Mother Tongue, Starting Age and Child's Response to Schooling in Primary Schools in Lagos State, Nigeria: Implications for Policy and Institutional Administration

Abstract

The issue of using the mother tongue as a medium of instruction in early childhood and primary education in Nigeria has recently attracted many comments. Similar to this is the adoption of age restriction as a requirement for admissions into all levels of education in Nigeria. It is on these premises that this study examined the nexus among the mother tongue, starting age, and child’s response to schooling in the multilingual city of Lagos, Nigeria. Taking into cognisance the shock of transitioning from home to school for the first time, the study investigated how differences in the language of instruction and starting age impacted children's adaptability and enthusiasm at the first entry into school. A descriptive survey research design was used, and the population consisted of all the approved 11,550 Early Childhood Care and Development Centres (ECCDC) with all their 43,309 teachers in Lagos State. A random sampling technique was used to select 578 ECCDC and 2,165 teachers. A set of questionnaires and an open-ended interview were the instruments used for the collection of data. Three hypotheses were tested using regression analysis at 0.05 level of significance, and the results showed that both mother tongue and starting age do not predict a child’s response to schooling. The findings provide critical understandings for policy formulation and institutional administration aimed at enhancing children’s early educational experiences in multilingual and multicultural contexts. The study, therefore, recommends de-emphasising the use of mother tongue and flexibility in admission policies into all levels of education in Nigeria.