Teacher education programs in Nigeria and the United States compared

Teacher Education in Nigeria: A Comparison with the United States

There is no nation that can grow beyond the quality of its education (Lawal, 2003). A nation can only develop meaningfully and attain professionalism through a good teacher education program, which begins with the organization of teacher education and the resolving of its problems. The paper concerns itself with teacher education in Nigeria, comparing this nation's program with that of the United States. Emphasis is placed on the appointment of professional teachers, the curriculum of teacher education and its expectations in both regions. The paper suggests ways that could lead both nations towards a good teacher education.

Introduction

Teacher education is a key aspect of the education process or training that deals with the process of acquiring skills in teaching profession (Lawal, 2003). Teacher education is an essential program that enhances the skills of learning and teaching. In Nigeria, adequate preparation is undertaken to improve teacher education though the establishment of educational colleges both at federal and state government levels. Many universities in Nigeria have been established to promote effective and professional teacher education. In such institutions, students are taught to form habits that will help them become capable teachers who will take on responsibilities, learn initiative and be good role models for their future students.

According to Fafunwa (1972): "If the African Teacher is to cope adequately with the monumental task that lies ahead of him, he has to be well trained for his job. He must be willing to enter into the spirit of new African age, willing to share new information and skills with his fellow teacher, seek more knowledge on his own initiative and above all, be flexible and willing to experiment and not be afraid of failure. The new teacher envisaged must have flexibility built into his total professional and academic make-up, and should be helped though regular in-service training to keep abreast of new techniques, skills and research in his field."

Effective teacher education programs are prerequisites for a good education that causes a high level of confidence to both the teacher and his students. This outcome is the result of coordinated learning, and problems inherent in the teacher education are rectified and solved.

The Concept of Education

Education is an important aspect of social progress that'd necessary for professionalism in both nations and individuals (Lawal, 2003). The best way to improve education is through teacher education program, which is an important step towards understanding the skill of teaching and learning. Education is meant to help the individual teacher to grow and develop as a person and provide him with the skills and professional abilities to inspire students to learn and acquire the right types of understandings, concepts, values and attitudes, which are used to manage classroom instruction, and improve society as a whole.

The main goal of teacher education is to create highly motivated, sensitive, conscientious and successful classroom teachers who will handle students effectively and professionally for optimal educational achievement.

Rationale for Teacher Education

In trying to rationalize the objective of teacher education in Nigeria, it is important to understand its aims by recognizing the value and worth of a prospective teacher, giving him a good opportunity to learn to enhance his progress as a teacher.

Adeniji (1972) listed the purposes of teacher education in Nigeria as:

1. To produce highly motivated teachers;

2. To encourage the spirit of enquiry, creativity, nationalism and the sense of belonging;

3. To help the prospective teacher to fit into the social life of his home, his immediate and non-immediate communities;

4. To provide him with intellectual and professional background adequate to any changing situation in the life of his country; and

5. To produce knowledgeable, progressive and effective teachers who can inspire children to learn.

On the completion of their training, student teachers are expected to be:

a) effective and useful members of their communities;

(b) loyal citizens of the nation (Nigeria);

- people of good moral conduct; and (d) knowledgeable, progressive and effective teachers who inspire pupils and challenge them to learn.

In the U.S., there are various routes to take in order to become a teacher (Haselkorn and Calkins, 2000). The traditional way is for individuals to obtain a degree in education. In certain states, it is possible to obtain a teaching certificate with an undergraduate degree in education. Other states require more advanced preparation, like a master's degree. However, like in Nigeria, due to the shortage of teachers, some states have instituted alternative routes to teaching and offer emergency licensure.

This means that people who have undergraduate or graduate coursework or work experience in areas such as mathematics, science, special education, or bilingual education can apply for teaching licenses. As with traditional certifications, requirements for alternative teaching licenses vary for each state. In most cases, states require individuals to hold a bachelor's degree with a minimum number of credits in the subject to be taught, pass a state-required examination, and complete an intensive teacher training programs.

Training a Teacher for Professional Growth

According to Igunnu (1994), "Apart from the poor mode of intake into the teacher training colleges there is still the influx of many unqualified personnel which makes the composition of our teaching force even weaker" in Nigeria, we have three categories of teachers, which are listed below:

1) Professional teacher, this includes N.C.E. Associate Certificate in Education Certificate holders of Grades I and II teachers and their equivalent.

(2) Non-Professional Teachers, These are degree and Advanced Technical and Commercial Certificate holders without qualification.

(3) Auxiliary Teachers: These are intermediate and Craft certificate holders as well as WASC and GCE Certificate holders.

Skillful and effective teaching and learning is expected from professionally trained teachers in Nigeria (Lawal, 2003). Educated teachers can employ the use of teaching aids to supplement other methods. They can manage and control their classes for more effective learning.

Non-professional and auxiliary teachers can either be sent to undergo teacher education training to acquire teaching skills and class management in order to guide their students for quick and rapid development.

The overall aim of teacher education in Nigeria is to save the nation's educational sector from total collapse and direct it for professionalism. According to Tunner (1967): "To include total education of the information of individual student and research habits, the ability to think independently and to question authority, specially written authorities, and to reach an understanding of what learning is about by experiencing the thrill of learning rather than by merely gaining intellectual understanding of the theories of learning."

The curriculum of teacher education should be aimed at Nigeria so as to enable Nigeria teachers to be conscious and not put Nigerian development behind his mind and also not to be seen as inadequate in teaching his students.

Igunnu (1994) suggested that four components are recognized:

(1) General studies (basic academic subjects)

(2) Foundation studies (principles and practice of education)

(3) Studies related to the student's intended teaching filed

(4) Teaching practice

U.S Problems and Solutions

Teacher education in the U.S. is also in a difficult position (LPA, 2003). After many years of reform and renewal efforts, academic achievement remains below what most Americans consider acceptable. American students are still viewed by the public as failing to achieve as much as students in some other countries. The difference between white and nonwhite students persists, and urban schools are chaotic. While many citizens acknowledge that there are no simple answers, their beliefs in education as a means to a better life and a stronger country demand that more be done, particularly in the area of teacher education.

The U.S. government has shown strong interest in new alternatives to meeting teacher demands and providing evidence of teacher competency. The National Council on Teacher Quality was recently awarded a huge grant to launch the American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence, which aims to increase the number of well-qualified teachers via an alternative certification process (U.S. Department of Education, 2001).

The National Alliance of Business (NAB) is one of the most dominant voices calling for changes in education. Its recent report calls for new models for teacher preparation, including higher admission standards, mandatory accreditation, the ending of the education major for elementary and middle school teachers, and mandatory performance testing for all teachers (Koppich, 2001). NAB believes that having a quality teacher in the classroom can be gained through these efforts.

Considerable effort is also taking place at the national level by professional education policy organizations (LPA, 2003). The National Council for the Accreditation for Teacher Education (NCATE), one of two national accrediting agencies, is a major player. It has set standards for teacher education for many years and is working with various discipline-based organizations, the teachers unions, AACTE, and state partners to ensure that all teacher education programs meet a new set of performance-based standards. These new standards are currently being implemented for all institutions seeking NCATE accreditation (Wise & Leibbrand, 2001).

At the state level, policy activity focuses on five general areas (Hirsch, Koppich, & Knapp, 2001):" (1) development and promotion of high standards for student learning and for teaching; (2) efforts to attract, reward, and retain capable teachers; (3) policies to support high-quality initial preparation and the induction of new teachers; (4) initiatives designed to support teachers' ongoing professional learning; and (5) efforts to enhance the school workplace. To ensure that standards are taken seriously, states are attaching consequences to assessments -- "high stakes" for students, teachers, and principals. Over one third of the states have created professional standards boards as mechanisms for setting new standards and maintaining professional standards. Consistent with other policy recommendations, states are also exploring a variety of alternative routes by which one becomes a teacher."

Certification and teacher testing are the most common strategies for improving the preparation of new teachers (LPA, 2003). Emphasis is on performance-based programs following the lead of NCATE. Critics, as noted earlier, suggest that certification need not be defined in traditional ways. Teacher testing, long a part of teacher education, has become a controversial issue. While many programs in the past have used some type of test to assess students' entry or exit knowledge, currently there is disagreement about how best to assess pre-service and in-service teachers. Teacher education institutions and their supporters favor looking at long-term impact on student learning, as well as specific levels of knowledge in the content area. Others advocate a series of what have become called high-stakes tests to measure subject matter and pedagogical knowledge. Most states favor both -- high-stakes tests and long-term impact.

Recommendations

In order to improve professional growth in teacher education programs, the following recommendations should be considered (Lawal, 2003):

1) Teacher education requirements should be uniform, not only reflecting the needs and aspirations of Nigerians but should also be geared towards professionalism of the individual teachers.

(2) Qualified and competent teachers should be given priority in appointments to teach. In their absence, non-qualified and auxiliary teachers should be sent for in-service courses in education to increase their qualifications. Teaching should remain a professional field in which only the qualified, trained and competent teachers are employed.

(3) Teaching practice exercise should be revisited in order to enhance the objectives, which the intended supervisors would be familiar with their areas of specialization for optimal assessment.

(4) The government should cooperate in the matter of financing teachers in the entire nation. Many colleges lack adequate infrastructure that promote good learning.

Conclusion

Almost all citizens in both Nigeria and the United States would agree that educating their nation's children and youth is vital to the future. They would also agree that having qualified teachers is crucial. However, opinions about who can be a teacher and how the teacher should be prepared or trained vary when comparing these two nations.

During the last several decades in the United States, a great deal of attention has been focused on student learning, teachers, and teacher educators. There has been significant questioning of higher education's role in teacher preparation, an increase in government regulation over teacher education, and a belief that lower schools should have more responsibility for training new teachers and the continuing education of current teachers.

The United States is becoming more and more regulated, counted, and ranked in an attempt to find "the right balance between the need to take complete professional responsibility for our students as we help them become new teachers, and the right and proper expectations of the public that we'll produce the kind of teachers for their children that they demand" ADDIN ENRfu (Newby, 2001).

The inspection and approval system in the United States is a decentralized system with considerable control by the individual 50 states. Each of the states has an agency that oversees the education of children and youth and makes sure that qualified educators are in the schools. Universities that provide teachers for the state are required to meet standards established by the state. On a regular basis, all teacher education programs is reviewed by the state to determine whether or not the program meets minimum state standards. In between site visits, institutions give reports and updates to the state. The de-certification of a teacher education program can occur if it does not comply.

In the United States, the federal government also shapes teacher education policy. Title II requires states and institutions to report on teacher licensing. Institutions must report how well individuals who complete a teacher preparation program perform on certification assessments and other factors ADDIN ENRfu (USDE, 2000).

Teacher education in Nigeria is extremely important as it sets the foundation for sound education of the nation at all levels of education (Lawal, 2003). For a nation to improve, its education must be based on a sound foundation. In addition, all educational facilities must be designed to enhance educational programs. It is also important to remember that only qualified, professional teachers who are interested in the educational development of the nation should be employed as teachers.