EARLY CHILDHOOD

This study examines the role of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in early childhood development, with a specific focus on literacy programs for orphaned children in Nigeria. The research explores how orphanages and NGO-led initiatives contribute to children's reading, writing, and spoken language comprehension. Using a survey research design approach, data were collected through a structured questionnaire from three selected orphanages in three local government areas in Benin City. The findings reveal that structured literacy programs within orphanages significantly enhance children's reading and writing abilities, while NGO interventions, including speech development programs and interactive storytelling, improve spoken language comprehension. Based on these findings, the recommendations made include increased funding for orphanages, expansion of NGO literacy programs, integration of these initiatives into national education policies, and enhanced community involvement. This research contributes to the existing body of knowledge by providing empirical evidence on the effectiveness of orphanage and NGO literacy programs in improving educational outcomes for vulnerable children in Nigeria.

Early Childhood Education (ECE) plays a vital role in the cognitive, social, emotional, and moral development of young children. One effective way to enhance quality learning in early childhood settings is through strong collaboration between parents and educators. This study examined the role of early childhood education in fostering collaborative leadership between parents and educators, with emphasis on shared responsibility, effective communication, and mutual tA descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study. The population comprised early childhood educators and parents from selected pre-primary schools. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire designed to assess the level of parent teacher collaboration, the roles of collaborative leadership, challenges affecting partnerships, and strategies for strengthening collaboration in early childhood educationrust in supporting children’s holistic development.

Early childhood educators are specialized and dedicated professional who can identify potential developmental delays and nurture children's talent boosting their confidence and providing essential tools for growth. Therefore this study examined the role of early childhood educator in identifying and supporting children with special needs within Oredo local government area in Benin city, Edo state. The objective of the study was to find out the influence of early childhood educators training on children with special needs, to determine the extent early childhood educators require special training to perform child support role on children with special needs, to determine the extent government support the training of early childhood educators, to determine parents and educators involvement in supporting children with special needs. Four research questions were raised for this study. The study used checklist and questionnaire which were structured from the four research questions as a mode of data collection to collect information from one hundred respondent selected from 20 private schools. The results from this study revealed that the early childhood educators training has influence on children with special needs, Finding suggest that early childhood educators require special training to perform child support role on children with special needs to a moderate extent, It also showed that government support the training of early childhood educators to a low extent. It was therefore recommended among others that regular workshops, seminars and fresher courses should be provided to equip educators with the necessary skills to support children with special needs