The Harbour Library Journal

Summarizing the research work of Swick and Blackwell was a very interesting and thought provoking experience for me. It deepened my understanding of the importance and relevance of a research work in stimulating intellectual growth in young children. They opened their report by focusing on current trends in social studies. In as much as contributors to the current trend in social studies have come up with specific method of learning (relaying on verbal or highly symbolic method of learning), these methods according to them are often inappropriate for pre-school age children especially for culturally disadvantaged children. Research studies have shown that the intellectual and linguistic growth of young disadvantaged children depends very much upon the presence of various concrete learning objects in their immediate environment. This makes it necessary to develop multi-media materials that will help preschool children to develop the vast base of concrete experience that will lead them i...

I have been pondering over the inconsistency of the educational programs in Nigeria until I understood the role of research in education policies and programs. The oxford English dictionary defines research as a study and investigation to discover new facts about a subject (Oxford University Press, 1995). In the course of my study on the subject of research and its impact on education policies and programs, I have been able to come up with my own definition of research. I see research as a deep search on a particular field in order to develop and formulate theories that are based on empirical validation. Research is what we do when we have a question or a problem we want to resolve. It happens as a result of dissatisfaction and a yearning for something better than what is already been used. We may already think we know the answers to some question or think the answer is obvious, but until a problem has being subjected to vigorous scrutiny, then should we arrive at a conclusion. The fir...