CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1   Background of the Study

Success in certain endeavours may be contingent upon certain factors.  This may also be true of achievement in pupil’s academic achievement and performance. The role of play and learning facilities in Nursery schools has been an area of constant debate, and as well perceived in different dimensions. Most private nursery are therefore employing some learning and play facilities as a tool for competitive advantage to support the academic pursue of their pupils, Aldertson, 2001).

Educational toys also known as are objects of play, generally designed for children, which are expected to stimulate learning. They are often intended to meet an educational purpose such as helping a child develop a particular skill or teaching a child about a particular subject. They often simplify, miniaturize, or model activities and objects used by adults.

Although children are constantly interacting with and learning about the world, many of the objects they interact with and learn from are not toys. Toys are generally considered to be specifically built for children's use. A child might play with and learn from a rock or a stick, but it would not be considered an educational toy because 1) it is a natural object, not a designed one, and 2) it has no expected educational purpose.

The difference lies in perception or reality of the toy's intention and value. An educational toy is expected to educate. It is expected to instruct, promote intellectuality, emotional or physical development. An educational toy should teach a child about a particular subject or help a child develop a particular skill. More toys are designed with the child's education and development in mind today than ever before.

Ikpe (2005) stated that each pupil has his own distinct potential and limitations. The extent of realization of his potentialities depends on the richness of the child’s environment, his initial interaction with his or her colleagues, and his later contact with them. Ojo (1997) noted that classroom climate is how learners interact among themselves during the teaching-learning process. Johnson (1988) observed that this has not yet received adequate attention by educational researchers, yet the way learners interact among themselves in the learning process has been found to have effect on the outcome of learning. Ojo (1992) observed that more emphasis is being placed on learning materials relative to how learners are organized in the learning process