University of Nigeria Virtual Library

Serial No ISBN: 978-2343013

Author 1 NGWU, P. N. C.

Author 2

Author 3

Title

The Development of Functional Readers for Early Childhood

Education

Keywords

Description

The Development of Functional Readers for Early Childhood

Education

Category Education

Publisher Institute of Education Abu Zaria Publication

Publication Date

1991

Signature

LITERACY AND READING .

IN NIGERIA

Volume 5

LITERACY AND READING IN NlGERlA

VOLUME 5

b!

Selections from the Proceedings of the Third Bienniel Conference of the Reading Association of Nigeria held in Owerri, September 11-16, 1989.

Edited by Timothy 0. Oyerunde Joseph S. Aliyu Yemi Aboderin

General Editors Solomon 0. Unoh Ralph A. Omojuwa Joanne 3. Umolu

Published by The Nigeria Educational Research and Development Council in associatioil with The Reading Association of Nigeria

@ 1991 copyright reserved: NERDC

Printed by the NERDC Press, Lagos.

Computer Typesetting by Kasco Scientific Agency (Computer Centre), Murtala House, 37 Murtala Mohammed Way, PMB 2262, Jos. Tel (073)-53448

ISBN

Foreword v

Foreword

The publication of this fifth volume of Lireracy and Reading in Nigeria marks the 9th year since the inception of the Reading Association of Nigeria. The articles in this volume attest to the significant growth in the quality and breadth of reading research in Nigeria during this period. There is clear evidence of on-going schoiarly work at all levels of literacy development. In the early years of the existence of the Reading Association of Nigeria one major undertaking was that of creating an awareness of the widespread reading failure in Nigerian schools. It is regrettable that this situation in the schools has not improved. However, the first step to solving a problem is recognition that the problem exists. and RAN has made tremendous progress in this area.

The theme of RAW'S 4th Biennial Conference, out of which this volume emanated, was 'Toward Functional Literacy.' This theme was particularly timely in the light of the United Nation's designation of the years 1990 - 2000 as International Literacy Decade. RAN'S commitment to promoting functional literacy is, therefore, in line with this world-wide effort to eradicate illiteracy by the year 2000. Thus, RAN is in a unique position to take up a leadership role in implementing the objectives of the International Literacy Decade in Nigeria. The challenge before RAN is both to serve to disseminate its accumulated knowledge of reading and literacy in Nigeria and to make its combined expertise available for literacy development in the Nation. This volume would support this effort, as its contents should serve to guide educational policy decisions at the National level as well as render practical information on reading instruction and literacy development for prospective and practicing teachers throughout the Nigerian educational system. arion

Joanne J. Umolu President Reading Association of Nigeria 1989-1991

Preface vii

Preface We in RAN have cause to celebrate for being able to release on schedule the

fifth volume of our series, Literacy and Reading in Nigeria. It is an achievement that calls for celebration, if for on other reason than to note that RAN has been able to sustain the series through five volumes despite the hydra-headed problems of the publishing industry in Nigeria. It also seems appropriate to recognize the wisdom and foresight of the founding fathers of RAN who established the series. That Literacy and Reading in Nigeria has served both to popularize reading research as an important field of study and as an authoritative source of literacy information in Nigeria today is a realization of the founders' vision.

We are proud that the Introduction to this volume features the articles by two eminent founders of Literacy and Reading in Nigeria: Solomon Unoh and Ralph Omojuwa. Unoh's key-note address provides a theoretical basis for functional reading while Omojuwa's Presidential address not only enumerates a number of RAN'S laudable achievements within the short period of its existence, but also draws attention to some important challenges facing the Association.

! The theme of t k present volume, 'Functional Literacy,' expresses the desire of RAN to see that reading is used to meet the diverse literacy demands of modern living. A good number of he articles in this volume address this important theme from various perspectives. The articles have been grouped into eight sections according to their particular emphases to assist a more purposeful reading. These include:

Section A: Reading Readiness and Initial Reading. Section B: Reading Instructional Strategies Section C: Reading in Content Areas Section D: Literature in Reading Section E: Readability Section F: Evaluation of Reading Curriculum and Programmes Section G: Issues in Reading and Literacy Awareness Section H: Reading Problems

A unique addition to his volume is the Afterword which arose out of the need to correct some misconceptions regarding the nature of the reading process.

The Editors of the volume, on behalf of RAN, would like to employ this medium to express our sincere gratitude to our co-publishers, the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) for coming to the Association's aid at this critical time. NERDCs assistance with the publication of this volume is a reflection of its identification with the noble cause of literacy promotion for which RAN stands.

i We would also like to thank the contributors to this collection for sharing in the typesetting expenses. A special note of thanks is due to Joanne Umolu and Jane ) Olatunji Hughes for their most able assistance with the editorial work which helped to

! raise the quality of the volume. As has been consistently pointed out in the previous volumes, space and editorial

considerations made it impossible to include all the papers presented at the Oweni 4th

viii Literacy And Reading in Nigeria -

Biennial conferen= in the present volume. The unpublished articles may be considered for. inclusion in futm volumes.

We are pleased to release this volume to the reading community and to those interested in literacy issues in a second language reading environment like that of Nigeria.

- 7 -

TOO 3SA AOA

Contents ix

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii

INTRODUCI.ION 1 1. Presidential Address: RAN and Literacy Promotion in Nigeria

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . RALPH A. OMOJUWA 3 2. KEYNOTE ADDRESS: Reading for Intellectual Development: A

Psycholinguistic View SOLOMONO.UN0H . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Section A: Reading Readiness and Initial Reading 23 3. Laying a Strong Foundation for Reading in Pre-school Kids

N.C.KWEKOWE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 4. Developing Pre-reading Skills in Children: Parents and Teachers Can

, Be Partners in Progress 'FA. ABOKI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

5. Writing Language-Matched Basal Reading Schemes for Nigerian Primary Schools, Trade Schools and Adult Education Centres JtWE J. OLATUNJI HUGHES wirh KWAME FREDA AGYEUAN & JOHN DANBOU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

6. The Influence of Economic Status on the Reading Preferences of Nigerian Primary Pupils MONICA LASISI & 'LADE ADEYmJU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Section B: Reading Instrucrional Strategies 59 7. Promoting Reading Comprehension Through Critical Thinking: A

Consideration of Some Approaches for the Nigerian Senior Secondary Classes. CHIEMEM E. OhWWOTU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

8. Functional Transfer of Reading Skills to Content Areas: Towards Functional Reading in Nigerian Universities M. 0. TINUOYE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

9. Enhancing Functional Reading among the Youths through Newspapers and Magazines: A Teacher's Briefcase Technique. S W r N A J. VMOH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

10. Patterning Functional Reading: A Look at the Keyword Technique. MR4HN.I. ODEN .................................. 89

11. Designing a Psycholinguistically-Based Reading Programme for . Nigerian S h l s ERNEST OBI ONOCHIE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

x Literacy And Reading in Nigeria

12 Reading and Writing: Practical Ways of Increasing Opportunities and Incentives to Read and Write in Nigerian Schools

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . RA.cHI .0 KE 111 13. A Functional Approach to Training Reflective Young Readers

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SYLVIA S. ONWUMELU 119 14. Guidelines for Teaching Three Basic Reading Skills to Students

CHRISTNE VONKUR KUMBIN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129 Section C: Reading in Content Areas 137

15. Towards Improvement in Reading: Tke Content Areas Approach. IFEOMM. I S I U G O - M I H E . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139

16. Reading and Writing in Primary Mathematics JANE OLATUNJI HUGHES with SKVESTER F W ' K W A T & HELEN OYENEE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149

17. Towards Helping Students Acquire Skills of Human Relations through Extensive Reading Programmes in the Social Studies in Nigerian Secondary Schools. C.C. O M & G.W JOOF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161

18. Text Structure Awareness and Reading Performance CA TilERINE ASHASHIN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165

Section D: Literature in Reading 173 19. The Development of Functional Readers for Early Childhood

Education P . N . C . N G W U . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175

20. Introducing Reading to Young Children Through Exposure to Literature: A Study of an Infant School in Ibadan OBWULU EMUULU ............................... 191

21. Teaching Students to Read Poetry: Problems And Solutions T H E M E O R 4 H . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201

22. Making the Nigerian Secondary Student Functionally Literate in Poetry in English. C.EONUX40GU .................................. 215

Section E: Readability 227 23. Functional Reading: The "Information Bank" for Quality Education

in Nigria U. G. EMETUOM ................................. 229

24. Some Factors Affecting Readers' Reactions To English Texts in Nigeria WALE ADEGBITE ................................. 235

25. Matching Texrs with Readers: Beyond Readability Formulas JOANNEI. bM0L.U & TIMOTHYO. OYETUVDE ............. 243

Contents xi

26. A Student - Pereptual Approach to Measuring the Readability of Science Textbooks

................................ UZO 0. EGBVGARA 255 27. Study of the Reading Difficulty Level of Comprehension and

Summary Passages at certificate Examinations SAMUEL 0. AYODELE .............................. 263

Section F: Evaluation of Reading Curriculum and Programmes 273 28. Functional Reading: A Focus on the Junior Secondaq School.

E A - M E . ....................................... 275 29. The Non-Availability of Functional Pre-Reading Activities in the

New Oxford Engiish Course, Nigeria. Any Effect on Reading Performance? LOb7SA E. U W A 7 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283

30. An Assessment of the Adequacy of the Reading Skills Component of The Use of English: A Text For Students of Obafemi Awolowo University.

dASISI JINADV MAW ............................... 289 31. Reading and Thinking Skills: An Analysis of The Nigerian

Integrated Science Project Pupil's Books OLUGBEMIRO JEGEDE ............................. 297

32. Developing the Reading of the Underachieving Gifted Children in the Elementary SchooIs JOSHVAONI ..................................... -307

33. Vocabulary Recognition Strategies in Selected Nigerian Secondary School English Language Coursebooks ARVA E.ARVA .................................... 313

34. Fostering Functional Literacy at the Tertiary and University Levels ISAACA.OLA0FE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323

Section G: Issues in Reading and Literacy Awareness 337 35. Laying the Foundation for Functional Reading: The Work of the

Nigerian National Council for Adult Education M I C M L OMOLEWA ............................... 339

36. Reading and Reading-related Articles in Three Nigerian Newspapers: A Study of their Characteristics. JOSEPHS. A L I Y U . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347

37. Teacher-training: A Factor in Training Functional Reading in the Junior Secondary Schools in Nigeria. AE.OLAEMI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359

38. Reading for Editing: A Proposal for Training a i t o r s At the Tertiary Level of Education ................................. N O ~ R I K O N T A 369

di Literacy And Reading in Nigeria

39. Performance on Cloze Test and Its Relation to Achievement in Reading comprehension Skills

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . YEMI ABODERIN 377 40. Common Factors Affecting Comprehension and Intelligence Test

Performance of Nigerian Subjects D.E. RTUOKOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 385

Section H: Reading Problems 393 41. An Investigation into Some Reading Problems of Pupils in Onitsha

Urban Junior Primary Schools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DOLLY CHINWE EKPUNOBI 395

42. Developing Reading in Mother-tongue and English in Nigerian Primary Schools: Crisis in Practice JANE OMOJWA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 407

43. Influence of Parental Occupation on the Reading Interests of Students at the School of Preliminary Studies, Keffi, Plateau State. I.B. LAR & C.C. OKAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 417

44. A Diagnostic Study Of The Reading Performance Of Some Nigerian Primary School Pupils BAYOLAWAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 423

-RWORD 435 45. The Current View of the Reading Process and Its Implications for

English Reading Instruction in Nigeria: An Afrerword. TIMOTHY 0. OYETWDE d JOANNE J. UMOLU . . . . . . . . . . . . . 437

LIST OF AUTHORS 445 List of Authors .>. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 447

xii Literacy And Reading in Nigeria

39. Performance on Cloze Test and Its Relation to Achievement in Reading Comprehension Skills

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . W ABODERIN 377 40. Common Factors Affecting Comprehension and Intelligence Test

Performance of Nigerian Subjects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D.E. ITSUOKOR 385

Section H: Reading Problems 393 41. An Investigation into Some Reading Problems of Pupils in Onitsha

Urban Junior Primary Schools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DOLLY CHINWE EKPWOBI 395

42. Developing Reading in Mother-tongue and English in Nigerian Primary Schools: Crisis in Practice JANE OMOJWA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 407

43. Influence of Parental Occupation on the Reading Interests of Students at the School of Preliminary Studies, Keffi, Plateau State. I.B. LAR & C.C. OIC4M . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 417

44. A Diagnostic Study Of The Reading Performance Of Some Nigerian Primary School Pupils &4YO LAWAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 423

AmRWORD 435 45. The Current View of the Reading Process and Its Implications for

English Reading Instruction in Nigeria: An Afrerword. TIMOTHY 0 . OYETVNDE & JOANNE J. UMOLU . . . . . . . . . . . . . 437

LIST O F AUTHORS 445 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . List of Authors 447

The Development of Functional Readers for Early Childhood Education

P.N.C. NGWU

P.N.C. Ngwu 177

Introduction The development of easy-to-read educational materials is one of the most

popular but demanding strategies for ensuring that the basic literacy skills acquired by neo-literates are put to continuous and effective use. UNESCO (1963: 14) reports that several studies have provided spectacular demonstrations of how short-lived literacy skills can be when there are no follow-up or post-literacy activities.

The development of such easy-to-read materials for newly literate people has been used over the centuries to provide veritable sources of information and handy learning aids for both children and adults. For children, one easily remembers how graded children's story books a n be effective in helping children to retain and use newly acquired literacy skills. Even for mothers as well as for teachers, such children's story books have been found to be a s o u r e of information and entertainment in the task of bringing up children For mothers who are literate and have access to good children's literature, the task of parenting can be made more pleasurable; and this promotes healthy child development as well as excellent mother-child relationships.

This article explores the development of easy-to-read functional educational materials for children. It is divided into three major sections. The first challenges the traditional neglect of non-formal education approaches in early childhood education. r,.-- The second section outlines the categories and functions of children's literature. In addition, special reference is made in this section to the relevance of child development theory and the current situation in the development of children's literature in Nigeria. The concluding section highlights major international experiences and non-formal educational qproaches to the development of functional education materials. It also suggests ways that such approaches can be institutionalised in Nigeria so as to cope with the reading, learning and development needs of children. Overall, the paper uses the non-formal education of children to draw attention to an area of education that should be exploited in Nigeria for meeting targeted and planned development programmes.

Importance of Early Childhood Education Most easy-to-read books are written so as to be read at an appropriate age and

stage in the development of a child. Such books not only help the mothers to get a better understanding of their parenting roles and functions, but also help the children to understand themselves and others as well as life in general. Buck and Young (1961: 8-10), using guides from child development, learnmg theory and surveys of children's interests, provided a detailed outline which described some character~stic child growth !'

patterns and the implications for writing chiidren's books. Early childhood education has emerged as one of the most important fields of .

study in education. Attention has been focused on such aspects of child development as healthy growth, uniqueness of the individual and the interrelationship of physical, environmental, emotional and social factors among several others. One very interesting development is that the kindergarten has become an accepted part of the school system in most countries of the world. The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has set forth far-reaching proposals for promoting the development and well-being of

175 Literacy And Readiq ~ I I Nigeria

children through basic education encompassing a combination of formal schooling. non- formal education and other equivalency programmes including functional literacy for mothers (UNICEF, 1989). In this regard. it is specifically suggested that:

Physical as well as psychologiwl development and stimulation of the preschool age child through appropriate health, nutrition, psychornotor and cognitive development inrerventions has a signifiant impac: on the ch~ld's educational attainment and over all intcgra! development. Low-cost, family based approaches reaching underprivileged communities have k e n pioneered in many countries. Investment in such schemes has yielded such high benefits in health, nutrition and educltion that early child development is emerging as the precursor to all other development ..... (UNICEF, 1989:M).

An effort is made in this paper to show how non-formal educational approaches ,

a n be used to enhance and improve educational provisions for children and mothers,kl particularly children and mothers in especially difficult circumstanm. La Belle (1981: 314-315) has succinctly argued that even though Non-Formal Education (NFE) has been focused on adults in the seventies. contemporary social realities and priorities now make it imperative to broaden the scope of NFE to cover the non- formal eduution of children. The concept of Non-Formal Education has become generally accepted as any organised educational ac:iviry outside formal schooling which is intenueu to serve various group/clienteles in order to fulfil several identified learning J needs. NFE activities may be a simple project or a combination of projects in such areas as literacy, ha l th and sanitation, nutrition. agriculture, labourhvorkers eduution, family pianning/population education, cooperatives, voational training, etc. Non- Formal Educational processes have been used extensively in developing/producing functional readers for both children and adults in the various areas of study listed above; e.mmples of such efforts will be described in the third section of this article.

Categories of Chiidren's Literature Children's literature has been classified by Huck and Young (1961: 39-71) under

the following categories: picture books; information books; folk tales and adventure books; books on humour. and fantasy; books on animal adventures; books on religion and morals; books on gardening and sports; books for personal-social development; poetry books; and books for special interests, e.g. "how to" books. A careful study of , these various utegories of books suggests that they can be broadly categorized into nvoL groups: recreational and functional books.

Recreational books can be adventure books. imaginative and fantasy books, animal stories and folktales. They a n be used to inspire children or a n be read for fun and amusement by children. Recreational books can take the form of an exciting adventure. an imaginative fantasy or the description or* a wonderful and awe inspiriting story. Functional books. on the other hand, give information in areas that the children need to satisfy their natural curiosity about their bodies, the family, health. nutrition. social skills, science, lice and the world in general. Such books are usually written with a mind to teaching children the language o i literacy as well as some functionaYsurvival skills.

P.N. C. Nwu

Picture or alphabet books are generally the first books a child gets. Such picture acd alphabet books are used to reinforce, at a particular age of the child, the requisite readingllitency skills in picrureffeature identification and letterhord recognition. Functional reading skills are used to acquire information in such topics as \-

health, nutrition, science, family life, occupations and the world in general. Functional reading skills are, however, different £rom instructional rwding which is primarily concerned with teaching reading skills such as word recognition, comprehension and interpre:ation of meaning. Neverthe!ess, all three aspecrs of reading, functional, recreational and instructional, are interrelated and overlapping.

Children's Books in Nigeria Most existing reading materials for children in Nigeria emphasize the

recreational dimension. They are generally folktales, animal stories and adventure stories and are usually developed along traditional story forms and origins. In most cases, these children's story books are written by people who are not mhed in the skills of functional literacy andfor reader development and, as such, do not m n e m themselves ' with the functional and eduutional requirements of reader development. The result is that in some cases, such books are not written with the objectives of enhancing the cognitive, social or emotional development of the children. Again, sometimes, the treatment of the plot, themes, subject-matter as well as the quality of content, characterization and writing style are not appropriate or relevant to the educational goals of cognitive, social and emotional development of the children for whom the reading materiak are developed.

The situation in Nigeria is best described by the following statement by Hans Zell (UNESCO. 1984: 25):

Aaording to the World Bank, then a n now 31 million children in Nigeria out of a total population of 75 million and they have foreest that by the year fM)O the number ol childrcn in the whole of Afric3 will have gman by 72%. Yet. then has been a d c h of books, particularly piaun-stoy for younger children, that reflca the African environment both in content and illustrations -. a great deal more will have to be done and one vital need u for original children's stories in the African languages Indeed, the ncedr of children in the rival anas ... is perhaps most acute."

However grim the picture painted so far may be, there is currently an incease in the output of attractive children's books written by Nigerians. Zeil (1984): 2-5) enumerated some publishing houses that are producing such children's books. They are as follows: I. Tana Press of Enugu owned by Flora Nwapa, a renowned female

novelist. The press publishes illustrated picture-story books for children as well as books designed to inform and educate women on such topics as their re!ationships with their husbands and children, their traditional beliefs and their status in the mmmunity as a whole.

2. West Mean Book Publishers Limited based at Iiupeju, Lagos publishes titles on health, motherhood and childcare as well as brightly coloured ALOKA picture books in English and Yoruba for young children.

1 SO Literacy And Reading in Nigeria

3. Lantern Books which specializes in chi!dren's books also.

4. Obodo Children's Books published by Osahon's Publishing Firm.

5. The British multinational publishing firms of Longman, Heineaann, Oxford or University Piess. Evans, Macmillan and Thomas Nelson all publish children's books occasionally.

In addition, Timothy-Asobele (1983) presented an insightful list of children's books published in English and other Nigerian Languages by both Nelson and West African Publishers Limited; and it a n easily be seen from a careful study o f the list that what is available as children's books in the Nigerian market today are essentially recreational books. There is therefore, the need for an organised effort to step up the production of chi!drenls literature in such a way as to cater adequately for both the functional and recreational learning needs of mothers and children. There is definitely an urgent need for producing functional children's readers which would treat such subjects and themes as child welfare and development. cognitive, emotional, cultural and social development o i children in addition t o other identiiied l a m i n g needs in health, nutrition and sociaUcommuniation skills.

Coornbs (1985: 61) succinctly elaborated o n the issue of learning needs of children in his observation that among infants and pre-school age children, there is a rapidly growing and increasingly recognized array of needs. These needs comprise health and nutritional a r e and socialization as well as various kinds of cognitive and effective learning. including language and communication skills. The shortcomings of most of the available children's literature in Nigeria have been highlighted earlier. This has to do with the dominance of oral folklore in both the content and style of presentation of the books and the inability of most authors to infuse educational and child-development oriented theoretial frameworks into the plan of the books.

Considerations of Child Development Theory Although. some may argue that traditionally. stories for children should not be

loaded wirh too many of the technicalities involved in integrating learning theory and educational objectives with social and national development goals. i e e n t research has presented several facts [hat warrant the search for a new approach to the development of children's literature in the Nigerian society. For instance, the development of stories in the oral traditions nre nut neccessarily influenced by current experience with Piagetian and personaliry development theories. Hence stories in the oral folklore may present / children with situarions that are far beyond their ability to comprehend. Specifially, children who are below the stage of concrete operations a n n o t rationalize situations. For them, participating in plays. games and local festival activities is just fun and no more; they have only a play value for the children. Most children at this age play games for the fun of it and-not necessarily to win. But in most oral folklore. the stories are told in such a way that the hero always comes ou: the winner. For most parents also,

a child should play games in order to win. In these situations, the value attached to winning is not yet internalized by most children even at the stage of concrete operations. It has been shown by child development theorists that it is at the stage of formal operations that the child can apply l o g i d rules to hisher activities like playing games to win. In circumstances where parents and oral folklore emphasize winning in games and contents for children below the age of formal operations, confusion is bound to set in; and the normal development of the child can be hampered if the child is constantly and consistently exposed to situations where he needs to apply logical thinking proesses before he attains the stage of formal operations. Thus, when didactic folklore are presented to children about hunting and wrestling competitions in the village with the accompanying abstract concept of winning or losing, the tendency is for the children to either !ose interest in the story or they can get confused by the values set against such stories and only smile or laugh because the story teller laugh or smiles. It is. therefore, imperative that aivriter of children's literature should .be conversant with the current literature in the area of child development.

The Functional-Recriational Continuum in Children's Literature Furthermore. the issue of whether a children's book or reader is recreational or

functional reading material becomes a matter of approach. Functional readers are written to meet the learning and iniornation needs of a target audience. Recreational readers are also written to teach and iniorm. as well as to entertain. Both recreationai and functional readers develop language, social and communication skills as well as values. As a result, some recreational readers have skills development objectives and tend to move along the continuum towards the functional readen. If one were to constantly consider the emotional, cognitive, physical and social development of children in writing children's literature, it should make more sense to begin children's books at the functional end of the continuum and make a gradual transition towards the recreational, while placing constant value on language development. Hence, an integrated approach is required where there is a balance in the presentation of a core an ten t , secondary themes and language!communication skills in a children's book or reader. For instance, when a reader intends to teach children how to show love and affection. it will be important to present secondary themes around the core theme as well as to teach the acquisition of emotional or social skills and possibly home management and appropriate language skills. A child who works hard at her homework and passes her e.uminations could be doing that in order !o impress her parents, an indirect way of showing love and affection.

Functions of Children's Litenture Beyond considerations of the kind of approach to be adopted, the issue of the

various functions and roles of children's books deserves more detailed considerations. Several reasons have been put forward for encouraging children to engage in reading at the early y a r s of their life. At the policy levels, the First National Congress on Books in Nigeria (1982) which deliberated on the theme 'Towards a Reading Society: Targets

182 Liremcy And Reading in Nigeria

for the 90s" declared that "arly childhood is a formative age; habits developed in wrly childhood during the formative years tend to remain with one throughout life" (Timothy-Asobele, 1983). Children's books written with a view to protecting the indigenous culture of the children have played a role in the cultural education of children. When such books emphasize traditional folklore, history, games, languages, arts and cafts, music, religion, aesthetics as we!l as civic and moral values the children who read them are more likely to become aware of their people's history, folklore, belief systems and outlook on life.

Children's Books and Character Training Didactic children's books have also been used as an effective means of

instruction and character training. Many of the folk tales contain intuitive and imaginative incidents in their plots which help to pass on the cultural values of the society from one generation to the other. In reading these stories, children become aware of such cherished social values as honesty, a-operation, moral integrity, self- sacrific, faithfulness and patriotism. Most children's story books are copiously infused with parables, stories and idioms which are basic in the formation of character. Such didactic children's literature is used essentially for characrer training.

Children's Books and Socialization The process of socialization for children can be greatly enhanced by children's

books. Stories, song and playlets a n make the chiM know what to do in order to be admired. In that way, he l e m u the acceptable behaviour in his society. The child may also learn about roles, and thus start early to appreciate the responsibilities of an adult. Through that process, the child becomes sensitive to inter-personal communication processes and to the requirements for personal development.

Behavioural modification through understanding of social realities is also another function of children's books. Some children's books emphasize particular themes which help children modify their behaviour. The particular attributes of such c!ildren's books and their functions which are descibed are based on Huck and Young's resmch (1961) and eqanded by my own informal observations and comments.

There are several ways in which books he!p children to understand that all behaviour is caused. Some children's books deal with a child's need for friends and status in society. Some show how children who are always angry and quarrelsome do so out of an inner need In such a way, the story in the book demonstrates how outward behaviour may be only a symptom of a deep and unsatisfied personal need of the child - such as needs for affection and attention from parents or fear of being alone and need

for other playmates. Such emotional responses of children in different home environments and situations can be woven into stories in books in such a way as to prepare the minds of the children for such unexpected and uncommon situations as illness in the family and conflict situations. Some children understand the basic needs whi& are comrngn to all age groups in the society. Situations in the plots of the boob can rev& appropriate patterns expected of each person, young or old, in particular

places and towards one another. For example, some books may d a l with the way children and adults should provide regular opportunities to stay with older people like grandparents; and when they do, sometimes they are scared. As such. a well written children's story book can further explore the inter-personal relationships b e a n children and tired old people.

Children's Books, the Need for Achievement and Self-fulfillment Folk tales and family stories in children's books may reflect the need for

achievement and recognition. The popular story of Cinderella, for example, depicts the need for recognition and achievement. Even though Cinderella is ragged and essentially uncultured, she still wins her prince. Such children's books should also show how children of poor parentage can win respect and achieve high mobility and status through hard work. honesty and application to iheir studies and duties. Children's books-can also help children understand the various problems children encounter in growing up. Such books present critical incidents in family re!ationships, peer group relationships, adjustment to new dtuations, and problems related to personal shortcomings and handicaps. As the child reads such books, he may recognize andlor imitate the incidents that are similar to or different from those of the book chxacters. Children readily meet situations in books which help them understand better such problems as growing up in rural or urban area, moving to a new neighbourhood or village, changing schools, beeiending other children of different sex, religion, ethnic group and social class. Such books are sometimes more useful than parents and caretakers in helping children identify with different characters in the books and in adopting some o i the behaviour models and characteristics exhibited by the characters. For e.uample, books portraying affection, warmth, love and good parent-child relationships usually lead children who read them to imitate such characters.

Another way that children's books help children to grow up well is by helping them to realize that other children face problems that they too face. In such books, children have an opportunity to compare and contrast their personal experiences with those of the characters in the books they read. One good function of such books is that they present situations that help explain the conflicting standards beween one generation and another. Well-written children's books should be able to point-up the expectations of both the older and the younger generations. In that way, the children who read the books lexn and are able to anticipate the expectations of other members of the society such as older childra, youngsters, adults and parents. Such books may include sections which teach children how to behave in various social situations where all kinds of people are gathered - for example, in a church, a market, a hospital, an elder's meeting, a naming ceremony and at different social gatherings. Books describing such acceptable behaviour patterns contribute immensely to the achievement of conformity and social order, which are necessary for healthy social development. In our society where is a growing tendency towards social deviance, such books as discussed above can help in inculcating important social values as honesty, fair-play, responsibility,

184 Literacy And Reading in Nigeria

good sportsmanship and graceful attitudes and dispositions towards fillow human be:ngs.

Children's books are also one of the best means of makmg children understand themselves better, to know that they are not different from other children particularly in the face of challenging and frightening situations. Books like Gulliver's Travelr and Alice in Wondrrtand dscrlbe frightening s~tustions; and in the life of every chiid. there are situ2tions as frightening as those found in those two books. .41so, the Child-to- child rsde: , Down with Fever descr~bes such frightening situations in which children find themse!ves, particularly when they are dreaming. Other frightening experiences of children. like feelings of being left out or being alone can be vividly portrayed in children's books in such a way that children recognize that i r is a common childhood experience to be afraid to be alone or to be left out; but that it is a stage which people usually octgrow with time. Sometimes also, ch~ldren's books he!p children cope with the changes [hat they not ie in their bodies as they grow up. Such books describe the growrh p roms and the cycle of life so that children understand such life events as birth, growth, death and the social responsibilities involved in each use.

Functional and Basic Educztion Beyond the above classes, a new dimension in the development of children's

literature is the emergence of books. such as the Child Readers which are essentially informative neo-literate readers on child health, nutrition, accidents, sanitation, games I/' for children and ways of developing better interpersonal relationships. The Child Readers help children to explore nature and to gain an understanding of their development, their needs and responsibilities towards their younger brothers and sisters. It combines the functional, recreational, language development and how-to-do-it roles in one reader. The rmders teach and Inmurage children to become concerned with the health and general development of their pre-school brothers and sisters. Such informa:ion contributes to making children gain understanding about themselves and their development as well as that of others and provide various everyday experiences and critical incidents in the life of children which help in allaying the fzars of children as they grow up to deal with no re complex and demanding life situations.

This new development in the me!hod/style of writing children's books as witnessed in the Child-to-child readers contrasts with earlier practices in writing recreational children's books. What the new trend seems to m e m is that children's books shou!d contain not only recreational information. but should also encompass knowledge. skills, attitudes and values as well as descriptions of various aspects of human ielationships. Such information should, however, be presented in a style appropriate to the developmental stages of childhood.

This does not mean that children's books should do away with folktales, stories and traditional poems, songs and games. It has been shown that folktales and siories have been used as long-standing means of instruction and character-training. They help to pass on the cultural values of the social group from one learning needs and situations. Through such stories. songs and folktales. children also learn what to do to

P.N.C. Newu

be admired. to be successfd and to be acceptable members of the society. What is required, however, is a new strategy for developing such children's books that integrates all the processes and functions discussed above. A few examples of various attempts to develop neo-literate materials in different parts of the world will be discussed below so as to give insights into what may be termed a proposal for a national plan for the development of children's books.

Appronches to Organizing Production and Promotion of Neo-literate Materials. Bhola (1984) presented an incisive expose on three major initiatives in India,

Tanzania. and Zambia to produce and promote neo-literate materials. These are: (a) Tne Literacy Iiouse, Luc!inow, India; (b) The Tanzanian

Experimental World Literacy Programme; (c) The Action Training Modei. These approaches were created by government and/or department assistance agencies in the various countries :o train writer; of easy-to-read materials for the public. The rationale for creating the agencies is siated in Bhola (i9&1:34) as

... developing countries, with few excejrions. are shof. of writers (who are) actively publishing. Theyew succcsshl creative writers who write i ic ioo; historians. and social and p l i t i u l analysts, are not always intercstcd in writing expository materials for new rcaden. B o o b on ch i ldure , nutrition, farming, food storage and family planning simply d o not get writtcn. As such ncw writers have to bt: recruited and trained to write such materiais.

The thrust of !he approach in these agencies is the organization of writers workshops. In such workshops, in:cr-disciplinary groups of experts are called together and presented with a writing topic or task and are then trained to do the writing by reader deve!opment specialisis.

Literacy House, Lucknow, India is a well-known voluntary agency in India which took up the initiative to develop easy-to-read materials as early as 1%0. The agency es:ablished a centre called the School of Social Writing which employed writer-editors and illustrators, and organised 2-month writer's workshops on a continuous basis. The t r inee writers were recrui red through advertisements or were sent by governments and private agencies interested in training people to become creative writers. The trainees were catered for by Literacy House and also received stipends. The writer-editors taught during the workshops and after the worhhops, they settled down to write and edit neo- literate reading materials written by the trainees. Thus they trained people to become crative writers and at the same time produced neo-literate reslding materials.

The Tanzanian Experimental World Lite:acy Programme (EWLP) was a func:ional literacy project for cotton farmers, and the goal was to produce functional literacy primers for the cotton farmers. A six to eight man writing t a m made up of an adult eduutor o r literacy expert. an cxpen in linguistics, an agriculturist. an illustrator and any others with expertise in the project related areas, was formed to write the primers. The writing workshops were organized as the need arose to write the primers.

The Action Training Model (ATM) developed by H.S Bhola and popularised by the German Foundation for International Development (DSE) has been e~tensively used in Zambia and in training workshops in other eastern, central and southern

186 Li~eracy A d Readitq in Nigeria

A k i a n countries by the DSE. The A734 is essentially based on the Programme Review and Evaluation Technique (PERT); and as such, is a step-by-step programme of action for writing neo-literate readers which incorporates reader development activiries within an established time-frame. The steps may be outlined as follows:

1. Establishment of a planning group and resource groups; 2 Development of a time-frame for the reader development task such as

mobilization of resourcts. recruitment and training of personnel, preparation of training materials for carrying out field work on the reading needs of the target group, vocabulary research and writing works hop;

3. Gathering baseline information and data and analyzing the data; 4. Conducting an initial writing workshop; 5 . Conducting the main writing workshop; 6. Editing of the draft reading materials; and 7. Production or' the written materiais. .,

These three e.uamples of approaches to organizing the writing of literacy materials a n also be applied to the writing of children's books in a situation where the sw:tered individual efforts do not appear :o be meeting the private and social demands for children's literature.

In Nigeria, Timothy-Asobele (1963) reviewed the contributions of various national bodies. private agencies and organizations to the development of children's literature and made recommendations for the improvement of the current efforts. He mentioned the Federal Radio Corporation and state radio stations as having contributed immensely in promoting children's programmes, some or' which have been based on some children's books. There are also the national newspapers which have children's corners with short stories, poems, songs and quizzes f ~ r children. One would like to see a collection of such children's stories published at the end of every year by the various publishing houses. The Ucited Nations Edticational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has also sponsored the translation and adaptation of various children's books and drama to suit Nigerian audiences. The National Council for Arts and Culture has organized and promoted the development of children's plays. singing competitions as well as the production of materials for a National Children's Theatre which led to the development of a te!evision series on folktales. The Ministry of Culture and the Centre for Black Am and Civilization Organize Festivals and promote the dramatic works of indigenous authors. S i n e the beginning of this deade, the National Theatre has been the scene of some presentations of children's theatre. In 1981, there was The Flute; in 1982. The Magic Touch and in i983. the YouthiChiidren's Festival of dance, drama. music, poetry and puppet show in comrnernoration of [he International Children's Year. The Princess and h e Swindlead was also presented that year. The Nigerian Book Development Council held two workshops in 1981 in Kaduna and Lagos simultaneously on the development of children's literature. These various efforts need to be properly

P.N. C. N3vu 157

coordinated and the various agencies involved should have a c!mring house for the development and promotion of children's culture.

Currently, there is a series of Child-to-child readers marketed by MamiIIan and, as has been pointed out earlier in this paper the readers show a marked deviation from older practices. The raders are focused on primary ha!th topics and were written to teach children how to take care of common ailments which their younger brothers and sisters suffer. Also, they are taught other childare and development skills. The raders are presented in two leveb. Each reader deals with a health topic relevant to children, and the. topics are prsented in language forms and literacy style. characteristic of the target audience. The readers weave in elements of humour, slulls training, didactic stories, folkales, myths. legends and idioms in discussing the health topics. Beyond teaching and entertaining the children, the readers also teach functional skills, and enterrain and train their parents and careraken. Several functional slcills are taught as a natural consequence of &min dramatic events in the plot of the raders.

Another major effort at an organised and institutionalized system o i developing easy-to-rad mate.rials is an on-going project of the Van k r Nigerian Education Trust, L ~ ~ G s . :itled: "Pr5ject on the Development of Functional Readers for Illiterate Mothers as First Teachers of Their Children". The project is designed to produe functional readers which will help to provide illiterate mothers and mothers-to-be with basic literacy and functional skills is some critical learning and development needs identified by the mothers themselves as required in order for them to play their natural roles in the care, eduation and training of their children. It is envisaged that the project will develop the reading materials using the appropriate language levels for talking and writing with the women; and in the indigenous language. In order io achieve the above objectives, the project directorate engages experts bmn the universities and the public seaor in linguistics, adult education, reader development, primary health care and nutrition, and child psychology to work on the project's research and development committee and panels through scheduled meetings and workshops during which important project activities are carried out. The plan is that the project will produce a series of readers which will deiinitely break new ground in the task of eradicating illiteracj, ignorance, disease and apathy among the country's women folk. It is also expected that the readers will be used in primary schools to teach children not only language/communimtion skills but also functional skills in hal th, nutrition, child-care and development which will mnstitute the core themes of the readers. There is also the likelihood that the readers so deve!oped will also be used in primary schools to teach reading and iunctionnl skills to children in the same manner as the Gild-to-child readers are cunent!y being used in primary schools in different p a r s of the world, particularly in Africa

Summary and Conclusion Several approaches and techniques of writing children's b o o k have been

adopted in the past. It has been shown that the generality of most available children's books have limited functional content and goals. In the Nigerian context, it was shown

188 Liferacy And Reeding in iVi<qeria

that inost of what is available are derived from folk!ore and traditional story forms and

. . sometimes based on wrong theoretical premises. Furthermore, what is available is not - enough to meet the demands of the reading public.

It is advocated that, apart from providing entertainment, children's books a n also be functional, and thus teach desired knowledge, skills, attitudes and values. This does not mean that recreational books do not teach the above; and it was pointed out that the use of the ?ems "functional" and "recreational" is re!ative, since the cut-off point between both terms is hard to mark in most children's literature. However, it was recommended that a tilt towards more functional children's books is needed in the present day society where children and adults need to cope with an ever increasing multitude of new knowledge. skills and behaviours patterns. Also, there is a need to write children's books to fit different ages and stages of mental development of children. In that way, such children's books will be based not only on the relevant cultural contexts inherent in folktales and stories, but also on the appropriate language and social skills and on a relevant theoretical framework for child development. Such an approach would be functional in addition to being entertaining since language and social skills as well as culturally derived content and themes will be presented in contexts that are appropriate and relevant for children at different ages and stages of mental development. There are indications that lessons £rom organized efforts to write and produce neo-literate readers for adult non-formal education and functional literacy programmes a n be effectively adapted in the development of children's herature. The examples of the London University, Institute of Child Health's Child-to-Child readers and the Van Leer Nigerian Education Trust's Project on the Development o i Renders for Mothers as "First teachers" of their Children are uses in point. In both cases, the contents of the readers are made up of carefully researched and linguistically organised learning experiences designed to develop needed competencies, skills, attitudes and values in both children and their caretakers. The readers have been shown to satisfy the instructional, recreational as well as functional skills development needs both of children as well as their caretakers.

Notes The present author worked as Assistant Project Director, Van L e r Nigerian Education Trust, Lagos.

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Coombos. P.H. (1985). The World Crisis in Educarion: The Kewfii-orn rile Eigluies. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Huck. C.S. and D.A. Young (1961). Children's Literature in the Elenrentav School. New York: Holt. Rinehart and Winston.

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Kagia. Ruth (1986). The Role of Basic Education in the Promotion of Child Survival and Development. In UNESCOIUNICEF (1986)Education for Child Survival and Development in Afica Digest 20. Paris: UNESCO Cooperative Programme.

La Belle,Thornas J. (1981). An Introduction to the Nonformal Education of Children and Youth. Comparative Education Review, (October), 313-329.

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Timothy J. (1982). Development of Children's Theatre and Books in Nigeria. Nigeriu Magazine No. 3.

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