TEACHERS BACKGROUND AS DETERMINANTS OF PRE-SCHOOL CHILDREN'S WRITING SKILLS IN SOUTHWESTERN NIGERIA

Abstract The study examined teacher background training as determinants of pre-school children’s writing skills in Southwestern Nigeria. The study adopted mixed design that consisted of observation and correlational design. A self-designed instrument was used for this study. The population for the study consisted of all the pre-school children and their teachers in Southwestern Nigeria. The sample size for the study consisted of 120 pre-school teachers and 600 pre-school children. The study adopted a multi-stage sampling procedure. Three states were selected from six states in Southwestern Nigeria using simple random sampling technique through a ballot system. The instrument used was “Preschool Children Writing Skill Rubric” (PCWSR). Data for PCWSR was a administered by checking children’s’ note books. The data were analysed using Independent Sample T-test. Results indicated that teacher background training significantly influenced preschool children’s writing skills (df = 598; t = 11.476; p < 0.05). The study concluded that teachers’ training background was found to be the factor that could influence the writing skills of preschool children.