Have you ever received textbooks as “hand-me-downs” from an older sibling or senior colleague? If you said YES, then the textbook was probably still in use—in some cases, even after 10 years!
Day 2 of #Eduinnovate is dedicated to discussing outdated/limited curricula that discourage conceptual thinking as a problem affecting education. Please contribute to the conversation!
Nigeria’s educational system has experienced a number of changes dating back to 1842.These curricular revisions have had a big impact on basic education in Nigeria. Despite numerous curriculum updates over the years, the Nigerian education system continues to face problems such as a lack of teaching resources, a patchwork approach to enacting policies, and a disconnected approach to organising the curriculum’s contents.
Additionally, elementary and secondary education are typically the subjects of attention. We rarely hear news concerning curriculum reviews of the courses offered by tertiary institutions.
The most concerning aspect is how challenging it has been to match the curriculum’s content to the needs of the modern world.
When compared to abilities and a ‘can-do’ mentality, paper credentials are overvalued in Nigeria. It is no news that the quality of an economy is a reflection of its human capital development.
Seeing The Big Picture
We no longer live as small communities in our small communities. We live as part of a very large world and that large world comes with a much larger knowledge base.
No bubble exists in the classroom. The finest place to consider and absorb what is happening in the world is actually there. Regardless of whether it is accomplished through math, physics, history, social studies, literature, or any other subject, it is always best accomplished while keeping an eye on current events.
What’s new?
The Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) in 2021 called for the review of the Senior Secondary School curriculum in Nigeria.
“The only way we can catch up with these changes and create opportunities for our children to acquire new skills and competencies is to provide them with the requisite learning experiences through the revision of the curriculum” – Executive Secretary of NERDC
Even though this may be wonderful news, it is important to remember that developing curriculum is a rigorous and long process. Makiing it work, however, requires starting with the appropriate resources gleaned from in-depth research. We can only say “we look forward to the beginning”.
We can, however, propose ideas to bring about a change rather than waiting for so long. Join us!
#Eduinnovate
Short term student and teacher exchange programs
- Short-term student exchange programs should be encouraged among African nations. This could extend to other continents and the good part is, this can be online. This might last for a semester. Interschool ties should be encouraged by the African government. This is one way to broaden ‘the curriculum’.
- Sabbatical leaves should cover more of ECOWAS, if not all of Africa. For instance, a Kenyan lecturer on sabbatical should be permitted to teach in Nigeria. This should be encouragedamomng African lecturers. The government ought to support it.
A procedure-oriented approach to teaching should be adopted, i.e. teaching according to learning outcomes to place more emphasis on the learner’s prior knowledge and what they have accomplished than it does on the teacher as an input to the teaching/learning process.
…and of course the ones we have been preaching
To guarantee that students are kept up to date with the rapidly changing world, the Government and appropriate educational bodies should permit regular revision of curricula at different levels of education.
THANK YOU FOR READING!
KINDLY DROP COMMENTS BELOW.
Good read!