Volume 14, 2025
Learning Environment as Correlate of Children's Interest and Academic Achievement in Numeracy Skills Development in Public Early Childhood Development Education Centres
Kitgakka Godiya, TAPMWA & Kayode Oyeniyi, AJERE & Grace, Hemba
Abstract
The study investigated the relationship between the learning environment, children's interest, and academic
achievement in numeracy skills within public Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE) centres in
Pankshin Local Government Area, Plateau State. Three research questions and two hypotheses guided the
study, tested at a 0.05 signicance level. The study adopted a correlational research design, sampling 50
children from 5 public ECDE centres across 6 districts using simple random sampling.Data were collected
using a structured 8-item Quality of Early Childhood Development Education Questionnaire (QECDEQ) to
assess ECDE quality, a 10-item Learning Environment and Children's Interest Observation Checklist
(LECIOC) to measure children's interest in numeracy, and a Numeracy Achievement Test (NAT) to evaluate
numeracy skills. The instruments were validated by experts and tested for reliability, yielding indices of 0.78,
0.74, and 0.76, respectively. Data were analyzed using mean and standard deviation for research questions and
Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefcient for hypotheses testing.
Findings revealed that the overall quality of public ECDE centres in Pankshin LGA is inadequate, with most
learning environments failing to meet acceptable standards. However, a signicant positive relationship was
found between the learning environment and children's interest and achievement in numeracy. Children in more
conducive environments showed greater enthusiasm and higher numeracy performance. Based on the ndings,
it was recommended to enhance classroom design and establish clear standards for ECDE environments to
ensure consistency and quality among others.
Keywords
Classroom environment, interest, numeracy skills, academic achievement
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