Effect of early impact programme on the child competencies in ekiti state of Nigeria

Impact of challenging behaviours in young children in school and families can lead to more serious challenges in adolescence and adulthood. The study aimed at ameliorating the effect of challenging behaviours on children and families using the early impact (EI) programme: an intervention frame work that can be utilized by early childhood professionals, 40 pre-school children age 4-6 years were drawn from 5 pre-schools in Ado town in Nigerian. Parental consent to participate in the programme was sought. Children considered to be at great risk for the development of behaviours difficulties were identified. The school component of the EI programme consist of a classroom curriculum which was administered by teacher aid. The EI curriculum consists of 10 sessions of 15 - 30 minutes duration. Teachers involved in the evaluation completed the teachers' version of the strength and the difficulties questionnaire (SDQ) at baseline post intervention and at 6 months follow up. At post intervention, the finding drawn from the teacher response derived from the (SDQ) Questionnaire revealed a significant reduction in challenging behaviours in children in the experimental group in comparison to children assigned to control conditions. The school component of the early impact highlight how intervention could assist children who are more susceptible to the development of challenging behaviour. Future research in the design and implementation of early intervention and prevention were recommended as a means of future practices in the science of prevention of serious challenging behaviours among children.