THE CHALLENGES OF TEACHING AND LEARNING IN PRE-PRIMARY (Onibokun Samson O.)

1.1              BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

Challenge is something that by its nature or character serves as a call to battle, contest and special effort etc. it is also regarded to be a difficulty in a job or undertaking that is stimulating to one engaged work (Oxford dictionary). 

Teaching is one of the most satisfying experiences in the world Osokoya(2011). It is one of the most important fields of work one can take part in, in order to better the condition of humanity. Becoming a professional teacher demands training in basic skills and classroom procedures. Clark and Starr (1986) regard teaching as an attempt to assist students in acquiring or changing some skills, knowledge, idea, attitude or appreciation. Bruner (1996) says teaching can also be seen as an effort to assist or shape growth. Kenneth Moore defines teaching as an action of someone who is trying to assist others to reach their fullest potentials in all aspects of development. Osokoya (1996) referred to teaching as a systematic series of activities through which the teacher seeks to interpret a specific task in relation to modification of the learner’s state of knowledge.

According to the researcher, he views teaching as a process of impacting knowledge, norms, ideas and ethics into an individual in other to have a desirable behavior. He also see teaching as an activities that occur between the instructor and the learner either formal or informal (in a classroom or outside the classroom) so as for the learner to acquire some attributes or characteristics.

  Reading on the other hand, is a major tool of learning because it helps an individual to be able to interpret printed or written symbols Unoh (1996). Reading should rank as a subject in the nursery and primary school curriculum in its own right so that its skills can be developed for effective use. The nursery and primary school pupils use reading to gain mastery over the content area of the curriculum. Reading is needed for studying greatly diversified materials in areas like social studies, protective issues, water and environmental sanitation, health etc. It could also be needed for logically organized subjects like science and mathematics, Lyon (1999).

Reading can be described as a communication process through which information is transported from a writer to a reader by means of written symbols (Bragg et al, 2005).

Timothy Et al view reading as a high complex activity that includes various important aspects such as recognizing symbols quickly, accurately and integrating them into definite thought and action pattern.

Learning to read presents a paradox. For an adult who is a good reader, reading feel so simple, effortless and automatic, that is, almost impossible to look at a word and not read it. Reading seems so natural to the literate adult that one could easily imagine that it must rank among the simplest skills for a child to acquire. Yet, nothing could be further from the truth. For many children, learning is an extra effortful task, a long and complicated process that can last for years. That is the essence of the paradox. How can a skill that feels so easy to the adult be so difficult for the child to acquire?

The paradox is interesting to the scientist because, learning to read is strikingly different from other sorts of learning. But the significance of the paradox is more general in a way that touches everyone. Literacy is an essential ingredient of success in human societies, where so much information is conveyed by the written word.

For them the children, the complex process of learning to read never came to an end. To help children who are just learning to read, it is important to understand the source of their difficulty and how to overcome it. To achieve these goals, childhood educator needs to understand four (4) aspects of the paradox.

1.      The starting point: what are the pre conditions for learning to read? What must a child be able to do in order to learn to read effectively?

2.      The learning process: what is the process of learning to read and what happens when a person goes from being a non-reader to being a reader?

3.      The end point: what does a skilled reading (the end point of the learning process) look like?

As a childhood educator learns more about the starting point, the process and the end point to learning to read, they can more effectively address the vital fourth issue.

4.      Appropriate educational practices: what are the best ways to teach reading?

These are the central topics with which one can be concerned with monograph. The major instructional methods, traditionally used to teach reading, have been whole-word and phonics instruction. In the whole-word instruction (also called the look say method) a sight vocabulary of 50 to 100 words is taught. Initially, subsequent words are also learned as wholes, although not necessarily out of context. In contrast, phonics instruction emphasizes the relationship between graphemes (printed letters) and phonemes (their associated sounds).

Teaching of reading has been characterized over the last few decades by changes in theory involving views on the reading process, the learner and cognition, and reading as social practice. As these theories have evolved and been disseminated, they have been translated into variety of pedagogical practices and accompanying materials. Commitment to a particular theory (for example, “whole language or phonics) has in the past led to polarization in practices with theorist vehemently defending their instances (Chall 1992, Emmitt 1998, Luke & Freebody 1999). However, for the most part, teachers are generally eclectic when it comes to theoretical and pedagogical application. They listen to, read and view new thought, adopting and adapting practices and theories depending on their own philosophies, context and needs. As such, a teacher’s approach to reading may include elements of a variety of theoretical views. Historically, views on reading can be classified into three (3) broad categories: ‘reading as a hierarchy of skills, reading as a psycholinguistic process and reading as a social process’ (Emmitt 1998).

A hierarchy of skills is identified and practiced until an individual is competent in the reading act. This approach was evident prior to the 1970s and utilized much ‘skill and drill’. The psychological stance entailed a focus on the learner and cognition, shifting from skills to meaning.  Attention has been drawn to the social and cultural context of readers and text, thus highlighting reading as a social practice. Social theory in relation to reading came to the fore in the 1980s. It emphasized the interaction between the author’s text and the reader, both of which are culturally and socially positioned. The inclusion of studies in genres and the importance of critical literacy are aspects of social approaches to reading.

Teaching of reading is to help student develop the knowledge, skills and experiences they must have if they are to become competent and enthusiastic readers (Mcgregor). Teaching reading is also an active process of constructing meaning through interactive, strategic and adaptable application.

Learner is a person who wants to gain knowledge, skills, and mastery of subject through experience or study (Debbie Miller). A learner is also a person who is finding out about a subject or how to do something (Oxford dictionary).

1.2              STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

 In Nigeria today, there are diverse challenges associated with teaching reading among pre-school learners which include:

Inadequate or lack of instructional materials, non-stimulating learning environment, poor preparation of teachers, poor libraries or none at all and home background and lack of adult readers as role models.

However others impediments are: poor visual perception, passivity while reading, finger printing and tracing, regression, head movement, word by word reading, vocalization, lack of flexibility, poor understanding and lack of concentration etc. It is against this background that this research becomes imperative.

1.3              PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

The purpose of this research is: -

1.      To find a way out to the challenges of teaching reading among pre-school learners, the area that has been neglected.

2.       To also find out to what extent the teachers develop themselves through development programs e.g. conference, seminars and workshop.

3.      To contribute to the upliftment of teaching as a profession and improve reading skills in pupils because it is compulsory for all sector of life.

1.4              RESEARCH QUESTIONS

This question is to guide the researcher where exactly the research should focus on.

1.      What is the teachers’ attitude to teaching reading?

2.      What is the students’ attitude towards learning to read?

3.      Can the Government as a provider of education promote reading culture in Nigeria primary schools?

4.      Do parents have any contribution towards effective reading ability of their children in primary school?

1.5              SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The significance of teaching reading cannot be under- estimated in nursery and primary school curriculum. Hence, this research work will be useful in terms of information that will be made available to educators, government, parents and guardian.

1.      It will be beneficial in solving the challenges facing pupils who are learning to read.

2.      It will enhance the role of the teacher in promoting reading skills.

3.      It will help the educational agents to know their role in promoting reading habits or culture in Nigeria.

4.      To offer suggestion for improvement in teaching reading.

1.6              DEFINITION OF TERMS                                                 

CHALLENGES:   This is a new or difficult task that test somebody’s ability or skills.

TEACHING:  Teaching is a systematic series of activities through which the teacher seeks to interpret a specific task in relation to modification of the learner’s state of knowledge

READING:    This is the ability to understand graphic or pictorial symbols. It also involves decoding an encoded message in the printed or written page.

LEARNER:    A person who is finding out about a subject or how to do something.