By Ige, Taiwo Peter
This study examined Quintilian’s concept of preschool education: its application to nursery schools in Kabba-bunu Education Zone of Kogi state. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design in which three research questions were posed and three null hypotheses tested. The population of the study consisted of 625 (125 head-teachers and 500 teachers) presently in 125 public nursery schools in Kabba-bunu Education Zone of Kogi State. Simple random sampling and purposive sampling technique were used in selecting 276 (92 head-teachers and 184 teachers) for the study. An instrument titled “Quintilian’s Concept of Preschool Education Questionnaire (QCPEQ)”, together with questionnaire of four point rating scale was developed and used for data collection. The instrument contained 26 items that dealt with three Quintilian’s concept of preschool. The instrument was validated by three experts from Faculty of Education, University of Nigeria, Nsukka. The 26 items were trial-tested on a sample of 10 head-teachers and 10 teachers. The data obtained were computed using Cronbach Alpha. This gave an overall score of 0.92. The three research questions were analyzed using mean and standard deviation, while t-test statistics was used to test the three null hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. An overview of the overall results showed that head-teachers perceived staff personnel problems that may affect teaching and learning, parents do not play their roles to instil right moral values in pupils and nursery schools core-curriculum activities do not reflect moral education. Considering the results of the study, the researcher recommends that; government should employ and train qualified teachers; parents should understand their role as agents of morality and curriculum developers should make moral education part of the schools core-curriculum activities. Based on the findings of the study, limitations of the study were identified and suggestions for further studies were made.