Edu101: Introduction To The Teaching Profession: February 2018
Edu101: Introduction To The Teaching Profession: February 2018
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Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, Sokoto State, Nigeria. Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto
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2. CONCEPT OF EDUCATION
Education is central to human existence. It occupies the most important position in individual and
national development. Education is the process by which the individual is helped to develop physically,
mentally, morally, spiritually and emotionally through the provision of suitable environment and teaching
him new knowledge, attitudes and skills so that he may be useful to himself and the society in which he
lives. Education is a process that begins during birth and ends in the grave. It is, as John Dewey (1916) put
it, a social process – ‘a process of living and not a preparation for future living’. Education is therefore an
end in itself not a means to an end. According Aristotle (a Greek Philosopher) “Education is the process of
creating a sound mind in a sound body”.
3. CONCEPT OF TEACHING
Teaching is a versatile field that requires at all times the correct identification of indices of
developments in the society. The word teaching is use to mean teaching-learning process, where there is
an interaction between the teacher and the learner(s). We refer to teaching as effective only when there is a
relative change in learners’ behaviour. Teaching therefore can be referred to an art and science of instilling
fear of God through behaviour modification which lead learners to acquiring wisdom.
The National Policy on Education (NPE) is the document that states the philosophy of
education in Nigeria. This document stated also the goals of other components of the Nigerian
educational system including teacher education. The policy gave the following as the goals of
teacher education in Nigeria (FGN, 2004):
(a) Produce highly motivated, conscientious and efficient classroom teachers for all levels of our
educational system (pre-primary, primary, secondary and tertiary)
(b) Develop the spirit of enquiry and creativity in teachers;
(c) Assist teachers fit into social life of the community and society at large and enhance their
commitment to national goals;
(d) Provide teachers with the intellectual and professional background adequate for their
assignment and make them adaptable to changing situations;
(e) Improve teachers’ commitment to the teaching profession.
The policy went further to state that:
(a) all teachers in educational institutions shall be professionally trained.
(b) teacher education shall be structured to equip teachers for the effective performance of their
duties;
(c) the minimum qualification for entry into teaching profession to be the Nigeria Certificate in
Education (NCE).
ii. The Early Schools and Teacher Education (The Coming of the Missionaries)
The history of teacher education in Nigeria is as old as western education in the country.
This is traceable to the activities of the various church missions in Nigeria. The Church Missionary
Society (CMS) established the first Teacher training Institution in Abeokuta, western Nigeria, in
1859. The Baptist Mission also founded the Baptist Training College Ogbomoso in 1897, with the
Wesleyan Mission establishing the Wesley College in Ibadan in 1918. In the Eastern part of
Nigeria, the Hope Waddell Institute was founded in Calabar in 1892. Later in 1909, the then
Colonial Government established the Nassarawa Schools in Northern Nigeria. Katsina and Toro
Colleges were later established in 1927 and 1929 respectively. The Church Missionary Society
(CMS) also set up Teacher Training Institutions. The Grade III Teachers certificate was the
qualification most of these Institutions award. Later on Teachers Colleges awarding the Grade II
EDU 101: Introduction to the Teaching Profession Lecture Note
sprang up. The Grade I Teacher Training was later introduced and aspired by ambitious teachers
willing to enhance their status to qualify for teaching in Secondary Schools.
The number of these colleges gradually increased to cater for expansions in demands for
education and qualified teachers. These Colleges award the NCE certificate with some of them
upgraded to award B. Ed degrees of affiliate Universities. The duration of the NCE is usually three
years for the full time students, while the part time students spend upwards to five years to
complete their programme of studies. Universities established prior to independence, at
independence and post independence, also provided teacher education programmes. Established
Faculties of Education and Institutes of Education in these Universities, Federal, State, Private and
Military, also provided professional training for teachers.
iv. Institutions with Teacher Education Programme and the Certificate Awarded
There are many institutions for teacher education in Nigeria who are charged with the
responsibilities of awarding teacher certificates. Such institutions include:
(a) Teachers Colleges (now phased out) which award Grade II.
(b) Colleges of Education, which award National Certificate in Education (NCE), affiliated
B.A. Ed, Bsc.Ed, and PGDE.
EDU 101: Introduction to the Teaching Profession Lecture Note
(c) Universities (faculties of education and institute of educations), which award B.A Ed,
B.Ed, Bsc.Ed, PGDE, M.Ed, and M.Phil/Ph.D in Education.
(d) Polytechnics (schools of education), which award NCE and degree categories in the areas
of vocational and technical education.
(e) The National Teachers’ Institute (NTI), which award NCE through distance learning.
(f) National Institute for Nigerian Languages (NINLAN), which award NCE.
(g) National Mathematics Centre (NMC), which award NCE in mathematics education.
i. Pre-Service Training
The term pre-service training refers to normal school education or special training given to
individuals who are prospective teachers before the commencement of their teaching career. This
education or training is acquired in the colleges of education, universities, polytechnics and other
relevant institutions. The pre-service training prepares the prospective teacher to participate
effectively in the educational system and usually involves exposure to various concepts of teaching
and learning, and contents of different subject areas depending on the area of specialization of each
teacher.
Apart from advancing knowledge, in-service training provide opportunity for non-
professional teachers to upgrade themselves to professional teachers. A teacher with HND (High
National Diploma) for example, enrolled into any institution awarding education certificate to
obtain relevant certificate that can qualify him to become a professional teacher.
6. TEACHING AS A PROFESSION
i. Meaning of Profession
Profession refers to any type of work that requires longtime and extensive period of
training and study that make its practioners acquire and master specialized knowledge and skills. A
member of a profession is called a professional. Example of these professionals include
professional football players, professional doctors, professional lawyer, professional teacher, etc.
The inability of Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) to regulate entrance into
the profession is today a major short-coming in the teacher professional development in Nigeria.
For instance, today anyone can seek to be employed as teachers in Nigeria even after 16 years
of the establishment of TRCN. In Nigeria, both the government and the private school
proprietors
employ anyone who has qualifications beyond the ordinary level or school certificate no matter the
discipline. The matter is as worse in the private schools where proprietors employ even secondary
school dropouts and failures. This discourages people willing to enter the profession and so the
profession becomes open to frustrated individuals who are not able to enter other professions or
people who use teaching as stepping stone to other vocations. The new proposal to change the
Teacher Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN), to be Teacher Regulatory Body of Nigeria
(TRBN), may be the only hope for teaching to recover to its lost professional glory.
7. THE TEACHER
i. Who is a Teacher?
The teacher is important in the scheme of developing the educational potential of any
nation. He is a person recognized and employed to help learners in a classroom situation in order
to achieve set educational goals. He is described as the professional, who imparts knowledge,
learning experiences at his disposal to stimulate, guide, direct and facilitate learners to acquire
adequate mastery of the skills being imparted. He is someone who causes learning to take place;
someone who imparts knowledge, skills, values and attitudes to a group of learners. From the
definitions, it is clear that a teacher is one who helps the learners often in a school, as well as in a
family, religious and community setting. Learning cannot take place without the teacher, even
though he is not physically present; he is indirectly represented by the medium through which
learning takes places. Teachers therefore are the major instrument for achieving educational goals
and national development hence no nation can rise above the standard of its educational system
ii. Types of Teacher
There are many classifications of teachers. We can classify teachers based on their
leadership style: Authoritarian teacher who do not listen to the opinion of their students;
Democratic teacher, who allow students to participate in decision-making; and Laissez-Faire
teacher, who allow students to do whatever they like. Another way to classify teachers is on
nature-nurture nexus. The hottest debate in education class is not more than that of whether teacher
are born or made. It is an accepted fact that teachers are usually not born but made. Good teachers
nurture their knowledge and skills through constant and deliberate efforts. This is because the
argument that teachers are born is baseless.
8. TEACHER PREPARATION
Preparing teacher is a long process that requires step-by-step and stage-to-stage procedure.
Prominent among this procedures include:
i. Microteaching
Microteaching is an interaction between teacher-trainer and teacher-trainee. It is part of the
requirements for students undergoing education programme at colleges of education, universities,
polytechnics or any other institution awarding education certificate. It is a practical short time
demonstration and detail discussion, usually in a teaching laboratory, that help minimize the risk of
making serious mistakes during teaching practice by student-teacher. It is a small-scale teaching
preparation and exercise, which is meant to build the confidence of student teacher before embarking
on the real teaching practice. It is a very short time exercise that last between 10 to 15 minutes, and
occur usually only once.
their practical professional skills. The duration and frequency were also determined. Lecturers are
expected to effectively coordinate the overall teaching practice preparation programme. This should
contain a gradual building up of assignments, micro‐teaching and classroom observation activities in
a way that student‐teachers are prepared through their various courses in a consistent and effective
manner of Teaching Practice. It should be assessed by applying the relevant teaching standards and
providing evidence of how well student‐teachers achieve them.
iii. Mentoring
This is strategy in which highly experienced teachers in a school are assigned a number of less-
experienced ones to serve as their mentors or professional guides. This is a self-help in-service
approach that drastically reduces the cost of financing training programmes for teachers within local
government areas. Thus, the expertise of good/experienced teachers is utilized to up-date other
teachers in neighbouring schools in the same area.
The following are the purposes behind the creation of the union:
(a) Make recommendation on the national policy necessary for the full development of teacher
education and training;
(b) Determine the qualified teacher needs of the country for the purpose of planning training
facilities and in particular, prepare periodic master plans for the balanced co-coordinated
development of Colleges of Education;
(c) Enquire into and advise the Federal Government on the financial needs of the colleges and
receive block grants from the government and allocate to the colleges based on approved
formula;
(d) Lay down minimum standards for all programmes of teacher education and accredit their
certificates and their academic awards;
(e) Undertake periodic review of terms and conditions of service of personnel in the Colleges of
Education and make recommendations thereon to the government;
(f) Collate, analyse and put together information relating to teacher education in the country; and
(b) Initiating awareness and organizing continuous training and professional development
programmes for teachers;
(c) Holding regular and consultations with stakeholder and programmed partner.
These goals are necessary for the achievement of other emerging goals of education such as
gender parity by 2005, universal basic education by 2015, life-long learning, life skills education,
HIV/AIDS education, and competency in the use of ICT. As key agents in these changes, teachers
face high expectations, new roles and demands.
According to the provisions of Teachers’ Registration Council Act (2004), teachers are
categorized into four main classes namely:
A – Class: Holders of Ph.D. in Education or Ph.D. in other field plus Education (i.e. PGDE)
B – Class: Holders of Masters Degree in Education or Masters degree in other field plus
Education (i.e. PGDE)
C – Class: Holders of Bachelors degree in Education or Bachelors degree in other field plus
Education (i.e. PGDE).
D – Class: Holders of Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE) or equivalent.
The provision of the TRC Act emphasized that, holders of the TC II and equivalent shall be
given provisional registration which had terminate at the end of 2006. This suggests that the
minimum NCE requirement as the baseline for teaching in Nigeria had started since January 2007.
iv. The National Teachers’ Institute (NTI)
The National Teachers’ Institute (NTI) was mandated by Act No 7 of 1978 to organize
programmes for upgrading and updating practicing teachers at all levels, a task, which it has been
engaged in since its establishment. In Nigeria, unlike other countries, the re-training of teachers
has not received the desired attention from local, state and federal government. There has not been
any systematic attention to update regularly the knowledge and skills of teachers in the light of the
EDU 101: Introduction to the Teaching Profession Lecture Note
changes in curriculum and the wider society. This neglect has in turn affected the quality of
teaching in schools. It is in recognition of this that the Federal Government has under the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) project, directed the institute to retrain teachers in
Nigeria.
The NTI is fully committed to capacity building for primary and secondary school teachers
as demonstrated by the range of retraining programmes. Apart from the upgrading courses that the
institute has been implementing for many years (TCII, NCE and PTTP), the institute introduced
proficiency diploma courses in Early Childhood Education (ECE), Guidance and Counseling
(G&C), School Supervision and Inspection (SSI), and the Postgraduate Diploma in Education
(PGDE). Indeed, the institute believes that an effective implementation of the Universal Basic
Education (UBE) curriculum must begin with strengthening the capacity of existing teaching force
through in-service training and re-training that will:
(a) disseminate innovative practical skills that will enhance the teachers’ effectiveness and
thereby enhance the quality of learning;
(b) update the teachers’ knowledge of subject matter;
(c) contribute to the development of positive attitudes and self-concept by the teachers; and
(d) enable teachers to make pupils perceive learning as an interesting pleasant activity that
promotes self-understanding, inquiry and critical thinking.
In 2002, the institute drew a five-year master plan on the professional development of
teachers (2002-2006). The components of the plan are:
(a) training workshops on teaching the core subjects of English, Mathematics, Primary Science
and Social Studies;
(b) training workshops on improvisation and utilization of instructional materials;
(c) training workshops on school based assessment;
(d) distribution of multimedia learning packages (audio, video, print) on innovative teaching
methods that provide on-the-job professional support for teachers, disseminate information on
preventive education especially malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS.
10. CHALLENGES FACING TEACHER EDUCATION IN NIGERIA
Teachers form the hub of the education process. It is in this context that teacher education becomes
a matter of great concern. The challenge facing the teacher education system in Nigeria appears herculean,
prominent among these are:
EDU 101: Introduction to the Teaching Profession Lecture Note
(a) Attitudinal problems: Despite the activities embarked upon by the Local, State and Federal
Government of Nigeria to expose teachers to frequent training and retraining, there are sizeable
number of teachers who are resistant to change due to their negative attitudes to introduce new
innovations and techniques to teach their students, which could lead to students failure.
(b) Students-teacher Ratio: The weak correlation between school enrolments and the number of
teachers employed in each school is the most obvious indicator of poor deployment. Variations in
pupil – teacher ratio between schools are typically very large in Nigeria; they range from 50 to 70
pupils to one teacher.
(c) Teachers’ inability to teach with Information and Communications Technology (ICT): Nigerian
teachers are yet to be developed professionally of ICT skills, competencies and capabilities that are
required for the effective implementation of ICT education. With this problem, Nigeria as a
country cannot join the global competition of the information super highway.
(d) Teachers rarely enjoy the same work environment as other professions. The government schools
are with poor furniture for students and teachers, dilapidated staff rooms and classrooms; and these
could inhibit teaching-learning process.
(e) Lack of Incentives: Nigerian teachers do not receive good salaries as other professionals do. As a
result, commitment to the growth of the profession is affected.
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