ASSESSMENT OF ACCESSIBILITY AND EXECUTION OF SAFETY SAFETY MEASURES IN PUBLIC AND PRIVATE DAY-CARE CENTERS IN GOMBE STATE, NIGERIA
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to assess the availability and implementation of safety precautions in day-care centers in Gombe State, Nigeria. Six objectives, five research questions and three null hypotheses were formulated as guide to the study. Among the objectives was to identify safety measures at the day-care centers. Descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study. The population of the study was 880 day-care givers in 340 day-care centers registered under Gombe state Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB). The sample size used for the study was 240. Checklist and semi structured questionnaire were used for data collection. Research questions were answered using mean and standard deviation and null hypotheses were tested using t-test and PPMC statistics at 0.05 level of significance. The result revealed amongst others that good toilet system, spacious and ventilated classrooms accident free environment are among the available safety precautions and a significant difference exist between the safety measures in public and private day-care centers. Significant relationship exists between availability of safety precaution and adequacy of safety precaution in day-care centers. Based on the findings it was concluded that child safety precaution measures are adequately available in good condition and well implemented in public and private day-care centres. The implication of this finding is that children would have good care and safety during the day time while their parents are in work place. It was recommended amongst others that Gombe State Ministry of Education should make provision of adequate security and fencing of public day care centers and the Ministry of Education should make it mandatory for all private day care proprietors to conform to Health Safety and Environmental Standard (HSE) as this will provide proper safety and mutual respect amongst pupils in public and private day care centers in Gombe State.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
COVER i
Title Page ii
Declarationiii
Certificationiv
Dedicationv
Acknowledgement vi
Abstractviii
Table of Contentsix
List of Tablesxii
List of Appendicesxiii
List of Abbreviationsxiv
Operational Definition of Termsxv
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study1
1.2 Statement of the Problem5
1.3 Objectives of the Study6
1.4 Research Questions7
1.5 Research Hypotheses7
1.6 Significance of the Study8
1.7 Basic Assumptions of the Study9
1.8 Delimitation9
CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
2.1 Theoretical Framework10
2.1.1 Theory of Behaviourism10
2.1.2 Social Cognitive Theory12
2.1.3 Piaget‘s Cognitive Development Theory14
2.2 Day-Care Education In Nigeria15
2.3 Roles Of Stakeholders In Day-Care Provision21
2.4 Implementationf Safety Precaution Policy23
2.5 Importance of Child Safety in Dccs27
2.6 Prevention of Child Injury in Dccs28
2.7 Availability of Safety Devices47
2.8 Review of Empirical Studies50
2.9 Summary of Literature Review53
CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY
3.1 Research Design55
3.2 Population of the Study56
3.3 Sample Size and Sampling Procedure56
3.5 Instrument for Data Collection56
3.5.1 Validation of the Instrument58
3.5.2 Pilot Study58
3.5.3 Reliability of the Instrument59
3.6 Procedure for Data Collection59
3.7 Procedure for Data Analysis60
CHAPTER FOUR: DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS
4.1 Analysis of Bio Data61
4.2 Answers to Research Questions62
4.3 Testing of Hypotheses71
4.4 Summary Findings73
4.5 Discussion74
CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 Summary77
5.2 Contributions to Knowledge 79
5.3 Conclusion 79
5.4 Recommendations80
5.5 Suggestions for Further Studies81
References82
Appendices85
LIST OF TABLES
Table Page
Table 1:Table of Population 56
Table 2: Sample Size 57
Table 3: Bio-dataof Respondents 61
Table 4: Answer toResearch Question One 63
Table 5: Answer to Research Question Two 65
Table 6: Answer to Research Question Three 66
Table 7: Answer to Research Question Four 67
Table 8: Answer to Research Question Five 68
Table 9: Answer to Research Question Six 70
Table 10: Test of Null Hypothesis One 71
Table 11: Test of Null Hypothesis Two 72
Table 12: Test of Null Hypothesis Three72
LIST OF APPENDICES
Appendix …………………………………………………………………………………………… Page
I: Questionnaire on Availability and Implementation of Safety
Precautions in Day Care Centre (AISPDCC) .. …………………………85
II: Output for Test of Hypotheses ……………………………………………………….. 90
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
| ECCE: | Early Child Care Education |
| EFA: | Education for All |
| ECED: | Early Child Development Education |
| DCC: | Day Care Centres |
| FRN: | Federal Republic of Nigeria |
| MDGs: | Millennium Development Goals |
| UBE: | Universal Basic Education |
| UNESCO: | United Nation Educational Social Cultural Organization |
| UNLD: | United National Literacy Decade |
OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF TERMS
Safety: This refers to freedom from danger or protection from harm or injury. In a DayCare system, safety is seen as measures taken to avert danger and make children feel safe from harm while away to schools.
Safety Precaution: safety precaution is the ability to take safety measure before hand and the
necessary action before any harm or damage happen.
Day care centers (DCCs): is the care given to a child during the day by a person other than the
child‘s parent or legal guardian, typically someone outside the child‘s immediate family.
Early Child Care Education: Is a wide range of programe all aimed at physical, cognitive,
psychological and social development of children before entering primary education.
Implementation: this means the compliance to certain standard. Thus, the implementation of
safety precaution means the compliance to certain standard by day care providers.
Assessment: is an appraisal or evaluation of services or programme.
Checklist is a list of behaviours, characteristics, or other entities that a researcher isinvestigating. Either the researcher or participants (depending on the study) simply check(s) whether each item on the list is observed, present, or true; or else not observed, present, or true
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
All children have the right to be safe at home, at school and in their child care centers. Safe environments are essential for preventing injury, enabling children to grow, develop and feel safe in their learning environment. In line with the global trend, as enshrined in Obasi and Asodike (2005), the white-collar jobs and the wage earning systems that are the features of modern societies are known to keep parents away from home most part of the day. The Nigerian women need to work to meet up with the present harsh economic realities, hence, they send their children to day-care centres where they can be taken care of while the mothers are at work. This has brought about the increase in demand for supplementary care and schools with parents sometimes not minding the cost. After this talk about what the day-care centre is, it was not fully revealed whether the various type of the centres in Gombe state are fulfilling their roles hence the need for assessment to ascertain if the goals are being met.
The United States Department of Health (2008) specifically defines a Child Day-Care Center as a program of supplementary care for more than twelve (12) years related or unrelated to children outside their own homes on a regular basis. The implementation of the National Policy on Education (Federal Republic of Nigeria, [FRN] 2004), and its subsequent provision in the Universal Basic Education (1999) and implementation of the UBE Act (2004) on early childhood education in the country will not only increased the awareness but also made it available to every willing Nigerian to access Day-Care services. Day-Care Center (DCC) is the care given to a child during the day by a person other than the child‘s parent or legal guardian, typically someone outside the child‘s immediate family. Thus, this informed the choice of the researcher to undertake a study to assess the availability and the implementation of safety precaution in Public and Private Day-Care Centres, which on its own is a measure of quality in child care services.
Encarta (2009) defines safety as freedom from danger or protection from harm or injury. Child-care safety concentrates on protecting young children from hazards and diseases in pre-school settings. In a Day-Care system, safety is seen as measures taken to avert danger and make children feel safe from harm while away to schools. Stephen (2003) points out that safety precaution is the ability to take safety measure before hand and the necessary action before any harm or damage happen. Orebayo (2001) contends that the importance of safety in Day-care center should be of prime importance to the centre since children are by nature unique, enthusiastic and full of energy. Hence a good Day-care centre must anticipate threat to their safety and take precautionary measures.
Giving the importance of Day – Care System to the overall development of the child, the 1999 African International Conference in Kampala organized by the World Bank, with the objective of raising public awareness and advocate for Day – Care and Early Child Care Education (ECCE), emphases on the safety of the children as a measure to quality child care and education. It is in response to these international commitments and with many case studies and innovations reported by international organizations like United Nations Educational and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and UNICEF that the Federal Government of Nigeria through series of
recommendations evolved aNational minimum standard on day-care centers in Nigeria. The guidelines for the smooth running of day-care centres place a lot of emphases on the safety of the children, giving the components of safety in Day-Care Centers as follows:
- Supervision
- First aid iii. Communication iv. Hazard prevention and Maintenance
On a general note, the NERDC (n.d) emphasizes that the location of a day-care Centre should be in safe and secured environment (free from chemical and other hazards). Specifically, NERDC (n.d) also prescribes that the school premises particularly the play ground should be fenced to prevent outside interference. Also, nets should be provided on the windows and doors for the safety of the children.
There are a lot of prevailing situation which affect the implementation of safety precaution in centers, many were found not providing a perfect safe child care setting for children especially from the physical aspect such as washroom, bedroom and playground. There is therefore, the need for this study to assess the implementation of safety precaution at the Day-Care Centers in Gombe State.
Implementation of safety precaution is given priority in the ECCE curriculum. This is because children need to be safe for optimum and overall development. Where the safety of the child is threatened, the child cannot grow into a healthy individual. Similarly, parents have the responsibility of ensuring that their children are placed in a safe environment while they pursue their daily chores. The demand for Child DayCare services and education has become more desirable as parents continue to seek safe and affordable places to leave their children while at work. The question then is – to what extent is the safety practices observed in these schools where these kids are sent for safekeeping during this formative age when they learn basic habits, which last them a lifetime and mark the direction of their behaviour? In Gombe state, there are many categories of Day-cares Centers, such as privately owned Day-care, faith-linked Child-care, Mosque-linked Child-care, Government Child-care centre, Organizationallinked Child-care, Cooperative Child-care and Employer-sponsored Child-care centers. The study therefore looked into registered Day-care centers in Gombe state. While there are numerous areas of concern on child safety in Day-care centers, the study also assess safety precaution practices in the environment where our children are kept for the most part of the day by considering the availability, adequacy, maintenance of facilities and simple hygiene practices based on the following identified components of Day-care education:
- Physical Environment,
- School Hygiene Facilities and Practices
- Recreational Facilities and their maintenance
- Utility – Water, Light,
- Transportation and Communication, and
- Care giver‘s Personality
Therefore, the focus of this study is to assess whether or not day-care safety precautions are available and fully implemented in public and private day-care centres in Gombe State.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
The right of children to safety be it at home or in the school and the need to provide adequate care, safety and supervision for children while their parents are not at home is well known. The need also to inculcate rudiments of numbers, letters, colours and shapes led to the recognition of pre-primary education in Nigeria. This is in commitment to a wide range of global frameworks and other normative instruments, which include Education for All (EFA), United Nations‘ Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), United Nations‘ Literacy Decade (UNLD) amongst others. These commitments led to the development and adoption of the National Early Child Care Minimum Standards for ECCE Centers and the Integrated Early Childhood Curriculum for 0-5 years in the year 2004. These policies were as a result of collaborative efforts between Federal Government of Nigeria through Nigeria Educational Research and
Development Council (NERDC) and United Nations International Children‘s Emergency Fund (UNICEF).
These policies prescribe minimum guidelines for the operation of Day-care centers with regards to safety measures, staffing, facilities, location, health and nutritional requirements among others. It is however, unfortunate that there seems to be fewer researches on the implementation of safety precaution in day-care centers, which on its own is a measure of quality of every Day-care service. We must however, note that the effect of safety practices observed and practised in the Day-care centers where children are most importantly the future leaders of the country. Educational provisions at this level serve the need of children from different types of homes. Contemporarily, it is required that Day-care centers should ensure the safety and success of all children and the professionals who serve them (Hurwitze, Manacker and Welden, 1996). It also requires that school personnel‘s have a corresponding duty to provide children with safe, secure, and peaceful environment in which learning can occur (Kostelnik, &Sanderman, 1998).
Parents in Gombe State take their children to day care centers and found that their children are not properly taken care of. This was envisaged in the manner in which the day care centers take care of the children as some of the day care centers lack some facilities and in day-care centers where the facilities are available, they are inadequate and not properly used in taking care of the children. Despite the availability of facilities in some day-care centres some parents are complaining that the needed safety children required is fully given, this is what prompted the researcher to assess the availability and implementation of safety precaution at Day-care centers in Gombe state in line with set standards.
1.3 Objectives of the Study
The general objective of the study is to assess the implementation of safety precaution for children at the Day-Care Centers in Gombe state. Specifically, the study seeks to:
- Identify child safety measures in the Public and Private Day-care centers in
Gombe State; ii. Assess care givers‘ opinions on the present condition of safety precaution measures at the Day-Care Centers in Gombe State; iii. Examine care givers‘ opinions on the availability of safety precaution measures at the Day-Care Centers; iv. Examine care givers‘ opinions on the adequacy of safety precaution measures at the Day-Care Centers;
- Determine the relationship between the educational qualification of proprietors of the Day-care centers and the safety precaution put in place; vi. Compare the utilization of safety precaution by public and private Day-care centers in Gombe State;
1.4 Research Questions
This study attempt to provide answers to the following research questions:
- What are the child safety measures in the Public and PrivateDay-Care Centers in
Gombe State?
- What are the care givers‘ opinionson the present condition of safety precaution measures at the Day-Care Centers in Gombe State?
- What are the care givers‘ opinions of the availability of safety precaution measures at the Day-Care Centers? What are the care givers‘ opinions of the adequacy of safety precaution measures at the Day-Care Centers?
- What extent does the educational attainment of proprietors of the Day-care centers influence the implementation of safety precaution in Day-care centers?
- What is the extent of utilization of safety precaution by public and private Daycare centers in Gombe State?
1.5 Research Hypotheses
The following null hypotheses are postulated to further enable the researcher arrive at meaningful conclusion.
Ho1: There is no significant difference between the child safety measures in public and private day–care centres in Gombe State.
Ho2: There is no significant relationship between availability and implementation of safety precaution in Day-care centers.
Ho3: There is no significant difference in the utilization of safety precaution between public and private Day-care centers in Gombe State.
1.6 Significance of the Study
The beneficiaries of this study are child-care providers and operators, Parent Teachers Association (PTA), teachers, government and Consumer Science Education students.
The findings of the study will create awareness to any Child-care providers and operators as it will give them a balanced view of what the parents expect from Day-care centers, in terms of safety of their children before making their choice of center.
The findings of this study if made available or discussed during the Parent Teachers Association (PTA) will give an insight into the safety precautions being taken by the daycare givers to the children.
The study will also give the government at all levels and the public more insight into what to expect from any child-care provider and operator in respect of safety precautions. It will also trigger Gombe state government to conduct a regular supervision of Day-care centers in the state.
The findings of the study will be useful to both Consumer Science Education students and teachers, who will be interested in operating a private owned Day-care center. The study will also serve as a guide or rather a hand book to successfully operate day-care centers.
1.7 Basic Assumptions of the Study
- Parents are not satisfied with the present condition of safety measure put in place in the day-care centers in Gombe State.
- Day-Care providers are aware of the safety guidelines that must be adhered to.
- Government at all levels has not adequately addressed the issue of licensing of the Day-care centers.
- Parents and day-care givers are considered to be the reliable respondents for the study.
1.8 Delimitation
The study is delimited to availability and implementation of day-care safety precautions. The study is also delimited to private and public day-care centres in Gombe state. The study is also delimited to child care givers and parents of children. The study is delimited to availability and implementation of day-care safety precautions because it is only when the needed facilities required for safety precautions are available that implementation will take its course. It was also delimited to categories of Day-cares Centers, such as privately owned Day-care, faith-linked Child-care, Mosque-linked
Child-care, Government Child-care centre, Organizational-linked Child-care, Cooperative Child-care and Employer-sponsored Child-care centers because they are the avenue of taking care of children while their mothers are in work places. The study was also delimited to care-givers because they are the ones taking care and giving safety precautions to children. The study was also delimited to parents because they are the ones taking children to the centres.
ASSESSMENT OF ACCESSIBILITY AND EXECUTION OF SAFETY SAFETY MEASURES IN PUBLIC AND PRIVATE DAY-CARE CENTERS IN GOMBE STATE, NIGERIA