DEVELOPMENT OF FUNCTIONAL CLOTHING FOR CAREGIVERS IN DAY CARE CENTRES IN DELTA STATE NIGERIA.

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ABSTRACT

The purpose  of this study was to develop  functional  clothing  for caregivers  in day  care centres in Delta State, Nigeria. Eight research questions posed in the study while  12 null hypotheses were formulated to guide the study and tested at 0.05 level of significance. The area of the study was Delta State, Nigeria.  Research and  development (R & D) was the adopted design of the study. Population of the study was 2,812 persons comprising 1,202 caregivers in phase I and 1,610 judges in phase  III. A multi stage sampling technique was used to select 297 caregivers for phase I of  the study. In phase III, 38 judges and 9 user models were selected using purposive sampling techniques. The data was collected using six sets of instruments namely; Focus Group Discussion (FGD), Observation Check List (OCL) of  task  performed  by  caregivers  in  day  care,  Functional  Clothing  Needs  Assessment Questionnaires  for  Caregivers  (FCNAQC),  Standard  Body Measurement  Chart  (SBMC), Functional Clothing Design Assessment Instrument for Caregiver (FCDAIC) and Functional Clothing  Design  Assessment  Instrument  for  Judges  (FCDAIJ).   The  instruments   were validated by three experts and pilot tested on twenty persons in Edo state to determine the internal consistency. The reliability of the OCL and FCNAQC instruments were determined using Richard Kuderson 20 and coefficients were OCL = 0.89, Clothing requirement (needs)

= 0.96 and design features = 0.87. Cronbach alpha was used and coefficients were; Design criteria = 0.98, Design preferences = 0.79, FCDAIC = 0.99, FCDAIJ = 0.91. The data were analysed  with percentages,  mean  and  standard  deviation  for  the research  questions.  The hypotheses were analyzed with t-test and one-way ANOVA at 0.5 level of significance. All data collected were analysed using statistical packages of Social Sciences (SPSS) version 16. Major findings include; 40 tasks performed by caregivers in the day care were identified, six functional clothing requirements (needs) of caregivers were determined and a short gown was considered appropriate, 15 design criteria were  required to produce functional clothing for caregivers,  14 task – related designs  features  were desired, six design preferences  and 12 fabrics characteristics were preferred, mean body measurement for small, medium and large sizes were established for caregivers. 15 pieces of patterns were developed for the three sizes. Nine sets of functional clothing were produced for lab test and modified for field testing. The prototype clothing was assessed based on the outlined variables by users and judges.  ‘The mean responses of users on movements showed ‘very easy’ X =4.67 -4.89. Users and judges mean responses on fit X = 4.11 – 4.56 showed good fit and the functional X=3.78 – 5.00, expressive X = 4.22 – 4.44 and aesthetics X = 4.11 – 4.22 attributes of functional clothing were considered appropriate. There were no significant differences in the mean responses of the various sizes of users on functional, expressive and aesthetic variables (P > 0.05). There were significant differences  in the mean responses of  caregivers and judges on functional (comfort) attributes (P < 0.05). Five recommendations  were made; that government should enact policy on the use of the functional clothing by users since it was certified as good in the field test, the knowledge and skills gained from the research can be used to solve issues in clothing practical classes.

CHAPTER ONE

Background of the Study

INTRODUCTION

A child is a young person within the stage of birth till puberty existing in a family. This child is unique and special in terms of development,  characteristics,  personality and behaviour that much more contribute to the diversity of human kind and children. Childhood period is the most rapid period of development in a human’s life. This is critical to a child’s cognitive, social, emotional and physical development. Every child passes through different stages  of  patterned  development  marked  by  certain  characteristics  features.  The  child development is multidimensional and interdependent such as social, emotional, cognitive and physical motor performance (Cobby, 2001). What happens during the early years is of crucial importance  for  every child’s  development.  It  is  a  period  of  great  opportunity,  but  also vulnerability.  When  the  quality  of  support,  stimulation,  and  nurture  is  deficient,  child development is seriously affected. Good nutrition, health, love, care and environment (home, school and society) are important conditions necessary for the child’s optimal development and survival. This child’s survival, well being and development are dependent on and built around close relationships, with parents, other family and non family members.

Survival, development, participation, care and protection are five broadly recognized rights of every child (CRC, 2009). In line with this, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the child (CRC) (2009) and African Charter on the Rights and welfare of the child (1990) provided the rights of the child to parental care, protection, early childhood education, rest  and  play  among  others.  Such  education  should  be  preparatory  and  empowering  to children, providing them with practical  opportunities to exercise their responsibilities.  The education should be anchored  on  every day issues, childcare centres and early childhood programme to give the child a better future. Adenipekun (2004) documented eight reasons for child education given at the World Conference on Education for All (EFA). Amongst these reasons are; that  children undergo rapid development  from conception to six years; these children have right to live and develop to their full capacity; the early child care programmes offer equal opportunities to both privileged and disadvantaged children; that through children societies pass on values and culture from generation to generation and child care  provides better ways of caring for children which ensure survival.  In support, CRC (2009) suggested that the provision of affordable quality programmes of early childcare should be community

based. These are part of an integrated  approach to meeting the needs of the young  child.

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Child’s  Rights  Acts (2003)  stipulated  that every child  have the right to an education.  It incorporated all the responsibilities to children by government and parents; ensuring the child is given early childhood education, protection and cares especially those of working parents in Nigeria.

The United Nation Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)  in cooperation  with  UNICEF  (2004),  initiated  early  childhood  care  development  education (ECCDE) policy review, to help children have smooth transition from home to school. This comprises of day-care, play ground, nursery, pre nursery and  kindergarten. Early childhood care development  education  is an education  given to  children prior  to their entering  the primary  school  (UNICEF,  2004).  Early  childhood  care  education  is  all  embracing  care programme for young children from birth throughout infancy to pre-school years as well as during transition to school. The Federal Government of Nigeria recognises the importance of early childhood  care  education in Nigeria and as a result it was given prominence  in the National  Policy  on  Education  (FRN,2004)  as  one  of  the  programmes  in  the  Nigerian educational system.  Child care programmes present a critical opportunity for the promotion of child development. The objectives of early childhood education according to FRN, (2004) include; to effect a smooth transition from home to school, prepare the child for primary level of education, provide adequate care and supervision for the children while their parents are at work amongst others. The Universal Basic Education (UBE) Act (2004) also expanded the scope  which  includes  programmes  and  initiatives  for  early  childhood  education  and development. The programme made provision for every public primary school to have pre- primary school linkage for children. Efforts are targeted at vulnerable children age 0-3 years to early childcare, early learning and getting ready for school. (UNESCO, 2007). Based on these policies, laws and in  recognition of the importance of early child care; the Nigerian government mandated its establishment of early childhood education in schools. Prior to now private owners were mostly involved in the provision of ECCDE facilities (FGN 2004 and UNICEF 2004). This policy now popularized early child care development education making it compulsory in every state. This is why in 2005, the State Primary Education Board (SPEB) Asaba, Delta State issued a directive on the establishment  of ECCDE  care  section in all primary schools in the state, in accordance  with the National Policy on  Education (FRN,

2004). This care section is to be headed by Caregivers to provide care to the young children aged  0-2  years  in  a  ratio  of  1:10.  There  are  1059  public  ECCDE  centres  with  1,610

Caregivers  who  take  care  of  the  children  in  Delta  State  (SPEB,  2011).  This  is  why

International  labour  organisation  (ILO)  (2007)  posits  that  to  promote  child’s  right  and

development  at any particular  time, the child  must be in care of a family or non  family member.

Children need appropriate condition such as proper care; that facilitates their optimal development. Care is the integrated set of actions that ensure a child’s synergy of protection and supports to their health, nutrition, psychosocial  and cognitive aspects  of development (Thamos, 2004). Child care is the responsibility of parents and  guidance, teachers, or any other person under whose protection the child is (CRC, 2009). Presently, however due to the economic situation many parents (both fathers and mothers alike) work for extended periods outside the home with minimal time to spend on childcare. They depend on services of crèche and childcare centres for the long period they are at work or doing businesses. Child care is the care arrangement in which the child is cared for by someone other than his/her parents (National Institute for Children Health and Human Development (NICHD) Early Childcare Research Network, 1997a). Childcare can be informal or formal. Informal childcare is done by relatives or nannies and takes place in the home, while formal childcare is by caregivers and takes place in the day care settings which is the focus of this study.

Day care is a supervised care usually outside the home for children. Day-care centre is an institution where children whose parents are engaged in work or business outside the home are  given  care  until  their  parents  come  back.  It  prepares  children  for  primary  school education. Maduewesi (1999) and Tombowua (2013) posit that day care is a semi – formal education arrangement  outside  home where young children 0-2  years of age are exposed through  play  like  activities  for  mental,   social  and   physical  learning  suited  to  their developmental  stages.  The  use  of  day care  by  lactating  mother  enables  them  continue exclusive breast feeding while at work and parents are sure their children are well cared for, safe  and  happy.  A day care  environment  is crucial  to  the  health,  safety,  protective  and educational experience of children. In the day care, children are left in the care of caregivers who  provide  happy,  healthy and understanding  environment  in which  children  grow  and develop.

Caregivers are people who take care of children, the sick or elderly (Clyton, 1997). The child caregiver takes care and nurtures children who are not ready to enter kindergarten. The caregivers give the children quality support and stimulation necessary for development. They have the responsibility to protect the children from harm and in time of rest / play. The caregivers in day care centres in Delta are both single and married workers.

Majority are married women who are mothers with children who perform child care tasks in home. The single caregivers in the day care belong to families and have  younger

siblings who they also help to take care of in the home. These caregivers have the experience of child care from home, training and education. They are within the ages of 18- 50 years. The quality of care given by these caregivers is paramount to the child’s development. They undertake all tasks related to the daily care of the children for survival, proper growth and development. Their duties include; feeding, changing clothing and napkins, carrying, petting to sleep, toilet training, supervision,  engaging  the  children in social interaction,  providing stimulating and safe environment for play and exploration.(Childcare  Worker, 2014). They manage children’s behaviour and  guide  their social development  appropriately.  They help children grow up healthily, seeing that the children get proper nutrition and plenty of physical activity while in their care. In addition to their tasks they maintain clean working areas, make frequent  movements  and  use  of  work  areas,  sterilize  and  sanitize  all  work  tools  and environment (Childcare Worker, 2014). In carrying out these tasks, caregivers are exposed to some hazards. These tasks involve range of motions and carrying care items. They carry out these odious tasks of childcare for prolonged period of time. This constitutes major challenge in clothing selection and usage. These operations require functional clothing informed by the tasks  these  caregivers  carryout.  There  was  no  provision  for  caregiver’s  uniform  in  the ECCDE policy, so caregivers use existing clothes which they do not want to soil. Sometimes, care provider/operators  provide  overall but this may not be adequate because  it was not designed based on the tasks in the day care centres. In order to perform tasks effectively the caregivers require  among  other things, appropriate  clothing for work. They need an outer garment  that  will  facilitate  rather  than  impair  their  jobs.  Appropriate  clothing  strategies include;  ensuring suitable clothing is worn for protection from extreme hazard conditions (Dunne,  2004).  The  caregivers  should  act  as  role  models  and  demonstrate  appropriate clothing by using safe clothing in the workplace; such clothing should be respectful of culture and individual dress choices (Tesman Health and Community Service, 2014).

Clothing  according  to  Kaiser  (1997)  refers  to  any  tangible  or  material  object connected to the human body. Supporting of this, Anyakoha (2004) stated that clothing, is an article put on the body to protect, beautify or adorn it.  Clothing, garment and apparel will be synonymously used to mean outer body covering constructed  from  fabrics. These include skirts, tops, dress, shirts, pants and other related  body covering.  Clothing protects people from  various  environmental  hazards,  promotes  health  and  safety  and  improves  workers efficiency. It can also enhance or hinder body function among different groups of people and occupations.  According  to  Kaiser  (1997),  clothing  has  been  found  to  be  a  symbol  of organizational culture. Organizations develop culture with a distinctive set of values, which

are likely to be expressed through unique uniformed appearance that conforms to a formal or informal  dress  code  of  the  organization.  Day  care  centres  as  an  organization  require appropriate clothing that protects the worker from hazards and  improve efficiency of task performance.  This implies using functional clothing by caregivers in the day care centres. Functionality of clothing to address the needs of different occupations in an environment and the activities of the specific users is applicable in the day care centres as well. The concept of functionality in relation to the use of clothing is extremely important in occupations where high productivity, performance and safety on the job are required (Kaiser, 1997). This means that those in the practice should be identifiable, visible and if possible through appearances, express occupational roles from others within the same cultural context. This can be achieved through the use of functional clothing.  Functional  clothing  is clothing that is  specifically designed to meet user’s task performance requirements.

Functional  clothing  is garment  that  is designed  with special  features to aid  work performance. It has to be practical, useful and allow physical body function while achieving mobility and comfort. It has a well defined functionality which distinguishes  it from other clothing’s,  aids in or allows individual  users to perform certain tasks,  protect them from certain hazard on the job (Man and Swan, 2007 and Dunne, 2004). It is clothing that serves the need to provide individuals with a specific utility such as warmth, comfort and durability (Cass 2001).   They are designed to have less inhibitory effects on movements and provide maximum comforts and performance to the user as  aesthetic considerations are ignored in favour  of performance  of the  clothing  (Gupta  2011).  The  critical  design  requirement  of functional clothing should facilitate the  transport of metabolic heat and moisture from the

body.

Design criteria refer to the design specification  required to produce the  functional clothing  for  caregivers  in  day care  centres.  Design  should  meet  wearers’  requirements, because  only  the  wearer  that  can  determine  the  specification  that  can  facilitate  tasks efficiency.  Cho  (2006)  reported  in a study that  patient  gown  should  accommodate  daily living, protect wearer privacy, don and doff and adapt to various movements/postures.  The emergence of functional clothing has been promoted by recent breakthroughs and advances in technical  fibres  and  fabrics  and  advances  in  garment  manufacturing  technologies.  Each functional   garment    has   its   own   specifications,    material   requirements,    consequent technologies  and  processes.   (Gupta,  2011)  classifies  functional  clothing  as  protective clothing,  medical  clothing,  therapeutic  and  rehabilitative  clothing,  bio-sensing  clothing, sports clothing,  vanity clothing,  cross functional  clothing and clothing  for special  needs.

Functional clothing for care givers belong to clothing for special needs. The use of existing clothes as wrapper and blouse or buba, skirts and blouse pose difficulty in attending to daily childcare tasks. Such as bathing, sterilizing feeding utensils, changing diapers and clothes, toilet training, curdling and petting the child. The clothing also restricts movement within the work place.

Movements/postures are taken by caregivers in child care to actualise tasks in the day

care centres. This depicts physical motion from point to point within a space. Gupta (2011) noted that the mechanical  characteristics  of clothing should  match the motion,  degree of freedom, range of motion, force and movement of human joints. However, care givers need functional  clothing  that  will  have  special  design  features  as  large  pockets,  detachable cape/bib and design preference of garment with fullness disposal at strategic points for free movements/postures.

Design preference is the style preferred in a garment in relation to shape, silhouette, length, sleeve type, neckline and collar type among others. Functional clothing design for caregivers has to satisfy the general requirements of easy movement/postures,  fit, comfort, protection/safety, usability, expressive and aesthetic qualities. This appropriate clothing is not in the market since manufacturers of garment do not make provision for this group of people with special needs in relations to garments  (Dunne.  2004). Functional   clothing provides physiological, psychological and social satisfaction to the wearer (Breza, 2007). All human beings including those with special needs have peculiar shape and sizes, the sizes must be proportionate to the wearer to achieve the purpose for which it is constructed.

Size relates to the apparent view of an object expressed  in smallness,  bigness  and other relative terms as perceived by a person. Size as defined by Decker (2007) is the relative bigness,  extent and series of standard  measurement.  According to Aldrich  (2002) size in relation to clothing is a designation system which explains the manner which a garment fits into the wearer namely: girl, woman, boy or man. Sizing system  in  garment production is based  on the  body and  not  the  garment  (Aldrich,  2002).  This is the rational  for  taking measurements of individuals prior to pattern drafting and garment construction. The first and most  important  factor  in  developing  garments  that  are  functional  is  designing,  that  is, conceiving the idea and implementing the ideas to meet the desired goals.

In the development of functional clothing the elements and principles of design are utilized for functionality and aesthetics of the clothing. The development of block patterns before garment construction is very important to a garment maker. It provides opportunity for corrections to be effected after series of fitting using prototype garment on the figure before

the final garment construction. Pattern drafting is the method sketching design of garment on paper  based  on  body  measurements  and  cut  to  the  size  of  the  figure.  Pattern  drafting according to Weber (1990) is the art of drawing and documenting all instructions needed for constructing a garment or any sewing project. Many approaches to pattern drafting have been developed   namely:  modelling,   or  draping,   knock-off  design,   computer-aided   designs, modifying  from  a  set  of  patterns  and  flat  pattern  method  (Igbo  and  Iloeje,  2003).  In constructing the prototype garment the drafted pattern is used to cut out pattern pieces from the fabric. Prototype garment refers to the first design of clothing product from which other forms can be copied. It is cut and sewn  from the first pattern obtained for the product to evaluate the styling and fit (Glock & Kunz, 2000). According to Frings (2003), it is simply a trial garment or sample used for fit testing.

Fit of a garment is the smooth alignment of garment parts on the body of the wearer. Such as shoulder  align well, bust not tight,  armhole  not tight and neckline  not  sagging. Functional clothing design should fit wearer in all motions and postures.  The wearer of a garment  has the best judgement  of the fit (Ring 2001). Fit has two  aspects; comfort and appearance.  Comfort is determined by the individual wearing the  garment and appearance refers to the look, style and fashion of the garment (Lasinski, 2007). Comfort in garment is the absence of discomfort is when worn. Clothing should be comfortable to caregivers and children under their care. Garment should be appealing to the children and their parents.

The  functional   clothing   does   not   however   inherently   disregard   aesthetics   or expression as these can be considered user needs or functions of clothing. Aesthetics refers to the beauty and appealing appearance of an object. Aesthetic concerns of  clothing such as styling, design, fabric colour and type were the most important criteria  affecting women’s decisions in clothing selection during the interest phase of their purchase (Holland, 2007 and Sindicich,  2008).  Garment  expression  sends  message  and  identities  about  the  wearer  in relation to roles, self esteem and self confidence. Functional clothing design needs expressive considerations and caregivers’  clothing should provide that to a possible extent.   Goodwin (1994)  observed  that,  in  nursing  or  childcare,  environments,  it  is  very  important  for caregivers to wear  clothing that suits their needs and reflects their value, environment and personality

In functional clothing research, a systematic approach or process is used to  help designers incorporate all aspects of design development. The designer requires step-by -step development design process from the problem identification to  implementation (Lamb and Kallal, 1992).Through this process the prototype garment is produced, tested and corrected to

meet  the  desired  specification  of  a design.  Beginning  with  the  need  for  a solution,  the designer  works  through  various  ideas,  refine  of  these  ideas,  develop  a  sample  garment, evaluate changes if necessary, and finally implementation into the production.

The increase in the number of day care centres in Delta State, Nigeria due to  the government  policy necessitates  the needs to ensure that work hazards are  minimized  and controlled.   At the same time, caregivers will become more aware of the use of functional clothing to enhance task performance while ensuring comfort, protection and safety on the job. These increase efficiency and promote productivity in the day care centres. Therefore, a need exist to develop appropriate clothing for caregivers to facilitate task performance in the day care centres  who have not been well served by the clothing industry.

Statement of Problem

Naturally child care is the sole responsibility of parents in the home.  Parents play a large  role  in a child’s  life,  socialization  and  development.  This  important  role  has been impacted by parents work outside the home. Parents in most cases spend more working hours and are subject to heavy workload. Striking balance between work and family responsibilities is a challenge for many families. For working parents, care of children is getting more and more problematic and they are in dare need of safe place to keep their children while at work (Anyakoha, 2013). The unavailability of house helps and child minders increased the demand and reliance of working parents on crèche or day care centres for child care. The proliferation of day care centres as a result of the official provision in the National Policy on Education (FRN  2004),  demands  adequate  care  and  supervision  for  children  to  develop  to  their maximum  potentials.  To  achieve  this,  appropriate  conditions  in terms  of equipment  and facilities  as well as  appropriate care  giving  clothing are paramount.  Clothing  should  not obstruct  job  performance  or cause  safety concern  in the  work environment.  Appropriate clothing  positively affects caregivers’  productivity and tasks performance  in the day care. Clothing is often overlooked facet of the work environment despite the fact that it is believed to be the most important artefacts in proximity to the body and its potential  impact on a person’s immediate bodily comfort. Clothing that is appropriate for work environment adds another dimension for workers, because of the importance of professional appearance.

In  the  day  care  centres,  caregivers  use  different  types  of  clothes  in  performing childcare  tasks.  This  is challenging  to  their  effective  child  care  tasks  performance.  The caregivers assume different postures as bending, sitting, torso twist, arm stretch, walking and undertake several body motions in tasks performance with existing clothes. As observed by

the researcher  the clothes restrict mobility and postures around work area. Caregivers  are faced with problems of exposure to dirt and stains on clothes; vomit splashes, liquid spill on the body and clothes. Arms are not protected when children toilet in potty or changing soiled diapers/ napkins. These may cause irritation and rashes, which are unhygienic and hazardous to the child and caregivers. Aurora Health Care Policy (2014) stated that it is important all caregivers’ clothes are neat, clean, pressed not revealing or tight fitting.  Caregivers should put on gown in health care to protect the uncovered  skin from likely splashes or soiling during patient care such as changing diapers (Canadian Committee on Antibiotic Resistance,

2007). Most often children return home with communicable diseases such as cough, catarrh, ringworm, measles, eczema and diarrhoea, contacted from the environment and  the clothes used for childcare in day care centres. Some communicable diseases are fluid borne or spread through     contact     between     people     (Centre     for     Career     Development,     2013). www.uwoh.edu/ccdet/caregiver.   Other problems encountered in care giving include inability to  carry  care  items  as  bib  and  handkerchief  needed  for  easy reach  which  makes  them undertake repeated movements around work place. This results in garment tear in some parts of the body and discomfort due to tight fitting clothes.

Evidence exist that workers place value on the stylishness and fashion ability of their

clothing (Caldwell, 1999 and Thoren, 1997).  In compliance with the trend, caregivers wear clothes  that  are  not  smart  enough  and  have  poor  moisture  management  and  thermal conductivity  which  restrict  dissipation  of  heat  (Tesman  Health  and  Community  Service,

2014). The heat stress can be hazardous to the health and safety of children and caregivers. Weber (1990) noted that special clothes are worn to promote sanitation,  health, safety and improve job efficiency such as in construction and mill works.  Children love bright colours, but most clothes are neither stimulating nor inviting to the children Available clothing does not reflect aesthetic and expressive needs of the caregivers in the day care. Caregivers in day care need clothing that can allow them perform tasks safely and efficiently while maintaining their identity as professionals.

Observations showed that caregivers lack adequate clothing for the tasks of child care in day care centres. Functional clothing is important but it is not used. They do  not wear appropriate clothing designed to meet their needs in childcare. They need functional clothing because  their  clothing  does  not  meet  their  requirements  of  the  job of care  giving.  The functional clothing has to be tailored towards the tasks. This informed the research into the development of functional clothing for caregiver in day-care centres. The functional clothing will be  specifically  designed  to meet  the  functionality  indicators  of easy movement  and

posture, fit, comfort, protection/safety, usability, expressive, aesthetic attributes for maximum tasks performance.

Many professions in Nigeria where functional clothing are worn are produced based on management decision without the input of users and professionals in clothing. As such the clothing does not meet the required functional requirements of users. This is why research on functional  clothing  for different  occupation  requires  the researcher  to  develop  functional clothing for caregivers in day care centres in Delta State.

Purpose of the Study

The main purpose of the study was to develop functional clothing for caregivers in day-care centres in Delta State, Nigeria.  Specifically, the study:

1)     identified the tasks performed by caregivers in the day-care centres in Delta State;

2)     determined the functional clothing requirements (needs) of the caregivers based on the tasks performed in day-care centres;

3)     determined design criteria required to generate design ideas of functional clothing for caregivers;

4)     determined  the  necessary  desirable  design  features  based  on  clothing  needs  of  the caregivers in day-care centres;

5)     determined  the design preferences  of functional clothing for caregivers and  select  a final design;

6)     determined  the body measurements  for the construction of the functional clothing  of different sizes (small, medium and large) for caregivers in day-care centres;

7)     developed patterns for the final design based on the body measurements of  different sizes of caregivers in day-care centres;

8)     constructed the functional clothing for caregivers in day-care centres from the patterns

of different sizes obtained;

9)     assessed the appropriateness of various sizes of functional clothing by users based on movement/posture, fit, comfort, protection/safety, usability (functional), expressive and aesthetic  variables;

10)   determined the appropriateness of the functional clothing on caregivers by judges based on fit, comfort, movement and aesthetic variables;

11)   modified  functional  clothing  based  on feedback  from  the  assessment  of users  and judges

Significance of the Study

Caregivers  face  a  lot of job  hazards  in  practice.  This  makes  functional  clothing necessary to facilitate task performance. This study gives a perspective to designers that are involved in making occupational clothes to provide required standards in functional clothing for potential users. The findings of this study will benefit the following individuals namely; caregivers, children, parents, garment designers, unemployed individuals, corporate investors, stakeholders in ECCDE, government, lecturers and students and curriculum planners.

The findings of this study will benefit caregivers in day care centres in Delta State, as they will enjoy relief in the use of the new clothing. The functional clothing  garment will help facilitate care giving tasks and enhance job performance.  The  appropriate  use of the garment will provide comfort, protection and mobility and allow different postures within the workplace. The functional clothing usage by care givers will go a long way in eliminating the challenges faced in meeting job demands. When appropriate care is given to the children, it helps them develop physically, mentally, emotionally and function effectively in the society.

The children in the day care will benefit from the findings of this study by enjoying adequate care from caregivers. Child care tasks can now be performed by caregivers using appropriate clothing that is neat and safe. This is because adequate care giving will help to prevent the spread  of communicable  disease  such as cough,  eczema  among children and promote their health. This in turn will enable children explore and adjust to the environment as well as learn traits necessary for optimal growth and development.

Parents  of  the  children  will  benefit  from  the  findings  of  this  study as  they  are confident that their children are under adequate care and secure in a safe environment while they carry on with their jobs and businesses without interference of childcare. The children are adequately cared for, using appropriate clothing that boost care giving tasks performance. This helps the children to adapt to the day care environment. This is because children need appropriate conditions including functional clothing for care for optimal health and safety.

The findings  of this study will be of benefit  to garment  manufacturers,  since  the blocks  from  this study could be adapted  into  patterns  for mass production  of  functional garment  that  will  meet  several  design  and  human  factors.  Economically,  the  garment produced from the patterns will generate income for the manufacturers. Appropriate clothing will be produced based on the users’ needs which help to eliminate wastage in production. Also  the  construction  of  garment  will  provide  employment  for  people  in  the  garment construction sectors.

In this era of entrepreneurial development, the unemployed individuals will benefit from this study as they can undertake production of commercial pattern making in functional clothing for child care-givers. They can then become entrepreneurs in  commercial pattern production.  In Nigeria today, commercial patterns are no longer in  the markets. Garment makers will have easy reach to patterns with which to produce functional clothing for large scale  consumers.  The sale of these  patterns  generates  income  for  the entrepreneur,  who becomes  “job  creator  and  not  job  seeker,”  contributing  to  economic  development.  The products  exhibition  and  test  for  acceptability  will  trigger  entrepreneurial  initiatives  and exposed designers, students and the public to a new way of solving clothing problems.

The finding for this study will benefit corporate investors who can now engage in the production,  marketing and distribution of product nationally and internationally.  This will generate income and job opportunity for the individuals and industries,  thereby alleviating poverty and reducing social vices.

The Ministry of Women Affairs, Ministry of Education and State Primary Education Board (SPEB) and Local Government Education Authority (LGEA) who are stake holders in Early Childcare  Development  Education  (ECCDE)  and Standard  Organization  of Nigeria (SON) will benefit from the findings, because they will help to maintain standard in clothing use   by  care   givers,   which   will   promote   self   image,   functionality,   uniformity   and professionalism.

The government  will also benefit from the findings of this study. The  information obtained from this study will help the government formulate policies on hygiene and safety in relation to care-giving clothing in day care centres. This is because the children in the day care need clean clothing for good health and safe care giving by the caregivers. Caregivers will face less difficulty in performing childcare tasks in the day care.

Lecturers, teachers and students of clothing and textiles in schools will benefit from the findings of this study, since it will contribute to their knowledge expansion.  They will find it handy as reference materials in teaching and learning, pattern making and functional clothing design for different working groups. Tertiary institutions offering Home Economics and most Fashion and Design schools, staff, students, and trainees will utilize the findings to develop prototype clothing products in some other occupations.

Curriculum  planners  will benefit  from  the findings  by using pattern  drafting  and functional clothing design process to enrich the school syllabus. This study on clothing needs of care  givers  is important  since  there  is a proliferation  of day care  centres  due  to  the government  policy.  Recommendations  will  be  made  to  Nigerian  Educational  Research

Development  Council  (NERDC)  and  National  University  Commission  (NUC)  which  are responsible  for  curriculum  reviews  and  approval  for  secondary  schools  and  universities respectively. The utilization will enrich the clothing and textiles and garment making syllabus at these levels of education.

Research Questions

The study was guided by the following research questions:

1)  What are the tasks performed by caregivers in the day-care centres in Delta State?

2)  What are the functional clothing requirements (needs) of the caregivers based on  their tasks in day-care centres in Delta State, Nigeria?

3)  What are the design criteria required to generate design idea of functional clothing  for caregivers?

4)  What  are  the  necessary  desirable  design  features  based on the clothing  needs  of  the caregivers in day-care centres.

5)  What are the design preferences  of functional clothing for caregivers and final  design selected?

6)  What  are  the  body  measurements  for  the  construction  of  the  functional  clothing  of

different sizes (small, medium and large) for caregivers in day-care centres?

7)  What  are  the  mean  ratings  of  the  users  on  the  appropriateness  of  various  sizes  of functional clothing based on movement/posture,  fit, comfort, protection/safety,  usability (functional), expressive and aesthetic variables?

8)  What are the mean ratings of the judges on the appropriateness of the functional clothing on caregivers based on fit, comfort, movement and aesthetic variables?

Research Hypotheses

The following  null hypotheses  guided  the study and were tested  at 0.05  level  of significance.

HO1: There is no significant difference in the mean ratings of design features between the single and married caregivers

HO2: There is no significant difference in the mean ratings of design preferences between the single and married caregivers;

HO3:  There is no significant difference in the mean ratings of small, medium and large size- based users on mobility requirements of the functional clothing.

HO4:   There is no significant difference in the mean ratings of small, medium and large size- based users on fit requirements of the functional clothing.

HO5:   There is no significant difference in the mean ratings of the small, medium and large size-based users on comfort requirements of the functional clothing.

HO6:   There is no significant difference in the mean ratings of small, medium and large size- based users on safety/protection requirements of the functional clothing.

HO7:   There is no significant difference in the mean ratings of small, medium and large size- based users on expressive qualities of the functional clothing.

HO8:   There is no significant difference in the mean ratings of small, medium and large size- based users on aesthetic requirements of the functional clothing.

HO9:   There is no significant difference in the mean ratings of small, medium and large size- based users on usability of the functional clothing.

HO10: There is no significant difference between the mean ratings of caregivers and judges on the fit of the functional clothing.

HO11:   There is no significant difference between the mean ratings of caregivers and judges on the functional attributes of the prototype clothing.

HO12:   There is no significant difference between the mean ratings of caregivers and judges on the aesthetic qualities of the functional clothing.

Scope of the Study

This study was delimited to outer garment. The study was delimited to caregivers in child care centres in public primary schools in Delta State. The caregivers who are between the ages of 18 to 50 were used for the study. The study focused on caregivers who possess at least secondary school certificate and have worked in child care centres in not less than two years. These caregivers who were usually single and married as reviewed by literature were used   because   it   is   assumed   they   have   knowledge   of   child   care   practices   during training/education  and  majority  are  mothers.  They  perform  tasks  of  feeding,  changing napkins and baby clothing, give toilet training, carry and play with the children. The study covered essential garment requirement indicators; movement, fit, comfort, protection/safety, usability,  aesthetic and expressive  qualities  for caregivers.  The functional  clothing design

focused  on  the  caregivers’  tasks,  design  requirements,  task  –  related  design  features/

preferences and construction of prototype clothing.

The prototype clothing developed  was assessed based on variables under study by users  and  judges.  The  judges  include;  clothing  and  textiles  lecturers,  care  providers, secretaries of local government education authority (LGEA) and tailors. The study covered the twenty-five (25) local government areas in Delta State Nigeria.



This material content is developed to serve as a GUIDE for students to conduct academic research


DEVELOPMENT OF FUNCTIONAL CLOTHING FOR CAREGIVERS IN DAY CARE CENTRES IN DELTA STATE NIGERIA.

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