Early childhood/pre-primary education is referred to as education given in an educational institution to children prior to their entering the primary school. It includes the crèche; kindergarten and the nursery. Early childhood education is the overall development of the child socially, physically and intellectually. Since it is seen as the first phrase in a life-time of continuous learning and experience from birth to old age.

See Samples Of Free Undergraduate Research Project Topics For Students In Nigeria

Early childhood education could be seen as from conception to six years old the child undergoes rapid mental and physical development, demanding for encouragement from all and sundry. The concept of pre-primary education like most other concepts in education cannot be pinned down to only one definition. Early childhood education or pre-primary school education is a semi-formal education arrangement usually outside the home whereby children from about the age of three are exposed through play like activities in a group setting to mental, social and physical learning suited to their under developmental age until the mandatory age of government approved formal schooling.
The following as other terms used for this level of education.
(a) Nursery school
(b) Pre-school
(c) Pervert cooperative nursery schools
(d) Laboratory or practicing nursery schools
(e) Kindergarten
(f) Day –care or child centres and
(g) Play group among others
PURPOSE OF EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
Early Childhood Education assists in early monitoring and sustenance of the intellectual, moral and physical abilities of the children. Therefore the objectives of early childhood education as enunciated in the National Policy on Education are as follows:-
(a) effect a smooth transition from the home to the school.
(b) prepare the child for primary level of education
(c) provide adequate care and supervision for the children while their parents are at work (on the forms, in the markets, offices, etc) (d) inculcate social norms
(e) inculcate in the child the spirit of enquiry and creativity through the exploration of nature, the environment, art, music and playing with toys etc.
(f) develop a sense of co-operation and team spirit.
(g) Learn good habits, especially good health habits, and
(h) teach the rudiments of numbers, letters, colours, shapes, forms etc through play. It is interesting to note that to achieve the above, government has a role to play which are as follow:
(i) establish pre-primary sections in existing public schools and encourage both community/private efforts in the provisions of pre-primary education.
(ii) make provision in teacher education programmes for specialization in early childhood education.
(iii) ensure that the medium of instruction is principally the mother-tongue or the language of the immediate community.
(iv) develop the orthography of many more Nigerian languages and (v) produce textbooks in Nigerian languages
(vi) ensure that the main method of teaching at this level shall be through play and that the curriculum of teacher education is oriented to achieve this; regulate and control the operation of pre-primary education.
(vii) Set and monitor minimum standard for early childcare centre in the country and
(viii) Ensure full participation of government, communities and teachers associations in the running and maintenance of early childhood education facilities. Early Childhood Education and Development is in fact a start to life and a reliable foundation to continuing education. Learning begins at birth and at eight most brain wiring, language abilities, physical capabilities and cognitive foundations have been set in place. Investing in Early Childhood Education is investing in the whole child and dividends continue to pay off throughout the entire life cycle
TEACHING METHOD IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
There are different teaching methods employed in science education in Nigerian tertiary institutions. It is expected of a teacher to implement a range of instructional strategies. That will bring academic success to all the science students. For any method to be able to bring good result in the present age, it should be a method that promotes maximum social interaction. Social interaction between students and between teacher and student plays a crucial role in learning. These authors further stressed the need for the students to be provided with a supportive, open and interactive environment as this could help them discover knowledge. The teaching methods commonly used in science education classes are lecture and demonstration method
EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AND ROLE PLAY AS TEACHING STYLE
This is dramatic play that is unrehearsed, spontaneous and unstructured. In teaching-learning situation, role play is used to help learners interpret certain situations. Topics that are taught with role-play are such that relate problematic issues in real life. Players are simply instructed to interpret such situations with their perceptions and feelings expressed. This method helps learners learn decision making, develop and express initiatives. Learners are also helped to understand how others feel about certain issues or conditions. To use this method for a lesson, teacher should:
• Ensure the problematic situations to be role-played are of interest to learner.
• Story telling, pictures or other forms of illustration should be used to clarify concepts to learners/actors before being asked to role-play • Learners perceptions should be discussed and salient points restated. Role play in early childhood is tailored towards displaying and mimicking of parents, elder brothers and sisters, teachers and methods. When children display this, care givers should not interrupt this exercise. This method aids children to say what they know or feel about an individual.
CONCLUSION
From the foregoing there is no gain saying that effective teaching can not take place in isolation most especially at the foundational stage which form the bedrock for subsequent education. However, teachers need support to develop and use child centered teaching methods so that children can participate more in the learning process. There is a need to shift the forms of teaching from gaining knowledge to using knowledge and skills based on cone of experience. Therefore, it is obvious that successful teaching at the pre-primary school level demands from teacher investigative capability in order to make sensible decision on the choice of method to adopt on the cone experience which is the process of learning that begins in concrete experiences and move toward the abstract if mastery is to be obtained in the child.