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Review <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>literature</strong> on basic education in Nigeria4.4.1 Features <strong>of</strong> classroom teachingThe following features <strong>of</strong> classroom teaching have been noted in a number <strong>of</strong> observational studies:There is very little variation in lesson structure across subjects or levels: teacher explanation,question-and-answer session, individual pupils’ work – <strong>of</strong>ten copying <strong>of</strong>f <strong>the</strong> board or doing awritten exercise, sometimes followed by plenary feedback (Hardman et al. 2008; Davison 2010;Dunne et al. 2013); Little or no lesson planning takes place (Adekola 2007; Ahmed et al. 2008; Dunne et al. 2013);Lessons almost exclusively involve whole-class teaching (97% <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> time in four out <strong>of</strong> five states in<strong>the</strong> Davison (2010) study) (Adekola 2007; Hardman et al. 2008; Davison 2010; Dunne et al. 2013); nogroup work was noted even in small multi-grade classes (Adekola 2007);A lot <strong>of</strong> time is spent revising previous material and focusing on propositional knowledge (Hardmanet al. 2008; Dunne et al. 2013); Teacher talk predominates (Adekola 2007; Hardman et al. 2008; UNICEF 2009a; Davison 2010;Dunne et al. 2013); Pupils are predominantly silent (two-thirds <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> time in Davison’s (2010) study) (Adekola 2007;Hardman et al. 2008; Boulton et al. 2009; Davison 2010; Dunne et al. 2013); Code-switching by teachers is common (Hardman et al. 2008; Salami 2008; Boulton et al. 2009;Davison 2010; Dunne et al. 2013; Okebukola et al. 2013); Pupils, and some teachers, struggle to learn/teach in English (Adekola 2007; Hardman et al. 2008;Salami 2008; Boulton et al. 2009; UBEC 2009; Dunne et al. 2013; Gabrscek and Usman 2013); Drilling and chanting is common at primary level, although less so at JSS level (Davison 2010);Questions <strong>of</strong>ten demand choral response, and are predominantly closed, focused on factual recalland making limited cognitive demands (Hardman et al. 2008; Davison 2010; Dunne et al. 2013);There is a lot <strong>of</strong> pseudo-checking through ritualised ra<strong>the</strong>r than genuine questions (Hardman et al.2008; Dunne et al. 2013); There are commonly no follow-up questions (Hardman et al. 2008);Boys are more likely to be asked a question (two times more likely in Hardman et al. 2008), althougho<strong>the</strong>r studies with more impressionistic data suggest a more mixed picture (e.g. USAID 2009a);regardless, pupil participation as a whole is limited (Dunne et al. 2013);Limited critical teacher feedback is given, although some praise is given (UNICEF 2012; Dunne et al.2013);Teachers spend a lot <strong>of</strong> time at <strong>the</strong> board (over half <strong>the</strong> time in Davison’s (2010) study: writing,reading from or watching a pupil write on <strong>the</strong> board) (Dunne et al. 2013); Pupils lack writing materials (exercise books and pen/pencil) (Ahmed et al. 2008; Coinco 2012;UNICEF 2012; Dunne et al. 2013); even where present, exercise books are not used extensively andhomework is not <strong>of</strong>ten set (Gabrscek and Usman 2013); There is a severe shortage <strong>of</strong> textbooks and teachers’ guides (Adekola 2007; Ahmed et al. 2008;Holfeld et al. 2008; Antoninis 2010; Davison 2010; UBEC 2009; UNICEF 2012; Dunne et al. 2013;Gabrscek and Usman 2013);Very little use is made <strong>of</strong> textbooks even when <strong>the</strong>y are available in class; <strong>the</strong>y are usually used toset homework or a class exercise or occasionally a pupil is asked to read aloud from a text (Ahmed etal. 2008; Davison 2010; Dunne et al. 2013; Gabrscek and Usman 2013);Sometimes <strong>the</strong>re is no discernible pedagogic activity (8–16% <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> time in Davison’s (2010) study)(Adekola 2007);Teachers sometimes skip parts <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> syllabus if <strong>the</strong> topic is difficult (Dunne et al. 2013); andEDOREN – Education Data, Research and Evaluation in Nigeria 41
Review <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>literature</strong> on basic education in NigeriaThere is widespread use <strong>of</strong> corporal punishment or humiliating punishments being given out in classfor wrong answers, latecoming or classroom indiscipline (Boulton et al. 2009; Pinnock 2012; UNICEF2012; Dunne et al. 2013; see Section 12.2.4).Attempts to change this traditional didactic way <strong>of</strong> teaching to what might be termed more ‘learnercentred’pedagogies are being carried out through in-service teacher education initiatives, discussed inBox 10.3.4.4.2 TextbooksRegarding <strong>the</strong> limited or non-use <strong>of</strong> textbooks, Davison (2010) speculated that teachers perhaps do notuse <strong>the</strong> textbooks because not all pupils have access to a textbook. However, some teachers haveadmitted that <strong>the</strong>y need training on how to use <strong>the</strong>m (Ahmed et al. 2008), while o<strong>the</strong>rs consider bookstoo precious to be given to pupils (Sherry 2008; Dunne et al. 2013). It should also be noted that mosttextbooks are in English and not bilingual, meaning <strong>the</strong>y are difficult for pupils – and possibly someteachers – to understand (Gabrscek and Usman 2013). It is noticeable that in <strong>the</strong> questionnaire answersabout in-service teacher development topics at both primary and secondary level in <strong>the</strong> 2004 ESAtextbook use did not feature (FME 2005). This could be because it was not given as an option in <strong>the</strong>questionnaire, but that in itself gives some indication that teachers’ use <strong>of</strong> textbooks is not consideredto be an important topic for in-service training.Although some books have been shown to have consciously addressed gender stereotyping, in o<strong>the</strong>rtextbooks it remains an issue (Samuel 2012; Bakari 2013; see <strong>the</strong> sub-section on textbooks and curriculain Section 8.3.2). Analysis <strong>of</strong> a selection <strong>of</strong> secondary school textbooks in Nigeria (both old and new) hasshown that females are generally underrepresented in images and text, and predominantly engaged instereotypical domestic tasks related to home and family. Men, on <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r hand, are predominantlyout <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> home and engaged in higher-status economic activities, politics, ruling, adventuring and doingheroic deeds (ibid.).4.4.3 Classroom interactionSeveral studies (e.g. Hardman et al. 2008; Davison 2010; Dunne et al. 2013) report a consistently highlevel <strong>of</strong> what has been characterised as ‘safe talk’ (Chick 1996): routinised classroom interaction thatmakes very little cognitive demands <strong>of</strong> pupils, ‘with little attention being paid to securing pupilunderstanding’ (Hardman et al. 2008: 55). Such ritualised exchanges have been observed in manyAfrican classroom settings (see Dembelé and Miaro-II 2003) and are interpreted as a coping strategythat allows teachers and pupils to save face and maintain <strong>the</strong> appearance that effective teaching andlearning is taking place while actually struggling with <strong>the</strong> MOI and/or academic content <strong>of</strong> lessons (Chick1996), although <strong>the</strong> huge class sizes are also likely to be a factor.Views differ on <strong>the</strong> extent to which teachers are aware <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir shortcomings and <strong>the</strong> negative impact<strong>the</strong>ir teaching can have on pupil motivation, attendance and retention. Several studies suggest thatteachers are not particularly self-critical <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir teaching (e.g. Adekola 2007; Dunne et al. 2013),although it may be that <strong>the</strong>y are unwilling to admit <strong>the</strong>ir shortcomings. Most striking are <strong>the</strong> resultsfrom <strong>the</strong> 2004 ESA survey <strong>of</strong> primary teachers, in which only 2.5% <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> sampled primary teachersaccepted responsibility for <strong>the</strong> poor performance <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir pupils (although arguably <strong>the</strong>re was greateradmission <strong>of</strong> some level <strong>of</strong> responsibility in <strong>the</strong> acceptance by around 20% that improved teachingmethodology would improve matters (FME 2005)). More <strong>of</strong>ten pupils were blamed for poorcommunication skills, poor classroom participation and irregular attendance (ibid.).O<strong>the</strong>rs suggest that teachers are aware and want fur<strong>the</strong>r training (e.g. Sherry 2008). Adekola (2007)reported that school managers were <strong>of</strong>ten more dissatisfied with teaching quality but had limited viewson what to do to improve matters.EDOREN – Education Data, Research and Evaluation in Nigeria 42
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