The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into education is transforming teaching and learning processes globally by enhancing personalization, accessibility, and learner engagement. In special needs education, particularly at the early childhood level, AI offers significant opportunities to improve learning outcomes and developmental support. Children with special needs, such as those with autism, attention disorders, speech and language difficulties, and developmental delays, often require individualized instruction and adaptive learning environments, which traditional systems may not adequately provide. AI-driven technologies, including machine learning, natural language processing, and speech recognition, enable the development of intelligent systems that adapt to the unique learning pace and needs of each child. These technologies support personalized instruction, real-time feedback, and targeted interventions, thereby improving cognitive, communication, and behavioral development. AI tools also enhance speech and language skills through interactive platforms. In addition, AI supports social and emotional development through virtual environments, intelligent tutoring systems, and assistive technologies, allowing children to practice social interaction in structured settings. Despite its benefits, AI integration presents challenges such as data privacy concerns, limited access, ethical issues, and the need for teacher training. This study highlights the importance of proper implementation and recommends increased investment in infrastructure, continuous teacher training, equitable access to technology, and the development of clear ethical guidelines. These measures are essential to ensure that AI is effectively integrated to support inclusive and quality early childhood development for all learners.
In recent years, the use of technology in almost every sector has been on the increase, which has lead to massive growth in the generation and usage of data. Medical, Business and other leading industries have surveyed and noted that data repositories will be a useful tool in the designing of business strategies, analyzing of unstructured and structure data in other to gain useful knowledge. Keywords: Early Childhood Development Analysis and Prediction Using Data Mining Classification Techniques
Aimufua Ikponmwosa, S Rakshit, Narasimha Rao Vajjhala et al.
Nigeria faces a critical challenge with its high rate of out-of-school children, projected at over 20 million, constituting one of the largest globally. This phenomenon poses severe implications for national development, economic stability, and social cohesion. Key drivers include poverty, cultural practices, inadequate infrastructure, and insecurity in conflict-affected regions. The gender disparity in education, particularly affecting girls in northern Nigeria, further exacerbates the issue. This paper explores multidimensional strategies to address the menace, emphasizing the roles of government, private sector, and civil society in providing comprehensive, unbiased, and quality learning designed for all children. It examines the implementation of free and compulsory basic education policies, conditional cash transfer programmes to alleviate financial barriers, and the integration of alternative education models for nomadic and displaced populations. Furthermore, it highlights the importance of community engagement, public awareness campaigns, and legislative reforms to combat cultural and social barriers to education. The study underscores the critical need for sustained funding, effective monitoring, and inter-sectoral collaboration to achieve sustainable solutions. A case is made for leveraging technology to expand access to learning and improving teacher training to enhance educational outcomes. Addressing the out-of-school children crisis is pivotal for breaking the cycle of poverty, fostering human capital development, and ensuring a brighter future for Nigeria.
Globally, the concept of inclusive education is gaining authority in many countries. The United Nations’ Convention on Quality and Equitable Education for All Children has encouraged many countries to promote inclusive education. Inclusive education is the education of both children with disabilities and those without disabilities in the same classroom. Comparing this concept to the previous system, in which few children with disabilities could be admitted to special schools, more children with disabilities may have access to education. Nonetheless, several factors influence the educational outcomes of children with disabilities in inclusive schools. This review presents literature on the facilitators and barriers to educational outcomes for children with disabilities in inclusive schools. Google Scholar, Scopus, and ScienceDirect were the databases searched using relevant keywords. The study retrieved 50 articles that met the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The review validated relevant enablers and obstacles to the inclusive education model. The study concludes that children with disabilities do worse academically compared to their peers without disabilities in reading, mathematics, and class attendance. Nevertheless, they could improve their academic performance with good parental support, supportive teachers, proper teaching and learning materials, adaptive handling of children with disabilities' unique pathological traits, and peer support. The review proposes a framework for improvement of the educational outcomes of children with disabilities.
Evelyn Serwaa Adjei, Ernest Osei, Yacouba Dauda et al.
The study examined leadership styles of headteachers in the Junior High Schools in Northern Ghana and how these contribute to pupils’ learning outcomes especially in examinations. S urvey design was used covering 42 Junior High Schools and 384 respondents. Data was collected and analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Themes and testimonies from interviews were strengthened by t-test and ordinary least squares. The study found that Headteachers employ a blend of styles that are more participatory and less consultative in their day-to-day duties. The ability and styles heads adopt in managing their schools are influenced by many variables including gender of heads, years of teaching experience and school location. The most dominant styles were participatory and these showed improvement in pupils’ scores in Basic Education Certificate Examination. The study again found that about 85.7% of the schools were rural and deprived of social amenities. Text books remain critical to quality teaching and learning but were mostly unavailable in most of the schools across the regions. Contemporary demand for education of good quality for all children reinforces the critical role of effective school leadership. The study reinforces the need for Headteachers in Junior High Schools in deprived areas who are skilled, capable, have penchant for more participatory and people centred approaches in their leadership and also more in-service training in order to strengthen headteachers’ approaches in leading stakeholders to improve pupils’ academic performance.
The study was on the influence of computer-assisted learning instructional strategies on learning outcomes of pupils in Pre-Basic private schools in Southwestern Nigeria. The descriptive survey research design was used in the study. The population comprised 14,266 teachers in Southwestern Nigeria's pre-basic and primary schools. A sample of 378 primary school teachers were selected using a multi-stage sampling procedure. The study used the Management of Computer Assisted Learning, Instructional Strategies and Learning Outcomes in Pre-basic Schools Questionnaire (MACALISLOPS-Q), Teachers’ Observation Schedule on CAL Application (TOSCALA) and Test of Skill Acquisition on CAL in Pre-basic Schools (TESACALPS) for data collection. Data collected were analysed using percentages and mean scores for research questions while the hypotheses were tested using Analysis of Variance. The results showed that the types of CAL facilities and equipment used in teaching in the study area were Computer desktop/laptop (81.2%), interactive whiteboard (53.9%), television (75.6%), smartphones 59.4%, Digital Video Disks and Compact Disks (69.4%). Results further showed a significant influence of CAL on children's Literacy and Numeracy (F-= 4.517, p<0.05), The study concluded that Management of Computer Assisted Learning (CAL) and instructional strategies have a significant influence on learning outcomes of private pre-basic school children in Southwestern Nigeria it was recommended among others that: stakeholders in education and non-governmental organisations should procure CAL facilities and equipment in Pre-Basic schools, the provided CAL technology should be well managed and appropriate instructional strategies should be used in facilitating learning among the children in Pre-Basic Schools in the study area.
Christopher Oluwatoyin Fashiku, Olujoke Emily Jembola, Ayoku Oba Baba
The topic Parental Participation in the Over-schooling of the Junior Basic School Child in Nigeria focused on the role of parents in the over-schooling of the junior basic school child. The paper defines over-schooling as the phenomenon where children are subjected to excessive academic activities which are structured to demand educational virtues that can be deemed to be beyond what is developmentally appropriate for the child’s age and overall development or maturity. The paper defines junior primary school as the early years of primary education, which usually cover grades or levels for children aged 6-8 years old or basic one to three. The paper explains that parents are involved in various ways in the over-schooling of the child. In some ways, the paper suggests that over-schooling can stress, decrease child development: imposed stress, decreased motivation, and negative psychological well-being. However, the paper believes that parents have their reasons for involving their children in over-schooling. The paper justified the actions of such parents based on the educational trends in Nigeria like high academic expectations, limited access to quality education, competition for limited space, cultural emphasis on education, and early preparation for transition. It also enumerates the dangers of the negative impacts of over schooling on the child, as having negative impacts on cognitive development. In conclusion, it contends that finding a balance between academic preparation and allowing children to enjoy their childhood is essential, instead of over-schooling junior primary school children. It, therefore, among other things, recommends that children should not be enrolled in multiple educational programmes beyond regular school hours, and parents, educators, and policymakers should prioritise creating a supporting and nurturing environment that fosters children's overall development.
The need to establish universal standards to protect children led to the development of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). I drew on literature exploring the UNCRC and children’s rights to provision, protection, and participation. This paper aimed to ascertain challenges of enforcing children’s rights to provision, protection, and participation in rural and urban Ghana drawing on the experiences and perceptions of 60 government officials, NGO representatives, and parents. Semistructured interviews were conducted with parents (10), stakeholders (10), focus groups (30); and participant observation techniques (10) were utilised to gather the required data and purposively sampled across rural and urban areas in Ghana. Interviews were recorded, and transcribed utilising a framework approach as the qualitative data analysis method. Acceptance of childhood as understood in the UNCRC is different from traditional child-rearing patterns in rural and urban Ghana.IMPLICATIONS Social workers' knowledge about dealing with dilemmas posed by rights to provision, protection, and participation for children may be enhanced.Social workers can improve their knowledge of factors that challenge the enforcement of children’s rights for children engaged in child labour and the possible tension between children and parental rights in their everyday social work practice.Social workers can introduce culturally sensitive parenting programs and develop their own contribution towards monitoring and implementing the rights to provision, protection, and participation for children.
Promoting parental participation is one of the complex and delicate areas of child protection practice. Several authors argue that ensuring the participation of service users in child protection is a way to ensure a fit between service user needs and services. Studies on parental participation exist in some countries in the Western world, however, this is lacking in Ghana. This is the first study in Ghana to explore child protection workers and parents’ experiences on participatory practices. Drawing on in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 8 child protection workers and 19 parents, this study reports participants’ experiences of participatory practices. Workers indicated they ensured transparency and diversity while promoting participatory practices and parents reported their engagement in decision making as a prominent feature of their participation in case meetings. Barriers to participation were identified by the participants. The study findings suggested some measures to be put in place to overcome these barriers to ensure the full participation of parents during case meetings.
Girl-child self-esteem, self-confidence and coping capacity with positive effects on their school performance is increase when. Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) topics are included in health education. This review explored the relationship and effect of sanitary facilities in schools on Girl-child participation, health impact on Girl-child education, the state of sanitary facilities and sanitary behaviors in public Junior High Schools and as well identified sustainable solutions and made recommendations on how to provide adequate sanitary facilities to reduce inequality in schools. This qualitative review gathered and analyzed secondary data at both global and local levels (with focus on the Ghana experience). Results: availability of sanitary facilities in schools has the potential to reduce students’ absenteeism especially among the girl child. Poor sanitary facilities have an adverse impact on girls’ privacy and comfort. Girls’ inability to manage their menstrual hygiene affects their participation during events at school because of panic over outflow. Girls avoid eating or drinking during the day to further avoid using the sanitary facilities making it difficult to concentrate while in school. This study shows that school WASH issues are associated with health conditions like vector-borne illnesses among others and embarrassment in school toilets. The state of hygienic conveniences and services in schools are poor and inadequate. For schools with basic amenities, they are in an awful state as a result of neglect. Therefore, it is vital to provide adequate sanitary facilities in schools. This will improve the health and wellbeing of the gild child in Ghanaian schools. Key words: Gender, girl-child education, health, hygiene, sanitation, water.
