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BOOKISH NATURE OF NIGERIAN TEACHER EDUCATION PROGRAMME:
VIABILITY OF ARISTOTELIAN PERSPECTIVE
Abstract
Education as a process requires intensive teacher and learner participation which goes
beyond mere theory to critical and developmental practical inputs, albeit the Nigerian
educational system suffers enormously from overconcentration on theory at the utmost
dearth of the practical concerns. This paper discusses this problematic phenomenon in
Nigeria teacher education programme. It also highlights the associated and causative factors
and effects of the bookish nature of the Nigerian teacher education programme. In seeking
solution to this problem, the authors espouse the educational philosophy of Aristotle,
especially as it affects the teacher education programme in Nigeria. They argued that a
correct application of the Aristotelian philosophy of education would be apt in solving the
(bookish) problem entrenched in the Nigerian (teacher) education.
Introduction
Education is an act of learning, knowing, understanding and acquiring appropriate
skills and attitudes which are the needs of the an individual function effectively and
contribute positively to the development of his/her society (Dore,1976). The essence of
developing human’s mind is to make him a productive member of his society.
School is a place where the individuals acquire the necessary skills, attitude and
competencies that will equip them to be productive members of their society, and also to be
able to adapt to the changing situations in the society. Unfortunately, what transpires in most
Nigerian schools today is mere certification. The school is now a mere qualification centre.
This implies that education which is meant to train the mind by providing useful ideas and
knowledge has drastically failed to meet its expectation. This is because, schools now
produce students as well as student- teachers who are schooled but not educated, (victims of
a system of schooling without education).
According to Ipaye, in Adedeji and Bello (2008),Teacher Education (TE) is a process
whereby the prospective teacher or intending teacher is provided the opportunity to develop
cognitive perspectives, affective dispositions and psychomotoric competencies which will
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endow him/her with the qualities, capacities and capabilities for teaching. TE programme is
expected to equip pre-service teachers with appropriate knowledge and skills which they
need to function effectively as professional teachers after their course of study.
This
knowledge includes both theory and practice. The theoretical knowledge in TE programme
comes from the fields of subjects like philosophy, psychology, sociology, history or
anthropology, accompanied by an understanding of statistics and research methods; while
the practical knowledge is generally acquired through the preparation of projects, as well as
supervised practical experience (Sholom, 2002).
In Nigeria, there is a problem of trying to establish the relationship between Teacher
Education programme and what is happening in "the field" (i.e. teaching in the classroom).
The Nigerian Universities and Colleges of Education offer many courses in training qualified
professional teachers, but it is doubtful if these courses help our teachers to become more
efficient. There are assertions such as, "there is no difference between those who were
prepared and those who weren’t," (Dore, 1976: 43). In another direction, the complaint is
voiced that "even when the pre-service teachers know what they need to do, they don’t
know how to do it" (Dore, 1976: 43) Knowledge of a theory does not necessarily lead to its
application and the prospective teachers are unable to apply the knowledge they have gained
in their "education” courses to their practical teaching exercise.
The Concept of the Bookish Nature of the Nigerian Teacher Education
Education in general and teacher education in particular in Nigeria, is more of mere
academics (theory) than practical. The teaching and learning processes taking place in the
school is mostly based on passing a bundle of information to some group of individuals,
whose role is passive or submissive listeners. The (pre-service teachers) are made to believe
that the educators ideas and words are always the only correct and most acceptable solution
to a particular educational problem. The nature of the Nigeria teacher training institutes is
such that they are adjudged by some scholars as repressing students’ natural creativity and
reinforcing domination. That is why Freire (1972) described school as “Bank deposit”, that is,
a place where knowledge is dumped and what the student does is just to listen and take
down notes, so as to be reproduced when necessary. As a mere center for certification, this
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simply means that the purpose of schooling is for mastering and learning to reproduce facts
and ideas for examination purposes only and not gaining knowledge or mastering facts and
ideas for application to real life situations. This is because the real practical skills or
knowledge needed is given at a very low rate as pointed out by Illich (1983). What Nigerian
school teachers do are purely academics. According to Illich (1983), the best place to acquire
real practical skills is outside the school. That was why he advocated for deschooling society.
This is because he is of the view that schools do not possess the needed facilities, materials
and even time for the real practical skills. In a situation where there are qualified or
professional educators to train the pre-service teachers, the facilities needed would not be
available and where facilities are available, the qualified hands will not be recruited.
Problems Associated with Bookish Nature of our Teacher Education Programme
Some of the problems associated with bookish nature of teacher education programe
include the followings:
i.
Inadequate funding from the government of the state in order to procure
practical equipments or materials needed in Country’s teacher training colleges
and universities. In our universities, there exist faculties of education without
well-equipped audio-visual centers. This leads to insufficient practical works
needed in the teacher education programme which has serious effect on the
products from Nigerian schools.
ii.
Too much emphasis on covering of the syllabuses or course contents, as it was
stated in the minimum standard for both colleges of education and universities.
iii.
Corruption in the school system: this has to do with the manner in which the
management of these institutes award contracts for the supply of required
materials needed for effective teaching and learning. Such contracts are always
given to unqualified contractors on the basis of favoritism or nepotism. As such,
inferior materials would be supplied, such that both the teacher educator and
the student teacher cannot effectively utilized them.
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iv.
Teacher-student ratio: this is a challenge as students are usually too many for a
teacher to handle for effective teaching and learning process in a lecture room
and even practical classes.
v.
Poor power supply: this has also contributed to the poor academic output of
our teacher training institutions. For instance, where the college is wellequipped with the needed facilities and materials, they cannot be put to use
due to poor condition of our electricity supply.
The Aristotelian Perceptive of Teacher Education
Aristotle was born at Stagira, in Thrace, in 384 B.C. His father was a physician to the
king of Macedon, so he had a background well grounded in science. At the age of seventeen,
he went to Athens and joined Plato’s school, where he stayed until Plato’s death in 347 BC. A
few years later, he became the tutor to the young prince of Macedon, Alexander the Great.
This philosopher and great teacher viewed teaching as a unique task that has to do with
the act of inculcating appropriate knowledge and skills in the students. Aristotle categorizes
knowledge which pre-service teachers should acquire into three groups. These include;
a.
Theoretical knowledge;
b.
Practical knowledge; and
c.
Ethical knowledge.
The Theoretical Knowledge: Here, he believed that for pre-service teachers to be
professional in the field of teaching, they need to have adequate knowledge about the
subject matter they want to teach. He refers to it as Disciplinary knowledge of the subjects
to be taught. For example, a teacher must know Sociology in order to teach Sociology.
Generally speaking, he or she must know the "what" of the subject, and more importantly,
must also know the "why" as well as the "how” before he or she can effectively handle the
teaching of that subject. Aristotle considered such knowledge to be essential for teaching.
Also, as a basis of all knowledge, one must understand logic, without which nothing can be
taught since knowledge in itself assumes a logical ability. Aristotle pointed out that
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theoretical knowledge cannot be ignored; it should be considered when formulating practical
theories. It also help to discard the assertion which goes thus: “jack of all trades and master
of none”
The Practical knowledge: Here, Aristotle is talking about the practical experience which a
student-teacher needs to acquire in order to become a professional. He stressed that the
essence of studying psychological and sociological theories goes beyond the fact that they
widen the general knowledge of the student-teacher, but rather to help them to apply the
knowledge from these subjects into real life situations. Aristotle maintained that teaching
needs practical knowledge based on what actually happens in the classroom and in the
school, and the professional knowledge of the teachers themselves rather than on "external"
knowledge gathered by researchers who may never have worked in the profession.
Aristotle viewed teaching as a unique profession with its own independent scholarship
that must lean on knowledge accumulated by teaching professionals. Practical knowledge
relates to means, action and behaviour, and answers question such as, “what must I do?’ The
answer should cause a person to act. It should lead one to an action that is personally "good"
and worthwhile performing. Aristotle divides this practical knowledge into two parts:
technical skills and practical wisdom. Aristotle believes that every action and behaviour has a
goal. The difference between technical skills and Practical wisdom centers on the meaning of
the link between the goal and the means needed to achieve it. While the technical skills help
us to actualize goals that are external to the action itself, practical wisdom helps us achieve
goals that are basic to the action itself. For example, when a teacher teaches a lesson in
mathematics, the purpose is not the process of instruction, but that the particular students
acquire some certain knowledge. The action ends when they (students) have command of
the material. Therefore, the distinction between the product (the students’ knowledge) and
the process (teaching-learning) is clear and definite.
Ethical Knowledge: This refers to the value of knowledge. Education should not only
be referred to as the gathering of information, as Aristotle points out. Its objective is not to
make a man a mere show-case of information or a moving encyclopedia, but the
development of intellect and higher faculties. Education must endow a man with rational
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faculties, and make him analytical and thoughtful. The famous philosopher, Bertrand Russell,
(1969) shares this view with Aristotle by saying that:
Education should have two objectives: first, to give definite
knowledge of reading and writing, language and
mathematics and so on; secondly, to create those mental
habits which enable people to acquire knowledge and form
sound judgments of themselves (p.98).
As Aristotle repeatedly emphasized, ethics cannot be taught since it is concerned with
behavioural trends and personality traits. The only way to teach morality is to be moral.
Educators have no option but to offer a personal example to their students who learn from
their behaviour more than they learn from their words.
Suggestions in line with Aristotle’s view
In respect of point one (1) and four (4)as stated in the National Policy on Education
(2004: 39) which the stated aims of teacher education as:
i.
iv.
To produce highly motivated, conscientious and efficient
classroom teachers for all levels of our education system;
To provide teachers with the intellectual and professional
background adequate for their assignment and to make
them adaptable to any situation not only in the life of their
country but in the wider world;
It is in this regard that the following points should be considered;
a) Government must make adequate provision of fund to Nigeria colleges and
universities. The supply of materials and equipment should be handled by
professionals in order to supply quality materials that will be useful for teaching
and learning of pre-service teachers in practical knowledge. This attunes with
Aristotle’s statement that pre-service teachers need to be able to perform when
they eventually find themselves in the teaching profession. Thus, help in the
production of highly motivated, conscientious and efficient classroom teachers
needed at all levels of Nigerian education system.
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b) Qualified educators should be recruited to handle teaching and training in Nigerian
teacher training colleges and universities so as to produce teachers with adequate
intellectual and professional skills required to function effectively in the society
c) Courses such as moral philosophy and citizenship education should be offered to
pre-service teachers at all levels of their training programme. At present,
citizenship education is offered only at year three in Nigerian colleges of
education. These courses would give room for proper teaching of ethical values or
knowledge which Aristotle suggested is needed in any teacher training
programme. According to Aristotle, education is aimed at producing an ideal man,
as for him an ideal man is a happy man, a happy man is a virtue man and virtue is
acquired precisely through education. Thus, an educated man, is that man who as
acquire theoretical, practical as well as ethical knowledge. Ethical training in preservice teacher help in producing highly motivated and efficient in the course of
performing their task.
d) Teacher education programmes should not only aim but to work towards effective
implementation of the Minimum standard set by National Commission for
Colleges of Education and National Universities Commission of developing preservice teachers theoretically, practically and ethically. Since this is inline with the
perspective of Aristotle. This is because of the vital role practical knowledge play
in the life of a pre-service teacher. Aristotle believed that it is essential to teach the
pre-service teachers to create their own practical knowledge, knowledge that will have
meaning for them and will help them to act successfully in confusing and perhaps
dangerous situations while in the real teaching.
e) Modern technology equipment (ICT) (such as Ipad, interactive board, computer
among others) should be adopted for effective teaching and learning of preservice teachers in Nigeria Teacher training institutions. This would go along away
in combating the present problem of population explosion, i.e. teacher-students’
ratio in these institutions.
Conclusion
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This paper has discussed the problems of over application of theory at the expense of
practical concerns in Nigerian teacher education. It has also analysed the educational ideas of
Aristotle in the light of theoretical, practical and ethical perspectives. It contends that the
application or adoption of the Aristotelian philosophy of education in the Nigeria educational
system would effect a change in terms of more viable curriculum contents, teaching
methodology, teacher-student relationship and interaction; and most importantly, would
yield the production of effective and efficient teachers who can impact meaningfully on the
students and as well relate acquired knowledge to real life situation.
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