IMPACT OF PEDAGOGICAL INNOVATION ON EARLY CHILDHOOD TEACHERS’ CLASSROOM PRACTICES IN SELECTED BASIC SCHOOLS IN SURULERE OF LAGOS, NIGERIA

Abstract

Dynamics in education are changes teachers bring into classroom practices. The study focused on exploring the impact of pedagogical innovation on early childhood teachers’ classroom practices in selected Basic schools in Surulere Local Government Area, Lagos, Nigeria. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design. The population of the study comprised all basic school teachers in Surulere, Lagos state. Simple random sampling technique was used to randomly select a sample size of 240 public basic school teachers in Surulere LGA. Ten teachers each in 24 schools were randomly selected. Two research questions in a-14 item statement instrument titled ‘Impact of Pedagogical Innovation and Teachers’ Classroom Practices’ (IPITCP) questionnaire was used to elicit information from respondents. Face and content validity of the instrument was carried out by Experts in Early Childhood and Measurement and Evaluation. The reliability coefficient of 0.80 of the instruments was derived through test-re-test. Data gathered were analyzed using descriptive statistics such as frequency count, percentages and mean. The study identified the challenges associated with the adoption of pedagogical innovation, and examined impact of pedagogical innovation on classroom practices. The findings of the study revealed that pedagogical innovation had a positive impact on classroom practices which attributed to the improvement in teachers’ motivation towards teaching and learning, an increase in the level of pupils’ engagement and motivation, and an overall improvement in pupils’ learning outcome. The study also revealed that adoption of pedagogical innovation posed several challenges to the teachers, including inadequate access to technology, limited gadgets and resources, and inadequate training among others. Recommendations were made among others that training organized for teachers should be innovative in order to enhance their competence in ICTs. Also, Government, NGOs, PTA should assist in procuring ICTs gadgets among others.