Dr Edwin Okpa Bassey & Dr Ndifon Friday Ogobi
Abstract
This study, carried out in Calabar Metropolis of Cross River State, sought to find out the relationship between classroom seating arrangement in inclusive Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) centre and the development of social skills in ECCE learners. The study specifically examined the relationship between traditional, horseshoe and cluster seating arrangements and children’s social skills variables of cooperation/teamwork, speaking, and listening. It adopted descriptive survey design, and was guided by three hypotheses. The population of the study comprised of 3,832 ECCE learners from the 45 public ECCE centres in the two local government areas of Calabar Metropolis. Simple random sampling technique was used to select a sample of 105 learners for the study. A 27-item 5-likert scale questionnaire titled “Class Room Seating Arrangement and Pupils’ Social Skills Development Questionnaire” (CSAPSSDQ) was used to gather data. Pearson product moment correlation coefficient (PPMC) was used for the testing of the three null hypotheses. The result showed a significant relationship between the variables of classroom seating arrangement and those of social skills in ECCE learners. Based on the results, it was recommended among others that government and ECCE centre owners should provide adequate classroom and desk for ECCE learners.