Volume 14, 2025
An Investigation into Character Education in Early Childhood Education in Jos Metropolis: Considerations for Curriculum and Stakeholders
Katrina A. KORB, Joseph SULE, Utek Grace,ISHAKU, Grace SELZING-MUSA & Nanmah NGWODO
Abstract
Holistic development is an important goal for early childhood education (ECE). However, not much research
has been conducted on character education in the Nigerian context, especially in early childhood education
(birth through age 8). Indeed, there is a pervasive perception that character is declining amongst the youth in
Nigeria, evidenced in exam malpractice, substance abuse, and other social ills. Research has found that
character education, which includes explicit and implicit educational activities that help students develop
character strengths, positively impacts academic and social outcomes. Therefore, the purpose of this study was
to investigate the implementation of character education in early childhood programmes in Jos Metropolis. A
descriptive research design was conducted.A total of 135 administrators of ECE programmes and 701 parents
of young children constituted the sample via purposive selection. The instruments for data collection consisted
of a teacher interview protocolwhilst parents completed a questionnaire. Results showed that only one out of
four schools are implementing character education whereas almost all school administrators (99.17%) and
parents (99.14%) are in favour of teaching character education. A major challenge for implementing character
education is a lack of an effective curriculum. The study concluded that character education in Nigeria is an
important area for additional research and action amongst educational stakeholders to integrate character
education into school curriculums, especially from the early years.Based on the research ndings, it was
recommended that schools should integrate character education into their curriculum.
Keywords
Character Education, Early Childhood, Curriculum, Stakeholders
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