Nigeria

Education for Sustainable Development in Nigeria and Other Developing Nations (Published)

This paper is a contribution to addressing the challenge of underdevelopment in Nigeria using the tool of education. The researcher looked at education for sustainable development in Nigeria as a developing country. In recent times, there has been a paradigm shift in defining development and the way it is practiced. This paradigm shift is what has resulted in the adoption of Sustainable Development (SD) as a concept. Sustainable Development was highlighted in the Brunttand Report, at the Stockholm Conference of 1972 and more recently, in Paris, France where over 169 countries adopted the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a working document. All over Nigeria, there are rumours and evidence of failed leadership characterized by dwindling educational, economic, social and political fortunes. All these problems are as a result of the inability of the leadership to plan successfully for development using appropriate educational tools. It is the opinion here that, Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) can function to educate, train and undertake research to contribute to the sustainable development of the Nigerian Society. For instance, such education can provide the citizens with skills, perspectives, values and knowledge to live sustainably in their communities. It can also produce leaders who manage the affairs of government and private sector industries to constitute the stake holders of sustainable development. To function properly in this regard, Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) should grow from a variety of sources and be delivered through casual, informal, non-formal and formal strategies. In order to achieve these therefore, the paper recommends among other things that there should be a reorientation of existing education at all levels to include principles, skills, perspectives and values of sustainable development. That formal, non-formal informal and casual education for knowledge, attitude and skills for poverty alleviation and human development be promoted. 

Keywords: Developing Nations, Education, Nigeria, Sustainable Development

Business Education: An Indispensable Tool for Achieving Sustainable Development in the South-East States of Nigeria (Published)

The study was carried out by the researchers in the South East States of Nigeria to determine how business education could be an indispensable tool for achieving sustainable development. A survey research design was used for the study. The population comprised 46 business educators teaching in public universities in the South East States of Nigeria. A self-structured questionnaire developed by the researchers and carefully validated by the experts in the Faculty of Education of Enugu State University of Science and Technology was used for data collection. Mean and Standard deviation were used to answer the two research questions that guided the study while t.test hypothesis was used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The result of the study showed that business education programme is an indispensable tool for achieving sustainable development in the South East States of Nigeria because it provides the needed manpower required in industries. The study equally revealed that one of the strategies for achieving sustainable development in the South East States of Nigeria through business education programme is to ensure that the school curriculum is relevant to the skills required of industries. Moreover, there was no significant difference between the mean responses of male and female business educators on the relevance of business education in achieving sustainable development and the strategies for achieving sustainable development in the South East States of Nigeria. Based on the findings of the study, the researchers recommended among others that the curriculum planners should ensure that the school curriculum content is relevant to the skills required of industries because of the relevance of the programme in providing the needed manpower in industries.     

Keywords: Business Education, Business Educator, Nigeria, Sustainable Development

Assessing Free Education of Public Secondary Schools for Sustainable National Development in Nigeria (Published)

Education is inevitable tool for sustainable development and economic development is the desire of all nations of the world but how to attain a sustainable development remains a challenge to many nations. This paper examined free education and its adaption for sustainable national development in Nigeria. Education is a social service, which is meant to eradicate illiteracy, ensures comfortable living of the citizens as well as the development of the country, it should be provided free for all. In the course of this paper, information and data were gathered from literature and forty two (42) principals spread across forty two secondary schools in the four (4) Local Government Area of Umuahia Education Zone to describe the Concept and support of the arguments raised. The data for the study were collected using an instrument titled “Assessing Free Education for Sustainable Development Questionnaire (AFESDQ). The instrument was validated by three (3) research experts and reliability established using Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient with reliability 0.83. Data obtained were analyzed using mean for the research questions while hypothesis formulated was tested at 0.5 level of significance. The relationship between free education and sustainable development were established, the extent of enhancement and factors that facilitate free education were also examined with suggestions including among others, the need to ensure equity and egalitarianism, combat the looming poverty, low manpower/ literacy level and provision of scholarships, bursaries to students and adequate funding from government.

Keywords: Free Education, National Development, Nigeria, Public Secondary Schools

Correlates of Dyscalculia and Learning Outcome in Mathematics among SSII Students in Obudu, Cross River State-Nigeria (Published)

Dyscalculia brings about different types of learning disorder which affects individuals (students) at various levels of learning. It enables the students, educators and guidance to determine inabilities, phobia, anxiety and develop compensatory mechanism for under developed areas. This paper deals with correlates of dyscalculia and learning outcome in Mathematics among SSII students in Obudu, C.R.S- Nigeria. Types of dyscalculia like; sequential, verbal, practognostic and operational dyscalculia are discussed. Tips on how to reduce dyscalculia are listed in the work. The survey research design was adopted for the study. A sample of 200 students was randomly drawn for the study. Data generated were subjected to statistical analysis using Pearson product moment correlation analysis at 0.05 level of significant. Results obtained show among others that dyscalculia significantly correlates with students learning in mathematics. Based on this it was recommended among others that students should engage in practice, extra-time, graphicalized their work and evaluate their work.

Keywords: Dyscalculia, Education, Learning, Mathematics, Nigeria, Students

Personnel’s Perception of Continued Relevance of Shorthand and Typewriting Skills to Office Management in Osun State Owned Tertiary Institutions, Nigeria. (Published)

Shorthand and Typewriting are two major skilled courses in Office Education Programme in tertiary institutions in Nigeria. Acquisitions of skills in these two subjects were regarded as trade-in-stock for secretarial practitioners in managing offices. But with the current applications of Information and Communication Technology to manage in offices, the relevance of Typewriting and Shorthand skills became a subject of discourse. The main objective was to determine the continued relevance of the two subject’s skills to office management in Osun State owned tertiary institutions. The study adopted a descriptive survey design. Five research questions and five hypotheses were raised for the study. The population comprised 171 executives with their individual secretaries, making 342 participants. The entire population was used as the sample size. Structured questionnaire was used to collect data and descriptive statistics to analyse. The findings among others revealed that Shorthand and Typewriting were still relevant to office management. Based on the findings, it is recommended that secretarial training institutions should intensify efforts towards the training of students in these “twin” subjects.

Keywords: Nigeria, Office Management, Osun State, Shorthand, Tertiary Institutions, Typewriting Skills

Towards A Critical Thinking-Based Curricular and Pedagogical Innovations for Sustaining Democracy in Nigeria (Published)

Democracy, in addition to being a political system is also a way of life that is so admired that it has become a global model. Unfortunately those ingredients and flavour that make democracy the global ideal are terribly lacking in Nigeria, in addition to democracy not having any stronghold in Nigeria. Using the philosophical method, the paper raises sign posts on how critical thinking based curricular and pedagogical innovations can be a relief in reinventing and sustaining democracy in Nigeria. The position of the paper is that there is no substitute to positive thinking and positive thinking especially at the evaluative, insightful and critical thinking levels, can proffer solutions for resolving the pessimism that surrounds democracy in Nigeria. The paper makes recommendations, part of which include developing learners’ curiosity for participation in the democratic processes, the development of learners autonomous moral thinking as well as identifying live problems that threaten democracy and making such the subjects of arguments, dialogues and deliberations

Keywords: Critical thinking, Curriculum, Democracy, Nigeria, Pedagogy

Boosting Achievement Using Individulised And Demonstration Strategies In Biology: How Do Male And Female Students Behave In Nigeria? (Published)

This study determined the effectiveness of demonstration, individualized and conventional methods and Gender on the achievement of Secondary School Two students in biology. The study employed a multi stage sampling techniques; in the first stage, three schools were randomly selected out of the twenty Secondary Schools in Abeokuta South Local Government of the state. At the second stage, sample sizes of sixty students were randomly selected from the list of students and their gender. In the same manner, thirty students were male while the female constitute the same number. The study which lasted six weeks made use of two valid and reliable instruments: Biology Achievement Test (BAT) and Operational guide for instruction (OGI) Stimulus instrument. Students were exposed to different methods (Demonstration and Individualized) while those in the control were not exposed to any treatment but were rather taught in the Convectional way. Data analysis involved the use of Analysis of Covariance, Descriptive Statistics and t-test.The result indicated that the demonstration method is a more potent method of improving achievement in biology. (F (1.167) = 42.838; P < 0.05), (F (1.167) = 486.287; P < 0.05), F (2.167) = 90.389; P < 0.05). Moreover, there was a significant difference in the academic achievement of male and female students when exposed to the two experimental methods and control, hence female students performed better than their male counterparts. Arising from these findings, demonstration method and individualized method where recommended for teachers use in biology classrooms.

Keywords: Achievement, Biology, Demonstration Strategies, Male and Female Student, Nigeria

Teaching Metacognitive Skills for the Promotion of Self-Regulated Learning among Secondary School Students in Nigeria (Published)

The dwindling good performances of students in both private and public examinations call for a serious concern among every individual especially the stakeholders in the education sector. More worrisome is the yearly poor performances of students in public examinations in all subjects. The remedy for this situation is by employing the metacognitive skills. The students need to be taught the metacognitive skills to help them regulate their learning. Metacognition is higher order level of thinking that aids learning. The three skills involved in metacognition: planning, monitoring and evaluation when effectively taught will in no small measure promote self-regulated learning that will enhance students’ performances in all examination. It is against this backdrop that this study is carried out to highlight the importance of teaching metacognitive skills to promote self-regulated learning among secondary school students in Nigeria.

Keywords: Metacognitive Skills, Nigeria, Self-Regulated Learning, Teaching, secondary school students

Judiciary and the Theory of Separation of Powers in Achieving Sustainable Democracy in Nigeria (The Fourth Republic) (Published)

Nigeria is a nation with a chequered history of democratic rule. The pressures mounted on the Nigerian political system since independence created instability in Nigerian polity. Hence the Judiciary could not carryout its roles effectively, the First, Second and Third Republics collapsed thus, paved way for the inevitability of military incursions in Nigerian politics, which truncated the Nigerian nascent democracy. Studies have shown that, in a democratic state, separation of powers is indispensable and the independence of the judiciary is paramount in achieving sustainable democracy. This study therefore investigated the impact of the separation of powers in achieving sustainable democracy in Nigeria State. The study used qualitative and content analysis method in analyzing the information generated for the study. Cases and instances from the content analysis showed that: the independence of the Judiciary helps in achieving sustainable democracy in Nigeria; Independent Judiciary enhances due process in a democratic state. Further analysis showed that incidences and court verdicts on issues relating to how the practice of separation of powers enhances the Judiciary to discharge its constitutionally stipulated roles in achieving sustainable democracy in Nigeria is convincing. This work therefore concluded that separation of powers enhances the efficiency of the Judiciary in Nigeria. The researchers recommend that the consolidation of democracy in Nigeria will depend on the commitment and ability of the Nigeria State to take extra measures to ensure that the theory and practice of Separation of Powers, and the Independence of the Judiciary is firmly established, respected and protected.

Keywords: Democracy, Judiciary, Nigeria, Separation of Powers, Sustainable Democracy

Incarceration and the Well-Being of Prison Inmates in Nigeria (Published)

This study investigated the influence of incarceration on the well-being of prison inmates in Nigeria. The study was carried out in Port Harcourt Prison in Rivers State, Nigeria. The population of inmates in this prison at the time of study was 2,997 while the sample of study was 250 inmates. The design of study was ex-post facto design. Five null hypotheses were formulated to guide the study and data for their investigation were collected through the administration of copies of a questionnaire tagged “influence of incarceration on prison inmates (ICPI) the reliability co-efficient of the five sub-sections of the instrument were 0.79; 0.80; 0.80; 0.80 and 0.80 while the overall reliability co-efficient was 0.80. The hypotheses were tested with t-test of independent means and the results show that nature of incarceration does not influence the physical and vocational well-being of prison inmates however, it influences their psychological, social and educational well-being. These results were discussed and some recommendations were also made. One of the recommendations is that psychological and counselling services designed for inmates who are depressed, filled with anxiety, fear and hopelessness should be improved and intensified.

Keywords: Counselling Service, Incarceration, Inmate, Nigeria, Prison, Well-being