R.O. OLUBOR

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.

This study investigated parental academic status and pupils' academic performance in kindergarten in Oredo Local
Government area, Edo State. The study also sought to find out if there is any relationship between parental academic status and pupils academic performance in kindergarten in Oredo Local Government Area. The difference in relationship between the parental academic status and pupils' academic performance in kindergarten based on location was also an area of interest in this study. Four research questions were raised to guide the study. Two were answered while two were formulated into hypotheses and tested at 0.05 level of significance. The study adopted the descriptive survey research design. 6 schools formed the sample of the study. The instrument titled “ parental academic status and pupils' academic performance in kindergarten” was a self designed checklist by the researcher to collect data for the study. Data collected were analysed using mean, standard deviation, Pearson r, and Fischer- Z statistics. The following were among the findings: There is difference in educational attainment between fathers and mothers, Kindergarten pupils in Oredo Local Government Area performed well in various subjects, and their overall academic performance was considered high based on the grand mean score of 81.5. There is no significant relationship between parental academic status and pupils’ performance in kindergarten in Oredo local government area. There is no significant difference in the relationship between parental academic status and pupils’ performance in kindergarten in Oredo local government area based on location of school. Based on the findings, it was recommended among others that one of the findings of the study is that fathers are better educated than mothers. This shows the need for society to educate its daughters bearing in mind the closeness and influence of mothers on their young children.