review-of-the-literature-on-basic-education-in-nigeria-june-2014-3-1

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Review <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>literature</strong> on basic education in NigeriaSchool security is a matter <strong>of</strong> major concern to parents, pupils and education personnel, particularly <strong>the</strong>need for a perimeter fence to better regulate teacher and pupil attendance, intrusion from outsiders(including attacks on pupils, vandalism and <strong>the</strong>ft <strong>of</strong> school property), <strong>the</strong> presence <strong>of</strong> motor vehicles,community dumping and encroachment.Classroom conditions and resourcesClassroom conditions vary across states, LGEAs and schools but many schools lack classrooms or <strong>the</strong>classrooms <strong>the</strong>y do have are dilapidated and overcrowded with inadequate furniture and no usablechalkboard, making it virtually impossible for meaningful teaching and learning to occur.A major concern is <strong>the</strong> evidence suggesting that improvements in infrastructure and resource supply arefailing to keep pace with increased demand, having a negative impact on educational quality and<strong>the</strong>reby threatening retention and undermining any gains in increased enrolment.There are severe shortages <strong>of</strong> textbooks, although <strong>the</strong>re have been recent improvements in supplyassociated with development projects funded by a combination <strong>of</strong> government, donor agencies andcommunity-generated funds, e.g. through school-based management committees (SBMCs).However, books are <strong>of</strong>ten locked up and unused because <strong>the</strong>y are considered too precious for pupils touse, teachers are not sure how to use <strong>the</strong>m, or LGEAs lack funds for distribution.4. EDUCATIONAL QUALITY: TEACHING AND LEARNINGCurriculumFollowing widespread criticism <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> curriculum for being overloaded and outdated, with anoveremphasis on transmission <strong>of</strong> knowledge ra<strong>the</strong>r than acquisition <strong>of</strong> transferable skills, new curriculaare currently being rolled out at primary and JSS level.Many schools lack <strong>the</strong> relevant curriculum documents (including syllabuses and teaching guides) and<strong>the</strong>re is generally a shortage <strong>of</strong> Science and Technology teachers and adequate Science facilities inschool, combined with low ICT penetration.The medium <strong>of</strong> instructionNational policy is that <strong>the</strong> ‘mo<strong>the</strong>r tongue’ will be used for Primary 1–3, before a ‘progressive’ transitionto English-medium teaching. In practice, teaching at primary and JSS level generally involves a lot <strong>of</strong>code-switching between Hausa, Igbo or Yoruba and o<strong>the</strong>r community languages.English as <strong>the</strong> MOI is a major impediment to teaching and learning and a cause <strong>of</strong> dropout and lowlearning outcomes, as exams and textbooks are in English. Low pr<strong>of</strong>iciency in English runs right throughbasic education, with many teachers as well as pupils having limited English. It is <strong>the</strong>refore a matter <strong>of</strong>concern that English is even being used in some lower primary and pre-school classes.Attitudes toward <strong>the</strong> MOI issue differ: most senior education <strong>of</strong>ficials want English as <strong>the</strong> MOI, mostpupils want bilingual teaching, and parents’ and teachers’ views are mixed. English as MOI is associatedwith better educational and socio-economic opportunities despite language-learning research evidencein o<strong>the</strong>r African contexts indicating that pupils need a good foundation in <strong>the</strong>ir first language(s) beforechanging to ano<strong>the</strong>r MOI.EDOREN – Education Data, Research and Evaluation in Nigeriav
Review <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>literature</strong> on basic education in NigeriaMore research is needed on language use in <strong>the</strong> Nigerian classroom and its impact on learning, teachingand assessment, with greater inclusion <strong>of</strong> pupils’ views on <strong>the</strong> subject, especially those <strong>of</strong> minorityethno-linguistic groups. In particular, <strong>the</strong> actual practices <strong>of</strong> bilingual and multilingual classroomteaching – especially in urban areas – need more in-depth research, followed by consideration <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>implications for teacher deployment, teacher education and textbook production.Teaching methods and assessmentAlthough poor teaching is also a cause <strong>of</strong> non-enrolment, truancy, school dropout, poor performanceand migration to <strong>the</strong> private sector, few published empirical studies have focused solely on <strong>the</strong> quality<strong>of</strong> teaching and learning, beyond two large-scale and predominantly quantitative surveys (one fundedby UNICEF (Hardman et al. 2008) and one by ESSPIN (Davison 2010)).In particular, <strong>the</strong>re is little in-depth classroom-based research available on <strong>the</strong> processes (both formaland informal) <strong>of</strong> teaching and learning at ei<strong>the</strong>r <strong>the</strong> primary or <strong>the</strong> JSS level. Information is also lackingon <strong>the</strong> specific interactions that pupils find most helpful in learning and on whe<strong>the</strong>r/how <strong>the</strong>y differ indifferent types <strong>of</strong> school (e.g. Islamiyya, government, single-sex, boarding, etc.).Research suggests <strong>the</strong>re is very little variation in lesson structure across subjects or levels, withtraditional didactic methods predominating. In some project-supported states <strong>the</strong>re appears to be somechange toward more interactive and ‘learner-centred’ teaching but robust evidence is lacking as towhe<strong>the</strong>r <strong>the</strong> recorded surface features <strong>of</strong> such teaching (e.g. putting pupils into groups, praising pupilsor using a teaching aid) actually constitute better teaching or whe<strong>the</strong>r <strong>the</strong>y have helped improvelearning.Teachers clearly need more support and guidance in <strong>the</strong> area <strong>of</strong> assessment – both formative andsummative – and in record-keeping in order to be able to monitor pupil/student progress.Teacher–pupil and pupil–pupil relationsVery little is known about teacher–pupil relations, or about <strong>the</strong>ir effect on participation in school and onpupil learning, beyond what has been said in several studies about high levels <strong>of</strong> corporal punishmentand ‘psychological violence’ by some teachers, reported in <strong>the</strong> national study on violence in schools(Federal Ministry <strong>of</strong> Education (FME) 2007b). A national teacher motivation study (Sherry 2008) suggestssuch behaviour is a result <strong>of</strong> teacher frustration at being unable to help pupils learn in difficultcircumstances.The research suggests that teachers are not necessarily aware <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> negative impact some <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>seactivities can have on individual pupils. More research is needed in this area, and teachers and pupilsneed to be sensitised to such issues.There is similarly very little research on pupil–pupil relations. Some research has provided evidence <strong>of</strong>peer bullying and physical and sexual harassment based on gender and age. Although <strong>the</strong>re is somesuggestion that antagonistic peer relations may result in truancy and eventual dropout, much moreresearch is needed in this area, including on ways in which children play and interact socially in schools.In general, more needs to be known about <strong>the</strong> emotional, affective side <strong>of</strong> teaching and learning, fromboth <strong>the</strong> teachers’ and <strong>the</strong> pupils’ perspectives.EDOREN – Education Data, Research and Evaluation in Nigeriavi
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