Introduction to Teacher
Education
It is well known that the
quality and extent of learner achievement are determined primarily by
teacher competence, sensitivity
and teacher motivation.
The National Council for Teacher
Education has defined teacher
education as a programme of education, research and training of persons to teach from pre-primary
to higher education level. Teacher education is a programme that is
related to the development of
teacher proficiency and competence that would enable
and empower the teacher to meet the requirements of the profession and face the challenges therein.
According
to Goods Dictionary of Education Teacher education
means, all the formal and non-formal activities and experiences that help to qualify a person
to assume responsibilities of
a member of the educational profession or to discharge his responsibilities more effectively.
Teacher education (TE) or
teacher training refers to the policies, procedures, and provision
designed to equip (prospective) teachers with the knowledge,
attitudes, behaviors,
and skills
they require to perform their tasks effectively in the classroom,
school,
and wider community. The professionals who engage in this activity are called
teacher educators (or, in some contexts, teacher trainers).
There is a longstanding and
ongoing debate about the most appropriate term to describe these activities.
The term 'teacher training' (which may give the impression that the activity
involves training staff to undertake relatively routine tasks) seems to be
losing ground, at least in the U.S., to 'teacher education' (with its connotation
of preparing staff for a professional role as a reflective practitioner).
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:
Inadequate funding
Inadequate
funding of the education sector has been a
major challenge facing the sector. Researchers, Aina (2002), Durosaro (2006), Amadi (2007);
Balogun (2010) lamented over the inadequacy of fund in the
education sector. It is not an
understatement to note that the
Nigerian government, over the years has not been meeting
the UNESCO recommendations of 26% of the total
budgetary allocation to the education sector. For
example, the allocation to Education in the National Budget for 2003, 2004 and 2005 were 7%, 12%
and 11%(FRN 2005). According to
Akindutire (2001) the poor funding
of the teacher education since the 1980s has become
a cause of worry to educationists as it affects the
merits and standard of the
certificates awarded to education
graduates.
Poor society perception
of teacher education
Another
formidable problem of teacher education in
Nigeria today is the lack of interest on the part of the
secondary school leavers in the teaching profession,
because of the poor image associated with
the status of teachers in the society. According
to Durosaro (2006), the low status accorded to
teachers in the country, does not make students enrol
and be trained as teachers. The few who enrol do so because they have no choice.
Lack of commitment
It
is no understatement to observe that most teachers
nowadays are not committed to
the teaching job. Ajayi and
Shofoyeke (2003) posited that a number of interrelated
factors like poor income, delay in payment
of salaries, lack of job
satisfaction, contribute to the seemingly
declining attitude and commitment of teachers
to their professional calling.
The lack of commitment manifests
in the areas of lack of enthusiasm to work; lack
of concern for co-curricular
and extra-curricular activities;
inadequate preparation for
lessons; failure to write
lesson notes; careless handling
of statutory records among others.
The Way Forward (Solutions)
Despite
the enormous challenges facing teacher education
in Nigeria as earlier discussed, a lot can still
be done in order to enjoy the
multi-farious benefits abound
in teacher education. The
following are suggested:
True Professionalization
of the Teaching Profession
It is necessary to play politics with the professionalization
of the teaching profession. By professionalization,
the code of ethics will be respected and the
profession will not be open to every Tom, Dick and Harry. In
making a professional teaching qualification
mandatory, government should make it compulsory for all
in the teaching jobs, at all
levels, to acquire teaching qualifications.
Government should give another deadline
within a convenient time-frame
to ensure that by 2015, all teachers would have become professionals,
because the 2006 deadline as
seen in the TRC Act had failed,
2006 had come and gone and nothing much had been done to ensure that all teachers are
professionalized. Thanks tosome
state Governments in Nigeria that gave a salary
differential in the payment of
the Teachers Salary Structure
(TSS). While teachers with educational background
enjoy 27.5%, those without education certificate
enjoy 12.5%.
Positive Perception of
Teaching
For
teacher education to get its pride of place in this democratic
dispensation there is the need to change the
orientation of people as
regards their perception of teachers
and the teaching job. The profession must be
recognized by the government, as well as, the public to be
able to attract young ones into the profession. Akindutire
(2005) lamented that Nigerian schools are staffed
with unenthusiastic, ill-motivated, reluctant
and “burn-out” teachers. How
will teachers be motivated to work when a Local Government Councillor
earns better pay than a
university professor? When teachers’ salaries
are not paid at the appropriate
time? No wonder a lot of people use the profession as ‘a stepping
stone’ towards getting a better offer that earns better
public recognition.
Needs for Curriculum
Overhauling
For
the teacher to keep abreast of the goings in the world
and in his area of
specialization there is the need for
the teacher to be ICT
compliant. The teacher education curriculum
needs to be reviewed so as to incorporate ICT
in all levels of teacher
education.
Improved Welfare
Packages
Motivation
for teachers should be considered as a means
of improving output and
productivity in the school system.
Welfare package does not mean
increase in salary alone, it
entails regular payment of salary and improved conditions
of service. The following are the hints on
how to improve conditions of
service: teachers with relevant additional qualification should be appropriately
upgraded; teacher can transfer
from one state to another without
loss of status;
Conclusion
The
quality of education in Nigeria has been a source of concern
to all stakeholders in recent times. It has been
observed that there is poor
quality of products from all levels of the education system. It is
accepted that teachers
constitute the most important input in the system
that determines the quality of output, more important
than the amount of resources on ground. If
the teachers in any nation are not committed, not inspired, not motivated, and are lazy,
immoral and antisocial, the
entire nation is doomed. Teacher
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