AN EVALUATION OF  THE IMPACT OF FRIENDLY ENVIRONMENT ON THE COMPREHENSIVE LEARNING OF SCHOOL CHILDREN

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

 A learning-friendly environment (LFE) accepts, nurtures, and educates all children, regardless of size, physical, academic, socioeconomic, mental, linguistic, or other characteristics. Being "child-friendly" is important, but not enough. Teachers ought to be included in the process too. Therefore, a "learning-friendly" environment is both "child-friendly" and "teacher-friendly" when both parties learn together as a learning community.

The concept of 'child-friendly school (CFS)' which was initiated and attempted to actualize by UNICEF’s studies, has a nature including all these variables listed above and even more.Since the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Children in many countries, the educators have searched for the ways to realize this convention. One of the best attempts is the child-friendly school action, which adopts a rights-based education approach. The Convention on the Rights of the Children (2012) has strengthened and expanded the idea of education based on human rights with four key principles:

(1) Preventing discrimination, (2) Behaving in the best interest of the child, (3) Making the child live and remain at the highest possible level, (4) Allowing the children to express themselves in any situation that affects them. The emphasis here is on the access which creates an opportunity for learning; the quality which supports cognitive and affective development; and the respect which cherishes the individual's language, culture, religion, and perspective. These are the bases of rights-based education and those mentioned above are the significant principles. They paved the way for the search for schools ensuring the overall development of the child and the constructing of a child-friendly approach in the 1990s (The Convention of Children Rights 1989). Thus it is upon this premise that this study is set to do An Evaluation of  the impact of friendly environment on the comprehensive learning of school children.

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

 In the past decade, many schools have worked to become "child-friendly" with a focus on the rights of children to learn to their fullest potential within a safe and welcoming environment. Learning-friendly means placing the child firmly at the centre of the learning process. It also means recognizing that his or her total learning environment includes other actors (such as teachers, administrators, parents, and community leaders) who guide a child’s learning and are learners themselves. A learning-friendly environment is one in which children benefit not only from learning by themselves, but also from the learning of others whose needs are also taken into consideration. For instance, a learning-friendly environment gives children a chance to participate in their learning. It also is an environment in which teachers are helped and empowered to learn,in which they use and adapt new teaching methods, and in which parents and community members are actively encouraged to participate in helping their children to learn and their schools to function.

However in Nigeria school setting, the concept of making the learning environment,  friendly for the child has not received attention,even when all other factors that contributes to effective learning such as school environment, home environment and physical facilities, there are still gaps in the dire need of stepping up to a point where the teachers who aside establishing relationship with the student but also making the learning environment friendly and not hostile, the absence of discrimination in spite of the child’s physical and mental abilities, gender differences, religion or ethnicity. The is relevant for effective teaching and learning process, also to the mental health status of the student, thus is is upon this premise that this study determines  to do An Evaluation of  the impact of friendly environment on the comprehensive learning of school children.

1.3 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

The focus of this study is directed to do An Evaluation of  the impact of friendly environment on the comprehensive learning of school children. Specifically it is set

1.        To examine how a friendly learning environment should be

2.        To investigate the if friendly environment has an impact on the learning of school school children

3.        It will determine the extent of friendly learning environment incorporated in private and public school.

1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This study would be relevant to the general public but immensely to school owners and administrators on the need to ensure they incooperate a friendly learning environment in their school. The study will enlighten Teachers on the need to establish cordial relationship with the students as this creates an tense-free/friendly learning environment and possibly should make themselves accessible and approachable in case student have further questions to ask after subject period as this will enhance good academic performance. More so this study provides a valuable reference for other researcher to reflect upon friendly learning environment as it affect the academic performance of student in secondary school. Also, this work would contribute to the knowledge body and serve as a stepping stone to other researchers, who are looking for better ways to solve the problem of hostile learning environment and students’ academic performance i secondary schools.

1.5 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The scope of this study is directed to do An Evaluation of  the impact of friendly environment on the comprehensive learning of school children. The study is delimited six selected primary schools ( 3 public and 3 Private) in Delta State, Nigeria.

1.6 RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS

H0: The extent at which primary  schools  have incorporated friendly learning environment is low

H0: Friendly learning environment has no significant impact on the comprehensive learning of school children

1.7       LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

During the course of the study challenges encountered were exclusively but not delimited to the following numerous. These are

l   Financial constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview)

l  Time constraint: time factor pose another constraint since having to cope in this research which went simultaneously within the time schedule of other academic work making it impossible to undertake this study in large more representative skill.

1.8       DEFINITION OF CONCEPTS

Learning: Learning is the process of acquiring new understanding, knowledge, behaviors, skills, values, attitudes, and preferences. 

Environment: the surrounding or environment in which a person, animal, or pant lives or operates.

Learning Environment: The term learning environment can refer to an educational approach, cultural context, or physical setting in which teaching and learning occur.

Child Friendly School (CFS): Child Friendly School (CFS) is a democratic environment based on children's rights, where all students are accepted, teaching-learning processes are organized according to children's interest needs, health, safety and protective measures are taken for children and gender-based discrimination is not provided.