EXTENT OF AWARENESS AND IMPLEMENTATION OF DEVELOPMENTAL APPROPRIATE PRACTICES IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION IN ANAMBRA STATE

Abstract

This study was carried out to determine the extent of awareness and implementation of Developmentally Appropriate Practices in Early Childhood Education in Anambra State. The research design adopted was a descriptive survey. The population of 560 teachers was used for the study. A 46 item structured questionnaire was validated by three experts. The data collected were analyzed using mean to answer the research questions while the null hypotheses were tested using Z-test and ANOVA. The findings revealed that early child awareness of DAP was of low extent and that implementation of DAP early childhood teachers was very low extent. Barriers encountered by early childhood teachers were very high extent. The findings further indicated that there was significant difference in the opinions of early childhood teachers in the implementation of DAP based on school location and there was no significant difference in their opinions based on the academic qualification and year of working experience. It was recommended among others that federal and state government should encourage teachers by regularly organizing workshops and seminars for them in order to learn how to use DAP in their daily practice. Furthermore, curriculum planners should emphasize the implementation of DAP in early childhood education in their policy statement, guideline and standards. Government and school administrators should equip and furnish early childhood centers with developmental appropriate materials in Anambra State.