Assessing the Impact of Technological & Cultural Elements of the i-CLAP Model Design on Pre-Primary School Children in Zaria

Abstract

Developments in technology are more than ever before enabling the creation of remarkable Computer - Assisted Instruction (CAI)resources for enriching and transforming the educational environment in the 21 st century. This progress is considered indispensable for Nigeria inthe wake of declining school enrollment, high dropout rate and low learning achievement levels.Hence, relevant especially if such a predominantly traditional (face-to-face) educational system must be revolutionized to meet contemporary needs and techniques. Therefore, while this article argues for the integration of technology hardware and software into the local education environment, it however emphasizes the need to develop custom instructional resources that integrate local folkloric contentspertinent to Nigeria's educational philosophy and cultural socialization. The Interactive Child Learning Aid Project (i -CLAP) model is initiated as a potential indigenous CAI model for application in the local pre-primary school curriculum. The impact of implementing the model's concept within (N=4) selected pre-primary schools in Zaria - Kaduna State is examined. The researcher used 'classroom observation' for data gathering and Pearson Product Moment Correlation (r) and t-Test for analyzing the on-task and off-task classroom behaviors of (N=80) pupils. Thereby, revealing valuable lessons on the project's potential as a techno-cultural resource for reinforcing motivation and interestamong pre-primary school children in Nigeria. Recommends for its integration into the educational curriculumis made, towards facilitating the attainment of the UBE and MDGs agendas.