Accessing the parental influence toward early childhood education. A case of KNUST Preschool

Abstract

Parental involvement is the most powerful influence in a child’s education. It can have various effects on students, both academically and behaviourally. Initially, research on family involvement in education generally did not aim at differentiating between the effects of specific types of involvement on definite student outcomes. Therefore the study sought to assess the contribution of parents toward early childhood education using KNUST Pre school. The target population for the study was made up of ten (10) teachers and two (2) parents from KNUST preschool. From the interview the study revealed that parents' education, the number of parents in the home, stability of home life, quality of child care, cultural differences, economic background and environment, teachers and environments, students' desire, individual differences, language development, the duration of breastfeeding and child nutrition were the factors affecting early childhood education at KNUST Pre-school. Again, government policy on free education, teaching and learning materials need to be made more readily available came out as the challenges of Early Childhood Education at KNUST Pre-school. Based on the findings of the study, the researcher recommends that there is the need for a robust educational and sensitization programme for the public about the important place of early childhood education in the educational development of the child.