Abstract:

An individual is born with millions of neurons and the quality of the experiences he/she will have at the early years can potentially determine the future life of that person. This makes quality early childhood education pivotal. However, the perception people have about this influence how they prepare themselves to provide that quality early childhood education for young children. Thus, this qualitative research purposively sampled 26 participants to elicit their views about the perception they have about the criticality of early years experiences and how the perception influenced how they were providing the early childhood education within the Kumasi metropolis of Ghana. Data in the form of interview were analysed thematically. The study found that experiences through the early childhood education are criticality serving as the foundation for future education. The study also found that developmentally appropriate infrastructure (such as tables and chairs sized to the height of learners, spacious and well-ventilated classroom), teachers who are specifically trained in early childhood education and child friendly pedagogy should be in place to ensure quality early childhood education and that how early childhood education was perceived greatly influenced how it was provided. The recommendations based on the findings are that, there should be more advocacy by teachers and headteachers on the criticality of early years experiences to ensure people’s sufficient appreciation for quality early childhood education for young children. Importantly, early childhood education should be completely detached from the primary and basic school to enable it receive the due attention and the needed provision. Individuals with the right perception should be engaged with the provision of ECE.

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