CLASSROOM

This study investigated the level of utilization of science facilities in Early childhood education (ECE) classrooms in Oredo Local Government area, Edo State. The study also sought to find out the extent to which science facilities were available in ECE classrooms in Oredo Local Government Area. The differences in the level of utilization of science facilities based on location, categories of teachers, and ownership of schools were areas of interest in this work. Five research questions were raised to guide the study. Two research questions were answered while three
were formulated into hypotheses and tested at 0.05 level of significance. The study adopted the descriptive survey research design. 175 teachers formed the sample of the study. The instrument titled “The level of availability of science facilities in ECE classrooms” was a self designed checklist by the researcher to collect data for the study. Data collected were analyzed using mean, standard deviation and independent sample t-test. The following were among the findings: The majority of science facilities are highly available in Early Childhood Education (ECE) classrooms in Oredo Local Government Area, the level of utilization was at least once a month, there were no significant differences in the level of utilization of science facilities in early childhood classrooms in Oredo Local Government Area based on location, categories of teachers and ownership of schools. Based on the findings, it was recommended that the number of utilization should be increased to once a week. Science is very vital in the life of a human being and it plays a crucial role in the development and understanding of the world. Once in a month is not adequate for science experience because it may not be sufficient to foster a deep and lasting appreciation for the subject. To enhance a child’s engagement in science activities, it is beneficial to increase the frequency of the utilization to at least once a week so that the child gets used to science activities.