as the systematic, qualitative and quantitative changes which are
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progressive, orderly and coherent. According to the author, the development of a
child is always more rapid and dramatic than at any other stage in the
development process of the human person. At early childhood stage, nature and
nurture have major roles to play in child development. Nature according to
Berger (2005) refers to the influence of the genes that each person inherits from
his or her parents at the moment of conception while nurture refers to all the
environmental influences that come into play after conception, beginning with
the mother’s health during pregnancy and including all the individual’s
experiences in the outside environment. Speaking on the effect of nurture on
child development, Olaitan and Akpan (2003) stated that the experience gained
may make or mar the child permanently due to rapid brain development and
character formation of the child. This implies that the child learns a lot, and what
he/she learns at the childhood stage of development in addition to other
environmental factors affect all other stages of the child’s life as an adult. This
makes the roles of care-givers of the child more important at early childhood
stage.
The care-givers are those who take care of the child. Evans, et al (2000)
described a care-giver as someone who cares for a child whether on a long term
or short-term basis. According to Bernard (2001) care-giver is called legal or
periodic guardian that has the primary responsibility for upbringing and
development of the child. Parents, foster parents, family members, baby sitters
and child-care workers are considered care-givers who provide the necessary care
services to the child (Brisbane, 2000). Child-care services are provisions made to
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improve optimal growth and development in childhood through disease
prevention, good health, food and nutrition. Child-care service is therefore the
right of every child and must not be denied for any reason (Turman, 2003). Child
care services at home are offered by the parents, siblings of the child, other
relatives and non-relative care-givers employed to offer such services. Child
care-givers in the context of this study are trained individuals employed by
administrators of pre-primary schools and charged with the sole responsibilities
of providing the necessary care giving services towards supporting the normal
physical, social, psychological and educational growth and development of the
child in a formal school setting.
Child-care services in day care centers, nursery and pre-primary schools
are more formalized than those at home. Pre-primary education is the type of
formal education given to children of school age outside the home prior to their
entering primary school. According to Federal Government of Nigeria (2004) the
National Policy on Education stipulated that the purposes of pre-primary
education are to:
effect a smooth transition from the home to the school;
prepare the child for the primary level of education;
provide adequate care and supervision for the children while their parents
are at work;
inculcate social norms;
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inculcate in the child the spirit of inquiry and creativity through the
exploration of nature, the environment, art, music and playing with toys,
etc;
develop a sense of co-operation and team spirit;
learn good habits, especially good health habits, and
teach the rudiments of numbers, letters, colours, shapes, forms, etc,
through play.
There are five types of pre-primary school arrangements. These according
to Burchinal and Cryer (2003) include: (1) child-care center; (2) child-care home
(care in someone else’s home by a non-relative or relative other than the child’s
grandparents); (3) care at home by someone other than parents or grandparents;
(4) grandparent care, or (5) father care”. For the care-giver irrespective of the
type of pre-school arrangement to be successful in carrying out her expected
child-caring services for the actualization of the pre-primary education, certain
child-care skills must be possessed by the care-givers.
Skill according to Okorie (2000) is a habit of acting, thinking and
behaving in a specific activity in such a way that the process becomes natural to
the individual through practice. In the view of Osinem and Nwoji (2005), skill is
the ability to perform an activity expertly. The authors further added that skill is a
well established habit of doing things and involves the acquisition of
performance capability through repetitive performance of an operation. Skill as
described by Hull (1991) is the habit of doing something well; especially skill
gained through training or experience. Okorie and Ezeji (1988) classified skills
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into technical and human skills. Technical skills are those skills that call for
proficiency in specific activities, particularly those involving methods, processes,
procedures or techniques for their effective performance. Human skill on the
other hand deals with skills acquire through years of experience or training for
proficiency on the job (Sedaei, 2003). In this study, both the technical and human
skills are basic skills that are required by the care-givers for child upbringing in
pre-primary schools.
There are basic skills inherent in the performance of the tasks of care-
giving in pre-primary schools. According to Clayton (2000), these skills are:
and hygiene skills. Feeding skills of care-givers and parents are careful
meal/menu planning for combining the required food items to ensure that the
desired expectation in the nutritional, physical growth and development of the
child are met (Kaiser, 2000). The Federal Ministry of Health (2004) reported that
poor nutrition among the children results not only from a lack of food but also
from inappropriate feeding practices by care-givers. Appropriate clothing skills
need to be possessed by care-givers to safeguard the child against harsh
environmental condition and diseases. Toileting and interacting skills are
psychosocial development skills that are concerned with areas such as cognition,
temperament/personality, motivation, self-perception and interpersonal
development of the child (Kimbon and Roskett, 2003). Interacting skills of the
care-givers for instance can be exhibited through educative child playing,
storytelling and songs among others. Safety and hygiene skills are very sensitive
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and need the efforts of the care-giver to safeguard the child against injury and
any form of danger. Bupa (2008) maintained that high levels of personal hygiene
are important and effective ways to stop diseases from spreading among children.
In his own view, Clayton (2000) noted that child care-giving skills, like
other skills, are learned and not inborn traits. Generally, child care-caring skills
are learnt through early life experience with other care-givers and acquiring the
skills is a lifelong learning process. In addition, the skills a care-giver needs can
change as children grow up. For this reason, Brisbane (1994) stated that effective
care-givers need to continue to develop child-care skills all their lives. In support
of this submission, Growth and McCall (2003) stated that in order to provide
more warmth to the child, sensitive and responsive care-givers require constant
and timely training.
Nursery and pre-primary schools are located in various places across the
length and breadth of Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. Some of the pre-primary
schools are owned by the government, while some others are owned and
managed by private individuals for the purpose of providing physical,
psychological, social and educational needs of the child. It is imperative to state
that most of the care-givers in pre-primary schools in Nigeria and Abuja in
particular are not careful in handling children in the schools. This may be
because majority of the pre-primary school care-givers in FCT Abuja are not
very skilled in the art of childcare practices. In order to verify the above claim,
the skills needed by care-givers for quality care-giving of the pre-primary school
child need to be identified. Hence, this study was conducted to identify childcare
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skill needs of care-givers in pre-primary schools in Federal Capital Territory
(FCT), Abuja.
Statement of the Problem
The future of any country depends on how well the present generation of
her children are looked after. The fact is that, children easily get bonded and
affectionately attached to significant adults around them in their early years. This
has continued to make care-givers and their care important in the child’s survival,
growth, and development. The whole process of child-caring also implies that
characteristic values and behaviours of care-givers can also be learnt by the child
through modelling and imitation.
At early childhood stage of foundation and basic skill learning, the child
needs good care. For the pre-school child, the care-givers have a lot of influence
on his/her growth and development. However, it is not clear whether the child
care-givers in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nigeria have adequate skills
that are needed for them to be able to provide the type of care, attention and good
foundation needed by the children they are caring for. If they do not posses these
skills, then, the pre-primary school child under their care will not be properly fed,
toilet-trained, clothed, interacted with, safe guarded and hygienically cared for.
Thus, lack of the skills needed to do all the above may result in the child having
poor social and emotional development. This, of course will have a great
negative effect on the child’s all-round maturation, development and well being.
Based on the above ideas, it is understandable why Action for Child
Protection Inc (2008) emphasized that all people who care for children need
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specific child-care skills to be able to do their job very efficiently. These are
skills that unfortunately, no one is born with, but that fortunately, everyone can
learn. Data and information available to the researcher consistently point to the
fact that majority of the child care-givers in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT)
(and in so many other parts of Nigeria) are not really aware of the specific skills
they need to be able to assist the children to develop well. Besides, available
information show that very little, to almost no work, has been carried out to
determine the specific skills needed by child care-givers in the Federal Capital
Territory (FCT). Thus, the problem that warranted this study is that it is
important to identify the child-care skill needs of care-givers in pre-primary
schools in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, Nigeria.
Purpose of the Study
The major purpose of this study was to investigate the child-care skills
needed by care-givers in pre-primary schools in the Federal Capital Territory
(FCT), Abuja. Specifically, the study determined:
1. child feeding skills needed by care-givers in pre-primary schools in FCT,
Abuja;
2. child clothing skills needed by care-givers in pre-primary schools;
3. child toilet training skills needed by care-givers in pre-primary schools;
4. child interacting skills needed by care-givers in pre-primary schools;
5. child safety skills needed by care-givers in pre-primary schools;
6. child hygiene skills needed by care-givers in pre-primary schools.
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Significance of the Study
Through quality child-care, the child’s basic needs are met through
appropriate feeding, clothing, love, protection, and socialization into an
acceptable adulthood. Therefore, the findings of this study will be of immense
benefit to parents, care-givers, curriculum planners, education policy making
bodies such as Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), State Universal
Basic Education Board (SUBEB), United Nations Children’s Education Fund
(UNICEF), Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC),
National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE), Colleges of Education
(COE), Ministry of Education (MOE), proprietors/individuals who are employers
of care-givers in pre-primary schools and researcher with special research interest
in quality assurance in pre-primary education in Nigeria and other countries.
Through the research findings that will be provided by this study,
education policy making stakeholders will be furnished with information for pre-
primary school programme review and update to meet societal needs for
improved early childhood education system in the country. It is expected that the
findings of this study if brought to the awareness of all stakeholders who are
involved in care about the future of Nigerian child, it will enable them to carry
out their tasks efficiently for the good of the Nigerian child. In this way, the
findings of this study, by producing more knowledge about child care-giving
skills will lead to more effective child-care services and enable parents have full
value of the fees they pay for their children’s care.
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The findings of this study will benefit care-givers because the study will
provide useful information that will assist care-givers in pre-primary schools to
make desirable changes for the growth and development of the children under
their care. In this way, children will be properly fed, clothed, protected and
socialized. It will also be useful to care-givers by furnishing them with the skills
they will adopt to improve their child-care practices. A care-giver with adequate
skills will be able to execute his/her responsibility expertly and this will reduce
adverse practices.
The findings of the study will also bring to the knowledge of proprietors
of child-care centers the skills they should look out for in their present and future
staff for effective care-giving in pre-primary schools.
Curriculum planners of pre-primary school programmes will also benefit
from the findings of this study. This is because the findings of this study will
help the planners of programmes such as Early Childhood Care and Education
(ECCE) in developing course contents useful for instructors on care-giving skills.
The findings will also be relevant to ECCD, UBEC/SUBEB, NERDC/UNICEF,
NCCE/COEs, MOE, and other educational institutions that offer courses in child-
care education. This is because these findings will guide those in charge of these
institutions in choosing which skills they need to emphasize while training care-
givers.
The findings will also provide insights for educationists to formulate
theories that can enrich the pre-primary school care-giving, teaching, and
training. This is because the findings of this study will validate the relevance of
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socio-cognitive theories of child development and John Bowlby’s attachment
theory which are the theoretical frameworks for this study. Thus, it is also hoped
that this study will serve as a basis for further research work in related areas of
child care.
All these areas of significance of this study would be achieved if the
findings are further discussed in seminars, workshops and other sensitization
workshops. Fellow researchers and academics with research interest on issues
bothering on pre-primary education and early child care education will be
provided with information that will help to sharpen the focus of their studies.
The theoretical significance of this study is based on the premise that care-
givers need to possess care-giving skills to be able to support/care for the pre-
primary school children under their care. Thus, the study sees care-givers as a set
of people that contribute in structuring/determining the future of the Nigerian
child. In addition, this provides more understanding for the expectation that the
skills possessed by care-givers have impacts on the development of the child and
the future of the society.
Research Questions
This study provided answers to the following research questions:
1. What child feeding skills are needed by care-givers in pre-primary schools
in FCT, Abuja?
2. What child clothing skills are needed by care-givers in pre-primary
schools?
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3. What child toilet training skills are needed by care-givers in pre-primary
schools?
4. What child interacting skills are needed by care-givers in pre-primary
schools?
5. What child safety skills are needed by care-givers in pre-primary schools?
6. What child hygiene skills are needed by care-givers in pre-primary
schools?
Hypotheses
The following hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance.
1. There is no significant difference among the mean ratings of care-givers in
pre-primary schools, secondary school Home Economics teachers, early
child care experts and nurses on the feeding skills needed by the care-givers
in Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
2. There is no significant difference among the mean ratings of care-givers in
pre-primary schools, secondary school Home Economics teachers, early
child care experts and nurses on the clothing skills needed by the care-
givers.
3. There is no significant difference among the mean ratings of care-givers in
pre-primary schools, secondary school Home Economics teachers, early
child care experts and nurses on the toileting skills needed by the care-
givers.
4. There is no significant difference among the mean ratings of care-givers in
pre-primary schools, secondary school Home Economics teachers, early
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child care experts and nurses on the interacting skills needed by the care-
givers.
5. There is no significant difference among the mean ratings of care-givers in
pre-primary schools, secondary school Home Economics teachers, early
child care experts and nurses on the safety skills needed by the care-givers.
6. There is no significant difference among the mean ratings of care-givers in
pre-primary schools, secondary school Home Economics teachers, early
child care experts and nurses on the hygiene skills needed by the care-
givers.
Scope of the Study
This study focused on the care-giving skills needed by care-givers in pre-
primary schools in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja, Nigeria. The study
was limited to the following: feeding skills, clothing skills, toilet-training skills,
interacting skills, safety skills, and hygiene skills.
The geographical scope of this study is the Federal Capital Territory,
Abuja. Data for the study were collected from care-givers in pre-primary schools,
Home Economics teachers, early child care experts and Nurses in the study area.
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CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
This chapter discussed the related literature for the study and are presented
under the following sub-headings:
1. Conceptual Framework
Concept of child and child right
Concept of child care-givers
Concept of skill
Child care skill needs of pre-primary school care-givers
2. Theoretical Framework
Social-cognitive development theory,
Evolution and ethology theories,
3. Review of Related Empirical Studies
4. Summary of Literature Review
Conceptual Framework
Conceptual framework for research purposes is a schematic description
and illustration of the causative mechanisms and relationship deducible from the
research problems (Eboh, 2009). Conceptual framework depicts a schema
providing structural meaning and linkages among major concepts or variables in
a phenomena being investigated, their interdependence and relationship with
each other. The conceptual framework of this study addressed such concepts as
the child, need of the child, concept of child care, concept of child care-givers,
concept of skill and child-care skill needs of pre-primary school care-givers
which include: feeding skills, clothing skills, toilet training skills, interacting
skills, safety skills and hygiene skills.
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Concept of child and child right
A child is a human being within the vulnerable ages of 0-18. He/she is in
dare need of others for his/her feeding, clothing, support, security, protection,
guide, and so on. According to the United Nations Convention on the rights of
the child, a child is any human being under the age of eighteen (UNICEF, 1989).
In the view of Anyakoha and Eluwa (2008), a child is a young person who
depends on others for the provision of daily food, clothing and shelter. For this
reason, the child is helpless, hence the use of the term ‘vulnerable’ in the first
definition above. Kimbell (2003) stated that the child’s helplessness is significant
because he cannot provide his own basic needs. For the child to survive and
develop, someone has to nurture him. He depends on others for development.
Yet, being a human being, he has rights to be assisted in the process of
development.
According to Evans, Myers and Ilfeld (2000) children have a right to love
and to develop to their full potential. Besides the above, UNICEF (2000)
identifies four broadly recognized rights of every child as follows: survival,
development, protection, and participation. Still, it is the adults around the child
whose duties/responsibilities it is to help the child survive and develop. They can
do these by protecting the child and making him/her participate in his/her
environment.
Needs of the Child
Need in the view of Chutta (1992) is what one requires in order to meet a
target standard. Olaitan, Nwachukwu, Igbo, Onyemachi and Ekong (1999)
explained that need is a requirement deemed necessary for effectiveness. In the
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context of this study, need is the basic educational, nutritional, social and health
requirement of a child for adequate growth and development of pre-primary
school children.
Children, just like any human being, have physical, emotional, social, and
mental needs that must be met. While one is caring for, playing with, and
teaching children, it is up to the person to fulfill these needs. According to
Clayton (1994), all children have basic, physical needs. They need healthy food,
appropriate clothing and safe and stimulating environment. Children need to be
reassured that someone cares. They are very sensitive to feelings about them.
Care-givers should be warm and friendly with them. Children need to be spoken
kindly to because they can tell by the way one touches, holds, or talks to them
that they are loved. An outline of some of the ways care-givers can respond to the
needs of children include: guiding children, communicating positively to children
and encouraging children (Clayton, 1994).
Guiding Children: It is important to give children guidance or direction.
Children need to learn basic rules for behavior. These rules will help them to stay
safe, learn self-control, and learn to get along with others. According to Clayton
(1994), these rules are usually set by the children’s parents. Care-givers and
several others can help reinforce the limits and set good examples.
In guiding children, there is the need to be consistent. Being consistent
means doing what one says he/she will do and avoiding saying things he/she
doesn’t mean. When the care-giver is consistent, he/she reacts the same way to
the same situation each time it occurs. For example, if he/she explains to children
that they shouldn’t hit their brother or other children, but he/she laughs when
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they do it, the care-giver in such a situation is not consistent (UNICEF, 2000).
Children become confused when their care-giver is not consistent. This is
because consistency in guiding children helps them know what to expect.
Communicating Positively: Children need positive forms of
communication. They listen better when positive statements are used in
addressing them. To be able to respond to this particular need, care-givers should
use simple and positive sentences that are easy to understand. Children need to be
told what they should do rather than what they should not do (Draper and Draper,
1975). Another aspect of positive communication as a response to children’s
need is praising them for what they do well. This is why care-givers should be
encouraging in their comments (Clayton, 1994).
Encouraging Independence: Children need to gradually develop into
being independent. They want to be able to do things for themselves. As they try
to do new things on their own, they will probably make mistakes at first. It takes
practices to learn skills like using a fork, brushing teeth, or tying their shoes. Just
like adults, children learn from their mistakes. If one always helps children with
something they could do themselves, they won’t think they can do it alone, or
they may feel like crying, if they make mistakes. This is again where care-givers
can respond to children’s needs. If children make mistakes, the proper response is
to encourage them to keep trying, praise their efforts, even when the results are
not exactly right (Ashiabi, 2000).
From the above outline of needs and examples of the proper response to
them, it is clear how care-givers can respond to children’s needs and help them
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feel secure. Their encouragement and consistent guidance are meant to help
children grow to be healthy, secure individuals. Care-givers are so important that
in guiding and communicating with children, they model, coach, and respond to
or do not respond to their distress signals and needs (Clayton, 1994).
The roles of modeling, coaching, and responding to the needs of children,
influence the emotional development of the children. With regard to modeling,
children’s expressiveness reflects their care-givers’ total emotional
expressiveness. For instance, Ashiabi (2000) noted that care-givers who often
exhibit anger are, more likely to have children who show anger, because through
modeling, care-givers give children information about the nature of emotions,
their expressions, and how to cope with their own emotions and those of others.
This means that by modeling various emotions, care-givers implicitly teach
children those emotions that are acceptable for specific types of situations, and
the common behaviours associated with their expression. In all, “modeling by
care-givers provides an overall environment to which the child is exposed”, and
why care-givers “respond in a consistent manner, they help children develop
alternative views of the world and relationships.
The knowledge, skills, and practices of early childhood educators and
care-givers are important factors in responding to the needs of children. In the
case of pre-primary school children, Sheridan, Edwards, Marvin and Knoche
(2009) stated that the proper responses to their needs help in determining how
much a young child learns and how prepared that child is for entry into school.
The report of UNICEF (2000) established that early childhood educators are
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being asked to have deeper understandings of child development and early
education issues; provide richer educational experiences for all children,
including those who are vulnerable and disadvantaged; engage children of
varying abilities and backgrounds; connect with a diverse array of families; and
do so with greater demands for accountability and in some cases, fewer
resources, than ever before.
It is important also to note that to be able to respond to children’s needs,
there has to be good care-giver-child relationship. When the relationship is good,
children’s needs are better met and on time. However, when the care-giver-child
relationship is not cordial, the child’s needs for development are not likely to be
suitably provided. Hence, Cohen, Onunaku, Clothier, and Poppe (2005) noted
that relationships with the primary care-giver are especially important for
development in the first years of life because the child’s primary care-givers
structure the experiences and shape the environments within which early
development unfolds. Babies and young children need to have the opportunity to
develop a close, trusting relationship or secure attachment with at least one
special person. Those who develop a secure attachment with a primary care-giver
during the early years of life are more likely to later have positive relationships
with peers, be liked by their teachers, perform better in school, and respond with
resilience in the face of adversity as they grow and become preschoolers and
older students (Hildebrand, 1997). Those who do not have an opportunity to form
a secure attachment with a trusted adult are at risk of experiencing distrust or
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uncertainty with their care-givers, negative self-image, and difficulties in coping
adaptively with stress.
To make sure the best care-givers are gotten who can respond to
children’s needs, presented what he called parents checklist. Figure 1 below
shows different age brackets of the child and their specific needs according to the
age range.
Age range What children need1 to 2 years Support to acquiring new motor, language, thinking skills; a chance to
develop some independence; help in learning how to control their own behavior; opportunities to begin to learn to care for themselves; opportunities for play and exploration; play with other children; read to/tell stories daily; health care must also include deworming if required.
2 to 3 1/2 years
Make choices; engage in dramatic play; sing favorite songs; work simple puzzles.
3 1/2 to 5 years
Opportunities to develop fine motor skills; encouragement of language through talking, reading, singing; activities which will develop a positive sense of mastery; opportunities to learn cooperation, helping, sharing; experimentation with pre-writing and pre-reading skills; hands-on exploration for learning through action; opportunities for taking responsibility and making choices; encouragement to develop self-control, cooperation, persistence in completing projects; support for their sense of self-worth and pride in accomplishments; opportunities for self-expression (drawing, painting, work with clay or mud; encouragement of creativity; rhythmic movement; listening to music of all kinds.
Figure 1: Pre-Primary School Children’s needs according to age rangeSource: Adapted from Evans, et al (2000)
The figure shows that getting to the age range of 3-5 children are already
in need of things that can best be provided in the context of the school. This is
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why children within this age range are referred to as pre-primary school children
(Cohen, et al 2005). The proper response to their needs is meant to prepare them
to further acquire more cognitive skills, social skills, motor skills, creativity
skills, and several others indicated above.
Concept of Child Care
Care as a concept involves the provision of support, attention, warmth,
and so on to someone. Evans, et al (2000) noted that in 1990s, UNICEF began
using the term Care in relation to nutrition programs. The reason was because
UNICEF had observed that good nutrition was more than simply providing
children with food. Care was identified by Anuna (2005) as a key element in an
active feeding process that promotes healthy growth and development. Children
with consistent, caring attention are generally better nourished, are less apt to be
sick, and learn better than children who do not receive such care. Conversely,
neglected children are prone to sickness and malnutrition and are less equipped
and motivated to learn.
Beyond this, the concept has evolved further such that it is now being
defined as a process that results in the creation of an enabling environment,
which can support the child’s optimal development. Evans et al (2000) presented
what they regarded as a summary on the concept. In summary, care is the
integrated set of actions that ensure for children the synergy of protection and
supports for their health, nutrition, psycho-social, and cognitive aspects of
development. Therefore Care is one of the key factors in the promotion of
children’s optimal development.
23
Care can also be defined as the behaviours and practices meant to provide
food, health care, psychosocial stimulation and emotional support necessary for
children’s healthy survival, growth and development (Anuna 2005). Caring for
the child means providing the child’s basic needs. However, while Evans, et al
(2000) referred to care as one of the key factors, the concept care is regarded in
this study as the key factor in the promotion of children’s optimal development.
In the context of this study, child care refers to all the supports a child
receives in order to survive, thrive and/or develop. It is the ability to handle
children, a process that results in the creation of an enabling environment meant
to support the child’s optimal development. Child care includes such supports
like appropriate: nutrition, health, active feeding, stimulation, safety,
communication, protection, affection, and modeling (Clayton, 1994). Care is a
key element in any active effort to help the child in the development process. It
includes what adults and significant others in the child’s life are able to provide
for the child. Hence, there could be child care at home, in pre-primary schools,
nursery schools, and so on.
In another view, the report of UNICEF (1996) described child care as all
those things we do to make sure the child stays alive and well, grows and
develops. Lamb (1998) preferred to define child care simply as non-maternal
care. According to Lamb, some of the examples of non-maternal care are: day
care, institutional-care and care by relatives. For this reason, the term Child care
is often used for describing non-maternal care of different settings. According to
24
Philip and McCartney in Anuna (2005), child care settings vary in their
objectives and structure. Baby-sitting children in one’s own home, nursery, day
care center, play group, family-based care center, and institutional care, are
different Child care arrangements. Each has peculiar services it provides. Draper
and Draper (1975) noted that some families make use of child care service
providers outside the home (Child care centers). They can do this for one or more
of the following reasons: (a) parents who work; (b) illness or death of one or both
of parents; (c) mental or physical handicaps of the mother or father; (d)
emotional disturbances of the mother or father; (e) poor family relationships; (f)
slum living conditions and so on. Draper and Draper (1975) also added that:
many families seek child care services “not because mothers work outside of the
home, not because of poverty, and not because of crises. Their interest is simply
to add enriching experiences to their children’s daily living. According to
Victoria (2001) child care practices are meant to:
guarantee the child’s physical well-being keeping the child safe and
free from harm, providing shelter and clothing, preventing and attending
to illness, thereby promoting the child’s psycho-social well-being;
provide emotional security, socialization, nurturing and giving
affection;
support the child’s physical development – feeding, bathing, providing
safe places to play and explore and thus to promote the child’s mental
development – interaction, stimulation and play;
25
facilitate the child’s interaction with others outside the home – within
the community, at health clinics and at school(Child care is manifested
in the ways a child is fed, nurtured, taught and guided.
It is the expression by individuals and families of the domestic and
cultural values that guide them (Anuna, 2005). As stated in the report of UNICEF
(1998), care practices translate food security and health care resources into a
child’s well being. Not only the practices themselves, but also the ways they are
performed in terms of affection and responsiveness to the child are critical to a
child’s survival, growth and development. There are two major forms of
conceiving child care: (a) as the right of the child, and (b) as a need of the child.
In this regard, Evans, et al (2000) noted that children have a right to love and to
develop to their full potential. This right, according to them, is set forth in the
Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989); it is also guaranteed by the
Declaration of the World Conference on Education for All (EFA) (1990), the
World Summit of Children (2000), the UNESCO Salamanca Statement (1994),
the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against
Women (CEDAW) (1979), and others. Evans, et al (2000) stated that the
following statements emerged for these world conventions and conferences:
All children, without distinction of gender, race, language, religion or of
any other kind, should have the opportunity to develop to their full
potential.
26
Children, by reason of their physical and mental vulnerability, need
special safeguards and care.
Children living in especially difficult circumstances need special
consideration.
Parents and families (however defined) – men as well as women – have
the primary responsibility for the upbringing, development, and
education of their children.
Governments should establish a policy environment that enables
families and communities to fulfill their responsibilities of childrearing
and protection.
Importance of child care
There are several reasons why child care is important. Some of these
reasons are: it helps children to receive support and protection so that they do not
die; it enables children to be gradually made part of their culture and society; it
helps children transit smoothly from one stage of their development to another,
and so on. Evans and Myers (1994) stated that children are more than the object
of their parents’ attention and love; they are also a biological and social
necessity. The human species perpetuates itself through children, cultural,
religious and national groups transmit their values and traditions through
children; families maintain their lineage through children, and individuals pass
on their genetic and social heritage through children. The ultimate value of
children is the continuity of humanity.
27
It needs to be emphasized that child care is important not only for the
children being taken care of, but in a special way also for the entire society. This
is because when a child is well cared for and he/she grows/develops in an
environment of love and support, he/she turns out to be a good citizen who puts
back to the society what he/she had learnt from his/her care-givers. Evans, et al
(2000) presented the importance of child care in a table based on three items: (a)
who benefits from the care; (b) what changes result; and (c) nature of the
changes. Burchinal and Cryer (2003) also noted that other measures of the
importance of child care include the fact that, children, by being properly cared
for, are initiated into the culture of their society – thus they perpetuate the values
of the culture. The authors noted further that child care giving promotes equality
by providing a fair start to all children and child care giving is a vehicle for social
participation.
Patterns of Child care
Child care involves a set of practices/activities. In different cultures, these
practices are derived from cultural patterns, ideas of what should be done, and
ideas of what constitute the accepted practices or norms. The patterns and norms
themselves are based on beliefs about why one or another practice is better than
another (Lamb, 1998). The practices, patterns and beliefs affect the style and
quality of care-giving. For instance, the practice of constantly carrying a child
has a different effect on the development of that child than the practice of placing
the child in a cradle or playpen (UNICEF, 2000). Further, social and parental
beliefs that children are given by God, and therefore should be treated in a
28
particular way, have effects that are different from the belief that children are just
human creations.
The child-care patterns of a culture constitute the child care norms. They
include the generally accepted styles and types of care expected of care-givers in
responding to the needs of children in their early months and years (Clayton,
1994). The patterns define child care in a way that assures the survival,
maintenance and development of the group or culture as well as of the child.
There are patterns of behaviour surrounding specific times in a child’s life. For
example, there are expectations in terms of parental and community behaviour in
relation to a child’s birth. There are norms in relation to how a child is named.
There are expectations in terms of how an infant’s death is handled. There are
expectations in terms of how the child will learn to become a responsible
member of the society (UNICEF, 2000).
According to Burchinal and Cryer (2003), expectations are based on what
is believed as possible and workable. The authors report further that
communities, families, and child care-givers implement specific child care
practices which they believe will:
Ensure the survival and health of the child, including the development of
the child’s reproductive capacity to continue the lineage and society.
Develop the child’s capacity for economic self-maintenance at maturity, to
provide security for the elders and younger members of the society.
Ensure the survival of the social group by assuring that children
assimilate, embody and transmit appropriate social and cultural values to
their children.
29
As already indicated, there are various expectations of child care practices
in various cultures and based on income levels – what was termed “patterns of
child care”.
Quality child care
It is important to consider whether there are universally valid measures of
assessing what should pass as quality Child care. According to Burchinal and
Cryer (2003), child care quality is of “concern to parents and policy makers
because infants and preschoolers need responsive and stimulating interactions
with adults to enhance social, cognitive, and language development in early
childhood”. Burchinal and Cryer (2003) explained further that the practices, more
than quality, appear to be deeply embedded within value and belief systems that
rooted in ethnicity, community, and social class. The key element of practice
include in which activities the child engages, who participates, how the activities
are organized, and what are the goals. Very different types of practices can be
judged as high quality if those reflect sensitive and stimulating care giving.
There are three separate schools regarding child care quality and ethnic
and economic diversity: (a) those who see high quality care center-based child
care as a means to enhance development among children experiencing risk
factors such as low parental education, single parent homes, and poverty (Lamb,
1998); (b) those who question whether mainstream measures of quality are
relevant for children from diverse backgrounds; and (c) those who take a middle
ground: the dimensions assessed by child care quality measures are important for
all children, but those dimensions can be expressed very differently depending on
the child’s culture (Burchinal and Cryer, 2003).
30
Because of the interest of this study on child care-givers’ skills, it prefers
the last of the three schools above. This is because the care-givers’ skills are
supposed to lead to the same outcomes no matter the culture, ethnic group, or
income levels of the parents of the children. Another reason for preferring this
school is because, as earlier stated, this study sees child care not only from the
needs perspective, but from the perspective that the provision of care is the right
of children.
Rights of the Child
The convention on the rights of the child stands out as the most widely
ratified human rights instrument. Rights according to UNICEF (1995) have been
defined as natural dues, moral claims and legal entitlements of an individual. In
the view of Dorsen and Lieberman (2009), rights are used to imply that the state
has a positive role in ensuring all citizens have equal protection under law and
equal opportunity to exercise the privileges of citizenship regardless of race,
religion, sex, age and other characteristics of the individual. Rights are by their
nature universal and indivisible, they are applicable to all including children.
Child right is important because, children by nature are vulnerable, they depend
on adults for survival, growth and development and as long as they are children,
they need to be protected for steady growth development. Therefore, parents,
care-givers and all other stakeholders that are related to the child have
responsibility of upholding and respecting the rights of the child.
31
The child’s rights in Nigeria are clustered into four main domains namely:
survival rights, development rights, protection rights and participation rights
(NERDC/UNICEF, 2013).
1. Survival rights: These rights are very fundamental to all other rights. It
has positive obligations to ensure the child’s survival. There are other
relevant rights to the survival rights e.g right to health etc. It is the sole
responsibility of the care-givers to ensure that the rights of the child to a
good health is upheld and respected.
2. Development rights: Development rights of the child include providing
opportunities for the child to develop his/her potentials optimally. The
early stage of child development is a critical period wherein children
rapidly develop physically. Therefore, to ensure proper growth and
development of the child through obeying child development right, the
child need adequate care, nutrition, health and stimulation.
3. Protection rights: These rights protect the child from discrimination,
abuse and exploitation. It is imperative to note that some children suffer
abuse and neglects at home such as female genital mutilation, children
been used as hawkers, beggers, pushed to early marriage among others. If
the child right to protection is upheld and respected by al the stakeholders,
the conditions of the children will not remain the same.
4. Participation rights: These rights are grounded in the idea that every
human being has the right to share in the making of decisions which
affects his or her life. If adult want children to grow to be responsible
adult, then the opportunity to be involved in decision making should be
provided at very early stage of development.
32
Concept of Child Care-givers
Care-giving has evolved as jargon in the professional gerontological
literature, reflective of the fact that care-giver is a job title. The term is generally
used as a succinct description of the full range of the ways people attend to each
other. Applying the term and the above definition to children, Richter (2004) held
that the concept child care-giver denotes the people who look after infants and
young children. There is considerable controversy about the most accurate and
appropriate term by which to denote the wide variety of people involved in
regular child care. Some advocate the term parent or parenting to denote long-
term family care (UNICEF, 2000). The reasons for such position are that while
parenting embodies past and future perspectives and deep emotional involvement
in the rearing and socialization of a young child, the motives and activities of
people involved in professional care of children are short term.
Families vary in their needs and expectations. From time to time parents’
major concern about the choice of who to care for their children may be subject
to the parents’ consideration of several issues (religious, social, economic and
child development) that may affect them and their children in a setting. The
essence of these considerations, according to Anuna (2005), is that that the
pattern of child care provides the basis for adult personality and therefore has a
vital influence on public events and world history. Lamb (1999) noted three
dimensions of the aspects of care-giver’s behaviour that are especially influential.
These are: the warmth or hostility of the care-giver-child relationship
(acceptance-rejection, the control or autonomy of the disciplinary approach
33
(restrictiveness permissiveness) and the consistency that care-givers show in
using discipline. These behaviours are regarded as influential because they are
the best ways to respond to the needs of children effectively.
Concept of Skill
A skill is ability, coming from one’s knowledge, practice and aptitude to
do something well. It is a potential acquired by individuals through training
which is meant to ensure proficiency and competency in the performance of
occupational tasks. According to Molyneux (2012), the word skill is used in the
following ways:
(1) it can be used when talking about an activity; for example, swimming
and tennis;
(2) it is more frequently used to describe the actions or techniques used
within the activities; examples are: a chest pass and a handstand; and
(3) it is used to indicate the quality of a performance.
Skills are a well established habit of doing things by people. In the opinion
of Okorie (2000) to possess a skill is to demonstrate, acting, thinking and
behaving in a specific activity in such a way that the process becomes natural to
the individual through repetition or practice. Skill in the context of this study is
an organized sequence of actions and proficiency required by technician in
plastics production. Osuala (2004) see skills as ability to put into use acquired
competencies, attitudes and behaviours after an exposure to theories and
practices inherent in a field of study. In Nigeria, what is required today and
tomorrow are workers with good technological skill background, rugged enough
34
to transform this country into a positive technological breakthrough with the
ability to meet its immediate demand as opined by Uwaifo (2009).
Obanya (2003) defined skill as versatility in knowledge, the capacity to
communicate and appreciate the views and feelings of others, ability to adopt to
novel situations, creatively, team spirit, literacy in its comprehensive dimension,
fluency in information and communication technology and the capacity to
embrace learning as a way of life.
Based on the third classification, an action performed well results from
some skills possessed by the performer. In this context the performer may be
referred to as ‘skilled’ or ‘skilful’. Knapp in Molyneux (2012) defined skill as the
learned ability to bring about pre-determined results with the maximum certainty
often with minimum outlay of time or energy or both. This means that a skilful
performer is someone who has the ability to make an accurate analysis of the
demands of a situation and decide the most appropriate way to deal with it. The
action will be carried out at the right moment (timing) and will be well controlled
with the performer being fully aware of the intended outcome of the selected
skill. A skilful performance in any activity is characterised by the following:
The performer appears to be in complete control of their actions
Actions are refined and precise
The actions seem effortless energy is not wasted
Even complicated actions appear simple
The performer has a large repertoire of skills
Skills can be linked into complex combinations
35
The correct action is always selected for the situation
The action is applied at the correct time
Actions are adapted with flair and creativity
The performer always seems to have a lot of time to execute the action
The performer can carry out skills automatically without having to think
them through
There is a high success rate of the outcome of their actions (Molyneux
2012)
According to CareersPortal (2010), there are three groups of skills,
namely: (a) people skills, (b) task skills, and (c) personal skills. People skills
include skills like: sensitivity to others, insight into others, openness to others,
respect, active listening, and so on. Task skills include skills like:
planning/organizing, time management, practical skills, problem solving (with
subsets like-showing interest in finding the cause of problems, looking for and
choosing effective solutions and taking the necessary action to resolve them), and
customer focus, among others. Personal skills include skills like: learning skills,
adaptability, goal setting, initiative, independence, motivation, dependability and
professionalism (CareersPortal, 2010).
Child Care Skill Needs of Pre-primary School Care-givers
Child care skills are societies’ way of shaping children into the kinds of
adults the society wants. It is the art of caring for the child that differs from
culture to culture. Generally, it refers to the interaction between the care-givers
36
and their children which involves the care-giver’s expression of attitudes, values,
interest, beliefs as well as the care taking and training behaviour. It involves
numerous skills and is of immense importance to every individual family that
aims at raising healthy children.
Thus, child care skills are different potentialities and abilities which child
care-givers need to possess, through training, to ensure proficiency and
competency in the performance of their task of caring for children as they grow
and develop. Since there are several things required to be done in the process of
caring for the child as he develops, it means that child care-givers need various
child care skills to be able to be proficient, competent, and achieve the best they
desire in the children they care for. Hence, Clayton (1994) stated that while
playing with children and encouraging them to learn can be a rewarding
experience, yet, it can be more enjoyable if the care-giver has good care giving
skills.
Care-giving skills can be learned informally by watching parents, taking
children’s development class and reading other books on the topic. According to
Clayton (1994), the more one knows about children, the more comfortable he/she
would be with them. One will find that the way the children are handled affects
the way they behave and their friendliness toward the care-giver and indeed other
people. Care-givers who handle children well to be able to meet their needs are
said to possess some skills. They are regarded as skilled care-givers. They are
regarded as capable in their tasks. Ashiabi (2000) noted that child care-givers can
achieve better outcomes in caring for children and promoting their emotional
37
development by using such strategies as: (a) acknowledgment of time; (b)
feelings time; (c) affection activities; emotional management techniques; and (d)
social problem-solving.
Creating acknowledgement time, care-givers enable children to learn to
show their appreciation and regard for others. By means of feelings time care-
givers enable children to develop emotionally by talking about the causes of their
emotions, what they do when they experience those emotions, how they think
they can make those feelings go away, and what they think another child might
do (Ashiabi, 2000). These are examples of how a care-giver can apply skills to
get the best out of the process of responding to the needs of children, enhance
their development, and plan the future of the society. Based on the details above
and for the purpose of this study, the following are the skills useful for child care-
Cluster Summary 3.34 0.19 3.30 0.57 3.28 0.18 3.36 0.22 3.32 0.51 ANote: X = Mean; SD = Standard Deviation; HEc Trs = Home Economics Teachers; Early Child Care Expert; N = Number of Respondents; SA = Strongly Agreed; A = Agreed; D = Disagreed; Rmk = Remarks.
85
Table 1 reveals that the overall mean ratings of the responses of the
respondents on 7 out of the 18 identified feeding skills had mean values that
ranged from 3.50 to 3.68 which fell within real limit of number 3.50 – 4.00. This
indicated that the respondents strongly agreed that the 7 feeding skills are needed
by care-givers for effective child upbringing in pre-primary schools in FCT,
Abuja. The mean values on ten out of the 18 feeding skills ranged from 2.84 to
3.44 which fell within real limit of number 2.50 – 3.49. This indicated that the
respondent agreed that the ten feeding skills are needed by care-givers for
effective child upbringing in the study area. The mean rating of the responses of
the respondents on item 6 was 2.43 which fell within the real limit of number
1.50 – 2.49 indicating that that the respondents disagreed with the item as part of
the feeding skills needed by care-givers in pre-primary schools in FCT, Abuja.
The overall cluster mean was 3.32 which indicated that the respondents
generally agreed that care-givers needed the identified feeding skills for effective
child upbringing in pre-primary schools in FCT, Abuja. The standard deviation
values of the 18 items in the table ranged from 0.44 to 0.65 which were less than
1.96. This indicated that the responses of the respondents are close to one another
and to the mean.
Feeding skills needed by care-givers
Focus Group Discussion result showed that, discussants agreed on the
following feeding skills that are needed by care-givers in pre-primary schools in
FCT, Abuja:
i. have some basic ideas of nutrition,
ii. advise parents on preparation method of food to give to their children,
iii. feed children on time,
iv. advise parents on giving children food and snacks,
v. wash children’s eating wares immediately after eating.
86
Research Question Two
What clothing skill needs of care-givers in pre-primary schools in FCT,
Abuja?
The data for answering research question two are presented in Table 2.
Table 2: Mean Ratings of the Responses of the Respondents on the Clothing Skills Needed by Caregivers in Pre-primary Schools in FCT, Abuja (N= 556).
Caregivers HE Trs CH Expt Nurses OVERALLSN Clothing Skills Needed by
Caregivers: X SD X SD X SD X SD X SD Rmks1 Change children’s cloths
anytime they are dirty. 3.44 0.47 3.56 0.46 3.48 0.32 3.41 0.45 3.47 0.46 A
2 Care for children’s clothing 3.57 0.46 3.62 0.48 3.57 0.42 3.53 0.46 3.57 0.46 SA3 Put the children’s clothing in
clean and dry containers2.69 0.47 2.99 0.40 3.40 0.43 3.73 0.48 3.21 0.46 A
4 Cloth children with properly fitted cloth for comfortability
Note: X = Mean; SD = Standard Deviation; HEc Trs = Home Economics Teachers; Early Child Care Expert; N = Number of Respondents; SA = Strongly Agreed; A = Agreed; D = Disagreed; Rmk = Remarks.
87
Table 2 shows that the overall mean ratings of the responses of the
respondents on 5 out of the 18 identified clothing skills had mean values that
ranged from 3.52 to 3.66 which fell within real limit of number 3.50 – 4.00. This
indicated that the respondents strongly agreed that the 5 clothing skills are
needed by care-givers for effective child upbringing in pre-primary schools in
FCT, Abuja. The mean values of 11 out of the 18 clothing skills ranged from 2.83 to
3.48 which fell within real limit of number 2.50 – 3.49. This indicated that the
respondent agreed that the 11 clothing skills are needed by care-givers for effective
child upbringing in the study area. The mean ratings of the responses of the
respondents on items 9 and 15 were 2.47 and 2.46 which fell within the real limit of
number 1.50 – 2.49. This indicated that the respondents disagreed with the two item
as part of the clothing skills needed by care-givers in pre-primary schools in FCT,
Abuja.
The overall cluster mean was 3.29 which indicated that the respondents
generally agreed that care-givers needed the identified clothing skills for effective
child upbringing in pre-primary schools in FCT, Abuja. The standard deviation
values of the 18 items in the table ranged from 0.46 to 0.72 which were less than
1.96. This indicated that the responses of the respondents are close to one another
and to the mean.
Clothing skills needed by care-givers
Focus Group Discussion result showed that, discussants agreed on the
following clothing skills that are needed by care-givers in pre-primary schools in
FCT, Abuja:
i. change the children’s clothes any time they are dirty,
ii. put the children’s clothes in clean/dry containers,
iii. cloth children with cotton fabrics in hot weather,
iv. cloth children with bright coloured cloths in hot weather,
v. wash children’s clothes with mild soap.
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Research Question Three
What toilet training skills are needed by care-givers in pre-primary
schools in FCT, Abuja?
The data for answering research question three are presented in Table 3.
Table 3: Mean Ratings of the Responses of the Respondents on the Toilet Training Skills Needed by Caregivers in Pre-primary Schools in FCT (N= 556).
Caregivers HE Trs CH Expt Nurses OVERALLSN Toilet Training Skills
Needed by Caregivers: X SD X SD X SD X SD X SD Rmk1 Use signs to encourage the
Note: X = Mean; SD = Standard Deviation; HEc Trs = Home Economics Teachers; Early Child Care Expert; N = Number of Respondents; SA = Strongly Agreed; A = Agreed; Rmk = Remarks.
Table 3 reveals that the overall mean ratings of the responses of the
respondents on 7 out of the 11 identified toilet training skills had mean values that
89
ranged from 3.52 to 3.68 which fell within real limit of number 3.50 – 4.00. This
indicated that the respondents strongly agreed that the 7 toilet training skills are
needed by care-givers for effective child upbringing in pre-primary schools in FCT,
Abuja. The mean values of the remaining four toilet training skills ranged from 3.23
to 3.44 which fell within real limit of number 2.50 – 3.49. This indicated that the
respondent agreed that the four toilet training skills are needed by care-givers for
effective child upbringing in pre-primary schools in FCT, Abuja.
The overall cluster mean was 3.50 which indicated that the respondents
strongly agreed that care-givers needed the identified toilet training skills for
effective child upbringing in pre-primary schools in FCT, Abuja. The standard
deviation values of the 11 items in the table ranged from 0.48 to 0.71 which were
less than 1.96. This indicated that the responses of the respondents are close to one
another and to the mean.
Toilet training skills needed by care-givers
Focus Group Discussion result showed that, discussants agreed on the
following toilet training skills that are needed by care-givers in pre-primary schools
in FCT, Abuja, these include:
i. toilet training the child using potty,
ii. complete toilet training by the age of 2 years,
iii. correct the children if they defecate in the wrong place,
iv. teach the children to sit on the toilet seat properly,
v. teach children how to flush the toilet after use?
Research Question Four
What interacting skills are needed by care-givers in pre-primary schools in
FCT, Abuja?
90
The data for answering research question four are presented in Table 4.
Table 4: Mean Ratings of the Responses of the Respondents on the Interacting Skills Needed by Caregivers in Pre-primary Schools, Abuja (N= 556).
Caregivers HE Trs CH Expt Nurses OVERALL
SN Interacting Skills Needed by Caregivers: X SD X SD X SD X SD X SD Rmk
1 Ability to listen carefully to the children and their parents
Note: X = Mean; SD = Standard Deviation; HEc Trs = Home Economics Teachers; Early Child Care Expert; N = Number of Respondents; SA = Strongly Agreed; A = Agreed; Rmk = Remarks.
93
Table 5 shows that the overall mean ratings of the responses of the
respondents on 10 out of the 11 identified safety skills had mean values that
ranged from 3.50 to 3.74 which fell within real limit of number 3.50 – 4.00. This
indicated that the respondents strongly agreed that the 10 safety skills are needed
by care-givers for effective child upbringing in pre-primary schools in FCT,
Abuja. The mean values of the remaining one item specifically, item 9 was 3.49
which fell within real limit of number 2.50 – 3.49. This indicated that the
respondent agreed that item 9 is needed by care-givers for effective child
upbringing in pre-primary schools in FCT, Abuja.
The overall cluster mean was 3.62 which indicated that the respondents
strongly agreed that care-givers needed the identified interacting skills for
effective child upbringing in pre-primary schools in FCT, Abuja. The standard
deviation values of the 11 items in the table ranged from 0.44 to 0.55 which were
less than 1.96. This indicated that the responses of the respondents are close to
one another and to the mean.
Safety skills needed by care-givers
Focus Group Discussion result showed that, discussants agreed on the
following safety skills that are needed by care-givers in pre-primary schools in
FCT, Abuja, these include:
i. take the correct actions in cases of emergency,
ii. know what to do in cases of emergency,
iii. keep sharp and harmful objects beyond the reach of children,
iv. being vigilant at all times,
v. cover electrical outlets with patches and dummy plugs to avoid shocks in
pre-primary schools.
94
Research Question Six
What hygiene skills are needed by care-givers in pre-primary schools in
FCT, Abuja?
The data for answering research question six are presented in Table 6.
Table 6: Mean Ratings of the Responses of the Respondents on the Hygiene Skills Needed by Caregivers in Pre-primary Schools in FCT, Abuja (N= 556).
Caregivers HE Trs CH Expt Nurses OVERALL
SN Hygiene Skills Needed by Caregivers: X SD X SD X SD X SD X SD Rmk
1 Use hygienic toiletries / handkerchief / tissue paper to clean the children’s nose
Note: X = Mean; SD = Standard Deviation; HEc Trs = Home Economics Teachers; Early Child Care Expert; N = Number of Respondents; SA = Strongly Agreed; A = Agreed; Rmk = Remarks.
95
Table 6 reveals that the overall mean ratings of the responses of the
respondents on 8 out of the 14 identified hygiene skills had mean values that
ranged from 3.51 to 3.71 which fell within real limit of number 3.50 – 4.00. This
indicated that the respondents strongly agreed that the 8 hygiene skills are needed
by care-givers for effective child upbringing in pre-primary schools in FCT,
Abuja. The mean values of the remaining 6 items ranged from 3.15 to 3.47 which
fell within real limit of number 2.50 – 3.49. This indicated that the respondent
agreed that the 6 hygiene skills are needed by care-givers for effective child
upbringing in pre-primary schools in FCT, Abuja.
The overall cluster mean was 3.50 which indicated that the respondents
strongly agreed that care-givers needed the identified hygiene skills for effective
child upbringing in pre-primary schools in FCT, Abuja. The standard deviation
values of the 14 items in the table ranged from 0.46 to 0.73 which were less than
1.96. This implied that the responses of the respondents are close to one another
and to the mean.
Hygiene skills needed by care-givers
Focus Group Discussion result showed that, discussants agreed on the
following safety skills that are needed by care-givers in pre-primary schools in
FCT, Abuja, these include:
i. use hygienic toiletries/handkerchiefs/tissue papers to clean children’s
nose,
ii. know how to store food and water to avoid contamination,
iii. avoid coughing/sneezing into children’s food,
iv. ensure that children’s toilet facilities are clean,
v. prevent children from sharing utensils like spoon.
96
Testing of Hypotheses
HO1
There were no significant difference in the mean ratings of care-givers in
pre-primary schools, Home Economics teachers, early child care experts and
nurses on the feeding skills needed by the care-givers in Federal Capital
Territory, Abuja.
The data for testing hypothesis one are presented in Table 7 below.
97
Table 7: Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) of the mean ratings of the responses of care-givers in pre-primary schools, home economics teachers, early child care experts and nurses on feeding skills needed by the care-givers (N= 556).
SN Feeding Skills Total Sum of Square
Total Mean Square F-cal
P-value Rmks
1 Ability to have basic idea of nutrition. 207.498 0.775 0.840 0.47 NS2 Advising parents on the type of food
preparation method to give their children
145.814 1.165 3.987 0.01 S*
3 Advising parents on the quantity of food to give their children
125.992 0.379 0.479 0.70 NS
4 Ability to feed children on time 147.482 0.465 0.551 0.65 NS
5 Teaching children to avoid talking when eating
117.377 0.377 0.578 0.63 NS
6 Teache children to avoid eating in-between meals
132.097 1.509 4.760 0.00 S*
7 Wash children eating wares immediately after eating
132.713 0.557 1.071 0.36 NS
8 Have the ability to sterilize children’s feeding utensils
122.607 0.614 1.477 0.22 NS
9 Have the ability to keep children feeding utensils properly when not used
98.834 0.346 0.724 0.54 NS
10 Have the ability to know the constituents of a balanced meal
107.449 0.342 0.562 0.64 NS
11 Give the children warm food instead of too hot or too cold foods
131.482 0.306 0.140 0.93 NS
12 Have the ability to give children the right quantity of food for their age bracket
151.028 0.848 1.782 0.15 NS
13 Have the ability to show affection while feeding the children
122.947 0.353 0.412 0.74 NS
14 Have the ability to help older children feed themselves
117.296 0.341 0.425 0.73 NS
15 Make sure children are properly positioned during feeding
110.866 0.295 0.305 0.82 NS
16 Face the children at their eyes levels when feeding them
112.113 0.519 1.285 0.27 NS
17 Ensure that the food children bring to school are properly handled/covered
125.231 0.676 1.671 0.17 NS
18 Teach children good table manners such as the use of cutleries.
124.874 0.420 0.655 0.58 NS
Cluster Summary 129.650 0.572 1.206 0.47 NSNote: S* = Significant NS = Not Significant Level of Sig. 0.05 Degree of freedom = 493
98
Table 7 shows that the p-values of 16 out of the 18 items in the table
ranged from 0.15 to 0.93 which are greater than 0.05 level of significance. This
indicated that there are no significant differences in the mean ratings of care-
givers, home economics teachers, early child care experts and nurses on the 16
feeding skills needed by the care-givers in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
Therefore, the null hypothesis of no significant difference in the mean ratings of
the responses of the four groups of respondents were accepted on the 16 items.
On the other hand, the p-values of the remaining two items, specifically
items 2 and 6 were 0.01 and 0.00 respectively which were less than 0.05 level of
significance. This indicated that there are significant differences in the mean
ratings of the responses of the four groups of respondents on the two items.
Therefore, the null hypothesis of no significant difference in the mean ratings of
the four groups of respondents were rejected on the two items. The result of the
Post-Hoc analysis showing the direction of the significance on the two items
revealed that the difference in the mean ratings on item two was between care-
givers and nurse while on item 6 the difference in the mean ratings was among
care-givers, nurse and childhood expert (See Appendix I, page 173).
The overall p-value of the entire 18 feeding skills in the Table was 0.47
which was greater than 0.05 level of significance. This shows that there is no
significant difference in the mean ratings of care-givers, Home Economics
teachers, early child care experts and nurses on feeding skills needed by the care-
givers in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
HO2
There were no significant difference in the mean ratings of care-givers in
pre-primary schools, Home Economics teachers, early child care experts and
nurses on the clothing skills needed by the care-givers in Federal Capital
Territory, Abuja.
The data for testing hypothesis two are presented in Table 8 below.
99
Table 8: Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) of the mean ratings of the responses of care-givers in pre-primary schools, home economics teachers, early child care experts and nurses on clothing skills needed by the care-givers (N= 556).
SN Clothing Skills Total Sum of Square
Total Mean Square F-cal
P-value Rmks
1 Change children’s cloths anytime they are dirty.
108.178 0.632 1.895 0.13 NS
2 Ability to properly care for children’s clothing
108.874 0.385 0.743 0.52 NS
3 Putting the children’s clothing in clean and dry containers
105.182 1.164 4.575 0.00 S*
4 Ability to cloth children with properly fitted cloth for comfortability
119.498 0.542 1.241 0.29 NS
5 Clothing children with cotton fabrics in hot weather
179.401 0.994 1.744 0.16 NS
6 Clothing children with woolen fabrics in cold weather
146.235 0.805 1.727 0.16 NS
7 Clothing children with bright coloured cloth in hot weather
123.255 0.472 0.889 0.45 NS
8 Washing children’s clothings with mild soap
122.769 0.879 3.564 0.01 S*
9 Allowing children sometimes to select what they want to wear
120.729 0.727 1.988 0.12 NS
10 Clothing children with the proper size of cloths so that they do not fall
118.235 1.028 3.351 0.02 S*
11 Helping children to properly tie/untie their canvass/shoelaces
211.336 1.114 1.609 0.18 NS
12 Allowing children to dress themselves atimes
129.555 0.402 0.522 0.67 NS
13 Advising parents to buy garments with self-help accessories such as shoes with ventro instead of buckles
139.255 0.401 0.416 0.74 NS
14 Advising parents to buy garments with growth features like tucks in shirts
135.255 0.290 0.052 0.99 NS
15 Advising parents to buy clothing 148.453 0.592 0.966 0.41 NS16 Ability to use the elements of design in
teaching children example: line, space and form
254.607 0.652 0.256 0.86 NS
17 Ability to use colour wheel 126.235 0.832 4.274 0.01 S*18 Ability to combine colours 127.449 0.370 0.428 0.73 NS
Cluster Summary 140.250 0.683 1.680 0.36 NSNote: S* = Significant NS = Not Significant Level of Sig. 0.05 Degree of freedom = 493
100
Table 8 reveals that the p-values of 14 out of the 18 items in the table
ranged from 0.12 to 0.99 which are greater than 0.05 level of significance. This
indicated that there are no significant differences in the mean ratings of care-
givers, home economics teachers, early child care experts and nurses on the 14
clothing skills needed by the care-givers in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
Therefore, the null hypothesis of no significant difference in the mean ratings of
the responses of the four groups of respondents were accepted on the 14 items.
The p-values on the remaining four items, specifically items 3, 8, 10 and
17 were 0.00, 0.01, 0.02 and 0.01 respectively which were less than 0.05 level of
significance. This showed that there are significant differences in the mean
ratings of the responses of the four groups of respondents on the four items.
Therefore, the null hypothesis of no significant difference in the mean ratings of
the four groups of respondents are rejected on the four items. The result of the
Post-Hoc analysis showing the direction of the significance on the four items
showed that the differences in the mean ratings on item 3 was among care-givers,
childhood experts and nurse, for item 8 was between care-givers and childhood
experts, for item 10 was care-givers, Home Economics teachers and childhood
experts while on item 17 the difference in the mean ratings was between care-
givers and childhood expert (See Appendix I, page 179).
The overall p-value of the clothing skills cluster was 0.36 which was
greater than 0.05 level of significance. This shows that there is no significant
difference in the mean ratings of care-givers, Home Economics teachers, early
child care experts and nurses on clothing skills needed by the care-givers in the
Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
101
HO3
There were no significant difference in the mean ratings of care-givers in
pre-primary schools, Home Economics teachers, early child care experts and
nurses on the toilet training skills needed by the care-givers in Federal Capital
Territory, Abuja.
The data for testing hypothesis three are presented in Table 9 below.
Table 9: Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) of the mean ratings of the responses of care-givers in pre-primary schools, Home Economics teachers, early child care experts and nurses on the toilet training skills needed by the care-givers (N=556).
SN Toilet training skillsTotal Sum of Square
Total Mean Square F-cal
P-value Rmks
1 Ability to use signs to encourage the children go to toilet each morning
118.640 0.688 1.876 0.13 NS
2 Ability to toilet training the child using potty
143.466 1.083 3.762 0.04 S*
3 Ability to firmly correct children if they defecate in the wrong place
150.607 0.741 1.431 0.23 NS
4 Cleaning the potty immediately after the child finishes defecating
254.559 0.756 0.460 0.71 NS
5 Ability to gradually stop children at the appropriate age, from using potty
115.498 1.525 5.692 0.00 S*
6 Washing hands properly with soap after visiting toilet
150.235 1.759 4.907 0.00 S*
7 Ability to teach children the to sit on the toilet seat properly
138.607 0.718 1.564 0.19 NS
8 Teaching the children not to play with toilet bowls
143.158 0.948 3.291 0.03 S*
9 Ability to teach older children how to flush the toilet after use
151.482 1.056 2.465 0.06 NS
10 Ability to teach older children how to clean themselves after using the toilet
139.045 1.503 4.441 0.00 S*
11 Ability to teach children not to be talking and playing while using the toilet
149.296 0.904 2.003 0.11 NS
Cluster Summary 150.418 1.062 2.899 0.14 NSNote: S* = Significant NS = Not Significant Level of Sig. 0.05 Degree of freedom = 493
102
Table 9 shows that the p-values of 6 out of the 11 items in the table ranged
from 0.06 to 0.71 which are greater than 0.05 level of significance. This indicated
that there are no significant differences in the mean ratings of care-givers, home
economics teachers, early child care experts and nurses on the 6 toilet training
skills needed by the care-givers in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
Therefore, the null hypothesis of no significant difference in the mean ratings of
the responses of the four groups of respondents were accepted on the 6 items.
The p-values on the remaining five items, specifically items 2, 5, 6, 8 and
10 were 0.04, 0.00, 0.00, 0.03 and 0.00 respectively which were less than 0.05
level of significance. This showed that there are significant differences in the
mean ratings of the responses of the four groups of respondents on the five items.
Therefore, the null hypothesis of no significant difference in the mean ratings of
the four groups of respondents are rejected on the five items. The result of the
Post-Hoc analysis showing the direction of the significance on the five items
showed that the differences in the mean ratings on item 2 was between Home
economics teachers and nurse, on items 5 was among care-givers, childhood
experts and nurse, on item 6 and 8 were between care-givers and nurse, while for
item 10 the significance lies between care-givers and Home economics teachers
(See Appendix I, page 185).
The overall p-value of the toilet training skills cluster was 0.14 which was
greater than 0.05 level of significance. This shows that there is no significant
difference in the mean ratings of care-givers, Home Economics teachers, early
child care experts and nurses on toilet training skills needed by the care-givers in
the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
HO4
There were no significant difference in the mean ratings of care-givers in
pre-primary schools, Home Economics teachers, early child care experts and
nurses on the interacting skills needed by the care-givers for child upbringing in
Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
The data for testing hypothesis four are presented in Table 10 below.
103
Table 10: Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) of the mean ratings of the responses of care-givers in pre-primary schools, home economics teachers, early child care experts and nurses on the interacting skills needed by the care-givers (N=556).
SN Interacting Skills Total Sum of Square
Total Mean Square F-cal
P-value Rmks
1 Ability to listen carefully to the children and their parents
155.482 0.515 0.629 0.59 NS
2 Ability to communicate constantly and on time with the children’s parents
163.482 2.090 5.475 0.00 S*
3 Ability to be clear and specific when interacting with the children’s
242.024 1.257 1.569 0.19 NS
4 Being clear and specific when interacting with the children’s parents
183.482 0.630 0.689 0.56 NS
5 Ability to know the right of the child 151.968 0.716 1.326 0.27 NS6 Ability to recognize the right of the child 171.045 1.702 3.995 0.01 S*7 Ability to recognize the feelings of the child 163.401 0.543 0.635 0.59 NS8 Ability to reassure children when they need
help178.429 1.112 2.092 0.10 NS
9 Ability to be sensitive to children’s needs 159.045 0.994 2.103 0.09 NS10 Ability to respond without delay to
children’s needs186.769 1.193 3.173 0.04 S*
11 Ability to give clear instructions to children about play
163.336 1.031 2.135 0.09 NS
12 Using simple and positive sentences that are easy for the children to understand
147.158 0.437 0.460 0.71 NS
13 Telling children what they want in a pleasant manner
159.482 1.552 3.882 0.01 S*
14 Ability to praise the children for what they do well
178.769 0.714 0.969 0.40 NS
15 Encouraging the children to keep trying if they make mistakes
278.866 2.289 3.097 0.03 S*
16 Ability to discipline the children in firm and positive ways
200.421 0.892 1.196 0.31 NS
17 Ability to share non-verbal interaction like smiles to interact with children
151.028 0.848 1.782 0.15 NS
18 Ability to use children’s language when interacting with them
122.947 0.353 0.412 0.74 NS
19 Come to children’s level when interacting with them
117.296 0.341 0.425 0.74 NS
20 Ability to teach children how to interact with peers
110.866 0.295 6.305 0.00 S*
21 Teaching children to resolve conflicts peacefully
112.113 0.519 1.285 0.28 NS
Cluster Summary 166.543 0.953 2.077 0.28 NSNote: S* = Significant NS = Not Significant Level of Sig. 0.05 Degree of freedom = 493
104
Table 10 shows that the p-values of 16 out of the 21 items in the table
ranged from 0.09 to 0.74 which are greater than 0.05 level of significance. This
showed that there are no significant differences in the mean ratings of the
responses of care-givers, home economics teachers, early child care experts and
nurses on the 16 interacting skills needed by the care-givers in the Federal
Capital Territory, Abuja. Therefore, the null hypothesis of no significant
difference in the mean ratings of the responses of the four groups of respondents
were accepted on the 16 items.
The p-values on the remaining six items, specifically items 2, 6, 10, 13, 15
and 20 were 0.00, 0.01, 0.04, 0.01, 0.03 and 0.00 respectively which were less
than 0.05 level of significance. This indicated that there are significant
differences in the mean ratings of the responses of the four groups of respondents
on the six items of interacting skills. Therefore, the null hypothesis of no
significant difference in the mean ratings of the responses of the four groups of
respondents are rejected on the six items. The result of the Post-Hoc analysis
showing the direction of the significance on the six items revealed that the
differences in the mean ratings on items 2, 10 and 13 were between care-givers
and nurse. On item 6, the difference in the mean ratings were among care-givers,
childhood experts and nurses while on items 15 and 20, the difference in the
mean ratings were between Home Economics teachers and nurses (See Appendix
I, page 190).
The overall p-value of the interacting skills cluster was 0.28 which was
greater than 0.05 level of significance. This shows that there is no significant
difference in the mean ratings of care-givers, Home Economics teachers, early
child care experts and nurses on interacting skills needed by the care-givers in the
Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
105
HO5
There were no significant difference in the mean ratings of care-givers in
pre-primary schools, Home Economics teachers, early child care experts and
nurses on the safety skills needed by the care-givers in Federal Capital Territory,
Abuja.
The data for testing hypothesis five are presented in Table 11 below.
Table 11: Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) of the mean ratings of the responses of care-givers in pre-primary schools, home economics teachers, early child care experts and nurses on safety skills needed by the care-givers (N=556).
SN Safety skillsTotal Sum of Square
Total Mean Square F-cal
P-value Rmks
1 Ability to know what to do in emergency cases
125.231 0.676 1.671 0.17 NS
2 Keeping children within the school premises to avoid going to the roads
147.482 0.465 0.551 0.65 NS
3 Knowing how to teach the children parents about child safety when necessary
117.377 0.377 0.578 0.63 NS
4 Keeping sharp and harmful objects beyond the reach of children
132.097 1.509 4.760 0.00 S*
5 Ability to keep harmful liquids such as cleaning agents/insecticides beyond the reach of children
132.713 0.557 1.071 0.36 NS
6 Being vigilant at all times with children 122.607 0.614 1.477 0.22 NS7 Ability to ensure that children are taken
home only by their parents or guidance198.834 0.346 0.724 0.53 NS
8 Ability to know how to use the fire escape routes in the building
107.449 0.342 0.562 0.64 NS
9 Ability to keep floor areas clean and free to avoid children tripping and stumbling
131.482 0.306 0.140 0.93 NS
10 Wiping water, food or other liquids to avoid slippery spots on the floor
151.028 0.848 1.782 0.15 NS
11 Covering electrical outlets or naked wires with patches and dummy plugs to avoid shocks
122.947 0.353 0.412 0.74 NS
Cluster Summary 135.386 0.581 1.248 0.46 NSNote: S* = Significant NS = Not Significant Level of Sig. 0.05Degree of freedom = 493
106
Table 11 reveals that the p-values of 10 out of the 11 items in the table
ranged from 0.15 to 0.93 which are greater than 0.05 level of significance. This
revealed that there are no significant differences in the mean ratings of the
responses of care-givers, home economics teachers, early child care experts and
nurses on the 10 safety skills needed by the care-givers in the Federal Capital
Territory, Abuja. Therefore, the null hypothesis of no significant difference in the
mean ratings of the responses of the four groups of respondents were accepted on
the 10 items.
The p-value on the remaining one item, specifically item 4 was 0.00 which
was less than 0.05 level of significance. This indicated that there is significant
difference in the mean ratings of the responses of the four groups of respondents
on the item. Therefore, the null hypothesis of no significant difference in the
mean ratings of the responses of the four groups of respondents is rejected on
item 4 in the table. The result of the Post-Hoc analysis revealed that the
significance difference in the mean ratings of the respondents is between care-
givers and nurses (See Appendix I, page 196).
The overall p-value of the safety skills cluster was 0.46 which was greater
than 0.05 level of significance. This shows that there is no significant difference
in the mean ratings of care-givers, Home Economics teachers, early child care
experts and nurses on safety skills needed by the care-givers in the Federal
Capital Territory, Abuja.
HO6
There were no significant difference in the mean ratings of care-givers in
pre-primary schools, Home Economics teachers, early child care experts and
nurses on the hygiene skills needed by the care-givers for child upbringing in
Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
The data for testing hypothesis six are presented in Table 12 below.
107
Table 12: Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) of the mean ratings of the responses of care-givers in pre-primary schools, home economics teachers, early child care experts and nurses on hygiene skills needed by the care-givers (N=556).
SN Hygiene Skills Total Sum of Square
Total Mean Square F-cal
P-value Rmks
1 Using hygienic toiletries / handkerchief / tissue paper to clean the children’s nose
117.296 0.341 0.425 0.74 NS
2 Thorough washing and drying hands before feeding the children
110.866 0.295 0.305 0.82 NS
3 Ability to know how to store food and water to avoid contamination
112.113 0.519 1.285 0.28 NS
4 Ability to separately keep different children food items to avoid mixed up with each other
125.231 0.676 1.671 0.17 NS
5 Avoiding coughing / sneezing into children’s food
124.874 0.420 0.655 0.58 NS
6 Ability to ensure that children’s toilet facilities are clean
108.178 0.632 1.895 0.12 NS
7 Regularly washing / cleaning children’s toys and playing equipment
108.874 0.385 0.743 0.53 NS
8 Preventing children from eating food that has bones
105.182 1.164 4.575 0.01 S*
9 Ability to prevent children from sharing utensils like spoons
119.498 0.542 1.241 0.29 NS
10 Preventing children from picking food items that have dropped on the floor
179.401 0.994 1.744 0.16 NS
11 Preventing children from using utensils that have dropped on the floor without washing
150.607 0.741 1.431 0.23 NS
12 Ability to teach children how to wash their hands after using the toilet
254.559 0.756 0.460 0.71 NS
13 Providing children with protective clothing for messy activities
115.498 1.525 5.692 0.00 S*
14 Ability to handle children’s food to avoid being cold
150.235 1.759 4.907 0.00 S*
Cluster Summary 134.458 0.767 1.930 0.33 NS
Note: S* = Significant NS = Not Significant Level of Sig. 0.05 Degree of freedom = 493
108
Table 12 shows that the p-values of 11 out of the 14 items in the table
ranged from 0.12 to 0.82 which are greater than 0.05 level of significance. This
showed that there are no significant differences in the mean ratings of the
responses of care-givers, home economics teachers, early child care experts and
nurses on the 11 hygiene skills needed by the care-givers in the Federal Capital
Territory, Abuja. Therefore, the null hypothesis of no significant difference in the
mean ratings of the responses of the four groups of respondents were accepted on
the 11 hygiene skill items.
The p-value on the remaining 3 items, specifically items 8, 13 and 14 were
0.01, 0.00 and 0.00 respectively which were less than 0.05 level of significance.
This indicated that there is significant difference in the mean ratings of the
responses of the four groups of respondents on the 3 items. Therefore, the null
hypothesis of no significant difference in the mean ratings of the responses of the
four groups of respondents is rejected on items 8, 13 and 14 in the table. The
result of the Post-Hoc analysis revealed that the significance difference in the
mean ratings of the respondents is among care-givers, childhood experts and
nurses (See Appendix I, page 200).
The overall p-value of the hygiene skills cluster was 0.33 which was
greater than 0.05 level of significance. This shows that there is no significant
difference in the mean ratings of care-givers, Home Economics teachers, early
child care experts and nurses on hygiene skills needed by the care-givers in the
Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
109
Findings of the Study
Based on the data analysed, the following major findings emerged:
Feeding skills needed by care-givers in pre-primary schools
The study as regards to research question one found out that care-givers
needed 17 out of the 18 identified feeding skills in pre-primary schools in FCT
Abuja. The 17 feeding skills needed by the care-givers include:
The care-givers should:
1. have basic idea of nutrition
2. Advise parents of the type of food preparation method to give their
children
3. Advise parents on the quantity of food to give their children
4. feed children on time
5. Teach children to avoid talking when eating
6. Wash children eating wares immediately after eating
7. sterilize children’s feeding utensils
8. keep children feeding utensils properly when not used
9. know the constituents of a balanced meal
10.Give the children warm food instead of too hot or too cold foods
11.give children the right quantity of food for their age bracket
12.show affection while feeding the children
13.help older children feed themselves
14.Make sure children are properly positioned during feeding
110
15.Face the children at their eyes levels when feeding them
16.Ensure that the food children bring to school are properly handled/covered
17.Teach children good table manners such as the use of cutleries
H01: The study on hypothesis one found that there are no significant
differences in the mean ratings of care-givers, home economics teachers, early
child care experts and nurses on 16 out of the 18 feeding skills needed by the
care-givers in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. Whereas, on the remaining 2
feeding skills, there are significant differences in the mean ratings of the
responses of the four groups of respondents.
Clothing skills needed by care-givers in pre-primary schools
The study in respect to research question two found that care-givers
needed 16 out of the 18 identified clothing skills in pre-primary schools in FCT
Abuja. The 16 clothing skills needed by the care-givers include:
1. Change children’s cloths anytime they are dirty.
2. Ability to properly care for children’s clothing
3. Putting the children’s clothing in clean and dry containers
4. Ability to cloth children with properly fitted cloth for comfortability
5. Clothing children with cotton fabrics in hot weather
6. Clothing children with woolen fabrics in cold weather
7. Clothing children with bright coloured cloth in hot weather
8. Washing children’s clothings with mild soap
9. Clothing children with the proper size of cloths so that they do not fall
111
10. Helping children to properly tie/untie their canvass/shoelaces
11. Allowing children to dress themselves atimes
12. Advising parents to buy garments with self-help accessories such as shoes
with ventro instead of buckles
13. Advising parents to buy garments with growth features like tucks in shirts
14. Ability to use the elements of design in teaching children example: line,
space and form
15. Ability to use colour wheel
16. Ability to combine colours
H02: The study on hypothesis two found that there are no significant
differences in the mean ratings of care-givers, home economics teachers, early
child care experts and nurses on 14 out of the 18 clothing skills needed by the
care-givers in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. Whereas, on the remaining 4
clothing skills, there are significant differences in the mean ratings of the
responses of the four groups of respondents.
Toilet training skills needed by care-givers in pre-primary schools
The study in respect to research question three found that care-givers
needed all the 11 identified toilet training skills in pre-primary schools in FCT
Abuja. The 11 toilet training skills needed by the care-givers are as follows:
1. Ability to use signs to encourage the children go to toilet each morning
2. Ability to toilet training the child using potty
3. Ability to firmly correct children if they defecate in the wrong place
4. Cleaning the potty immediately after the child finishes defecating
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5. Ability to gradually stop children at the appropriate age, from using potty
6. Washing hands properly with soap after visiting toilet
7. Ability to teach children the to sit on the toilet seat properly
8. Teaching the children not to play with toilet bowls
9. Ability to teach older children how to flush the toilet after use
10. Ability to teach older children how to clean themselves after using the
toilet
11. Ability to teach children not to be talking and playing while using the
toilet
H03: The study on hypothesis three found that there are no significant
differences in the mean ratings of care-givers, home economics teachers, early
child care experts and nurses on 6 out of 11 toilet training skills needed by the
care-givers in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. Although, on the remaining 5
toilet training skills, there are significant differences in the mean ratings of the
responses of the four groups of respondents.
Interacting skills needed by care-givers in pre-primary schools
The study as regards to research question four found that care-givers
needed all the 21 identified interacting skills in pre-primary schools in FCT
Abuja. The 21 interacting skills needed by the care-givers include the following:
1. Ability to listen carefully to the children and their parents
2. Ability to communicate constantly and on time with the children’s parents
3. Ability to be clear and specific when interacting with the children’s
4. Being clear and specific when interacting with the children’s parents
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5. Ability to know the right of the child
6. Ability to recognize the right of the child
7. Ability to recognize the feelings of the child
8. Ability to reassure children when they need help
9. Ability to be sensitive to children’s needs
10. Ability to respond without delay to children’s need
11. Ability to give clear instructions to children about play
12. Using simple and positive sentences that are easy for the children to
understand
13. Telling children what they want in a pleasant manner
14. Ability to praise the children for what they do well
15. Encouraging the children to keep trying if they make mistakes
16. Ability to discipline the children in firm and positive ways
17. Ability to share non-verbal interaction like smiles to interact with children
18. Ability to use children’s language when interacting with them
19. Come to children’s level when interacting with them
20. Ability to teach children how to interact with peers
21. Teaching children to resolve conflicts peacefully
H04: The study on hypothesis four found that there are no significant
differences in the mean ratings of the responses of care-givers, home economics
teachers, early child care experts and nurses on 16 out of the 21 interacting skills
needed by the care-givers in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. Whereas, on
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the remaining 6 interacting skills, there are significant differences in the mean
ratings of the responses of the four groups of respondents.
Safety skills needed by care-givers in pre-primary schools
The study as regards to research question five found that care-givers
needed all the 11 identified safety skills in pre-primary schools in FCT Abuja.
The 11 safety skills needed by the care-givers include:
1. Ability to know what to do in emergency cases
2. Keeping children within the school premises to avoid going to the roads
3. Knowing how to teach the children parents about child safety when
necessary
4. Keeping sharp and harmful objects beyond the reach of children
5. Ability to keep harmful liquids such as cleaning agents/insecticides
beyond the reach of children
6. Being vigilant at all times with children
7. Ability to ensure that children are taken home only by their parents or
guidance
8. Ability to know how to use the fire escape routes in the building
9. Ability to keep floor areas clean and free to avoid children tripping and
stumbling
10. Wiping water, food or other liquids to avoid slippery spots on the floor
11. Covering electrical outlets or naked wires with patches and dummy plugs
to avoid shocks.
H05: The study on hypothesis five found that there are no significant
differences in the mean ratings of the responses of care-givers, home economics
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teachers, early child care experts and nurses on 10 out of the 11 safety skills
needed by the care-givers in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. Although, on
the remaining 1 safety skill, there was significant difference in the mean ratings
of the responses of the four groups of respondents.
Hygiene skills needed by care-givers in pre-primary schools
The study as regards to research question six found that care-givers
needed all the 14 identified hygiene skills in pre-primary schools in FCT Abuja.
The 14 hygiene skills needed by the care-givers include the following:
1. Using hygienic toiletries / handkerchief / tissue paper to clean the
children’s nose
2. Thorough washing and drying hands before feeding the children
3. Ability to know how to store food and water to avoid contamination
4. Ability to separately keep different children food items to avoid mixed up
with each other
5. Avoiding coughing / sneezing into children’s food
6. Ability to ensure that children’s toilet facilities are clean
7. Regularly washing / cleaning children’s toys and playing equipment
8. Preventing children from eating food that has bones
9. Ability to prevent children from sharing utensils like spoons
10.Preventing children from picking food items that have dropped on the
floor
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11.Preventing children from using utensils that have dropped on the floor
without washing
12.Ability to teach children how to wash their hands after using the toilet
13.Providing children with protective clothing for messy activities
14.Ability to handle children’s food to avoid being cold
H06: The study on hypothesis six found that there are no significant
differences in the mean ratings of the responses of care-givers, home economics
teachers, early child care experts and nurses on 11 out of the 14 hygiene skills
needed by the care-givers in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. On the other
hand, the findings on the remaining 3 hygiene skills showed that there are
significant differences in the mean ratings of the responses of the four groups of
respondents.
Discussion of Findings of the Study
Feeding skills needed by care-givers in pre-primary schools
The findings of this study as regards to research question one showed that
the respondents agreed that care-givers needed the following feeding skills for
caring for pre-primary school pupils: ability to have basic idea of nutrition,
advising parents of the type of food preparation method to give their children,
advising parents on the quantity of food to give their children, ability to feed
children on time, teaching children to avoid talking when eating, washing
children eating wares immediately after eating, ability to sterilize children’s
feeding utensils, ability to keep children feeding utensils properly when not used,
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ability to know the constituents of a balanced meal, giving the children warm
food instead of too hot or too cold foods, ability to give children the right
quantity of food for their age bracket, ability to show affection while feeding the
children, ability to help older children feed themselves, making sure children are
properly positioned during feeding among, teaching children good table manners
such as the use of cutleries among others.
The findings of this study on care giving skills required by care-givers in
feeding the child agreed with the findings of Anuna (2005) who found that care-
givers needed feeding skills such as using artificial milk to feed the child, testing
the temperature of the milk by using the bottle to touch their cheek before using
it to feed the baby, sterilizing feeding utensils in the sterilizing kit, showing
affection to the child when feeding them, giving the child balanced meals always
and force feeding the child when he refuse it among others.
The findings of this study on feeding skills needed by care-givers agreed
with the findings of Carruth and Skinner (2002) on feeding behaviors and other
motor development in healthy children where the authors found that care-givers
need skills in teaching children on grasps food with hands, removing food from
spoon with lips without spilling much, self-feeding with spoon without spilling
much, drinking from sippy cup without help, drinking from a regular cup without
help, keep children feeding utensils properly, and giving children the right
quantity of food for their age bracket. In addition, the findings of this study is in
consonance with that of Butte, Cobb, Graney, Heird and Rickard (2004) where
the authors found that care-givers interactions and communication with children
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during feeding influences the infant’s ability to progress in feeding skills and
consume a nutritionally adequate diet. The findings of the authors further showed
that the relationship nurtured when the care-giver correctly interprets the infant’s
feeding cues and abilities enhance teaching children to avoid talking when eating,
basic idea of nutrition, attentive to the infant’s needs, and responds appropriately
to satisfy their feeding needs.
Clothing skills needed by care-givers in pre-primary schools
The findings of this study in respect to research question two revealed
that the respondents agreed that care-givers needed the following clothing skills
for effective caring for pre-primary school pupils: change children’s cloths
anytime they are dirty, ability to properly care for children’s clothing, putting the
children’s clothing in clean and dry containers, ability to cloth children with
properly fitted cloth for comfortability, clothing children with cotton fabrics in
hot weather, clothing children with woolen fabrics in cold weather, clothing
children with bright coloured cloth in hot weather, washing children’s clothings
with mild soap, clothing children with the proper size of cloths so that they do
not fall, helping children to properly tie/untie their canvass/shoelaces, allowing
children to dress themselves atimes, ability to use the elements of design in
teaching children example: line, space and form, ability to use colour wheel and
combination.
The findings of this study on clothing skills needed by care-givers
conformed with the report of a study carried out by Alzheimer’s Association
(2010) where the identified clothing skills needed by care-givers to include:
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helping to have the person get dressed at the same time each day so he or she will
come to expect it as part of the daily routine, encourage the person to dress
himself or herself to whatever degree possible, planning to allow extra time so
there is no pressure or rush, allowing the person to choose from a limited
selection of outfits, store some clothes in another room to reduce the number of
choices, keeping only one or two outfits in the closet or dresser, arranging the
clothes in the order they are to be put on to help the person move through the
process, handing the person one item at a time or give clear, step-by-step
instructions if the person needs prompting and choose clothing that is
comfortable, easy to get on and off, and easy to care for. The findings of the
study further corroborated the result of the study of Smart and Wood (2008) who
investigated family acceptance and use of clothing strategies for early childhood
children and found that care family members required such skills which include
putting the children’s clothing in clean and dry containers, clothing children with
cotton fabrics in hot weather and laundry children’s clothing with mild soap.
In addition, the findings of this study on clothing skills needed by care-
giver corroborated that submission of Anyakoha and Eluwa (1999) who outlined
children clothing care to include: provision of suitable storage for children
clothings, wash children’s clothing with mild soap, rinse children’s clothing
thoroughly to remove all washing powder, dry cleaning children clothing in the
sun whenever possible to kill the germs on the cloths, iron children cloth to
improve its appearance and kill any germs that may have accepted other laundry
processes, providing a separate bucket with a lid for soaking children napkin, if
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the napkin is soiled , shake or scrap off as much of the stool as you can and avoid
stiffen children’s clothing among others.
Toilet training skills needed by care-givers in pre-primary schools
The findings of this study as regards to research question three showed
that the respondents agreed that care-givers in pre-primary schools needed toilet
training skills for effective caring for pre-primary school pupils. The toilet
training skills needed include: ability to toilet training the child using potty,
ability to firmly correct children if they defecate in the wrong place, cleaning the
potty immediately after the child finishes defecating, ability to gradually stop
children at the appropriate age, from using potty, washing hands properly with
soap after visiting toilet, ability to teach children the to sit on the toilet seat
properly, teaching the children not to play with toilet bowls, ability to teach older
children how to flush the toilet after use, ability to teach older children how to
clean themselves after using the toilet and ability to teach children not to be
talking and playing while using the toilet.
The findings of this study is in conformity with the findings of National
Health and Safety Performance Standards (2002) which reported that: care-givers
need to learn the words the child’s family uses for body parts, urine and bowel
movements to be consistent with what the child is doing at home, toilet training
involves many steps (discussing, undressing, going, wiping, dressing, flushing,
hand washing) reinforce the child’s success at each step, help children recognize
when they are urinating or have a bowel movement, they must be aware of what
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they are doing before they can do anything about it, care-givers should included
toilet training into the daily routine such as reading books, songs and games that
reinforce the skill needed to toilet train, and encourage parents to dress children
in easy to remove clothing to help children be successful in undressing and
dressing.
The findings of the study on toilet training skills needed by care-givers is
in consonance with the findings of Gorski (2009) who identified anticipatory
toilet guidance for children to include: avoiding pressurizing children to use the
potty chair if the child does not want to, use a chair, not a seat that fits over the
toilet seat, ensuring consistent encouragement for toilet training of children, toilet
training a child when the child is not experiencing any other changes and
encourage parents to resist external pressures by family or other day care
provider. In addition, the findings of this study on care giving skills required by
care-givers in toilet training the child agreed with the findings of Anuna (2005)
who found that care-givers in motherless babies home in Imo State required skills
in toilet training child using potty, washing the potty immediately after use by the
child, changing the child’s napkin as soon as it was wet and encouraging the
child to use the toilet each morning among others.
Interacting skills needed by care-givers in pre-primary schools
The study on research question four found that the respondents agreed that
care-givers in pre-primary schools needed interacting skills for effective caring
for pre-primary school pupils. Some of the interacting skills needed as found out
by the study include: ability to listen carefully to the children and their parents,
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ability to communicate constantly and on time with the children’s parents, ability
to be clear and specific when interacting with the children’s, being clear and
specific when interacting with the children’s parents, ability to know the right of
the child, ability to recognize the right of the child, ability to recognize the
feelings of the child, ability to reassure children when they need help, ability to
be sensitive to children’s needs, ability to respond without delay to children’s
need, ability to give clear instructions to children about play, using simple and
positive sentences that are easy for the children to understand, telling children
what they want in a pleasant manner, ability to praise the children for what they
do well, encouraging the children to keep trying if they make mistakes, ability to
discipline the children in firm and positive ways, ability to share non-verbal
interaction like smiles to interact with children, and ability to use children’s
language when interacting with them among other.
The findings of the study on interacting skills needed by care-givers is in
line with the report of Basic Skills Agency (2012) which showed that some of the
specific interactive skills needed by child care-givers include: listening carefully
to both the children and their parents; asking sensible questions to clarify
situations, giving clear explanations and instructions (for example to children
about play and development activities, speaking with clear and pleasant voice
when reading or storytelling to children, using a friendly and positive tone of
voice and body language to establish and maintain good relationships with
children among others. The findings of this study agreed with that of Izuwa
(2002) carried out a study on in-service needs of child care-givers in Aba
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education zone of Abia state and found that some of the competences considered
as importance included the teachers’ ability to: be patient, honest and sincere;
express love towards the children; be self-discipline and composed; arouse
curiosity in the children and so on.
In addition, the findings of the study on interacting skills needed by care-
givers supported the report of Sinclair, Hefner and Perez (2010). The purpose of
their study was to present interactive literacy skills which will engage young
children and the adults who care for them. Adults will develop confidence in
their skills to teach and foster early literacy skills. The information presented in
this workshop is intended to inform, assist, and inspire: parents, care-givers,
teachers, librarians, as well as anyone who would like to become more
knowledgeable about promoting early literacy skills in young children. As part of
the interacting skills needed to be possessed by care-givers, the authors found
that relying on the give and take of conversation with each other and on a shared
context to obtain clues for understanding the message and the meaning of any
new words and cognitive skills and interspersing conversation with the reading of
a book, not just reading straight through the book are needed by care-givers to
effectively interact with children.
Safety skills needed by care-givers in pre-primary schools
The findings of this study as regards to research question five showed that
the respondents agreed that care-givers needed the following safety skills for
effective caring for pre-primary school pupils: ability to know what to do in
emergency cases, keeping children within the school premises to avoid going to
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the roads, knowing how to teach the children parents about child safety when
necessary, keeping sharp and harmful objects beyond the reach of children,
ability to keep harmful liquids such as cleaning agents/insecticides beyond the
reach of children, being vigilant at all times with children, ability to ensure that
children are taken home only by their parents or guidance, ability to know how to
use the fire escape routes in the building, ability to keep floor areas clean and free
to avoid children tripping and stumbling, wiping water, food or other liquids to
avoid slippery spots on the floor, and covering electrical outlets or naked wires
with patches and dummy plugs to avoid shocks.
The findings of this study on safety skills needed by care-givers agreed
with the report of Alzheimer’s Association (2010) who reported that that care-
givers need to be safety conscious to install secure locks on all outside windows
and doors, remove the locks on bathroom doors to prevent the person from
accidentally locking himself or herself in, using childproof latches on kitchen
cabinets and anyplace where cleaning supplies or other chemicals are kept, label
medications and keep them locked up, make sure knives, lighters and matches,
and guns are secured and out of reach of children, keep the house free from
clutter, remove scatter rugs and anything else that might contribute to a fall,
make sure lighting is good both inside and outside the home, be alert to and
address kitchen-safety issues, such as the person forgetting to turn off the stove
after cooking, consider installing an automatic shut-off switch on the stove to
prevent burns or fire and be sure to secure or put away anything that could cause
danger, both inside and outside the home.
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The findings of the study also corroborated with the finding of Beach
(2000) who identified safety precautions to be taking by care-givers to include:
reducing the temperature on the water heater this will prevent accidental
scalding, move frequently used items in the kitchen or bath to an area that is easy
to reach. It is important to avoid climbing on step stools or chairs to retrieve
items, remove all throw rugs or replace them with items that have non-skid
backing, make sure all banisters, railings, and grab bars are securely attached to
the wall, check towel racks and toilet paper holders that might be used to help
stand up from the toilet or step out of the tub, install an intercom to the outside so
visitors can be identified prior to entry, secure furniture in place that is used to
help rise from a chair and check electrical outlets and cords.
Hygiene skills needed by care-givers in pre-primary schools
The findings of this study as regards to research question six showed that
the respondents agreed that care-givers in pre-primary schools needed hygiene
skills for effective caring for pre-primary school pupils. The hygiene skills
needed include: using hygienic toiletries/handkerchief/tissue paper to clean the
children’s nose, thorough washing and drying hands before feeding the children,
ability to know how to store food and water to avoid contamination, ability to
separately keep different children food items to avoid mixed up with each other,
avoiding coughing / sneezing into children’s food, ability to ensure that
children’s toilet facilities are clean, regularly washing/cleaning children’s toys
and playing equipment, preventing children from eating food that has bones,
ability to prevent children from sharing utensils like spoons, preventing children
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from picking food items that have dropped on the floor, preventing children from
using utensils that have dropped on the floor without washing, ability to teach
children how to wash their hands after using the toilet, providing children with
protective clothing for messy activities and ability to handle children’s food to
avoid being cold.
This finding is in line with the findings of Bupa (2008) stated that
maintaining high levels of personal and kitchen hygiene are important and
effective ways to stop germs from spreading. Bacteria can spread from raw food,
in particular meat, to food that has already been cooked or is eaten raw, such as
salads. To ensure hygienic food preparation for children therefore, it is also very
important that food is stored in the right place (eg fridge or freezer) and at the
correct temperature. WHO (2008) added that the working environment should
also be clean and easy to clean.
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In addition, the findings of the study of Health Expert Organisation (2010)
recommended the following general hygiene practices theses include: hand
washing when working with food; avoidance of food that has fallen to the floor
even if the floor looks clean; Do not cook if unwell, have a known infection or
have an open and uncovered wound; use of a clean and washable apron will help
to prevent the cross contamination of bacteria from clothing to food stuff and
vice versa among others. Also in agreement with the findings of this study, Food
Standard Agency (2008) reported that there are basic food safety and security
measures against the growth and spread of bacteria, these are: ensuring food
areas are clean and good standards of personal hygiene are maintained, cooking
foods thoroughly and keeping foods at the right temperature.
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CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
This chapter presented the restatement of the problem, procedure used for
carrying out the study, major findings of the study, conclusion based on the
findings, implications of the study, limitations of the study, recommendation for
implementation and suggestions for further study.
Restatement of the Problem
For the influence of the care-givers to be positive, they need to be skillful
in carrying out their duties such that they know what to do for the child, when to
do it, how to do it, for how long to do it, and so on. These skills are important
because when they are not possessed by the care-givers, the result is that the
child will not be properly taken care of. This further results in the child having
poor social and emotional adjustment which will continue to hinder the child’s all
round development and well being. Since the future of Nigeria depends on how
well the present generation of her children is looked after by care-givers who are
knowledgeable, skilled and equipped for the task, it also means that if the future
of Nigeria is to be taken seriously, the skills of child care-givers in Nigeria need
to be assessed to identify the strength and weakness of such care-givers in such
areas of care-giving skills.
The above situation is necessary more so when it has been reported that
the care-givers in most of the child care-giving centers and schools in most cities
(including the FCT), are not very skillful child care-givers. The authors noted
that they lack the knowledge essential for the social, emotional, and physical
development of children under their care. These are sources of worry for any
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interested home economist who would have reasons to ask: could it be that those
who employ these care-givers do not even know what skills to look out for in
their staff? Could it be that those who present themselves as child care-givers are
not aware of what skills are needed for proficient performance of their tasks
which are very important for the development of the children under their care?
For these reasons, this study was carried out to identify skills needed by care-
givers in the pre-primary schools in Abuja? In carrying the study, the following
specific purposes guided the study:
1. feeding skills needed by care-givers in pre-primary schools in FCT,
Abuja,
2. clothing skills needed by care-givers in pre-primary schools,
3. toilet training skills needed by care-givers in pre-primary schools,
4. interacting skills needed by care-givers in pre-primary schools,
5. safety skills needed by care-givers in pre-primary schools,
6. hygiene skills needed by care-givers in pre-primary schools.
Summary of the Procedure Used for the Study
Six research questions were developed and answered by the study while
six null hypotheses were formulated and tested at p ≤ 0.05 level of significance.
The study adopted descriptive survey research design and was carried out in FCT
Abuja. The population for the study consist of 581 respondents in the six local
area councils in the area of study. These include 236 pre-primary school care-
givers in the study area, 265 secondary schools Home Economics teachers, 16
early child care experts and 64 nurses in the study area. Due to the manageable
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size of the population, the entire number of 581 respondents were used, therefore
there was no sampling.
For data collection, two sets of instruments were used namely: Focus
Group Discussion (FGD) Guide and structured questionnaire titled: “Child Care
Skills Needed by Care-givers Questionnaire (CCSNCQ)”. The questionnaire
contains 93 structured items. The instrument was subjected to face validation by
three experts. To determine the reliability of the instrument, Cronbach Alpha
reliability co-efficient was used to test the internal consistency of the instrument.
Reliability coefficients of 0.74 was obtained for feeding skills, 0.69 for clothing
skills, 0.82 for toilet training skills, 0.85 for safety skills, 0.78 for interacting
skills and 0.83 for hygiene while an overall reliability coefficient of 0.79 was
obtained for the entire instrument.
The data for the study was collected by the the researcher with the help of
five trained research assistants. Out of a total of 581 copies of the questionnaire
administered, 556 copies were completely filled and retrieved representing
95.6% rate of return. The focus group discussion (FGD) was carried out with 30
discussants. The data collected from the questionnaire administered were
analyzed using mean for answering the research questions while Analysis of
variance (ANOVA) was used for testing the hypotheses at p≤0.05 level of
significance.
Major Findings of the Study
The findings of the focus group discussion (FGD) revealed that the
responses of the discussants suggested the need to carry out the study.
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Based on the data collected and analysed, the study identified 90 skills
needed by care-givers for effective management of pre-school children in FCT
Abuja. Specifically, the study identified:
1. 17 feeding skills that are needed by care-givers in pre-primary schools in
FCT Abuja.
2. 16 clothing skills that are needed by care-givers in pre-primary schools.
3. 11 toilet training skills that are needed by care-givers in pre-primary
schools.
4. 21 interacting skills that are needed by care-givers in pre-primary
schools.
5. 11 safety skills that are needed by care-givers in pre-primary schools.
6. 14 hygiene skills that are needed by care-givers in pre-primary schools.
7. There are no significant differences in the mean ratings of care-givers,
home economics teachers, early child care experts and nurses on the 16
out of the 18 feeding skills needed by the care-givers in the Federal
Capital Territory, Abuja while on the remaining 2 feeding skills there are
significant difference in the mean ratings of the responses of the
respondents.
8. There are no significant differences in the mean ratings of care-givers,
home economics teachers, early child care experts and nurses on the 14
out of the 18 clothing skills needed by the care-givers in the Federal
Capital Territory, Abuja. Whereas, on the remaining four clothing skills,
there are significant differences in the mean ratings of the responses of
the respondents.
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9. There are no significant differences in the mean ratings of care-givers,
home economics teachers, early child care experts and nurses on the 6
out of the 11 toilet training skills needed by the care-givers in the Federal
Capital Territory, Abuja. On the other hand, there are significant
difference in the mean ratings of the responses of the respondents on the
remaining 5 toilet training skills.
10. There are no significant differences in the mean ratings of the responses
of care-givers, home economics teachers, early child care experts and
nurses on the 16 out of the 21 interacting skills needed by the care-givers
in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. On the other hand, there are
significant difference in the mean ratings of the responses of the
respondents on the remaining 5 interacting skills.
11. There are no significant differences in the mean ratings of the responses
of care-givers, home economics teachers, early child care experts and
nurses on the 10 out of the 11 safety skills needed by the care-givers in
the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. Whereas, there are significant
difference in the mean ratings of the respondents on the remaining one
safety skill.
12. There are no significant differences in the mean ratings of the responses
of care-givers, home economics teachers, early child care experts and
nurses on the 11 out of the 14 hygiene skills needed by the care-givers in
the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. On the other hand, there is
significant difference in the mean ratings of the respondents on the
remaining 3 hygiene skills.
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Implications of the Study
The aims of raising educationally sound children in pre-school depend
largely on the quality of care given to them by the care-givers at the pre-school
level of education. In addition, the roles played by the parents, Home economics
educators, curriculum planners and policy makers at this level is also crucial.
To the care-givers and parents, the findings of this study will provide
useful information that will assist to expose them to more care giving skills for
desirable change in the growth and development of the children under their care.
When they are updated with the needed skills, the implication will be felt on
proper feeding, clothing, protection, and socialization of the children for better
development.
The outcome of this study when published will make an immense
contribution to the advancement of knowledge in the field of Home Economics
as Home economics educators will gain ideas and proper understanding of the
required skills in care giving for proper growth and development of pre-school
children.
The findings of this study will provide to curriculum planners of pre-
primary school programmes useful information in developing course contents
useful for care-giver on care giving skills. The findings will also be relevant to
educational institutions that offer courses in Child care education. This is because
these findings will guide those in charge of these institutions in choosing which
skills they need to emphasize while training care-givers.
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Conclusion
Child care-giving skills, like other skills, are learned and not inborn traits.
For the impact of the care-givers to be positive on the pre-school children, they
need to be skillful in carrying out their duties such that they know what to do for
the child, when to do it, how to do it, for how long to do it and at what stage to
do it. These skills are important because when they are not possessed by the care-
givers, the resultant effect is shown on the pre-school children inform of poor
physical, psychological and educational development of the child. This
necessitated the study to investigate child care skills needed by care-givers in
pre-primary schools in Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja. It was therefore
found that care-givers required feeding, clothing, toilet training, interacting,
safety and hygiene skills for effective management of pre-school children in FCT
Abuja.
Recommendations
Based on the findings and the conclusions drawn from this study, the
following recommendations were made that:
1. The Federal and state governments through their respective parastatals and
administrators of pre-primary schools such as Universal Basic Education
Commission (UBEC), State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB),
United Nations Children’s Education Fund (UNICEF), Nigerian
Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC), National
Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) and Ministry of
Education (MOE) should help package the identified care giving skills
135
into programmes for training care-givers and other groups that care for the
child for proper physical, social and psychological development of the
child.
2. The concerned parastatals and administrators of pre-primary schools at
Federal and state levels should ensure regular and timely workshops and
conferences on care giving skills where care-givers will be specifically
made the participants of such educational exercise.
3. The administrators of pre-primary schools at Federal and state levels
should ensure the recruitment of competent pre-school care-givers for
effective care-giving to children in pre-schools.
Suggestions for Further Research
The following related areas have been suggested for further research:
1. Child care skills needed by parents for effective child up-bringing in
Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.
2. Child care skills needed by care-givers in pre-primary schools in other
states in the country.
3. Constraints militating against effective service delivery of pre-school
teachers in FCT Abuja.
4. Effects of pre-school education on academic achievement of primary
school students in Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja.
136
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