A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF OUT-DOOR PLAY ENVIRONMENT IN PRIVATE AND PUBLIC PRE-SCHOOLS IN NIGERIA

A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF OUT-DOOR PLAY ENVIRONMENT IN PRIVATE AND PUBLIC PRE-SCHOOLS IN NIGERIA

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Background to the Study

Children's play has always been a natural phenomenon. Children who are healthy and not disabled (physically challenged), according to Aziza (2000), cannot live without playing in their natural environments. In some cultures, play is regarded as a sure sign of a healthy and vibrant child. This is due to the fact that play keeps a child active and occupied.

Historically, artifacts and documents have demonstrated that children have been in the natural habit of playing since the beginning of time. Toys, for example, have been discovered in the ruins of ancient China, Egypt, Babylonia, and other early civilizations. Play, according to the Encyclopedia Americana (1980), is any action done for amusement. It encompasses everything from playing with toys to sports to watching television. Play is distinct from other types of human behavior. Playtime was often considered sacred in primitive cultures. Games were sometimes played in order to obtain a decision from the gods about the fate of a dead man's soul or the future affairs of a tribe, for example (Aldis, 2005).

Even today, those members of modern society who have the least control over their affairs and the least scope for personal initiative are the most likely to engage in games of chance. As the modern lottery demonstrates, a game of chance provides the player with an opportunity that life does not usually provide. Strategy games, which appear to have emerged in human culture with the appearance of social classes and specialized military groups, appear to have been developed as methods of training for diplomacy and warfare, among other things (Singer, 2003).

Modern children, with their plethora of toys, practice manipulative control of objects in the same way that their parents manipulate automobiles, thermostats, dishwashers, and computers. Adults and children both live in a world where machine control is vital to life. However, today's children's play focuses on mental rather than physical activities. This brain activity is commonly mirrored in a wide range of sorts of pretend play, such as socio-dramatic play with other children or constructive play with toys or arts and crafts supplies (Butler and George, 2001).

According to Almonde (2000), an environment is a place's overall surroundings. He said that in order for any outdoor play to be efficient and result-oriented, the setting in which it takes place must be carefully prepared. This is because, according to him, a planned play environment focuses on an ordered and coordinated collection of resources and equipment aimed at creating meaningful learning in the kid.

According to Adamson (1999), the environment in which children play should be prepared based on their needs. The environment for outdoor play should be well-organized both physically and conceptually in order to provide meaning and relevance to the child's world. The Montessori home is part of the planned play environment and consists of a collection of rooms for intellectual work, as well as shelters for private play or sleep. A gaming or music room, a dining room, a dressing room, and a garden are all available. These are intended to be part of the setup to teach the child self-care and property care (Ebele, 1999).

The planned play space, according to Montessori, is the most distinguishing component of the method. Because the kid absorbs from his or her surroundings, it stands to reason that the surroundings should be prepared to ensure that what is absorbed is healthy. As a result, before going outside, the following should be put in place within the prepared environment: In early childhood education, play is effectively used as a teaching method:

(a)Movement freedom: Everything is tailored to the child's size, needs, and interests to promote movement. These will promote self-motivation and activity. Learning should be geared toward independence.

(b)Order of Structure: This pertains to arrangement and atmosphere (environment). Learning materials, for example, must be properly organized, well preserved, and presented in such a way that they lead to higher refinement and control.

(c) Reality and Nature: The young child should be allowed to explore nature and observe the harmony and order that nature reveals. Children use tools and other equipment in their daily classroom activities to bring reality to life (Amos, 2000).

According to Maduewesi (1994), one of the most basic principles of modern teaching is that the teacher should find and use the most appealing approaches to help the learner learn. Because the teacher cannot plaster the essential abilities, attitudes, and procedures on the kid in the same way as the masson would plaster the cement on the walls, the teacher must devise ways that are sufficiently stimulating to persuade the learner to acquire what is required. According to Uzor (2000), play is recognized to be the most natural activity of young children. Playing is so natural to youngsters that they play without being taught or even specifically encouraged. As a result, play is self-motivated. As a result, this natural activity is the best, most wonderful, and most sensible way to teach children, because children learn while playing.

There are several ideas that explain the purpose and importance of play in human culture and society. They contain excess energy, which assumes the role that man plays in order to eliminate surplus energy. Another point of view is that in outdoor play, man constantly recreates the society in which it occurs. According to certain sociologists, such as Enoh et al (1990), play is a symbolic activity that has specific relevance for training children to engage later in adult activities; hence, play is a preparation or rehearsal for adult roles. These and other reasons have been advanced as to why, practically from birth, all children in all cultures play spontaneously and unprompted (Sutton-Smith, 2001).

In Nigeria, private schools appear to have a higher quality outdoor environment than state schools. According to Adekoya (2002), the quality of the outdoor environment influences the efficacy of the teaching and learning process in the school setting. He believes that children learn better in schools that provide a suitable outdoor environment and materials. According to Alimi (2003), most public schools in Nigeria, particularly in Lagos State, lack functional outdoor equipment availability. In contrast, virtually all private schools, particularly Montessori-based schools, have functional, high-quality equipment and outdoor facilities/materials in place to ensure effective teaching and learning outcomes for children.

Uzodinma (2005) analyzed ten (10) schools, five public and five private nursery schools in Lagos State, to discover if there is a link between outdoor play and children's learning achievement. The study's findings indicated that there is a significant relationship between out-of-door play and children's learning achievement, with children from private schools where out-of-door equipment and materials are available, combined with a decent environment, out-performing those from public schools where there is no out-of-door equipment and materials to teach children through play. As a consequence of this finding, Uzodinma concluded that children do well when they are taught through outdoor play techniques combined with practical experiences. And that real experiences, rather than theory, help youngsters learn.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

The issues that arise as a result of the exclusion of outdoor play as a viable way of teaching and learning in early childhood education cannot be overstated. Another issue that has concerned educators, academics, and other educational stakeholders is the location of outdoor play. For example, in Nigeria, a developing country, children from 2 to 6 years are taught in both privately owned and publicly funded institutions. Suffice it to say, these institutions lack an acceptable and suitable climate in which outdoor play should be carried out. Many private and public schools in Nigeria, particularly in Lagos State, lack space or play fields, and those that do have space lack the resources to prepare the setting for unrestricted play.

Not only is there an unwholesome play environment in many schools, but there is also a dearth of, or non-availability of, play items such as walking and running materials, materials or equipment that allow children to freely jump, climb, hop, skip, slid, and trike. Other items that are lacking in schools are those that assist children in throwing, catching, kicking, striking, bending, stretching, bouncing, twisting, swinging, and so on. It will be impossible for children to learn through outdoor play unless this equipment is installed by the owners of both public and private schools.

The aforementioned issues prompted the investigation of a comparative study of outdoor play environments in private and public schools in Lagos State.

1.3 Purpose of the Study

The main purpose of this study is to investigate a comparative study of out-door play environment in private and public schools in Lagos State. Other specific  objectives of this study include to:

1. Assess whether there is difference between the learning achievement of children in public and private schools due to application of out-door play method.
2. Examine if there is relationship between out-door play method of teaching and other methods of teaching children.
3. Investigate if teachers who teach using the out-door play method produce better pupils than those who use other methods.
4. Ascertain whether the learning outcomes of children in schools where there are equipment for out-door plays differ from those who do not.
5. Find out whether there is gender difference in learning outcomes due to the application of out-door play method.

1.4    Research Questions

The following questions will be asked in this study:

1. Is there any difference between the learning achievement of children in public and private schools?
2. Is there any relationship between out-door play method and other methods of teaching and learning?
3. Do teachers who teach with the out-door play method produce better children in school than those who do not?
4. What extent can we ascertain whether there is difference in learning outcomes of children in public and those in private schools using out-door plays?
5. Is there gender difference in learning of children due to the application of out-door play methods?

1.5    Research Hypotheses

The following research hypotheses will be formulated and tested:

1. There is no significant difference between the learning outcomes of children in public and private schools due to the use of out-door play method.
2. There will be no significant relationship between the use of out-door play method and other methods of teaching children in pre-primary schools.
3. There will be no significant difference between the learning outcomes of children in schools where out-door play equipment are available and those in schools where they are not.
4. There will be no significant gender difference in the learning outcomes of children due to the use of out-door play method.

 

1.6 Significance of the Study

The study will be benefited to the following:

1. Children will no doubt, benefit from the conduct of this study and its outcomes. This is because, the findings/recommendations of this study, will enable care-givers to learn probably, new method of teaching the child and keeping him busy through out-door plays.
2. Parents would also find the outcomes and recommendations of this study very imperative as they would be able to understand through this study, that children ought to be taught play. With this sense of teaching the child, parents would be able also to learn the kind of playing materials and equipment suitable for the teaching of the child.
3. Teachers as the surrogate parents to the child, would find this study very important to his/her teaching method. With the information disseminated in this study, the experienced and non-experienced teachers would be able to understand vividly the out-door play teaching method as the veritable teaching method of coaching the children at their early stages of learning, especially at the pre-primary schools.
4. The school authorities would also be beneficiaries of this study because the findings and recommendations of the study would enable them to discover out-door play as a good teaching method which is beneficial to the child’s learning at the early stage of his/her learning process.
5. No doubt, the society and researchers will see the outcomes of this study as important as it should be. Not only that, the public will appreciate the use of out-door play method of teaching the child as one of the best and profitable teaching methods in the early childhood education.
6. Researchers, scholars and students would find this study a very good reference material to further their students in similar circumstances.

1.7 Scope of the Study

The study attempted to examine a comparative study of out-door play environment in public and private schools, in Ikeja Local Government Area of Lagos State.

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