As stated in Chapter One (see section 1.2), professional interest and personal experiences in the field of ECCE spur me on to empirical study that considers the concept of quality education. Moreover, in the course of the literature review for this study, I discovered that accountability in early childhood education provision rests with a number of stakeholders all of whom are interdependent as it relates to the provision of quality education for children. I also received revealing insights into the theoretical framework for understanding quality assessment within postmodern ideas on “language of assessment” in ECCE (Dahlberg et al., 1999) (see Chapter Two). This led me to adopt a qualitative inquiry through meaning making of stakeholders’ narratives, a relatively novel approach in the Nigerian academic context. As mentioned in the previous chapter, major advocacy of children’s services across the globe emphasizes access, equity and quality in the provision of ECCE for children. More specifically, the field of ECCE has witnessed academic and political debates on the issues that relate to the essential features of quality provision in this subsector. Coming up with my research questions started with a broad issue of quality education in ECCE. This was later pruned to specific research questions after a period of extensive literature review and brainstorming.
Therefore, this study explores how ECCE stakeholders- teachers, parents and policymakers, in Nigeria understand quality assessment through the co- construction of meanings. Specifically, the study explores these areas:
What and how ECCE policies depict child care, learning and development;
How policy aims and intentions are interpreted by policymakers and inspectors;
What and how teachers and parents understand and construct quality education and its assessment;
The socio-cultural meanings emanating from stakeholders’ constructions of quality assessment; including areas of agreement and disagreement.
This study was carried out in Lagos state, south west Nigeria. Nigeria, a multi- ethnic country, falls within the context of a developing economy which has adopted the mandate of ECCE provision, as entrenched in EFA and MDG goals, by formulating policies and providing a one year compulsory linkage pre- school programme for children aged 4-5 years in all public primary schools. This has been facilitated through technical and financial supports from international development partners like UNICEF, DFID and WHO. This suggests that there are many players in the demand and supply of ECCE in Nigeria. However, this study concerns itself with the most proximal stakeholders: teachers, parents and policymakers. My interest in Lagos state is borne out of the diverse ethnic composition that Lagos houses, and a relatively well- organised ECCE structure in place, being the only state in the South West that is a beneficiary of technical and financial support from
International Development Partners (IDPs). The other reasons include availability of all intended research participants, familiarity with the terrain and the relatively safe environment it presents.
Having this in mind, I saw an opportunity for my research to focus on a number of stakeholders (policymakers, teachers and parents), who are germane to any discourse of quality education for children. Focusing on these stakeholders has allowed me to further explore:
The kind of interpretations that policymakers give to the basic tenets of policy statements about ECCE; including what shapes the policies, their impact and priorities.
The socio-cultural meanings that emanate from teachers’ construction of quality education in ECCE
The pedagogical decisions and classroom practices that back up teachers’ notion of quality education
The socio-cultural meanings that emanate from parents’ construction of quality education for children
The synthesis of ECCE stakeholders’ constructions, highlighting congruence and contestations
Specifically, four research questions were raised for the study. They include;
1. What are the quality assessment criteria described in Nigeria’s ECCE policy documents?
a) What are the key themes of quality criteria that are captured in the policy documents?
b) How do policy documents address the issue of children’s care, learning and development?
c) How are these quality criteria related to cultural values about children’s development, care and learning in Nigeria?
2. How do policy makers interpret the intentions of policy statements about ECCE in Nigeria?
3. How are teachers’ understanding of and attitude to the quality criteria influenced by socio cultural meanings?
This question is made up of the following sub-questions:
a) What do teachers understand about the quality criteria relating to: teacher-child relationships, learning environment, learning outcomes and pedagogical instruction in ECCE institutions?
b) How and to what extent are their perceptions related to socio-cultural meanings?
c) What are teachers’ attitudes to the quality criteria in ECCE?
d) How does the understanding of the notion of quality education for children influence teachers’ decisions and actions in the classroom?
4. How are parents’ understanding of quality criteria influenced by socio- cultural meanings?
a) What are parents’ construction of quality criteria relating to pedagogical instruction and learning outcomes in ECCE institutions?
b) Are these constructions related to socio-cultural meanings generated from family and community values, and to what extent?