Volume 15

AN ASSESSMENT OF LITERACY SKILLS ACQUISITION AMONG PRESCHOOLERS IN SELECTED PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN LAGOS STATE

MAFIKUYOMI, Johnson Adewole Ph.D, UDOFIA, Imoh Godwin Richard & GBENGA-AKANMU, Taiwo Oladunni Ph.D

Abstract

The study assessed Literacy Skills Acquisition among Preschoolers in Selected Public Primary Schools in Lagos
State. Two objectives and hypotheses were formulated for this study.This study employed descriptive survey
research design as information was sourced from many pupils in the state. Purposive sampling was used to
identify Basic 5 and 6 pupils in Public and Private primary schools while simple random sampling technique
was employed in the selection of 25 pupils from Basic 5 and 6 to form a sample of 100 pupils in Alimosho LGA in
Lagos State. Literacy Skills Acquisition Questionnaire (LSAQ) was used in data collection as among
preschoolers in selected public and private primary schools in Lagos State. Due to the tender nature of the pupils in item internalisation, their teachers, who nurture and monitor them as they grow and develop, assisted in filling out the required questionnaires. Face and content validity was established and Cronbach-alpha coefficient value of
.792 was obtained. Data was analysed via Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and post-hoc statistics to show where the direction of the significance lies. Hypotheses were tested at the .05 level of significance. The study revealed that acquisition of literacy skills among preschoolers is dependent on the developmental, socio-environmental, and latent ability of the child. It concluded that literacy skills acquisition among preschoolers in public primary
Schools remain suboptimal due to inadequate resources, limited teacher competence, and environmental factors. The study recommended that the government strengthen teacher training programs to enhance early literacy pedagogy and classroom management in public preschools.

Keywords

Post-Hoc Statistics, Literacy Skills Acquisition, Preschoolers, Caregivers, Analysis of Variance

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