TEACHER EDUCATION FOR NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA:

CHALLENGES AND PROSPECTS

BY

JOY, BAKABA IGWE

A PROPOSAL PAPER PRESENTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONAL
MANAGEMENT AND PLANNING DURING THE OCTOBER, 2023 PHD ADMISSION
INTERVIEW
Abstract
Despite the varying degrees of success recorded through the offering of teacher education
programmes in both pre-and in-service in Nigeria by different teacher education institutions in
obedience to the provisions and policies stipulated in the National Policy on Education, there
still exist various problems confronting the program with far-reaching consequences in
Nigeria’s educational system. This paper dwells on the necessity of teacher education, the
teaching process, the good teacher, national development, teacher education, teacher education
and national development, challenges facing teacher education and recommendations for
advancement/improvement in teacher education. The paper further discusses the influence of
these and other reforms in shaping teacher education in Nigeria.

Keywords: Teaching, Good-Teacher, National Development, Teacher Education

Introduction

Background to the study

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) as adopted by the United Nations (UN) in
1948 opines that everyone has the right to education, which shall be free at least in the
elementary and fundamental stages. According to the UDHR (1948), education (elementary
education) shall be compulsory and technical/professional and higher education should all be
made accessible for all who merit it. It is clear that when the right type of education is offered
human personality is developed, and respect for human rights is strengthened. Education
promotes understanding, tolerance and relationships among all nations, racial or religious groups,
and other multinational organizations such as the United Nations (UN), AU, and EU etc.

The benefits of education are enormous to individuals as well as the nation when recounted and
these benefits become possible through the help of educational stakeholders. The stakeholders of
education plan, strategize, implement, evaluate and re-evaluate the program and policies of any
nation. The stakeholders of a nation‟s educational sector include; the Government, the Ministry
of Education and Government inspectorate organs or bodies, the various school management
boards, the principals of schools, the teachers, the Parent/Teachers Association (PTA) bodies etc.

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Teachers occupy the most major position among all the above-mentioned stakeholders in the
educational sector because of the uniqueness of the teaching profession and its functions.

The roles teachers play are numerous and they include the middle-man role, curriculum
implementation role, feedback/reporting role, and re-evaluation and evaluation role of the
schooling system. A student‟s life and future are greatly dictated by their educational experiences
and a teacher and the power the teacher has can leave a positive mark on the students. Through
the teachers‟ roles/functions of teaching or instruction delivery, the teacher aids the government
through the Ministry of Education and the managerial board of schools to implement and execute
pre-planned programs in the name of „curriculum‟.

Hence, without teaching and learning, there is no formal form/type of education _this makes
teachers and the teaching profession essential in the development of any nation.

Statement of the Problem

The future of a nation or society depends greatly upon the quality of education it provides for its
citizens and upon inspired, satisfied and dedicated teachers. Truly, this depicts that no nation can
rise above the quality or standard of her education. It is a necessity for a teacher to acquire basic
teaching skills and competencies before going out to the classroom to teach. Thus, all significant
development in the educational system is associated with well-trained and dedicated teachers
who are passionate to put in their best in the teaching profession. In order to make the society
better and to help the teacher to possess the necessary physical, emotional psychological and
intellectual competencies expected of a good teacher, the teacher has to be well trained and
developed. These teaching skills and competencies can be learnt through teacher education
programme. No matter how rich, relevant and innovative the curriculum of the teacher education
may be, if the instructional facilities and the teaching personnel are not available in adequate
quantity and quality, instructional delivery becomes difficult. It is against this background that
this study seeks to outline the problems and explore possible solutions to teacher education
related problems such as: course content/delivery, admission of students, availability of
instructional facilities, teaching practice, examination malpractice, funding, and knowledge of
ICT and remuneration of teachers.

Aim and objectives of the study

The purpose or aim of this study is to ascertain the prospects, challenges facing teacher education
in Nigeria and how it affects national development.

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The study is guided by the following research objectives that seek to:

1. Identify a teacher
2. Identify the importance of teacher education and the teacher to national development.
3. X-ray the challenges militating against teacher education in Nigeria
4. Identify prospects on teacher education in Nigeria.

Research Questions

The study is also guided by the following research questions:

1. What is the identity of a teacher?

2. How important is teacher education and the teacher to national development?
3. What are the challenges militating against teacher education in Nigeria?
4. What prospects exist on teacher education in Nigeria?
Significance of the Study
First, the curriculum planners and developers, the teachers, learners, the public and all
stakeholders in education industry, who would have a better understanding of the instructional
materials and the roles it plays in teaching and learning process will benefit from the result of
this research. The result of this study shall be relevant to the government, parents, the authorities
and all the stakeholders in all levels of the educational sector (primary, secondary, universities
and other tertiary educational institutions). It will be relevant to students, parents and the public
who may venture into research for further related or unrelated studies because it is believed that
the findings of this study will motivate interest for further research. Assuredly, this study will
expose the challenges militating against teacher education in Nigeria.

1.3. The Scope of the Study

There are lots of challenges that deal with teacher education but this research work focuses on
the prospects, challenges facing teacher education in Nigeria and how it affects national
development.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Teacher and the Teaching Profession

Teaching suggests the purposeful impacting of knowledge, ideas, information, value systems,
skills or craft from a first party (the teacher) to a second party (the learner or student). It suggests

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the constructing, discovering and transferring of knowledge from a teacher/facilitator/resources
bank to a student. Teaching is one of the pedagogical interactions and transactions that
commonly exist between teachers and students. Hence a teacher is someone who impacts
knowledge by adhering to the characteristics and principles that govern the art and science of
teaching.

According to Saleemi (2022), to the sleeper, the teacher is the wake-up call of birds at sunrise.
To clay, the teacher is a potter, sculptor, and trainer in self-shaping. To the wanderer, the teacher
is a knowing guide. To the developed mind, the teacher is a colleague, listener, and friend.
Teacher‟s foremost duties include but are not limited to the intellectual/creative development of
the students, imparting technical knowledge, fostering the development of technical skills,
developing ethical dimensions of the students (motivation, character, self-esteem, civic
responsibilities) and imparting training for management, decision-making and leadership
qualities in students.

A professional teacher is a person who derives his or her income from specific teaching
experience and knowledge as opposed to a labourer, hirer or amateur lobbyist without formal
teaching training. Gbamanja (1997:135) defines a trained teacher as an educationist, who
underwent pedagogical training including a good knowledge of the principles and practice of
education, in addition to his teaching subjects or discipline. It is vital to know that an effective
teacher must not only have a sound academic background/knowledge but must also have a
profound knowledge of numerous pedagogical principles. Hence, a good teacher is abreast with
the basic and necessary elements of what to teach, the time to teach it and how to teach it. With
the above statements and explanations, the teaching job or calling can be referred to as a very
important profession. This is because it is widely recognized by other professions and society
thus it is ranked as the mother of other professions. It (the teaching profession) is uniquely a
codified profession because (in that) it has codes of conduct as well as wide recognition in the
spheres of every society. The teaching profession demands prolonged training and formal
qualification before and during its professions. The codes and conducts adopted in the teaching
profession define and demand high standards of behaviour/activities concerning the functions
and services teachers provide to the public and how teachers behave or relate among themselves.
One, who engages in the teaching profession, is seen as a professional in the profession when
such shows a high level of integrity, commitment, dedication, ethics, trust and expertise.

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Teachers everywhere are required to uphold teaching rules, pedagogical edicts/ laws, teaching
ethics and teaching conventions.

Qualities of a good teacher

While talking about a professional teacher, it is not out of place to identify such a person as one
who has the qualities of a good teacher. It is generally expected by students that teachers should
be innovative, patient, professional, and confident along with other qualities. Subject knowledge,
sense of humour and method of teaching are considered some of the inspiring traits of a good
teacher. The qualities of a good teacher include but are not limited to the following:

1. Improvisation skill and technology skills:

The landscape of education changes with technology. Blackboards are being replaced by Smart
Boards and in-classroom instruction can be replaced by distance learning. The ever-changing
world of classroom innovation relies on teachers to be adaptable and adopt new technologies that
can benefit the workflow of both students and teachers. For a teacher to be good with new
technology, they‟ll have to put in the effort to stay up-to-date with the trends and be open to
integrating the products into their classroom

2. Good motivational skill

Good teachers inspire students to do their learning and research support additional learning and
even answer more enriching questions along the way. For students, having a teacher be excited
about the subject they are teaching is only beneficial, making it one of the most essential
characteristics of a good teacher.

3. Good knowledge of the art of teaching

A good teacher must be well equipped with the right teaching skills that will be helpful in the
transfer of knowledge, values, norms and skills to learners under his care and tutelage. While the
ability to communicate and speak is, obviously, crucial when it comes to education, it‟s also
necessary and important that teachers know how to impart the knowledge to their students. For
students to enjoy and participate effectively in learning, it is the responsibility of a good teacher
to create a nice pedagogical environment for learners to learn by applying the right skills and art
of teaching.

4. Passion and good knowledge of content

Passion and enthusiasm for your subject matter can be transferred to the students when the
excitement is infectious. A good teacher is known for stimulating learners to learn through a
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good knowledge of the content and passion for teaching; the excitement about what a teacher
teaches the students makes learners too likely to be engaged with the whole process. Through the
expansion of learning and improvement in the knowledge of specific subjects, a good teacher is
made to stand out better than other teachers. A teacher‟s ability to pass passion, understanding,
and knowledge to students is an integral of excellence and professionalism that makes a teacher
classified as a good teacher/educator.

5. Excellent behaviour and professionalism

It is most expected of every good teacher to be of good behaviour while carrying out their
professional pedagogical duties in the classroom.

6. Skillful in understanding learners

A good teacher must be skilled in the area of child psychology and child development; such
skills will enable the trained teacher to resolve problems and challenges related to the learner‟s
inability to learn and understand the content. Teachers must listen to learner‟s yearnings and
opinions. Through response to a question, in one-on-one discussions, and in group work where
students are talking amongst themselves, a good teacher who knows when to stop talking and has
good listening skills stands the chance of delivering effectively the content of learning and being
revered among colleagues in a school or institution of learning. It takes practice, time and effort,
for any teacher to be a good „listener‟ as while being a good „talker‟. As a part of good
communication skills, good teachers can better reach their students when they listen to their
needs (through active listening). Good teachers are also lifelong learners, and listening to their
students allows them to learn from them. The world of education isn‟t meant to be top-down; it‟s
interactive, and this means that listening is half of the work.

7. Adaptability
The only constant thing is change. The world, the classroom, and the rate of information
exchange continue to shift. The teachers who make the biggest difference in a student‟s life are
adaptable. They know how to incorporate aspects and events outside of the classroom and bring
them within a student‟s reach and understanding to connect formal education with life skills. An
adaptable teacher also models for students how to be resilient and flexible when events beyond
their control take place.

8. Discipline:
There is a saying that when you need good training and excellent discipline the best person you
should get is a teacher because good teachers know how to discipline. A good teacher through a
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dialogue or a conversation can get to the root of a student‟s problem, and a teacher could be the
perfect person to help resolve almost all student‟s issues. Furthermore, the ability to command a
classroom will also help educators anticipate a student‟s needs and promote strong relationships
between teacher and student.

9. Strong purposes for lessons

Decent teachers establish objectives and devices by which they achieve schools set standards as
to what students are expected to know when they advance to the succeeding level. Respectable
teachers prepare lesson strategies and have means to measure their students‟ success.

Most memorable teachers are known for the following important characteristics: being prepared
(preparedness), a sense of humour, positive attitude, creativity and innovation, impartiality and
justice, compassion and care etc. Lupascu et al. (2014), opine that teenage students appreciate
various qualities of teachers like calm, tolerance, presence of a sense of humour, friendliness,
and a well-prepared instructor.

Development and National Development

The term development suggests improvement and advancement in the economy, social life and
political institutions; it is a multidimensional process that involves major changes in social,
structures, popular attitudes and national institutions. To a nation or state, the social construct
„development‟ indicates an acceleration of economic growth, the reduction of inequality and the
eradication of poverty. To some development, stands for economic growth, industrialization, and
prospering living standards such as free/quality medical care, free/quality education etc. The
unachievability of the above standards qualifies a nation to be regarded as a less
developed/underdeveloped nation or country. The following are synonyms for development:
progress, evaluation, expansion, improvement, addition, materiality, reinforcement, ripening,
spread, making progress, up growth, unfolding and adding to etc.

National development deals with the development or advancement of a nation/state in the aspect
of health care, economy, provision/sufficiency of employment/labourer and productivity. It also
implies a change or advancement in the areas of; economy, societal, political, and cultural and
any other human endeavors one can think of. National development is about happenings
concerning poverty, unemployment, and issues about inequality. Any country that has or ranks
high on all of or either of the above three (3) mentioned yardsticks/pointers of national
developments, is marked as a developed or underdeveloped nation or country – why a country or

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nation that is rated lower on all the three (unemployment, poverty and inequality) is seen as a
developed nation or state.

Onuka (2004) in addition opines that development is for the good of man and can be done by
man. The Nigerian National Policy on Education document (Federal Republic of Nigeria [FRN],
2013) used throughout Nigeria, succinctly states that education is the pivot for national and
human development. The impetus for humans to design and implement developmental
programmes is the provision of quality primary education. For Obanya (2015), education is the
foundation for sustainable human development, averring that learning that education provides
can be incidental, informal, non-formal and formal, and that education is not only lifelong but
also life-wide. According to Obanya (2009), the UNDP defined the human development index as
„a development paradigm that is about much more than the rise or fall of national incomes‟ (p.
2). He further stated that „fundamental to enlarging these choices is building human capabilities‟.
Building human capabilities comes in one form of education or another.

Education

Okoh and Omordu (2014:11) outline three ways of defining or using education.

1. Education as a process
2. Education as a product
3. Education as a discipline
Education as a process suggests a life living continuous development activity in a society.
Education as a product dwells on the desired change whether clear or unclear, open or secret
which is expected to be seen in the life of the receiver of education and the product of education
is the educated being that has the potential and capability to make the world a better place.
Education as a discipline defines and sees education as a specific and special area of study that
deals with the transfer of values, norms, knowledge and skills for positive development in
society and transformation of life to the receiver. Education as a discipline looks at education as
an important, independent and indispensable area of study just like Law, Medicine and others.

To Hans (1978), education is a science, since other sciences, focus on facts and observations,
which should be ranged in analytical tables easily compared, to deduce principles and definite
rules. Education should become a positive science instead of being ruled by narrow and limited
opinions, by whims and arbitrary decisions of administrators, to be turned away from the direct

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line which it should follow, either by the prejudice of a blind routine or by the spirit of some
system and innovation.

According to Nwaokugha (2015:70), education serves as a means for the liberation,

empowerment and emancipation of a people or a provision for freeing a people in a state or
bringing about freedom, when he or she who claims to have received education can
autonomously and existentially take his or her destiny in his or her own hands by meaningfully
carrying out or initiating actions that can positively change or transform his or her life. In any
state where its educational provision is driven towards the direction indicated above, education
functions for that state and her citizens as an instrument and institution for opening the eyes of
the people, where the end product is to add quality to their lives and bring about some measures
of empowerment and emancipation to them.

Teacher Education

A teacher is somebody who impacts knowledge, through the display of precepts, examples,
illustrations and experiences…. guides learners or students through their studies, which are
principally directed at getting them to think for themselves (Nnwon, G. U., 2017). A teacher is
known for engaging in interactive behaviour with the learners to effect a change in them.
Teaching is not the sole job of the teacher. The teacher‟s challenges and responsibilities are so
many that they cannot be exhausted. This is so because the teacher is also a motivator, moderator,
counsellor and above all a supervisor of learning. Little wonder, the Nigeria Union of Teachers
(NUT) has its slogan “If you can write your name, thank your teacher”. Thus, these are major
ways of showcasing the importance of teachers. Indeed, teachers are great assets in any
educational system, that is why the national policy on education says that “No educational system
can rise above the quality of its teachers”.

Section 8 of the Federal Government of Nigeria‟s (2004:38) National Policy on Education places
teacher education under tertiary education where tertiary education is defined as “education
given after secondary education in universities, colleges of education, polytechnics, and mono-
technics including those institutions offering correspondence courses. What this, points to is that
people who aspire to pursue careers in teacher education start this pursuit after secondary
education in tertiary educational institutions. With this, any keen observer can observe that the
Nigerian state has some measure of regard for teacher education especially when the federal
government of Nigeria (2004) has acknowledged that “no education system can rise above the
quality of its teachers”. This robust acknowledgement means that the teacher is a major
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stakeholder and is the person upon which anything that happens in the education industry
revolves. What qualifies the teacher for this herculean task is his going through a teacher
education programme.

Because teacher education is important in the generation of ideas and knowledge upon which the
sustainable development of man and his institutions depends, many scholars, disciplines and
institutions discuss and make teacher education a focal flashpoint. This is accounted for in the
numerous definitions and interpretations of the concept of teacher education. Okafor (1991:30)
defines teacher education as that form of education which is systematically tailored and applied
for the cultivation and preparation of those who teach or will teach particularly but not
exclusively in primary and post-primary levels of schooling. Teacher education is a programme
of education that deals with research and training of individuals to impart in the levels of pre-
primary education even up to higher education levels.

Teacher education is all the formal and non-formal activities and experiences that help to qualify
a person to take up the responsibilities of a member of the educational profession or to discharge
his responsibilities more effectively. Nwaokugha and Unwana-Obong (2011) importantly view
teacher education, when they stress that teacher education focuses on the development of quality
human resources for the development of a people and their state through which, those who have
chosen it are provided with the knowledge and skills that can enable them to achieve maximum
learning in addition to mastering social, psychological, emotional and other environmental
variables that can promote teaching and learning.

Teaching practice is a time-setting in a student‟s life when the student teacher devotes teaching
at a college as part of his or her education or drills. The Nigerian government has it as a policy
that all teachers in educational institutions in Nigeria shall be professionally trained and that the
minimum qualification shall be the Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE) awarded by tertiary
educational institutions in Nigeria known as the College of Education. In addition to the Colleges
of Education, Emenyonu (1994:89) writes that there are many other tertiary institutions which
have programmes that lead to the award of the Nigeria Certificate in Education. An effective and
decent teacher education programme must aim at supporting the individual teacher to grow and
develop as a person, make available obligatory, skills, backings and specialized abilities that will
help him become an effective teacher". This teacher training programme called Student Teaching
Practice (STP) can only be provided through several strategies, one of which is university
education. Therefore, the concept of Student Teaching Practice (STP) is deeply rooted in the

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determination towards the education and training of knowledgeable and professional teachers.
Even though, some people hold the school of thought, which says that "teachers are born, not
trained", the awe-inspiring interpretation today is that it is a prerequisite for professionally
trained teachers to impart in our schools.

Apart from the College of Education, Institutes of education in the universities and other higher
education sectors equally have the legitimate permission to produce teachers in Nigeria. There
exist many other institutions in Nigeria that have the approval of the Nigerian government to
participate in teacher education programmes. The full list of such institutions includes:

1. Colleges of education
2. Faculties of education
3. Institutes of education
4. National Teachers‟ Institute
5. Schools of education in the Polytechnics
6. National Institute for Nigerian Languages (NINLAN)
7. National Mathematics Centre (NMC) (Federal Government of Nigeria, 2004:40)
Stiles in Igbogi, 2018:1051, asserts that “teachers are curators of our yesterdays and the
architects of our tomorrows, and to be able to devote one‟s knowledge and energies to helping
others learn is noblest work”. When teachers dutifully carry out their duties and achieve set
goals, they are seen as being productive. Teacher productivity is the effectiveness and
performance of the teacher in the school and not just in the classroom. Productivity is seen as
how much society and individuals are getting from a sector, which is in the form of the quality of
input, process and output. It depends on having the right mix of skills, abilities, motivation and
potential. It shows the effectiveness and efficiency of individuals, teams and the organisation.
One course or experience stands out in the course of attending teacher education programmes a
place where one acquires all the requisite skills that qualify him or her as a teacher. That course
or experience is a teaching practice.

Teaching Practice is an integral part of a teacher education programme aimed at providing

student-teachers an opportunity to put into practice their theoretical knowledge in a real-life
situation. It also offers teacher educators and educational managers a golden opportunity for
practical appraisal of the effectiveness of teacher education programmes. Teaching practice “is a
form of work-integrated learning that is described as a period when students are working in the
relevant industry to receive specific in-service training in other to apply theory to practice”.

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According to (Gujjar, Naoreen, Saifi & Bajwa, 2010), teaching practice has been eulogized as
the backbone of the professional training of teachers.

Teaching practice has somersaulted so low in Nigeria‟s teacher education to become just
something “to pass and kill time (Gujjar et al, 2010) or just one of the casual teacher education
programmes (Nwaokugha & Okoro, 2017:351), so laden with much carelessness and levity
(Nwaokugha & Abiakwu 2019:359) and embodied and ornamented with undesirable happening
that; Occur in split seconds and have become so monumental that their occurrences are
graduating into norms that accommodate other immoralities and terrible unethical practices that
are immoral to the moral health of the teaching profession and national development of the
Nigerian state (Nwaokugha, 2017:508).

Without teaching practice, no teacher education can be said to be sound and complete (National
Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), 2008).

According to Imam Hamzat College of Education (2017), the objectives of teaching practice
include:

i. To expose student-teachers to real-life classroom experiences under the supervision of

professional teachers.
ii. To provide a forum for student-teachers to translate educational theories and principles
into practice.
iii. To enable student-teachers to discover their strengths and weaknesses in classroom
teaching and provide opportunities to enable them to overcome their weaknesses and
consolidate their strengths.
iv. To familiarize student-teachers with the school environment as their future workplace.
v. To provide student-teachers with an opportunity for further acquisition of professional
skills, competencies, personal characteristics and experience for full-time teaching after
graduation.
vi. To help student-teachers develop a positive attitude towards the teaching profession.
vii. To serve as a means of assessing the professional competence of student-teachers.
How Teacher Education Affects National Development in Nigeria
Teacher education and national development can be described as two indivisible and inseparable
twins that grow together when there is growth in any and collapse together when there is failure
or downfall. This is true because the state and quality of teachers in a particular nation or state

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affect the education process and system in such nation or society and the quality of education
offered in a particular state affects the level of development in such state. Teacher education
received strong emphasis in the national policy document because of the belief that no education
can rise above the quality of teachers (Balogun, 1991).

A teacher inculcates not only academics but also moral principles and extra moral values to the
learners under his tutelage. Teachers succeed in doing this by teaching right principles and living
exemplary lives before the students whom they teach; this supports the aphorism “action speaks
louder than words”. Education today has truly become important to the success of both
individuals and nations. Hammond (2006) acknowledges how appreciating evidence
demonstrates that among all educational resources, teachers‟ abilities are especially critical
contributions to students‟ learning and consequently the success of a nation to advance in its
economic, social and political spheres. Also, the United Kingdom Department for Intellectual
Development (DFID) has stressed the importance of education in national development in its
2002 annual report thus:

“Education is at the heart of development.

The countries which made the greatest
progress in reducing poverty in recent
decades are those which have combined
effective and equitable investment in
education with sound economic policies.”
Education enables people to use and extend their capabilities develop skills improve their
livelihood and increase their earning potential. When quality, devotion, efficiency and credibility
are enshrined in the process and system of education, the products and outputs of the education
process or system will become refined, sound and wholistic. But, when there is a lack of quality,
devotion, efficiency and credibility in the process and system of education, the products and
outputs of such education process or system will become incapable, poor and low-standard to
satisfy the need and requirement for national development. Quality teacher education has made
and enabled teachers to contribute to national developments like elections, and censuses. They
also participate in creating awareness among the citizens. Teachers are the real agents that help
in the development of various skills and competencies.

If we lack good teachers and an educational system, we will invariably have unimaginative and
unpatriotic professionals of engineers who build roads that wash away after the first rainfall,
doctors who kill more than they cure, and accountants who are reckless with figures who
embezzle treasury in turn. Hence, the availability of quality teachers which is provided through

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teacher education programmes motivates and increases national development, while harbouring
less-qualified educators and non-standard teachers will end up dropping the value of
development in any country or state because teachers are nation builders. Thus, teacher
education offers a variety of positive and negative impacts to a nation‟s development.

Challenges Facing Teacher Education in Nigeria

1. The absence of autonomy for the teacher in Nigeria‟s teacher education prototype is
responsible for the inability of the teacher in Nigeria to teach his learners skills that can
emancipate, empower and challenge them into breaking new frontiers that can enable
learners to effectively explore their environment. The centralized approach to issues in
teacher education in Nigeria works against the teacher by stifling the teacher‟s sense of
inventiveness on one hand and, shutting down the teacher from making meaningful
contributions to the development of the educational industry, which from all indications
is the teacher‟s constituency.
2. It can be correct to say that there are many fast-track, low-quality pathways into teacher
education in Nigeria unlike in Finland and these multiple routes to Nigeria‟s teacher
education model make the state-of-the-art programmes or innovations that are targeted at
improving teacher education in Nigeria a defeated dream (Nwaokugha, 2017:508).
3. Inadequate funding is the most critical challenge that has threatened the attainment of
good-quality teacher education in Nigeria. The problem of inadequate funding of
education has been a major source of worry and failure in educational development in the
country.
4. Funding is the most critical aspect of the problems facing teacher education, meanwhile,
there seems to be inadequate funds/money to administer and invest in the educational
sector. It is also observable that there‟s also not adequate thoughtful intention to finance
education in Nigeria, a lot of lip service and promises has been given to this sector, but
not enough going into it.
5. Poor policy implementation of teacher education programme policy statements is a
challenge to quality delivery in education in Nigeria. The poor-quality delivery is
responsible for the extremely bad performance of graduates of institutions of teacher
education in Nigeria in their world of work and the alarming incidence of low
productivity of teachers.
6. Another challenge to quality attainment in teacher education in Nigeria is the lack of
information communication technology facilities in teacher education institutions of
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 learning. Nigerian government accepted and welcomed information communication
technologies in all levels of education because of the importance of ICT integration in
educational practices since it improves teaching and learning, enhance teacher education
programme and improve the quality of education. There‟s a current disconnection
between where the global community is located and our current location and future
destination since education is now technology-led internationally. Dramatic events and
drama that occurred after COVID-19 truly exposed the unpreparedness and unreadiness
of the Nigerian educational sector to embrace the trending bride of the globe -ICT-
integrated educational practices. It was obvious that we couldn‟t go to school and we
couldn‟t learn at home.
7. Sadly, in most teacher education institutions of learning in the country, there is an
extreme shortage of computers, projectors, electronic whiteboards, lecturers‟ offices and
dysfunctional internet facilities.

Research Design

The survey design shall be adopted for this study. This design deals with the study of a large
population by collecting and analyzing data from only a sample of the population. The study
shall adopt an appropriate design that deals with the perception of representatives of a large
group.

Sampling Technique and the Sample

The simple random sampling technique shall be used to randomly select 30 teacher educators
and 65 student teachers from each of the four teacher training institutions stipulated for the study.
On the whole, 100 teacher educators and 200 student teachers giving a total of 300 subjects
formed the sample of the study. The simple random sampling technique shall be adopted to
ensure that each member of the population had equal and independent chance of being selected.

Research Instrument

The instrument to be adopted for data collection is a questionnaire titled “Teacher Education for
National Development in Nigeria: Challenges and Prospects (TENDNCP)” for both student
teachers and teacher educators. It shall consist of parts A and B. Each item shall have four
response options ranging from strongly Agree (SA), Agree (A) to Disagree (D) and Strongly
Disagree (SD). The instrument shall be pilot tested by administering it to 40 teacher educators

15
who were not part of the selected sample for the study. Cronbach alpha reliability method shall
be used to determine the reliability of the instrument.

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