Edu 111 - 0

NATIONAL OPEN UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA
SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
COURSE CODE: EDU 111
COURSE TITLE: FOUNDATIONS OF EDUCATION
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Course Code EDU 111
Course Title Foundations of Education
Course Team Dr. F. Umar (Developer/Writer) – BUK

Dr. M.E. Aina (Programme Leader) – NOUN
Course Reviewer: Dr. Tilije R. N.

School of Education
National Open University of Nigeria
Lagos
NATIONAL OPEN UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA
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Headquarters
14/16 Ahmadu Bello Way
Victoria Island
Lagos
Abuja Office
No. 5 Dar es Salaam Street
Off Aminu Kano Crescent
Wuse II, Abuja
Nigeria
e-mail: centralinfo@nou.edu.ng
URL: www.nou.edu.ng
Published By:
First Printed 2004

REVIEWED 2014
ISBN: 978-058-312-2
All Rights Reserved.
Printed by:
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Introduction
There is a popular saying that teachers are born not made. Nothing could
be further from the truth. Teachers are born and made. Teaching is
becoming more scientific and teachers require extensive background in
foundation courses in education. The disciplines that make-up the
foundations of education course include Psychology of Education,
Philosophy of Education and Sociology of Education. Psychology of
Education or Educational Psychology aims at equipping the teacher with
insights regarding student behaviour and learning. Philosophy of
Education teaches the student the purposes of education as derived from
the philosophy of a society, like the opinions of the people, which will
determine the kind of Education to be given. Sociology of Education
forms part of the Foundations of Education because it brings out the
needs, values and aspirations of people upon which education is based.
Therefore the three aspects (philosophy, psychology and sociology) are
very necessary in the study of education, especially in the training of
teachers.
This course will expose you to concepts and principles of philosophy

like the branches of philosophy, its meaning and scope, its relevance to
education and its modes. In the field of psychology, the course discusses
the meaning and scope of psychology, branches of psychology; learning
theories, transfer of learning and motivation in learning. All of these are
meant to prepare you for the important tasks of teaching.
The course will consist of 16 units of teaching. They include a course

guide, which explains to you what the course is all about, what sort of
materials you will use as you work your way through the course. The
course guide gives you advice on the amount of time you may spend on
each unit of the course so that you can complete the course successfully
and in good time. It also provides some guidance on tutor-marked
assignments, which will be made available in the assignment file. There
are regular tutorial classes that are linked to the course. You are advised
to attend the sessions.
What you will learn in this course
The general aim of the course, Foundations of Education is to introduce

you to the foundation fields of education, the aspects that make up the
discipline of education. During this course, you will be learning the
definitions and scope of philosophy, psychology and sociology, the
relevance of philosophy and psychology to education, learning theories,
transfer of learning, motivation in learning, historical and sociological
perspectives of education, innovations in education, types of education
in Nigeria and equality of educational opportunities.
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Later in the course, you will be learning the roles of agencies that are
involved in education. Such agencies include the National Primary
Education Commission, National Commission for Adult and Non-
formal Education, the National University Commission, Stratification,
Social Mobility and other factors that influence education.
Course Aims
The aims of the course can be summarised as follows:
The course aims at making you understand the foundation units of

education, that is, all those units that together make up the field of
education. It is hoped that this will be achieved by introducing you to:
i) The general concept of philosophy
ii) The relevance of philosophy to education
iii) Relevant Philosophical Issues in Education
iv) The concept of psychology in general
v) Educational psychology
vi) Learning theories
vii) Transfer of learning
viii) Motivation and its relevance to learning
ix) The growth of education in Nigeria
x) Agencies Involved with education
xi) All the information that will help you understand the enormous
field of education as teachers in the making.
Course Objectives
To achieve the set aims (as the course sets overall course objectives)
each unit also has specific objectives, which are always stated at the
beginning of the unit. Please read them before you start working through
the course. It will be helpful to you if you refer to them in the course of
your study of the unit, so that you can check your progress. After
completing the units, also read over the objectives of the unit. That way,
you will be sure of doing what is expected of you by the unit.
After you have completed the study of this course you should be able to:
i) Define the concepts of philosophy, psychology and sociology

ii) Outline and explain learning theories
iii) Explain transfer of learning ,
iv) Explain motivation in relation to learning
v) Discuss philosophical issues like equality of educational
opportunities
vi) Explain the growth of education in Nigeria
vii) Discuss types of education in Nigeria
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viii) Discuss the trends of education in Nigeria
ix) Explain the role and functions of Educational Agencies that are
involved with education
x) Explain the factors that influence education
xi) Discuss education and the society land
xii) Discuss education, social mobility and social stratification
Working through this Course
To complete this course, you are required to read the study unit, read set
books and other materials provided by the National Open University.
Each unit contains self-assessment exercises and at a point in the course,
you are required to submit assignments for assessment purpose. At the
end of the course, there is a final examination. The course should take
you about (16) sixteen weeks to complete. Below you will find listed all
the components of the course, what you have to do, and how you should
allocate your time to each unit in order that you may complete the
course successfully and on time.
Course Materials
Major Components of the course are:

1) Course Guide
2) Study Units
3) References
Study Units
The study units in this course are as follows:
Module 1
Unit 1: Philosophy of Education: Meaning and Relevance
Unit 2: Equality of Educational Opportunity
Unit 3: Psychology of Education
Unit 4: Introduction of Learning Theories
Unit 5: Readiness to Learning
Unit 6: Motivation and its relation to Learning
Unit 7: Transfer of Learning
Module2
Unit 1: Concept and Nature of Education
Unit 2: Types of Education
Unit 3: The Growth of Education in Nigeria
Unit 4: Educational Trends in Nigeria
Unit 5: Innovations in Education
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Unit 6: The Status of Teachers in Nigeria
Unit 7: Education and the Society
Unit 8: Social Class and Educational Opportunity
Unit 9: Factors that Influence Education
The first five units discuss psychological issues in education. The

meaning of psychology in general and educational psychology in
particular, learning theories, transfer of learning and motivation. These
are teaching and learning concepts that are necessary in the preparation
of teachers. Units 5, 6 and 7 deal with philosophy issues as it relates
directly to education. Units 8-16 discuss the sociological perspective of
the course. These include types of education, growth, innovations in
education, role of educational agencies, social class and social mobility
as well as those factors that influence education in the society.
Assignment File
There are nine (9) assignments in this course and they cover:-
i) The Concept and Nature of Psychology
ii) Learning Theories
iii) Readiness to Learning
iv) Motivation in Learning
v) Meaning and Relevance of Philosophy
vi) Equality of Education Opportunities
vii) Types of Education
viii) Innovations in Education
ix) Factors that influence Education .
Presentation Schedule
The presentation schedule included in your course materials gives the

important dates for this year for the completion of tutor-marked
assignments and attending tutorials. Remember you are required to
submit all your assignments by the due date. You should guide against
falling behind in your work.
Assessment
There are three aspects of the assessments. First are self-assessment

exercises, second is the tutor-marked assignments and third is a written
examination.
You are advised to be sincere in attending to the exercises. You are

expected to apply information, knowledge and skills that. You have
acquired during the course. The assignments must be submitted to your
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tutor for formal assessment in accordance with the deadline stated in
your schedule of presentation.
The work you submit to your tutor for assessment will count for 50% of
your total course mark. At the end of the course, you will need to sit for
a final examination, which will also count for 50% of your total marks.
Tutor Marked Assignment (TMAs)
There are five tutor-marked assignments in this course. Each assignment

counts for 1 0% towards your total course mark.
Assignment questions for this course are contained in the assignment

file. You will be able to complete your assignments from the
information and materials contained in your reference books, reading
and study unit. However, you are advised to read and research widely
using other references which will give you a broader viewpoint and may
provide a deeper understanding of the subject.
When you have completed each assignment, send it together with a

TMA (tutor-marked assignment) form to your tutor. Make sure that each
assignment reaches your tutor on or before the deadline given on the
presentation schedule and assignment file. If for any reasons, you cannot
complete your work on time, contact your tutor before the assignment is
due to discuss the possibility of an extension. Extensions will not be
granted after the due date unless in -exceptional circumstances.
The final examination for this course will be of three hours duration and
have a value of 50% of the total course grade. The examination will
consist of questions which reflect the type of self-testing, practice
exercise and tutor marked problems you have previously encountered.
All the areas of the course will be assessed.
Use the time between finishing the last unit and sitting the examination
to revise the entire course. You might find it useful to review your self-
assessment exercises, tutor-marked assignments and comments on them
before the examination. The final examination covers all parts of the
course.
Course Marking Scheme

The following table lays out how the actual course marking is broken
down.
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Assessment Marks
Assignments 1 -5 Five assignments, 10% each = 50% of the course
marks 50% of the overall course marks
Total 100% of Course Marks
Table 1: Course Marking Scheme
This table brings together the units, the number of weeks you should
take to complete them, and the assignments that follow.
Unit Table of Work Course Guide Weeks Assessment

Activity End of Unit
1. Nature
The Concept and Nature of Assignment
Psychology 3 3
4. Motivation 1 1
5. Meaning and Relevance of
Philosophy 1 1
6. Equality of Educational Opportunities 2 2
8. Types of Education 1 1
Innovations in Education 1 1
Factors that influence Education 1 1
Revision
TOTAL 10 10
Table 2: Course Organiser
How to get the most from this course
In distance learning, the study units replace the course lecturer. This is
one of the great advantages of distance learning. You can read and work
through specially designed study materials at your own pace at a time
and place that suit you best. Think of it as reading the lecture instead of
listening to a lecturer. Just as a lecturer might give you an in-class
exercise, your study units provide exercises for you to do at appropriate
points.
Each of the study unit follows a common format. The first item is
introduction of the subject matter of the unit. Next is a set of learning
objectives. These objectives let you know what you should be able to do
by the time you have completed the unit. You should use these
objectives to guide your study. When you finish studying the unit you
must go back and check to see if you have achieved the objectives. If
you make a habit of doing this, you will significantly increase your
chances of passing the course.
The main body of the unit guides you through the unit content material.
Self-assessment exercises are spread throughout the units and answers
are given at the ends of units. Working through these assessment will
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help you to achieve the objectives of the unit and prepare you for the
assignments and the examinations. You should do each self-assessment
as you come to it in the unit.
The following is a strategy for working through the course.

i) Read this course guide thoroughly.
ii) Organise a study schedule. Refer to the course overview for more
details.
iii) Note the time you spend on each unit and how the assignments
relate to each unit. Important information like details of your
tutorials, and the date of the first day of the semester is available
from your study centres. You need to gather together all this in
one place, such as your diary or a wall calendar.
Once you have created your own work schedule, do everything
you can to stick to it. The major reason that students fail is that
they get behind in their course work. If you get into any
difficulties with your schedule, please let your tutor know before
it is too late to help.
iv) Turn to each unit and read the objectives for the unit.
v) Assemble the study materials. Information about what you need
for a unit is in the "overview" at the beginning of each unit.
vi) Work through the unit.
vii) Do your assignments carefully. They have been designed to help
you meet the objectives of the course and therefore will help you
pass the examination. Submit all assignments not later than the
due date.
viii) Review the objectives for each unit to confirm that you have
achieved them. If you feel unsure about any of the objectives,
review the study material or consult your tutor.
ix) When you are confident that you have achieved a unit's
objectives, you can now start on the next unit. Proceed unit by
unit through the course and try to pace your study so that you
keep yourself on schedule.
x) When you have submitted an assignment to your tutor for
marking, do not wait for its return before starting on the next unit.
Keep to your schedule when the assignment is returned and, pay
particular attention to your tutor's comments both on the tutor-
marked assignment form and also those written on the
assignment. If you have any question or problem, consult your
tutor as soon as possible.
xi) After completing the last unit, review the course and prepare
yourself for the final examination. Check that you have achieved
the unit objectives (listed at the beginning of each unit) and the
course objectives (listed in this Course Guide).
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Tutor and Tutorials
There are 20 hours of tutorials (ten 2-hour sessions) provided in support

of this course. You will be notified of the dates, times and location of
these tutorials, together with the name and phone number of your tutor,
as soon as you are allocated a tutorial group.
Your tutor will mark and comment on your assignments, keep a close
watch on your progress and on any difficulties you might encounter and
provide assistance to you during the course. You must mail your tutor-
marked assignments to your tutor well before the due date (at least two
working days are required). They will be marked by your tutor and
returned to you as soon as possible.
Do not hesitate to contact your tutor by telephone, e-mail, or discussion

board if you need help. The following might be circumstances in which
you would find help necessary. Contact your tutor if:
 You do not understand any part of the study units or the assigned
readings.
 You have difficulty with the self-tests or exercises.
 You have a question or problem with an assignment, with your
tutor's comments on an assignment or with the grading of an
assignment.
You should try your best to attend the tutorial. This is the only chance to
have a face-to-face contact with your tutor and to ask questions which
are answered instantly. You can raise any problem encountered in the
course of your study. To gain the maximum benefit from course
tutorials, prepare a question list before attending them. You will learn a
lot from participating in discussions actively.
We wish you success with the course and hope that you will find it both
interesting and useful. In the long term, we hope you enjoy your
acquaintance with the Open University. We wish you every success in
your future.
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Contents Page
Introduction
Module 1 Philosophical and Psychological Perspective
Unit 1 Philosophy of Education: Meaning and Relevance

Unit 2 Equality of Educational Opportunity
Unit 3 Psychology of Education
Unit 4 Introduction of Learning Theories
Unit 5 Readiness to Learning
Unit 6 Motivation and its relation to Learning
Unit 7 Transfer of Learning
Module 2 Historical and Sociological Perspective
Unit 1 Concept and Nature of Education

Unit 2 Types of Education
Unit 3 The Growth of Education in Nigeria
Unit 4 Educational Trends in Nigeria
Unit 5 Innovations in Education
Unit 6 The Status of Teachers in Nigeria
Unit 7 Education and the Society
Unit 8 Social Class and Educational Opportunity
Unit 9 Factors that Influence Education
Index
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MODULE 1 PHILOSOPHICAL AND
PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE
Unit 1 Philosophy of Education: Meaning and Relevance

Unit 2 Equality of Educational Opportunity
Unit 3 Psychology of Education
Unit 4 Introduction of Learning Theories
Unit 5 Readiness to Learning
Unit 6 Motivation and its relation to Learning
Unit 7 Transfer of Learning
UNIT 1 PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION: MEANING

AND RELEVANCE
CONTENTS
1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 Meaning of Philosophy
3.2 Modes of Philosophy
3.2.1 Speculative Philosophy
3.2.2 Prescriptive Philosophy
3.2.3 Analytic Philosophy
3.3 The Relevance of Philosophy of Education
3.4 Philosophy as a Rational Activity
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Self-Assessment Exercise
7.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment
8.0 References/Further Reading
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Every person has a philosophy even though he does not realise this. This
is more so when we conceive philosophy in a general sense as a person's
"sum of his fundamental beliefs and convictions." Moreover, teachers
and students implicitly ask philosophical questions such as, "Why am I
teaching? What is teaching at its best? And student asks, "Why am I
studying this subject? What am I going to school for anyway?" On the
other side of the coin, people have some ideas concerning physical
objects, man, the meaning of life, nature, death, God, right and wrong.
Of course, these ideas are acquired in varied ways -through family
friends, individuals and groups or they might be as a result of some
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thinking, conventions or emotional bias. This represents just a popular
man-on-the-street view of philosophy that is vague and blurred.
In this unit, we shall think of philosophy as an activity in three modes:

The speculative, the prescriptive and analytic modes of philosophy. A
description of philosophy of education and its relevance is included
herein.
2.0 OBJECTIVES
By the end of this unit, you should be able to:

i) Define philosophy
ii) Explain the speculative, prescriptive and analytic modes of
philosophy
iii) Define philosophy of education
iv) Outline the scope of philosophy of education.
3.0 MAIN CONTENT
3.1 Meaning of Philosophy
The word philosophy is derived from the Greek words philia (Loving)
and sophia (Wisdom) and means" the love of wisdom". This is the most
popular Grecian conception of philosophy, but there are conglomerate
definitions of philosophy that seem more supplementary rather than
contradictory.
Philosophy is a personal attitude to life and the universe. When a person

goes through some unusual experience, we often inquire, "How does he
take it?" Or we often declare, "He takes it philosophically". The mature
philosophical attitude is the searching and critical attitude, it is the open-
minded, tolerant attitude expressed in the willingness to look at all sides
of an issue. It does not shrink from facing the difficult and unresolved
problems of life.
Philosophy is a method of reflective thinking and reasoned inquiry. It

involves the attempt to think through one's problems and to face all the
facts involved.
Philosophy is an attempt to gain a view of the whole world. It seeks to

combine the conclusions of the various sciences and long human
experience into some kind of consistent worldview.
Philosophy is the logical analysis of language and the clarification of the

meaning of words and concepts.
Philosophy is the study of knowledge, reason, and reality.

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3.2 Modes of Philosophy
3.2.1 Speculative Philosophy
Speculative philosophy is a way of thinking systematically about

everything that exists. The human mind wishes to see things as a whole.
It wishes to understand how all the different things that have been
discovered together form some sort of meaningful totality. Speculative
philosophy is a search for order and wholeness, applied not to particular
items or experiences but to all knowledge and all experience.
3.2.2 Prescriptive Philosophy
Prescriptive philosophy seeks to establish standards for assessing values,

judging conduct and appraising art. It examines what we mean by good
and bad, right and wrong, beautiful and ugly. The prescriptive
philosopher seeks to discover and to recommend principles for deciding
what actions and qualities are most worthwhile and why they should be
so.
3.2.3 Analytic Philosophy
Analytic philosophy focuses on words and meanings. The analytic

philosopher examines such notions as 'course', 'mind', 'academic
freedom', 'equality of opportunity' etc., in order to assess the different
meanings they carry in different contexts. Analytic philosophy tends to
be skeptical, continuous and disinclined to build systems of thought.
Philosophy of Education is the application of the knowledge of

philosophy to the solution of educational problems, concepts and
theories. It examines, for example, concepts as equality, teaching,
autonomy, freedom, morality etc., and considers their relevance to
educational practice. It examines the role of aims in education as well as
schools of philosophy and how they view education. Educational
philosophy seeks to comprehend education in its entirety, interpreting it
by means of general concepts that will guide our choice of educational
ends and policies.
Educational philosophy is speculative when it seeks to establish theories

of the nature of man, society and the world. Its speculative aspect on the
one hand, deals with the search for values, knowledge and realities while
the prescriptive aspect on the other hand is the effort towards getting the
desired goals and recommending same to solve the current problems of
education. Educational philosophy is analytic when it clarifies both
speculative and prescriptive statements.
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Activity I
1. Philosophy of education is not a worthwhile activity therefore, it

should be deleted from the school curriculum. Do you agree?
Justify your position.
2. Explain briefly the difference between speculative philosophy
and prescriptive philosophy.
3.3 The Relevance of Philosophy of Education
As teachers, you might face numerous posers from your students. They
may declare, 'Sir, this course is too argumentative, it is nothing short of
mudslinging among scholars'. Of course, it may sound tautological,
monotonous etc., to many among learners but its relevance cannot be
over emphasised.
 It encourages critical examination of issues and justification for

actions.
 It equips teachers with the ideas required for educational reforms
and considers those changes to be based on the analysis of current
practices in education in line with the values of the society.
 Educational philosophy tends to provide an insight of what
education is and the role education should perform at the various
stages of growth and for what category of learners.
 It gives more weight to the validity or soundness of arguments
than to the authority of the person arguing a case, thereby
disregarding prejudice and personal interests.
 It has an humbling effect, in other words, it compels one to keep
an open mind on evidence/findings that may render ones previous
opinion less valuable.
 It puts forth the various schools of thought about education as a
discipline to develop and inculcate knowledge, skills and ability
through training in humans for welfare of the individual and the
society.
 it gives the teacher a deeper understanding of the various
hypotheses put forward by the classical and modern schools of
thought in order to develop the best approaches to education.
Activity II
1. Your students have a misconceptual belief about the course

Philosophy of Education. Explain briefly to them the relevance
of the course to teachers.
2. Discuss fully on the focus or validity/soundness of arguments

rather than the authority of the person arguing a case.
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3.4 Philosophy as a Rational Activity
Reasoning involves many things. It involves the use of deductive and

inductive methods, clarity in the use of language, and regard to
evidence. Deductive or inductive reasoning involves arranging certain
kinds of statements in such a way that we can infer conclusions from
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them. Deductive reasoning leads to a necessarily true conclusion whereas
inductive reasoning leads to a causally true conclusion. Philosophy is a
rational activity not in the sense that it gives us information about the world
but in the sense that it enables us to scrutinise our beliefs and see whether or
not they are rationally tenable. Philosophy makes us rational human beings.
4.0 CONCLUSION
Philosophy is a method of reflective thinking and re-saved inquiry.

Generally three modes of philosophy are discussed with more
explanation on speculative and prescriptive modes. The analytic
approach is a combination of the former modes.
5.0 SUMMARY
A note to keep in mind with regard to the analytic qualities of

educational philosophy: When it seeks to establish theories of the nature
of man, society and the world, and in the same vein it seeks to achieve
the desired goals, it assumes an analytical mode. Reader should make up
the third mode (Analytic).
6.0 SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE
1. From the conglomerate definitions of philosophy you read in this

unit, project your own definition of terms.
2. Take a rough sheet of paper and jot down what you understand
by speculative, prescriptive and analytic modes of philosophy.
7.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT
1. Explain in details the analytic nature of Educational Philosophy.

2. "The study of Educational philosophy is just tilting at windmills"
Do you agree? Justify your claim.
8.0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READING
Akinpelu, J.A. An Introduction to Philosophy of Education. London:

Macmillan,1984.
Dewey, J. Democracy and Education. London: Collier, Macmillan,

1966.
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UNIT 2 EQUALITY OF EDUCATIONAL
OPPORTUNITY
CONTENTS
1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Content
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Self-assessment Exercise
7.0 Tutor-marked Assignment
8.0 References
1.0 INTRODUCTION
The phrase "equality of educational opportunity" is problematic to deal

with. It is an evasive phrase that needs lots of analyses and such
analyses may be confusing. The problem with the definition of"
educational opportunity" is two-fold-practical, how to achieve equal
opportunities and conceptual- the concept of the phrase "equal
educational opportunities".
In this unit, we shall confine ourselves to three possible interpretation of

the notion of equality of opportunity in education. Moreover, some
possible factors that may impede the realisation of equal opportunity in
education would be discussed.
2.0 OBJECTIVES
i) Explain the phrase "equal opportunity in education".

ii) Discuss some possible factors that may impede attainment of
equal educational opportunity.
iii) Offer recommendations on how to tackle the impeding factors.
It is obvious that people are not born equal neither are they equal in any
respect. Thus, if people are not equal in any respect except that they are
all human beings, then it becomes difficult to accord them equal right in
life. Our mental, moral and emotional capacities are all different.
Though, the National Policy on Education emphasises in section I sub-
section 2 that all Nigeria citizens have equal opportunity for education at
all institutional levels, yet, a lot of problems emanate in the
interpretation of what it actually means. Let us examine three possible
interpretations.
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3.1 Interpretations of the Phrase "Equality of Educational
Opportunity"
The first interpretation presupposes that each individual should receive

an equal share of educational resources irrespective of potential ability.
The second interpretation is to treat all those children of the same

measured ability in the same way irrespective of environmental factors.
The third interpretation focuses on positive discrimination in favour of

educationally underprivileged children, with the sole aim, to remedy the
educational lag of disadvantaged children.
A learner should note that the three interpretations could easily be

debunked. The first interpretation would ensure unequal outcome
because individuals vary in their genetic ability. The second
interpretation is faced by or is in conflict with social justice theory.
Finally, discrimination assumed in the third interpretation is also unfair
and unjust. We can summarise these interpretation with Akinpelu's
(1984) own words, "What I suspect is that while each proponent of
equal education opportunity thinks and believes that he is defending a
concept, he is in actual fact defending a conception, that is his own
conception".
Activity I
1. Debunk the first interpretation of equality of educational

opportunity.
2. List the factors that may impede the attainment of equality of
opportunity in education.
3. Briefly explain some of the strategies employed by both state and
federal governments in order to achieve equality of educational
opportunity.
Factors Responsible for Inequality of Educational Opportunity
Among the numerous factors responsible for inequality of educational

opportunity are: family background, poor or rich, educated or otherwise,
underaged children, intellectual ability, poor health and unfavourable
environment. Discussions on these factors would be very brief as the
learner should also think of other factors including those peculiar to
his/her environment.
Nigerian educated parents know too well the value attached to education
and would also like their children to benefit from it. They can provide
both moral and financial support in order to ensure that their children
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attain higher qualifications. They send their children to better or good
schools with well-built structures with proper ventilation, qualified
teachers, equipped library, etc. At home, some of the children have their
own personal libraries, etc. On the other hand, the children of the poor
and agrarian family do not enjoy such things. Is it possible for the
children of the poor ones to go at the same pace with the children from
educated parents?
Underage children: Parents unknowingly send their children to school

at an early age. This may cause a devastating effect to the child's brain.
Once damage is done to the brain, the child may not keep up the pace
with other children in later years.
Moreover, children in the rural areas are more likely exposed to various
domestic works than attending school. When compared with children
from cities, the children from rural areas are unlikely to perform well in
academics. Environment plays a significant role in terms of a child's
educational opportunity. Most schools in rural areas are behind in terms
of facilities and qualified teachers.
The educational gap between northern and southern Nigeria is a trace of

educational inequality. This inequality of educational opportunity started
since the inception of western education. Statistical evidence has shown
that the north was lagging behind other regions, particularly when pupils
population was taken into account.
There has been a lot of efforts to bring to people compensatory

education. The main aim is to remedy the l., educational gap of
disadvantaged children and thereby narrow the achievement gap)
Efforts made to Bridge the Gap between Northern and Southern

Nigeria
Both state and the federal governments have developed strategies on

how to achieve equal opportunity in education. Among the strategies
are:
 Bursaries and scholarships award. Students are enticed by

bursaries and scholarship awards in order to cope well in their
studies.
 With the current UBE initiative, many citizens would benefit
from the programme thus reducing in-equality of educational
opportunity among citizens.
 Many schools in the rural areas are now acquiring a new look.
Some dilapidated structures were reactivated and many UBE
blocks were constructed.
 The Federal government has also embarked on the establishment of “Almajari
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Schools” with boarding facilities to care for the children of school age who
roam the streets of cities in northern Nigeria
22
 The average age for primary one is fixed at six years, parents
should observe the age limit.
4.0 CONCLUSION
In this unit, you read about the problematic nature of the phrase
"equality of educational opportunity". Three varied interpretations of the
notion were highlighted. Social factors that are viewed to impede
attainment of equal opportunity were discussed.
5.0 SUMMARY
The concluding segment of this unit focuses on the strategies employed

by both state and federal governments in their efforts to attain equal
opportunity for the citizens of the entity called Nigeria. Think of
proffering more strategies.
1. Explain fully the phrase, 'equality of educational opportunity'.

2. Is equal educational opportunity in Nigeria a reality or an
illusion?
1. You are a principal of a boarding secondary school faced with

1,000 number of applicants seeking for enrolment while you have
in reality space for only half of that number. Would you enroll
bearing in mind your intention to achieve equality of opportunity
in Education?
2. Despite the strategies you read as employed by both the state and
federal governments in their efforts to achieve equal educational
opportunity, enumerate your own strategies, which you think
could best be employed in order to achieve equality of
educational opportunity.
8.0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READING
Akinpelu, J .A. An Introduction. to Philosophy of Education. London:

Macmillan, 1984
Dewey, J., Experience and Education. New York: Collier Macmillan,
1963.
Dewey, J., Democracy and Education. London: Collier Macmillan,
1966.
23
UNIT 3 PSYCHOLOGY OF EDUCATION
CONTENTS
1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Content
3.1 Meaning of Psychology
3.2 Branches of Psychology
3.3 Educational Psychology and its Scope
3.4 Contribution to Theory of Education
3.5 Contribution to Practice of Education
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Self-assessment Exercise
8.0 References
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Psychology has many things to contribute in the development of many

professions. Teaching as a profession benefits to a greater extent from
benefits/principles deduced from psychological theories. To this end, it
is important to understand the concept of psychology, its branches and
that aspect of psychology which applies to teaching and learning
processes.
Therefore, this unit examines the meaning of psychology and

contribution of educational psychology to the field of education.
2.0 OBJECTIVES

i.) Define psychology
ii.) List the various branches of psychology
iii.) Define educational psychology
iv.) Outline the scope of educational psychology
v.) Discuss the contribution of psychology to the field of education
3.0 MAIN CONTENT
3.1 Meaning of Psychology
Psychology as an organised field of study is not very old. As an

independent discipline, psychology acquired separate status very
recently. Formally, psychology was studied as a sub-branch of
24
philosophy. Therefore, its first definition from the Greek words: Psyche
(soul) and Logos (Science) was given by the philosophers. This
psychology was defined then, as "the science of soul".
This definition was derived from the argument put forward by a Greek
philosopher -Democritus -who claimed that everything is composed of
indivisible unitary materials known as Atoms. Thus, people are
constituted of body atoms and soul atoms. Hence, psychology as a sub-
branch of philosophy was intended to study the soul of the people.
As time progressed, some contemporary philosophers questioned the

nature of soul -how can soul be objectively defined, therefore, another
definition was evolved for psychology with Descarters who claimed that
an individual is made up of body and mind, psychology took another
meaning: The science of mind.
This definition of psychology remained in vogue for a long time.

However, the same question resurfaced again -How can mind be
objectively defined and studied. Thus, this definition was described by
the philosophers. Then psychology was defined as the science of
consciousness on the basis that human beings are conscious of their
external environment thence.
This definition was later on rejected on the ground that consciousness is

a negligible portion of an individual's total personality. Furthermore,
contemporary philosophers claimed that consciousness cannot be
objectively studied by absorbing an individual's activities.
A great history was made in 19th and 20th centuries concerning the
development of psychology as an independent discipline. With the
coming to light of German and American philosopher psychologists,
psychology was detached from philosophy and given a new definition
and system of approach. Hence, psychology was defined as a "science of
behaviour" which can be observed, verified, measured and studied in a
systematic manner-in fact, in a scientific way.
Psychology thus, can be simply defined as a study of individuals

behaviour which consist of overt actions that are as a result of his
response to stimuli.
Activity I
1. Give the four definitions psychology has undergone over the past
years.
25
3.2 Branches of Psychology
Psychology is sub-divided in various branches:
i) General psychology
ii) Human psychology
iii) Animal psychology
iv) Genetic psychology
v) Developmental psychology
vi) Educational psychology
vii) Abnormal psychology
viii) Social psychology
ix) Experimental psychology
x) Physiological psychology
xi) Industrial psychology
xii) Military psychology
xiii) Clinical psychology
xiv) Environmental
psychology
xv Evolutionary
psychology
3.3 Educational Psychology and its Scope
This is a branch of psychology, which deals with the application of

psychological theories (findings) into the field of education.
The scope of educational psychology includes the followings:
1. Learner: His developmental characteristics, individual

differences, intelligence, personality and mental health.
2. Learning process: Theories of learning, motivation of learning,
factors affecting learning;( the use of rewards and punishment,
class size, expectations of the teacher, teacher/ student interaction)
diagnosis of learning problems, etc.
3. Evaluation: Evaluation of learning outcomes, and are of
statistical methods in conducting research related to practice and
theory of education.
Activity II
1) Give the meaning of Educational Psychology.

2) List the three aspects that formed the scope of Educational
Psychology:
26
Psychology and its Relation to Education
The contribution of psychology to education can be viewed from two

facets
3.4 Contribution to Theory of Education
This include the followings:
27
 Aid teachers in understanding the developmental characteristics
of learners so as to effectively impact instruction and mould the
behaviour of learners.
 Aid teachers to understand the nature of the learning process.
 Assist teachers to provide for individual differences within
learners.
 Aid teachers to know effective methods of teaching.
3.5 Contribution to Practice of Education
This include the following:

 Curriculum planning.
 Classroom management.
 Using teaching aids/materials.
 Time-tabling.
 Schools administration.
Activity III
Mention the areas in which psychology contributes to the:

1) Theory of education
a)
b)
c)
d)
2) Practice of Education
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
4.0 CONCLUSION
The importance of psychology to the theory and practice of education

cannot be over emphasised. Psychology offers to education many
principles and conditions that teachers need to study critically and
objectively so as to facilitate classroom learning.
5.0 SUMMARY
This unit defines psychology by tracing the developmental changes of

its scope right from the time it was a sub-branch of philosophy.
* Psychology is at last viewed as a scientific study of human behaviour
28
* The application of psychological principles to the field of education is
the concern of educational psychology. The learner, the learning process
and evaluation are the subject matter of educational psychology
* Psychology contributes to education in two dimensions: contribution
to theory of education, and contribution to the practice of education.
1. Define Educational Psychology.

2. What are the contributions of Educational Psychology to the
practice of Education?
Explain, using relevant examples the contributions of psychology to

education.
Model Answer
The contributions of psychology to education are summarised below:
 Assist teachers in understanding the developmental

characteristics of learners. This will help in imparting instruction
and mould the behaviour of learners.
 Assist teachers to understand the nature of learning and how it
takes place -all with the view to assist learners to learn.
 Aid teachers to provide for individual differences that exist
between learners during teaching-learning interactions.
 Aid teachers to know the effective methods of teaching. .Aid
 Other contributions are in the areas of curriculum planning,
classroom management and time-tabling.
8.0 REFERENCES
Akinboye, J.O. et ai, Psychological Foundations of Education. Ibadan:

Heinemann Educational Books. (Nig) Plc., 1984.
Buss, D.M.(1999). Evolutionary Psychology. Psycnet.apa.org
Wortman, C.B.,Loffus, E.F. and Marshall, M.E. (1994). Psychology :
Principls and Application(2nd Edition) Prentice Hall; Sub Edition.
29
UNIT 4 INTRODUCTION TO LEARNING THEORIES
CONTENTS
1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 Definition of Learning
3.2 Types of Learning
3.3 Theories of Learning
3.4 Principles of Learning
3.5 Application
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
8.0 References
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Learning is a fundamental process, which enables an organism to

service. Learning enables the organism to acquire the fundamental skills
with which it can adopt and even change its environment. Learning is
one of the key concepts in education. Hence, learning has been
identified as one of the focal areas of educational psychology.
Furthermore, classroom implications of the theories of the learning were
considered.
2.0 OBJECTIVES
1. Define learning in various perspectives.

2. Enumerate various theories.
3. Explain the main tenets/principles of learning.
4. Discuss the implications of the theories of learning within the
class situation.
3.0 MAIN CONTENT
3.1 Definition of learning
Learning has been defined in several ways. A common definition used

very often is as follows:
30
Learning is a psychological process that refers to any change of
behaviour that is relatively permanent and could be attributed to a result
of some particular experience, observation or training. From this
definition, three things are noteworthy. They are;
1. Change in behaviour;
2. Relative permanence;
3. Consequence of experience, observation or tracing. All the three
must exist before learning can take place.
3.2 Types of Learning
Learning is complex and multifaceted in such a way that no single

activity can represent it completely. The followings form types of
learning:
1. Classroom learning
2. Social learning
3. Incidental learning .
4. Problem solving learning .
5. Verbal learning
6. Skill learning
ACTIVITY I
1. List the three components of learning that must exist before

learning takes place.
a)
b)
c)
2. Give an example of each of the following forms of learning:
a) Classroom learning
b) Social learning
c) Incidental learning
d) Problem solving learning
e) Verbal learning
f) Skill learning
3.3 Theories of Learning
A very large number of theories have been propounded by various

scholars in the field of psychology to explain the nature and complexity
of the learning process, A theory refers to any systematic or coherent set
of ideas, principles or laws proposed to further our understanding,
control and prediction of natural phenomena.
31
Learning theories can be broadly classified into two categories.
1. S -R Theories (behaviours) Associations/Connectionists

Some examples of learning theories include the following:
i. Pavlov's conditioning theory of learning

ii. Thorndike's theory of learning
iii. Skinner's theory of learning
iv. Watson's theory of learning
v. Guthrie's theory of learning
vi. Hall's theory of learning
2. Cognitive field theories

Some examples of theories under this category include:
a. Gestalt's theory of learning

b. Field's theory of learning (Kurt Levin)
c. Tolman's sign
All these theories employed experiments with some kinds of animals

(dogs, cats, rats, pigeons, monkeys) to observe the nature and processes
of learning.
Full details of the experimental designs of these theories are not

provided herein, however some principles of learning deduced from the
experiments are highlighted below:
ACTIVITY II
1. Learning theories can be broadly classified into two categories as

follows:
a)
b)
2. Give three examples of learning theories under each of the two
categories given above.
a) i
ii.
b) i.
ii.
3.4 Principles of Learning
Pavlov's theory of learning

The following are the learning principles Pavlov gave after his
experiments with dogs.
32
i) Reinforcement -repeated presentation of food (reinforcement)
made the animal to repeat behaviour (salivation). Discontinued
presentation of reinforcer (food) made behaviour to disappear.
ii) Extinguish -this is the animal's inability to repeat (forget) learned
behaviour due to lack of reinforcement.
iii) Stimulus Generalisation -Pavlov observed that his dog which
learnt to salivate at the sound of the bell, salivated on learning
another similar sound (e.g. buzzer or whistle). Learning process
in human beings hold to this principle.
iv. Stimulus discrimination -Pavlov observed that his dog salivated
in the presence of a small red bell rather than other bells. Thus
the ability to discriminate the small red bell from the other bells
is pertinent and occurs through discrimination.
Thorndike's principles of learning
The following forms the tenets of learning deduced from Thorndike's

experimentation with rats.
i. Law of effect.
ii. Law of exercise (practice).
iii. Law of readiness.
iv. Law of intensity.
v. Law of recency.'
vi. Law of multiple responses.
These principles need to be fully studied and understood by classroom

teachers. This is because they all have far reaching effects on how
human beings (pupils/students) learn.
3.5 Application
The above principles can be wisely applied into classroom

teaching/learning processes. The following recommendations are given.
i. More opportunities should be given to learners to use and repeat

(practice) the knowledge they acquired in the classroom.
ii. To strengthen learning, a room should be given for re-learning of
the learnt materials.
iii. Assignments, exercise and drills should be given after each
instruction.
iv. Adequate teaching materials need to be employed in classroom
instruction.
v. Pupils/students should be rewarded after making correct
responses during teacher-learner interactions. vi. Readiness
factors: motivations, experience relevance of materials and
33
personal adjustment of learners should be adequately taken care
of before instructions are designed.
ACTIVITY III
1. List the four tenets of learning given by Pavlov.

a)
b)
c)
d)
2. Mention the six principles of learning given by Thorndike.
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
3. Mention two suggestions not given herein on how to apply the

principle of learning into classroom situations.
a)
b)
4.0 CONCLUSION
The nature and process of learning are very complex. Various theories
of learning have offered substantive explanations on learning processes.
To clarify the complexities of learning process, teachers need to under-
stand the various perspectives of the learning process and the tenets put
forward. Unless such is done, teachers would not impart the desired
goals into the students.
5.0 SUMMARY
* This unit provides definition of learning and identifies the

theories that explain learning process.
* The unit also provides some basic learning principles given by
Pavlov and Thorndike.
* Recommendations on the application of the learning principles
were also given.
1. Define learning according to your understanding of the term.

2. Explain law of effect, law of exercise and law of readiness.
34
3. Select at least three tenets of learning given by Pavlov and
explain how you can use then to achieve an effective
teaching/learning process.
Question: Explain briefly, the following principles of learning:
(i) Law of Effect

(ii) Law of Exercise
(iii) Law of Readiness
Question: Show how these principles can be applied into classroom

situations.
Model Answers
(i) Law of Effect: is defined as the satisfaction and dissatisfaction

an organism has after making a response to stimulus (stimuli).
Therefore, learning can only take place if the learner is satisfied
with the learning outcome.
(ii) Law of Exercise: States that, successive repetition of stimulus =
response connection and strengthens learning. That is, learning is
effective if the learner re-learns the material learnt.
(iii) Law of Readiness: This principle states that learning can only
take place if the learner is physiologically and psychologically
ready for learning.
Application of the principles in a classroom situation:
 Teachers should give learners more opportunity to practice or re-

learn the materials learnt.
 Assignments, exercises and drills should be given after each
instruction.
 Teachers should reward learners appropriately.
 Readiness factors such as motivation, experience, relevance of
materials and personal adjustment of the learner should be taken
care of by the teacher.
8.0 REFERENCES
Lawson, R., Learning and Behaviour. New York: Macmillan, 1965.
Gottsegen, et al (eds), Professional School Psychology. New York:

Grune and Stratton, Inc., 1970.
35
UNIT 5 READINESS TO LEARNING
CONTENTS
1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
8.0 References
1.0 INTRODUCTION
The preceding unit dealt with the process of learning and stated that
learning can only occur if the organism is ready physiologically and
psychologically. In addition, certain factors such as relevance of
materials and methods of instruction, organism's level of lesson
adjustment, his emotional state as well as his motivational level are
important to learning.
This unit, therefore, is concerned with such factors that determine an

individual's readiness to learn. How to impart readiness in learners is
another focus of the unit.
2.0 OBJECTIVES
At the end of this unit, you should to be able to:

i. Define readiness to learn.
ii. Enumerate factors of readiness to learn.
iii. Explain the factors of readiness to learn.
iv. Discuss how readiness can be built for effective teaching and
learning.
3.0 MAIN CONTENT
One of the principles of learning postulated by Edward Thorndike is

Law of Readiness. The principle holds that before an organism acts (i.e.
learns), it has to be ready -the tendency of the learner before making a
connection between stimulus and response (i.e. learning).
The term readiness is defined as a "state of body, mind and feeling

produced by a combination of growth (maturation) and experience
which implies fitness and ability to embark on some new task." Simply
36
put, readiness is the levels of preparedness of a learner that enables him
to learn new tasks.
Factors that determine readiness to learn:
i) Maturation -This refers to the sort of growth and development

that occurs mostly independent of any effort to promote it.
Maturation determines the extent to which various body
structures and organs are ready to perform complex actions. It is
when various parts of the body are fully developed that certain
complex learning is made possible. No matter the level of
motivation or environmental treatment, learning cannot take
place if certain organs in the body are yet to fully develop (e.g.
brain).
ii) Experience: Experience here is simply defined as previous
learning or entry behaviour. Entry behaviour refers to the
knowledge, skills etc, a learner is supposed to possess before
learning a new task. The science of learning states that some
basic skills are necessary before complex tasks are tackled.
iii) Relevance of Materials and Methods of Instruction: A learner
may be capable (i.e. matured) and may possess the experience
needed but may fail to learn if the materials to be learnt are not
suitable or relevant. This holds true if the methods of instruction
are not relevant.
iv) Other factors: Some other factors of importance include level of
motivation, positive attitude and learners' personal adjustment.
These factors are important in the acquisition and constructive
use of readiness.
ACTIVITY I
1. Give the meaning of readiness

2. Mention the three components of readiness
a)
b)
c)
3. List the factors that determiines readiness.
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
37
Building Readiness
(i) Providing pre-school experiences: Pre-school experiences

include those skills needed by a child before formal schooling
system. They are needed by all children if they are to adapt to the
demand of school. They include:
 Writing, painting, counting, use of vocabulary etc.
 Social skills such as sharing, cooperation, competition,
group work, following rules and regulations.
 Others: pictures study, book study etc.
(ii) Providing Readiness programmes in Schools: Children in
school who show lack of readiness in school tasks should be
identified. Diagnostic tests and other procedures should be used
to identify such children. Then remedial classes should be
provided according to the children's deficiencies.
(iii) Building Self-Confidence: Psychologists have emphasised that
positive attitude to oneself (i.e. positive self-concept) is a very
important factor that determines one's readiness to learn.
Therefore, teachers should strive hard to build self-confidence through

the following:
 Frequent praise by teachers

 Giving room for competition
 Giving student's responsibilities
 Individual counselling.
ACTIVITY II
1) List those pre-requisite skills needed by a child before formal

school system begins.
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
2. List some of the deficiencies school children may have that need
remedial programme.
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
38
3. Mention some ways teachers can build positive attitude into their
students/pupils.
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
4.0 CONCLUSION
Readiness to learn is one fundamental principle of learning to take place

effectively. Readiness factors must operate. Hence, teachers need to
understand the concept of readiness as well as how readiness can be
built.
5.0 SUMMARY
 This unit has explained the concept of readiness. Readiness to

learn is the state of learners preparedness to embark on a given
learning task.
 Readiness factors include motivation and experience. Others
include relevance of materials and methods of instruction, learner
levels of motivation, positive attitude and the child's personal
adjustment.
 Strategies for building readiness include provisions of pre-school
experiences, diagnosis learner's readiness deficiencies and
remediation. Another strategy is building self-confidence in
learners.
Question: i) Define the term ‘Readiness to Learn’.

ii) Enumerate the Readiness factors.
iii) How would you build in Readiness in learners?
Model Answers
Readiness to learn means a state of body, mind and feeling of a learner,

produced by a combination of growth (motivation) and experience that
enable him to embark on learning new tasks. In a nutshell, readiness to
learn means learners fitness (physiologically and psychologically) and
ability to embark on the learning of new tasks).
 Readiness factors include the following:

 Maturation .Experience
39
 Relevance of materials and methods .Levels of learner's
motivation
 Positive attitude and learner's personal adjustment
Building Readiness
 Providing pre-school experiences such as writing, painting,

counting and use of vocabulary. Other experiences include social
skills such as sharing, cooperation, group work, etc.
 Providing remedial classes.
 Building self-confidence in learners through frequent praises and
giving student's responsibilities.
 Individual counselling.
7.0 REFERENCES
Oladele, J.O., Fundamentals of Psychological Foundations of

Education. Lagos: John-Lad Ent., 1984. Maynard, N. J., Child-Study:
Some Practical Techniques for Teachers. London: 1970.
40
UNIT 6 MOTIVATION AND ITS RELATION TO
LEARNING
CONTENTS
1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 What is Motivation?
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
8.0 References
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Another important factor in determining an individual's tendency to

learn is motivation. Motivation is concerned with an individual's internal
as well as external energies in the direction of an intended goal. An
individual cannot learn effectively if he is not motivated to do so.
Hence, teachers need to understand the concept of motivation and how it
applies to teaching and learning processes. This is the focus of this unit.
2.0 OBJECTIVES
i. Define and explain the term motivation.

ii. Explain the theories of motivation.
iii. List and describe the types of motivation.
iv. Discuss the application of theories of motivation in the
classroom.
3.0 MAIN CONTENT
3.1 What is Motivation?
The term motivation has been defined in several ways. In a nutshell,

motivation answers the question: Why a behaviour? That is, why does a
person behave in the manner he behaves. An answer to this question is
pertinent for teachers. If teachers can understand the reason for the
actions or responses of their students, then they can be able to facilitate
learning in the classroom.
A more simplified definition of motivation is as follows:
41
Motivation is the force or condition within the organism that impels it to
act or respond. Another definition claims that motivation refers to the
biological, social and learned factors that initiate, sustain and stop
goal-directed behavioul:
From these definitions three types of motivation may be discerned:
i) Extrinsic Motivation: These include those forces outside an

individual that regulates his behaviour. The energising motive is
something external to the individual (e.g. food, water etc.),
Teachers use of this type of motivation needs to be judicious and
commensurate with effort put in. Teachers should avoid use of
expensive things to motivate students.
ii) Intrinsic Motivation: These include forces within the individual.
It has nothing to do with the external world. It is a sort of
motivation that comes as a result of an inherent feeling of self-
satisfaction as one participates in learning activity. This kind of
motivation is tied to the learning task itself. Therefore, teachers
need to provide relevant simple and appropriate learning task to
the learners if this type of motivation is to be sustained:
iii) Achievement Motivation: This refers to the motivation for
achievement in the school, place of work, profession etc. It
implies the craving for accomplishment, conquest, competence
etc. Achievement of success in learning is thus determined by
student's motive to achieve. Thus, if a learning task that has a low
probability of success is given little incentive, achievement will
likely be curtailed than if the incentive is high.
ACTIVITY I
1. Give three definitions of motivation.

2. List the three types of motivation.
Theories of Motivation
There are numerous theories of motivation. Some of these are briefly

stated as follows:
1. Hedonistic Theory
Those who subscribe to this theory are of the view that human actions
are mainly triggered by a desire for pleasure and the avoidance of pain.
In other words, people engage in activities for no other reason than the
pleasure associated with them.
42
2. Physiological Equilibrium Theory
This theory holds that human beings are supposedly constituted by a

balanced state of physiology. This balanced state is called
"Homeostasis". Ideally, as long as this state of equilibrium is
maintained, it seems there will be no need for human activity. However,
because this equilibrium is inevitably distorted presumably from birth,
human activity begins with the motivating force being the desire to
recapture the physiological equilibrium. Thus, hunger, thirst, etc.,
signify a disequilibrium that leads to need, drive and consequently
activities to satisfy them.
3. Drive Reduction Theory
This theory postulates that human beings act in order to reduce drive. A
drive is a state of tension which occurs whenever a need (want or
deficiency) exists. The need could be physiological or social. The
motivational force wherever a drive exists is reduction of the
accompanying tension, which is usually unbearable.
4. Cybernetic Theory
This theory sees motivation as being intrinsically attached to human

activity. The theory claims that motivational force flows from within the
individual rather than being a result of pursuing outside incentives.
Forces such as curiosity, competence, and reprocity are three forms of
intrinsic motivation.
5. Conditioning Theory
This theory sees motivation purely in terms of antecedent factors or

consequence of behaviour. Human- beings act in anticipating positive
consequences of their actions.
6. Maslow's Growth Theory
This theory views motivation as a growth process moving from a lower

to higher level. All human activities are motivated by the desire to pass
through what he calls the hierarchy of motives. Human beings act to
satisfy hierarchy of needs. The needs hierarchy is as follows.
High 5 Self actualisation

4 Self-esteem
3 Belongingness and love affiliation
2 Safety needs
Low 1 Physiological needs
43
Motivating students for better learning. The following ways are
recommended for teachers on how to motivate students for effective
learning.
 Make your lesson interesting and appealing.

 Develop a state of need in the students by exposing them to the
objectives of the lesson.
 Structure your learning situation and material in a way that
allows success in earlier steps, reinforce later steps.
 Provide adequate feed back to students on a continuous basis.
 Make judicious use of incentives. Evolve a token economy
system. Develop an atmosphere for healthy competition among
students.
 Make all learning meaningful and relevant to the experiences of
the students.
 Develop curiosity by widening the experiential horizon of the
students. Make all learning pleasant, desirable and worthwhile.
 Develop positive attitude and intentions toward learning in
students.
ACTIVITY II
1. Name the six theories of motivation given above.

a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
2. List the Maslow's hierarchy of need from low to high.
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
3. Outline the ways teachers can motivate their students for better
learning.
4.0 CONCLUSION
 In this unit, motivation has been defined. We have also looked at

types of motivation:
 Various explanations on why people act the way they act was
postulated. The theories highlighted include: The Domestic
theory, Physiological Equilibrium theory, Drive theory,
44
Cybernetic theory, Conditions theory, and Maslow's Growth
theory.
 Strategies for motivating students for effective learning were also
given.
5.0 SUMMARY
One of the basic learning condition is motivation. Without motivation,

human beings cannot act or function properly. Equally important is
motivating students for effective learning. Without applying effective
strategies for motivation, students learning cannot take place.
Try and answer the following questions:
1. Define the concept of motivation.

2. As a classroom teacher, outline and explain the strategies that you
will employ to motivate your students to learn:
3. List and explain the motivation theories discussed.
Question: (a) What do you understand by the term 'motivation'?

(b) How would you motivate your students to learn
properly?
Model Answers
Motivation is defined as a force or condition within or without the
learner that compels him/her to act or respond to the learning situation.
How to motivate students to learn
 Teachers to make their lessons interesting and appealing.

 Teachers to develop in their learners a state of need by exposing
them to the objectives of the lesson.
 Learning situation and materials should be structured in such a
way that allows success in earlier steps.
 Teachers to reinforce students' response to learning situation.
.Teachers to provide adequate feedback to students.
 Teachers to develop atmosphere for healthy competition among
students.
 Teachers to develop curiosity by widening the experiential
horizon of the students.
45
8.0 REFERENCES
Oladele, J.O, Fundamentals of Psychological Foundations of Education.

Lagos: John -Lad Ent., 1984.
Durojaiye, M.O.A, A New Introduction to Educational Psychology.

London: Evans, 1976.
46
UNIT 7 TRANSFER OF LEARNING
CONTENTS
1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 Meaning of Transfer of Learning
3.2 Forms f Transfer of Learning
3.3 Conditions for Transfer of Learning
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
8.0 References
1.0 INTRODUCTION
One of the tendencies of an organism is its ability to select from its

experience, those responses which are appropriate to the learning of new
and somewhat different ideas and skills. Learning cannot be meaningful
and useful if an individual cannot carry what is learnt into new
situations.
This is because, when we learn a new thing, our past experience is

involved. Thus, it can be said that all retention or remembering is a kind
of transfer of learning.
This unit, therefore, is concerned with how human beings transfer one
experience into another situation, all with the aim of facilitating
effective teaching and learning processes in the classroom.
2.0 OBJECTIVES
By the end of this unit, you can be able to:
1. Define and explain transfer of learning.

2. Explain the three forms of transfer of learning.
3. Outline and explain the strategies to be followed in gaining
maximum benefit of transfer of learning in learning situations.
3.0 MAIN CONTENT
47
3.1 Meaning of Transfer of Learning
Transfer of learning is said to occur whenever a previous learning has

some effects on the learning of new responses. "The influence that
learning one task may have on the subsequent learning of another is
called transfer of learning".
3.2 Forms of Transfer of Learning
There are three forms of transfer of learning. They include the

following:
1. Positive transfer: Positive transfer occurs when the previous

performance (i.e. experience) benefits the performance on the
subsequent tasks. For example, learning to add three digits will
facilitate the learning of adding four digit in solving simple
arithmetic problems.
2. Negative transfer: It occurs when the previous performance
(experience) disrupts the performance on the second task. In
other words, when skills learnt in another task make the learning
of another task difficult, negative transfer has taken place.
3. Zero transfer: This occurs when the previous performance
(experience) has no effect on the performance of the second task.
In other words when skills learnt in one task has no influence on
the learning of the subsequent task.
3.3 Conditions for Transfer of Learning
When the stimulus pairs are different but the responses are the same, the
transfer effect is positive. The greater the similarity between the stimuli
in the two situations, the more the positive transfer.
Advice to Teachers
The following suggestions should be followed to gain the maximum

benefit of transfer of learning.
 Learning in the classroom should be such that it results in a

thorough mastery of whatever is to be learned.
 The pupils should have experience with a wide range of problems
that differ somewhat from one another, this may function as
training for flexibility.
 The teacher should emphasise principles and their application.
Pupils must have the opportunity of participating in the use of the
principles with a variety of problem situations.
 Develop positive attitude and transfer consciousness in students.
48
 Make curriculum and teaching relevant to past and expected
student experiences.
 Pay special attention to aspects that will facilitate positive
transfer in your teaching.
ACTIVITY 1
1. How does transfer of learning occur?

2. The three forms of transfer of learning include:
a)
b)
c)
3. Outline the limits you will use to facilitate transfer of learning in
your classroom.
4.0 CONCLUSION
 In this unit, transfer of learning has been defined and explained.

 The three forms of transfer: Positive, Negative and Zero transfer
of learning have been explained.
 Suggestion for gaining maximum use of transfer of learning in
teaching-learning situation have been put forward.
5.0 SUMMARY
Transfer of learning is in fact, a part of learning process. Since learning

has been conceptualised as building of experience upon experience,
transfer of learning facilitates students learning in the classroom. Hence
teachers need to fully understand the concept of transfer of learning and
how to poster transfer in learning during their classroom instructions.
Try and answer the following questions;
1. Explain what is meant by "Transfer of learning."

2. Illustrating your answer with examples, explain the three forms
of transfer.
3. How would you poster transfer of learning in your students?
What is transfer of learning? What is positive transfer of learning? As a

teacher, how would you facilitate transfer of learning in your students?
49
Model Answers
The influence that the learning of one task has on the subsequent
learning of another task is called transfer of learning.
Positive transfer of learning -Positive transfer of learning occurs when

previous learning benefits the learning of a subsequent task.
How to facilitate transfer of learning
 Teachers to ensure that learning in the classroom is made in such

a way that it results in a thorough mastery of whatever is being
learnt.
 Teachers to emphasise principles and their application.
 Learners to be exposed to a wide range of problems that differ
somewhat from one another.
 Make curriculum and teaching relevant to past and expected
student's experiences.
8.0 REFERENCES
Remembers, H. H. et al, Study Manual for Introduction to Educational

Psychology. New York: Harper Rosey,1960.
Marie I, Towards Maturity,. The Psychology of Child Development.

1960.
50
MODULE 2 HISTORICAL AND SOCIOLOGICAL
PERSPECTIVES
Unit 1 Concept and Nature of Education

Unit 2 Types of Education
Unit 3 The Growth of Education in Nigeria
Unit 4 Educational Trends in Nigeria
Unit 5 Innovations in Education
Unit 6 The Status of Teachers in Nigeria
Unit 7 Education and the Society
Unit 8 Social Class and Educational Opportunity
Unit 9 Factors that Influence Education
UNIT 1 CONCEPT AND NATURE OF EDUCATION
CONTENTS
1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 The Concept and Nature of Education
3.1.1 The Concept of Education
3.1.2 Education as a Process
3.1.3 Education as a Product
3.1.4 Education as a Discipline
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
8.0 References
In this unit, learners will be introduced to the definition of the concept of

education and its nature so as
to serve as a background knowledge for further studies into various
aspects of the foundations of education. '
At the end of this unit, you should be able to:
i) understand thoroughly the concept and nature of education it) have an
insight into the nature of education in general.
3.1 The Concept and Nature of Education
3.1.1 The Concept of Education
The concept of education is not as simple as we generally assume. But
in spite of the difficulties, it is now generally agreed that education
implies development in the child what the society believes to be
valuable.
51
Education is as old as man on earth, and there is no society without one
form of education or the other, because, without education, socialisation
within the society cannot be possible.
The term education is elusive. It is simply difficult to say what education
is but rather, simpler definition has been given by UNESCO.
They viewed education as "Organised and sustained instruction designed
to communicate a combination of knowledge, skills and understanding
valuable for all the activities of life".
To Ezewell (1983), education is viewed as "a cultural process in itself
and the way a new-born individual is transformed into a full member of
a given society";
In addition, education is generally aimed at making an individual to be
socially, mentally, emotionally and morally sound so as to be able to
contribute his quarter to the development of his society in general.
Winters (2009), defined education as the acquisition of
knowledge. She viewed it as taking ownership of the information
given to you whether through formal education or through life
skills.
Education as it is today known, is a triune concept with at least three
connotations. It is a process, a product, and a discipline. But this is only
lexically so, for the three concepts are in turn interlaced. Thus, we can
say that education is a means through which an individual "develops his
abilities skills, capabilities and all forms of behaviour patterns that are of
positive value in the society he lives" (Good 1945). In this definition, the
"means" is the process; ,while the skills, and all forms of behaviour
patterns acquired, which constitute the aggregate of all the processes, are
the products. In our .study of both the process and the products, we ask
such questions as why do we educate? And how do we educate? This
constitute the discipline.
3.1.2 Education as a Process
Education is a process whereby the immature members of a group or
society are brought to maturity through the influence of the
environment. An individual is said to be mature when he has been
conditioned to the habits, attitudes, values and customs of the group to
which he belongs. An individual's environment includes those forces,
which direct his actions. They may be physical or non-physical, near in
time and space or extensively remote. They may include animate objects
like man and other living things as well as inanimate objects or non-
living things.
Environment may be social or psychological. The social environment
consists of all the activities of fellow beings that are bound up in the
carrying on of the activities of anyone of its members. The
psychological environment, on the other hand, consists of all those
things "around us" which stimulate us to action and make us behave in
the way we do.
52
Concept and Nature of Education 35
Education is a social process which begins at birth. As a social being,
the child interacts with the people and things around him, at
first
53
completely dependent on them. From birth through childhood to
adulthood, he asses through different stages of life. At each stage, he has
distinct needs and varying capacities. Through .Ie responses which
others make to his own behaviour, he comes to understand and evaluate
his surround- .Igs and to distinguish good from bad.
At each stage of his growth he is expected to behave according to the
norms of each group to which he belongs, The roles and the parts he
plays in each sub-culture and at each level are quite distinct. And he
earns these accordingly. Education is, therefore, a process through which
the individual passes from birth to death.
,.1.3 Education as a Product

education as a product is the sum total of a man's experiences. Through
the process of education, we learn. 'his learning may be simply
cognitive, as when we acquire ordinary knowledge; that is when we
simply now. Or it may be the acquisition of a motor skill, as when we
learn to eat, write or drive. Or it may be simply effective, as when there is
a formation or change of attitude in us. In other words, the knowledge we
have of l1ings around us; the things we can do today, and our attitudes,
interest, tastes and values are the products of education.
explain what you understand by "social environment" and
"psychological environment"?
1.1.4 Education as a Discipline
education as a discipline is an organised body of knowledge, multi-
patrious in nature which deals with issues )f what, why, how, who and
even when in the educational process. The questions often asked here
are:
.Why do we educate? .How do we educate? .Who do we educate?
.What do we educate with? .When do we educate?
In other words, education as a discipline deals with such pathogenic
questions of context, reasons, meth- )ds, and timing in the process of
education, as well as the background of the individual to be educated.
These questions are usually treated under different specialisations within
the broader field of education. For example, the questions of who and
when do we educate take us to the field of educational psychology, that
of why :0 educational philosophy, that of who to educational
methodology, while the issue of what comes under the focus of
educational curriculum.
In summary we can illustrate the triunity of education diagrammatically
as follows:
What do you consider as the best definition of education?

"Education goes beyond literacy alone." Discus$ the above statement in
relation to the definition of the concept of education.
The nature of education can also be viewed from the dimension of
formal, informal and non-formal education. From the definition of
54
education given earlier in this unit, it is clear that complete education
cannot be acquired from outside the classroom only. A large part of
education can be acquired from outside the classroom. Such sources
include the home, peer groups, and other non-classroom situations.
Formal education means any form of teaching-learning process which
has a generally accepted and regular set of rules, organisation and
pattern. It may generally be referred to as schooling. The following
characteristics make formal education unique.
1. It is strictly controlled.
2. It is curriculum-oriented.
3. It is evaluation and or examination oriented.
Concept and Nature of Education 37

~. It requires regular financing.
5. It involves professionally qualified staff.
Simply put, formal education is a consciously planned form of
education. In modern times, formal education
is exemplified by the training presently given in our schools and
colleges.
..
Information education is an aspect of socialisation. This is the process of
fitting individuals into an organised way of life and an established
tradition of a society. This form of education is the process of acquiring
knowledge about the world around us through living with others. It takes
place everywhere, at home, in playgrounds, among peer groups, between
club members, college cliques and workshop gangs, in the market places
and business circles etc.
As we interact with members of the community, we incidentally acquire
experiences which we put into use in our lives. Much learning occurs
without the deliberate intention on the part of the learner or the teacher.
The nature of education has been the subject of considerable amount of
analysis by philosophers of education. It is regarded as the greatest
asset a society can boast of and a great legacy that parents can leave for
their children. All this is for the fact that education is the most powerful
instrument of social change, economic, political and cultural
development and scientific and technological development.
Education also serves the functions of developing social, psychological,
mental, emotional and intellectual development of an individual.
Furthermore, education can be formal, non-formal and informal each
with its unique characteristics that differentiate it from another. For
instance, while the formal education is systematic and at the same time
costly, non-formal education is flexible in its curriculum and is generally
cost-effective while informal education on the other hand is acquired
either through interaction in the society or through distinct personal
experience.
55
Yet others may see education as the quality of being able to read, write,
perform skills and become morally acceptable to one's society. It is
important to note that education serves both the needs of the individual
and the needs of the society.
F or the individual, education means the provision of opportunity for
him to realise his potential goals and abilities in life. The realisation of
such abilities and goals will in turn make the individual a useful and
happy citizen in the society. The above explanation shows that education
goes beyond literacy alone. It also includes the acquisition of functional
skills, moral identity, ambition to succeed in life and to improve the
society. At the national level., education can be defined as a tool for
building a united, independent and wealthy egalitarian society which is
capable of maintaining its traditions and values.
"Education goes beyond literacy alone." Discuss the above statement in
relation to the definition of the concept of education.
I. Give the meaning of readiness.

2. Mention the three components of readiness.
a) cC
~-
b)
c)
38 Foundations of Education
I~I liiiMM'M
(1) Education is constantly changing and adapting itself to new demands
and new circumstances. (2) It is, therefore, difficult for any definition of
education to be comprehensive enough to satisfy the different concepts
and interpretations of education which change with people, place and
time.
The concept of education is elusive. Any attempt to arrive at a consensus
definition would enable an individual to distinguish between:
.Good and bad attitude or behaviour
.Right and wrong attitude or behaviour .Just and unjust behaviour
.Social and anti-social behaviour
Instruction: Answer 1 question only
1. Define the tenn/concept of education. \. 2. Why do you think
education is viewed differently?
1. Distinguish between formal, informal and non-formal types of
education.
2. Discuss the'importance of education to the individual and to the
society in which he lives.
~[8~irt~
Fafunwa, A.B: History of Education in Nigeria. London: George Allen
& Union, 1974. Moumouni, A: Education in Africa. London: Deutsch,
1968.
56
Adesina, S. et al Foundation Studies in Education. Ibadan: University
Press Limitep, 1985. Bernice, L. et al; Society and Education. USA:
Allyn and Bacon Inc., 1964.
Winters, P.(2009). Defining Education. Education Space 360.

www.educationspace360.com/index.php/definingeducation20076/
Unit I provides you with the definition of the concept education and
further explore you to it's nature. In this unit, you will be exposed to the
different types of Education as an additional knowledge for proper
understanding of the course foundations of education.
,
i\1l:iiiJi
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By the end of this unit, you should be ab.I~ to:-
i. Understand the different types of education; and
n. Distinguish between traditional and western types of education.
Types of Education
At this juncture, it is important to mention that the curriculum,
methodology, and general organisation of traditional education in Nigeria
has undergone a lot of changes because of its contact with western
civilization and
ideas
3.1 Traditional Education

Traditional education is the indigenous, ancient or old education in any
society, which is as old as the society itself. Through this system of
education, attitudes, the beliefs, the morals, the customs, the traditions
etc., of the society are passed from one generation to the other.
The aims and objectives of such type of education are to produce people
or citizens who are honest, respectable, skillful, intelligent, cooperative
and culturally groomed.
The curriculum, methodology, general organisation and administrative
structure of traditional education are patterned in accordance with the
opinions, beliefs, customs, principles, experiences and practices of the
community in which the education is taking place. Traditional education
in Nigeria has been highly developed long before the advent of western
education.
The curriculum of traditional education consists mainly of the learning
of functional skills, morals, which are necessary to live in peace and
protect the community from external aggression by neighbouring ethnic
57
groups. Most of the teaching and learning were conducted informally
through socialisation processes. Literacy was not given much attention
and so most of the learning and teaching were done through
participatory education, oral work and memorisation. Traditional
education is a combination of physical training and character building;
and manual activity with the training of the intellect.
The period of graduation required for the mastery of any skill depended
on when the learner can show enough practical evidence of competence
58
during the entire period of apprenticeship. The learners are usually
grouped according to their age grades, sex or kinship.
In the traditional education, the staffing system is not regular or specific.
The teacher of a particular skill or moral must be versed in the field he
or she is supposed to teach. Today such practices have changed. One
single staff in the traditional system of education may perform the role
of a teacher, an elder, a craftsman, a moralist, a disciplinarian, a judge, a
priest, etc.
The learning experiences in traditional education in Nigeria includes
various types of skills such as pottery, weaving, agriculture, mother-
craft, cooking, trading, wrestling, oratory, fortune-telling, traditional
healing, fishing, respect for elders, taboos and cultural norms, hunting,
warfare, tactics, blacksmithing and many other drafts and services.
Activity: List (10) ten crafts, skills and or services that are rendered
in your society and explain how one of the skills is being taught
traditionally?
1.2 Muslim Education

The history of Muslim education in Nigeria dates back to the early 13th
century; during this period there were lslamic centres all over the
West African states. Wherever the Islamic religion spread, Islamic
education was also introduced. The Quran, which is the holy book
of Islamic religion, was the basis for all Islamic lucation and
tradition. Mosques were also built as places of worship. Islamic
schools were introduced into various parts of the country. The system of
education that was popularised can be divided into three phases.
The first begins at about five when young Muslim children are sent to
the Quranic schools where they are ught to memorise the Quran in well
drawn out stages. Here, children are taught stories about the prophet ld
some elementary history of the religion. They also learn how to conduct
a service. Thus learning to be a )od Muslims by acquiring the habits of
prayer and worship.
During the second phase, students begin a more meaningful study of the
Quran. They learn to read and write Arabic and as they become more
competent they learn grammar, literature, poetry, Islamic law and so
on.
The third stage is really a continuation of the second phase, with a wider
curriculum content to incorporate grammatical inflexion, syntax, algebra,
jurisprudence, scholastic theology and the interpretation of the laws of
Islam. During this stage, students decide on areas of specialisation. They
59
often travel to the major centres of islamic education such as Ilorin,
Kano, Fez, Cairo, Sankore, Timbuktu, Sudan and many others.
Simply put Muslim education system comprises the Quranic schools, the
and the Madrash schools, which are aimed at exposing the learner (man
or woman) baby boy or girl to the divine words of God to enable
him/her recite portions of the Quran during regular prayers and other
religious duties of Islam; to repair the learner for useful living as a
committed and practising Muslims in later life: to achieve moral and
piritual excellence in life.
The contributions of Islamic education in Nigeria's social, economic,
political and educational affairs cannot be over-emphasised. Islamic
education introduced some Arabic words into Nigerian languages. The
Hausa and Yoruba, Kanuri and Fulani languages are mostly affected. For
instance, Yoruba words such as 'Alafiah" (good health), "Barka"
(congratulations) are derived from words which were introduced
through slamic conquests. Arabic numeral and architecture were also
brought by Islamic education.
Evidences of the legacies, which Nigeria got through Islamic education
can be seen in the building of mosques and Islamic palaces all over the
country. The most striking features of such buildings were the lomes,
minarets and artistic designs. Islamic education has also introduced new
forms of dresses such as mes used in Mecca and other middle east
countries into Nigeria. An example of such dresses is the turban. Few
agricultural crops and animals were introduced from the east.
Many equipment and important discoveries in mathematics, astrology,
medicine, physics and chemistry were brought by Islamic education.
The sharia law, which is the basis for Islamic law is used in many parts
of the states today.
Activity: compare and contrast the system of impacting traditional and

Muslim education in Nigeria.
3.1.3 Western Education

Any discussion on western education will be incomplete without
mentioning the activities of the missionaries in the areas that would later
be called Nigeria whose sole aim was to propagate the religion of
Christianity.
With the introduction of Christianity, western type of education

naturally followed, as it was a common strategy, that as soon as a station
was established, one of the first facilities to be provided was a school.
Since the motive of the missionaries was solemnly to spread
Christianity, the purpose of education for them was ultimately directed
at training the convert and their followers to become teachers, catechists,
interpreters, cooks and servants. The school curriculum organisation,
60
control and general management of the type of education received were
heavily Christian biased.
For nearly forty years the organisation, control and general management
of western education were left exclusively in the hands of the Christian
missions that brought the education into the country.
With the amalgamation of southern and northern protectorate in 1914, to
form a single country now known as Nigeria, the British colonial
government then became more involved in establishing educational
institutions in various parts of the country. Various commissions were
set up by the colonial government to look into the types, finance and
organisational structure of the existing schools with a view to giving
recommendations for improvement. Notable among such commissions
were the famous Phelps Stroke Commission (1920) and the Ashby
Commission of 1959. The report and recommendations of these
commissions brought improved western education into Nigeria. Grants-
in-aids advisory and inspectorate services, educational administration
and infrastructure, staffing conditions, methodology and the
curriculum were all up-graded.
In 1960 when Nigeria got independence, the trend of events in the
education sector automatically changed and today the business of
western education is both in the hands of the government and the private
concerns, who run schools to suit the modern development in spheres of
Science and Technology.
Western education has contributed immensely to the political, cultural
and economic progress in Nigeria. The English language, which is now
the official language of the country was brought through western educa-
tion as a medium of instruction. Most countries of the world such as
United States of America and the commonwealth countries used the
English language as their medium of instruction. Nigeria, therefore, ben-
efits from this communal advantage through international trade,
diplomacy and the acquisition of advanced
technology.
Today, Nigeria still depends on Britain, United States of America and
other European countries for further studies and transfer of technology
despite the establishment of many educational institutions in Nigeria
itself.
Western education also introduced improved education into Nigeria.
Most of the institutions established
were patterned after those of Europe.
The introduction of western culture such as western art, music, dresses,
architecture and other ways of life are all the product of western
education. Literacy and numeracy were highly improved by western
education.
Discuss the contributions of western education to the people of Nigeria
and the country as a whole.
61
In this unit, you were exposed to the different types of education that
prevail, including the traditional, the Muslim and the western type of
education. In addition, the processes and/or methods employed, the aims
and objectives of each type of education was thoroughly discussed with
a view to providing detailed knowledge to
the learners.
This unit discussed the types of education that is in practice in Nigeria as
an aspect of the foundations of education. Each type of education is
significant in the Nigerian context, especially now that Nigerian youth
and children are receiving one or another type of this education.
Activity: Briefly discuss the stages or phases of Muslim education in
Nigeria?
1. "Traditional education is less important, especially in a modem

society". Do you agree?
2. "Western education has contributed to the political, social and
economic development of the country Nigeria". How far is this statement
true?
Fafunwa, A.B, History of Education in Nigeria. London: George Allen
& Union, 1974. Moumouni, A, Education in Africa. London: Deutsch,
1968.
A. Segun et aI, Foundation Studies in Education. lbadan: University
Press Limited. Bernice L. N. et aI, Society and Education. USA: Allyn
and Bacon Inc., 1964.
Fafunwa, A. B, History of Education in Nigeria. lbadan: NPS
Educational Publishers Ltd., 1995.
4.0 Conclusion 5.0 SUn11n81Y 6.0 .Self-assessment Exercise 7.0

Tutor-m:arkedAssignment 8.0 References
1.0 Introduction 2.0 Objectives 3.0 Content ,
In this unit, students should further be introduced to the historical

growth of education in Nigeria from the colonial era to the period of the
drafting of the National Policy on Education in 1977.
(i) List the different phases in the growth of education in Nigeria and
(ii) Explain the development that has taken place in the field of
education.
3.1 The Growth of Education in
Nigeria
The growth of education in Nigeria has taken different phases from the
colonial era up to 1960, .the post- independence period down to the
62
period 1977 when the National Policy on Education was drafted. We
will now examine these phases chronologically-
3.1.1 Education During the Colonial Era

Christian missionaries in their concerted efforts to carry out evangelism
introduced western education in Nigeria. The first known school was
established in 1843 by Mr. and Mrs. Decraft of the Methodist Mission in
Badagry. Subsequently, many different missions established schools.
These schools could be likened to the early Muslim Quranic schools
where pure religious training were received.
An examination of Nigeria's educational policy in ancient and colonial
times will show that the needs of the individuals and of the community
were reasonably well cared for, but the degree of sophistication was low.
Some ninety per cent or more of the community were engaged in food
production. The women fetched water. Cooperative building was
common and specialist masons and bricklayers emerged.
Architectural designs adapted to tropical environment have
survived. Weavers, dyers, soap makers were trained.
Able-bodied adults carried goods from village to village, using beasts of
burden. Pottery was developed everywhere. The extraction of potions
from medicinal herbs was practiced down from generation to generation.
The priestly class healed the sick and mediated between the living and
the dead. The family unit was intact and the relationship between
families was regulated by rules, customs and conventions governing
marriage, birth, betrothal, entertainment, worship, peaceful co-existence,
death and burial. Although technology was everywhere in evidence,
science as we know it today was absent.
Education and training to improve the quality of life was almost non-
existent. The families were increasingly disorganised, and the labour
force poorly trained. Industrial, commercial and infrastructural services
received little stimulation in the public interest. A few educated men
were dissatisfied with the 'status quo'. and therefore criticised the
colonial regime. Some colonial administrators with humane
temperaments wanted innovation and change and made contributions that
were historically significant. The Phelps-Stoke Commission, Mr. E.R.
Hussey, the Elliot Commission, the Ashby Commission with a show of
philanthropy that must be acknowledged and externally acclaimed, laid
lasting foundations on which a good deal of post-independence
educational policies and activities were based.
The 1950s were the most exciting years in Nigerian history in general
and in the history of education in particular, not only did the regional
government then plan to make great strides in spreading education but
they also put these plans into practice.
63
Furthermore, the governments realised their sense or responsibility by
taking stock of their policies and programmes. They ushered in a new
era in education which opened wider horizons in the 1960s and still
wider in the subsequent years ahead,
For example, the western regional government presented a
comprehensive proposal for the introduction of a free, universal and
compulsory education, otherwise known as Universal Primary
Education (UPE) for the western region by January 1955. The proposal
included a massive teacher-training programme, the expansion of
teacher training facilities and secondary schools, the introduction of
secondary technical education and secondary modern schools.
In the east, there was a similar proposal for free primary education, in
the proposed scheme, the local government bodies in the region were
expected to pay forty-five per cent of the cost of a free junior primary
education programme. There was to be an increase in teachers from
1,300 to 2,500 annually and the establishment of a secondary school in
every division. This modest proposal was rejected by subsequent
government and prefers the rapid introduction of Universal Primary
Education on a large scale. The idea of assumed local contributions
was abandoned and instead the government proposes an eight-year free
education plan and set January 1957 as the commencement date.
The development of education in the north lagged behind that of the

south. While the western and eastern regions vied to be the first region
or government to give its people a free and universal primary education
between 1952 and 1958, the northern region was unable to enter the race
principally for financial reasons compounded by the enormity of the
number of children of school age resident in the region. In addition, the
Northern political and religious leaders were wary of the influence of
western education on their children.
Activity:1) Examine the Nigeria's educational policy in ancient and
colonial times.
2) Explain why UPE was not attempted in the
northern region.
3.1.2 Post-Independence Period up to

1969
Nigeria won freedom in October 1960. The greatest gift of the
independence in spheres of education was the Ashby report, which
aimed at expansion of education at all levels but particularly at the
university level to produce high level manpower for management and
administrative posts. The recommendation of the commission aimed at
two objectives thus:
1) To upgrade Nigerians who are already in employment but who need
further education.
64
2) To design a system of post-secondary which will as
a first objective produce before 1970, the flow of high level manpower
which Nigeria is estimated to need and to design it in such a way that it
can be enlarged without being re-planned to meet Nigeria's need up to
1980.
3.1.3National Curriculum
Conference
A curriculum conference was held in 1969 to re-examine the purpose
and curricular of Nigerian education at the various levels of the
65
educational system for the first time in the history of educational
development in the country. A philosophy of education was evolved on
the basis of the nation's goals. The curriculum conference witnessed
many eminent Nigeria intellectuals. The curriculum conference was
followed by the national seminar on National Policy on Nigerian
Education under the chairmanship of Chief Simeon Adebo (a former
Nigeria Representative to the United Nations). The outcome of the
seminar was the National Policy on Education in Nigeria, which
underwent thorough series of processes, and was reviewed in 1981.
This national conference was not concerned with the development of a
national curriculum nor was it expected to recommend specific content
and methodology. Rather, in this first phase, it was to review old and
identify new national goals for Nigerian education, bearing in mind the
needs of youths and adults in the task of nation-building and national
reconstruction for social and economic well-being of the individual and
the society.
The Growth of education in Nigeria

In the discussion of the major educational aspects of the conference
theme, nine specific decision areas were identified as crucial to the
attainment of conference objectives.
1. National philosophy of education 2. Goals of primary education
3. Objectives of secondary education 4. Purpose of tertiary education
5. The role of teachers education
6. Functions of science and technical education 7. The place of women's
education 8. Education for living
9. Control of public education
3.1.4 National Policy on Education in Nigeria'
The national policy which was reviewed in 1981 stresses that education
in Nigeria is no more a private business, but a big government
investment that has witnessed a progressive evolution of government's
complete and dynamic intervention and active participation.
This implies that the federal and state governments have realised that
without a comprehensive and qualitative education, the country cannot
achieve the goals of a nation in terms of political, economic, social,
intellectual, technological and scientific development. Likewise, to
neglect the education of its people is tossing with the lives of its people,
and its own survival in the end. This had led various governments (state
and federal) in Nigeria to commit enormous parts of education in the
country. The governments have taken over the control of education at
various levels. Education has also become an instrument of winning
supporters by the politicians.
Rapid progress in the forms and systems of education in Nigeria started

in 1960 and after the country's independence. This period started with
66
the submission of the Ashby Report on Education in 1960 which gave
Nigerian government an unlimited encouragement to increase her
investment in all branches of education for the development of her
manpower needs. The implementation of the recommendations
contained in the report helped to expand Nigeria's educational system
both in quality and quantity.
In a related development, the National Curriculum Conference, which
stimulated the drafting of the National Policy on Education for the
attainment of the National goals is another step in expanding the quality
and quantity of education in the country.
7.0 Tutor-marked Assignment.
Examine the factors that stimulate the formulation of Nigeria's National

Policy on Education. Discuss the phases in the growth of education in
Nigeria.
Model Answer
In an attempt to discuss the phases in the growth of education in Nigeria,
there is the need to explain the early attempt by the missionaries to
provide education, the involvement of the colonial government in
education, the changes that come up with independence in educational
sector and all the post-independence blessings that are remarkable in the
field of educational enterprise.
It is a well-known fact that the missionaries were the first providers of
western education though in their own way with emphasis on the 3Rs
that is reading, writing and computation all with a view to soften the
process of evangelisation.
8.0 References
Fafunwa, A. B, History of Education in Nigeria. London: George Allen
& Urwin, 1974. Moumouni, A, Education in Africa. London: Deutch,
1960.
Adesina, S. et ai, Foundation Studies in Education. Ibadan: University
Press Limited, 1985. Bernice L. et ai, Society and Education. USA:
Fafunwa A., History of Education in Nigeria. Ibadan: NPS Educational
Publishers Ltd., 1995.
1.0 Introduction 2.0 Objectives O Content 4.0 Conclusion 5.0

Self-assessment Exercise ...
The unit discusses the growth of education in Nigeria from its baby
stage when the whole affairs were in the hands of missionaries and
later the colonial government to the period when Nigeria got
independence in 1960 up to the time when Nigeria developed it's
National Policy on Education.
67
In the last unit, you were introduced to the different phases in the growth
of education in Nigeria. Here in this unit, you will be exposed to the
trends in the dissemination of education, specifically, the levels of
education from pre-primary to the tertiary level.
(i) State why different levels of education exist; and
(ii) Explain the relationship between the different levels of education.
3.1 Educational Trends: Levels of Education
Pre-School Education
This is the first level of education. The third national development plan
ignores the whole question of pre- school education; the action was
attributed to the in-adequate understanding of the whole concept of pre-
school education.
But the National Policy on Education has been explicit on this issue, not
only by itemising what it considers the functions of pre-primary
education but also by providing policy guidelines on the establishment
of such institutions.
The fundamental aim of which is to prepare under-primary school going
age children from the age of 3-6 for primary school and at the same time
to inculcate the culture of attendance.
3.2 Primary School Level
The second level through which the education flows is the primary level.
In this category, children who are up to six years of age or enrolled to
undergo primary school education which will last the period of 6 years
during which pupils are thoroughly prepared, among other things, to sit
for a standard examination that will take them to the higher level- the
post-primary school level.
3.3 Post-Primary School Level
This level which is generally regarded as secondary school level is
aimed at
(i) Preparation for useful living within the society; and (ii) Preparation
for higher education.
An examination of the structure and content of the school will be
necessary in order to know the extent of its contribution to the present
system.
The policy prescribes a two-tier secondary education for a duration of
six years. The first three years would be devoted to the intensification of
the general education already begun in primary school. It is also note
worthy that the junior secondary school level would be devoted to pre-
vocational education.
Apart from its comprehensive nature, the senior secondary school will be for those
who have shown interest in
68
education, thus replacing the six form.
3.4 Higher Education

The education as incorporated in the National Policy on Education
encompasses post-secondary section of the national educational system
which is given in Universities, Polytechnics and Colleges of Technology
including such courses as are given by the Colleges of Education, the
Advanced Teacher Training Colleges, Correspondence Colleges and
such institutions as may be allied to them.
You have, in this unit, being exposed to the different levels of education
in Nigeria, starting from pre-primary school level to the higher
education level. This is to provide you with the structural patterns which
a child in the Nigerian society has to follow, to attain higher education
level.
This unit encompasses the different levels of education in Nigeria, the
duration for each level, the aims and or objectives of each level and the
reasons for categorising the education into the levels.
Tutor marked
Assignment
Draw a table showing the different levels of education, the expected age
for each level and the duration.
1. How effective is the two-tier secondary education system in the
preparation of students for useful living within the society.
2. What do you understand by pre-school education? Of what value is
this to overall educational development?
References
Fafunwa, A.B., History of Education in Nigeria. London: George Allen
& Urwin, 1974. Moumouni, A. Education in Africa. London, Deutch,
1960.
Adesina, S. et ai, Foundation Studies in Education. Ibadan: University
Press Limited, 1985. Bernice L. et al,. Society and Education. USA:
Fafunwa A. History of Education in Nigeria. Ibadan: NPS Educational
Publishers Ltd., 1995.
1.0 Introduction 2.0 Objectives 3.0 Content 4.0 Conclusion 5.0

SlU11Ina1Y 6.0 Self-assessment Exercise 7.0 Tutor-marked
Assignment 8.0 References
lnnovations in Education
The Nigerian educational system, which has its roots from the
educational activities of the foreign missions are developed and
structured in response to many diverse and distinct needs and demands.
It is, therefore, not surprising to have us here discussing about the
significant innovations that have taken place over time in the course of
69
our discussion of foundations of education. Some of these innovations
include UPE and UBE.
1. Explain that education is subject to change over space and time; and
2. Describe how society's demand and needs can affect the structure and
mode of educational practice in
any given society.
3.1 UPE
The abbreviation UPE, which stands for Universal Primary Education,
represents a strident attempt to universalise primary education in the
country. A nationwide free primary education scheme has never before
been attempted in Nigeria. This is not because there has been no
enlightened public to call for it. In fact, Obafemi Awolowo and several
other leaders of thought during the first republic, and lots of eminent
educationists including Professor Fafunwa and Professor Hanson have in
the past kept up a sustained plea for such a scheme. And so convinced
were some of the earlier political leaders of UPE's vast potential for good
that even before independence, UPE schemes were proposed and
implemented in the former western Region in 1955 and in the eastern
region in 1957. These early efforts represented an awareness of the
importance of universal education in the building of an orderly modern
society.
The Federal Military Government of Nigeria has decided as a matter of
policy to embark on a scheme of universal free and compulsory primary
education as from September 1976. For a country with the size and
complexity of Nigeria, this is a bold venture and indeed a milestone in
the history of organised education in the country.
The concept of universal free primary education stems from the realising
that education is not only an investment in human capital but also a pre-
requisite as well as a correlate for economic development.
The Universal Primary Education (UPE) programme was a gigantic
undertaking. When the scheme started in September 1976, it was
estimated that the primary school population will jump from about
4,000,000 now to 7,400,000. By 1980, this enrolment figure was
supposed to have risen to about 11,500,000. By 1976 not less than
36,000 additional primary school classrooms with not less than 60,000
additional teachers were needed.
There are a number of motives behind the scheme among which
includes: -Ensuring uniformity in standard.
-Ensuring uniformity in method of operation
The government formulated uniformed operational policies and provided
funds for the take- off of the programme. The funds covered areas like:
-Providing new and expanding existing infrastructures for Teacher
Training Colleges. -Training of UPE teachers and paying them.
-Building of additional classrooms and new schools where there is none.
70
For UPE planning to be meaningful, it has to contain more than mere
expedient schemes. It must include at least:
1. Drawing up and analysing objectives,
2. Assessing resources
3. Mapping out stage-by-stage programmes designed to achieve the
objective effectively and with minimum of cost.
4. Allocating resources to the various phased programmes, and checking
how each stage in the scheme is progressing in order to be in a position
to know if the purpose assigned to each stage is being attained
satisfactorily. If not, then
5. Revise line of action in the light of experience gained in the process.
The most important thing about prior-planning in a scheme that is to
cover a whole nation like Nigeria is to avoid wastage of resources and to
ensure that the scheme serves the purpose to which it was designed.
As a forward-looking nation, Nigeria cannot afford to abdicate its
responsibility to provide for the adequate cultural socialisation and
proper adjustment of its youth. And no social agency has been invented
that can handle the task of cultural transmission better than school.
Explain in detail the motives behind UPE scheme in Nigeria. Education
lies at the heart of development, whether it be personal development or
national development. Education and development are continuing long-
term processes, which require careful planning if the improved
conditions of life that they are to bring can be realised. Consequently
there is an imperative urgent need for the effective integration of theory
and practice in planning a programme of teacher education for UPE. The
planners of the UPE programme must, therefore, aim at producing
teachers whose academic and professional studies comprised three
distinct and yet integrated curriculum course, namely: conceptual, fac-
tual content and practical operational methodological ways of making
the ideas and principles change behaviour patterns in our children.
In Nigeria, upward ability is mostly achieved through education. When
UPE is fully implemented in Nigeria, interpersonal perceptions will not
fail to note the provision for equality of opportunity. Among the
component states of the federation, the much talked about imbalance in
education, as between the northern and southern states will be wiped out
with time, perhaps in a single generation.
Where the stakes are so high, and tie in so smoothly with basic
government policy, it would be naive not to use the tool of universal
education, which has proved so effective in a similar situation allover
the world. The end-results are so desirable that the Nigerian people have
decided not to risk failure by leaving the process to the uncertain
policies and precarious finances of the state governments as in the past,
hence the massive federal intervention.
71
Again, at the federal and state levels, Nigerians from all over the country
are working together in the planning stages of the scheme, and will
continue to work together, sharing hopes and feelings with regards to its
implementation and maintenance, inspection, supervision, and
evaluation. This kind of experience is likely to result in increased desire
for co-operation in other areas and help load the bases in favour of
national unity.
The UPE becomes a necessary tool in the search for solutions to some of
our most thorny political and social problems. And no responsible or
truly Nigerian government can, with a conscience, delay its adoption
any longer.
What in your own opinion is the end-result of UPE in Nigeria?
3.2 UBE
UBE is another abbreviation that stands for yet another laudable
Education programme tagged Universal Basic Education. The
programme was launched in Sokoto State by the Nigerian Civilian
President -Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, in yet another bid to come up with
a programme that will be universal- throughout the country so as to
extend the fruits of education to all nooks and crannies of the Nigerian
nation.
Innovations in Education 55
The programme will among other things cater for the sons and daughters
of the Nigerian masses including the Nigerian nomads with a view to
extending equal educational opportunities to all citizens.
The federal government have demonstrated its interest in the area of
education provision, the state and local governments who are supposed
to be stakeholders in this gigantic efforts to a large extent have not yet
come up with any good stories to write home about.
Some opinion holds that UBE programme is another UPE in disguise,
especially for the fact that up till the time of writing this paper, there was
little or absence of a serious commitment to the programme both on the
part of the federal, state and local governments.
UBE may be quite laudable only if its conception and implementation
modalities are well articulated. Primary education seems to have
suffered from a number of inadequacies, such as inadequate planning,
shortage of skilled manpower and limited resources, and reforms in
education are normal processes in any effort geared towards
development. It is quite right to review educational patterns from time to
time. This is because time itself is not static and innovation is inevitable.
But when reforms are made, they should involve the persons for whom
they are meant. Right from the conceptualisation, the citizens who the
reform is meant to service, should be adequately involved, so that the
new programme would in the end be an innovation that would be better
than what the former practices have been.
72
Azare (2000) rightly concludes that in a democratic society like Nigeria,
such reforms must not only involve the people for whom the reforms
were meant, but they must also be carried out within the framework of
the constitution.
Another basic problem the UBE needs to address is the all-important
issue of teachers. First, the teaching profession in Nigeria has not
attained its rightful status. Everyone and anyone today is a teacher.
Primary and secondary school dropouts have been found in our primary
schools teaching. Those who have been through teacher training
institutions are not certificated.
There is also the problem of decadence of the inspectorate. Inspection
being very crucial, to instructions, suffers utter neglect in this country.
Examine the role of teacher training institutions in the implementation
process of the programme like the UBE.
3.3 Prospect of the UBE in
Nigeria-
Although the Universal Basic Education is besieged with problems,
there are prospects to look forward to. With good planning and
management, the programme can serve our children and youth very
positively.
Planning is very important. It is our guide. Articulate plans pave way for
good management. Good management provides adequate and suitable
manpower. Since one of the many problems of the UBE in the late
seventies is lack of the adequate planning, the UBE should not be left to
lack the same setback. People with adequate and sound knowledge of
our educational system should be contracted to plan functional stra.t-
egies that would make the UBE programme viable. The practice of
contracting economists to plan education should be discouraged.
Education is not all about money.
The community today is in good stance to help out in the education of
its children. There has to be an effective awareness campaign to re-alert
the public on the need for community partnership in education. It is the
responsibility of both the government and the community to educate the
young.
56 Foundations o/Education
The government should strive to put the gains of Education Tax Fund to
use. With proper and honest management of the E. T.F., the government
at all levels may not even be burdened with the funding of education.
The money accrued from this fund could be used to fund education. And
everyone now has a stake in education. Finance is very important to take
care of the provision of teaching and learning materials, structures and
infrastructures as well as meet the obligations of teachers' remuneration.
Another source to finance primary and indeed levels of education is the
establishment of Education Development Bank through its revolving
interests and gains.
73
It would.also be desirable to establish a Primary Education Teaching
Commission. Someone has proposed an Institute of Certified Teachers
of Nigeria (ITCN). This body would handle the issue of staffing and
comprehensive personnel management programmes, which will ensure
earnest allocation in a manner that would attract, retain and maintain
staff with skills needed for effective teaching and learning as well as
management of primary schools. Efforts to improve education should
start at the primary level, not through pronouncements and piecemeal
approach, but through a holistic approach aimed at practicalising
minimum quality control standards in all areas as specified in the
National Policy on Education and other documents.
However, teachers have to take decisive steps to improve themselves for
the benefit of their job. After all, no country can raise above the level of
its teachers. If teachers are not good enough how do we expect them to
raise a good enough youth population at the pool of any country's
workforce and ultimate development.
Whether or not Nigeria is, by international practice or constitutional
provision, obliged to provide universal education for her citizens to the
extent that Nigerians have come to regard and claim it as a birth right,
whether or not Nigeria will come to be an effective democracy, which
would give the UPE and UBE among other things a basic political and
civic function, there seems to be no doubt that UPE and UBE in Nigeria
will as elsewhere enhance the stature of men, and improve the quality of
life for all citizens.
Primary education whether it is described as UPE or UBE remains the
bedrock upon which the entire educational system rests. We look
forward to the UBE programme to fulfill our dream. It is not the name of
a programme or what management body takes charge that does the
magic. The magic is in the way and manner through which this level of
education is governed.
This unit discusses two popular educational programmes that were

designed with a view to fulfilling the objective of providing equal
educational opportunity for all Nigerian children and or youth.
IfjlJmz
Discuss the motives behind OPE programmes in Nigeria.
"UPE and UBE are designed in an attempt to universalise education".
Discuss.
Taiwo, Ajayi et ai, Contemporary Issues in Nigerian Education. Ijebu-
Ode: Triumph Books Publishers;
1993.
Nwagwu N.A, UPE: Issues, Prospects and Problems. Lagos: Academy
Press Ltd., 1976.
Fafunwa A. B, History of Education in Nigeria. Ibadan: Samadex Nig.
Commercial Ent. Ltd, 1995.
74
.~1 rm m ~... = rL;rim;!
U;j~~" ., " ",);:;:;:,
iUnlt%" ,"' '" '!!))"!f,~heCtS,tati
:i"~'lllp$;l~::;/'i
1.0 Introduction 2.0 Objectives 3.0 Content 4.0 Conclusion '
5.0 Summar)' 6.0 Self-assessment Exercise 7.0 Tutor-marked
Assignment 8.0 References
.
58 Foundations o/Education
The Teaching profession in Nigeria has many setbacks. Notable among
them is how members of the society look upon the profession. Teachers
are key elements in the development of any society as education is, but
the problem is that the status of teachers remains very low. What is the
cause of this and how can the problem be remedied. This unit discusses
the present status of teachers and looks at the possible solutions to the
problem.
i.) Outline the possible causes that make teaching profession of low
status. ii.) Offer possible suggestions that might uplift the status of
teachers.
The Status Of Teachers -An Overview.
Historically, the teaching profession was of noble origin. A very long
time ago, teachers were regarded as top members of the social strata.
The knowledge they possessed enabled them to be regarded as such.
History has it that teachers had been at the services of kings and rulers
of ancient kingdoms in Greek, Asia and Europe. The service they
rendered as transmitters of knowledge made them noble. In old Greece,
Spartan and Athenian societies, teachers were employed not only to
teach the royals, but also to offer military and political advice. By then
teachers were handled with care.
The teacher at the beginning of the Nigerian educational system was
also of noble origin. When the British introduced the formal educational
system in what is today Nigeria through the missionaries, the then
teachers were of high status. With the self-government, teachers
continued to enjoy the pride their predecessors had in the ancient times
during colonialism.
Factors Responsible for the Falling Status of Teaching.
.Number of teachers compared with other professions in Nigeria is very
large
.Recruitment of teachers indiscriminately to meet the teachers
requirement of the UPE scheme .The coming into teaching profession of
many unqualified teachers .Lack of strong unionism to press for
improved teacher's status
75
.Poor salary for teachers as a result of governmental policies and large
number of employed teachers .Teacher themselves have a poor self-
image of themselves .Deplorable conditions of service
.Poor performance of teachers as a result of some of the factors stated
above.
1. Read (a) and (b) and judge them TRUE or FALSE
a) History has it that teachers did not enjoy any pride in ancient
kingdoms. b) The teaching profession has always had a noble origin.
c) Think of possible solutions to the problems being faced by teachers
and how the situation can be improved upon.
The Status a/Teachers in Nigeria 59

As a matter of fact the status of teachers within the Nigerian context is
very low. A number of factors contribute to that. These factors need to
be carefully considered by teachers in training so as to seek rem- edies
to the problems. Unless care is taken, the teaching profession will die
completely and the society will suffer at large.
,
~
t This unit ~~ves an overview of the status of the teaching profession by
tracing the historical aspect of the
profession.
.Factors responsible for the fall in the status of the teaching profession
are outlined. .Participants have been taxed to study the factors and think
of possible solutions.
,
~'. 1. What other reasons can you give in addition to those outlined for
the fall in the status of teachers in
~l. Nigeria.
2. Outline some solutions that might help to uplift the status of teachers
in Nigeria.
~-~ ~'""""'""'M'~""'""""M_'W""""
.W**"-*~
IIII" * 1:\"'CC*'"";""d";""""'!,,,y,r"""'"'*"* 'C""I",.,&'*""""-
j
: 1. Outline the possible causes that make teaching profession of low
status.
2. What suggestions would you give to uplift the status of the teaching
profession in Nigeria? Model Answers: Possible causes for the fall in the
status of the teaching profession:
.Large number of teachers in the profession as compared to other
professions.
.Recruitment of teachers indiscriminately to meet the demand of
educational policies such as
UPE.
.The employment of many unqualified teachers.
76
.Lack of strong unionism to press for teachers' status. .Poor salary for
teachers.
.Poor performance and self-image of teachers due to the factors above.
Onwuka, U. "The Status of Teachers in Nigeria" Cudimac Series No. 10
Nsukka.
Allan, P. (ed). The Effective Teacher in Primary and Secondary Schools.
London: Word Lock Educa- tional,1983.
mmm~~:rsm;m
c
.
c 1m3
;~ic _.
1.0 Introduction 2.0 Objectives 3.0 Content 4.0 Conclusion 5.0
Summary 6.0 Self-assessment Exercise 7.0 Tutor-marked Assignment
8.0 References
We have in our previous discussion concentrated on the historical

perspective of the foundations of education with a view to providing the
learner with the meaning and nature of education, the growth of
education and the educational trends. In this unit and others that follow,
there is a shift of emphasis on the sociological perspective, thus we will
be discussing education and the society.
1. List and appreciate the importance of education to the society; and
2. Explain that education is a pre-requisite for a meaningful
development.
The necessity for survival forces human society to transmit its values,
attitudes, knowledge and skill to succeeding generations. The initial
mechanism for doing this is through primary socialisation. The process
of primary socialisation begins in the family, and as the society grows
increasingly complex, formal education institutions assure the
responsibility of developing and preparing the new generations for
participation in the activities of the society, In industrial societies,
education not only contribute in transmitting knowledge and skills, but
is also the principal means of social mobility of persons.
3.1 Education and Society
In changing society, there is always some divergence between what the
society is and what it wants to be, between its practice and its ideals.
Thus the educational system, being part of the culture has two supple-
mentary functions
1. To be a mirror that reflects the society as it is, and;
2. To be an agent of social change and a force directed toward
implementing the ideals of society.
As a mirror of or stabiliser for society, the school reflects the existing
social structure and tends to make
77
children like their parents. We have seen that the school sometimes
groups children according to the social class of their parents; it
sometimes reward and punishes children in relation to their family status
as well as in relation to their personal ability and performance; and it
prepares most children to fill the same places in the social structure that
their parents fill. Accordingly, the school teaches the 3Rs, the workings
of government,
to the established political and economic system.
..' As an agent for social change and as a force directed towards
implementing the ideals of the society,
,
the educational system must be something of a disturber of the status
quo. For instance, since the society places a high value on health, the
school seeks to improve health.
..
,
f 3.2 TheFamily
..
The family is the first social group in which the child holds a
membership, and the family is, of course the first socialising agency in
the child's life. The mother, the father, the siblings and other relatives
are the first people with whom the child has contact and the first to teach
him how to live with other people.
The family is a smaller and more closely knit social system,
relationships are intimate and face-to-face; the old and the young are
related in a well- define hierarchy of status.
The family may be described as a system of interacting personalities.
And while its members will change somewhat through the years, the
family provides the individual with a primary group membership that
endures throughout one's life.
Every family acts to teach the child the culture and sub-culture to which
he belongs. In the gross sense, a child born into an American family
learns the American culture. He learns to speak English rather than
Spanish, to eat with fork rather than with chopsticks. The child also
learns in the family the social moral and economic values of the capture
of the society. The family also inculcates either directly or indirectly
how to relate with the adults, and how men relate to women, how to
curb his aggressiveness and yet to cultivate his competitiveness how to
develop loyalties, and how to seek for self-achievement. The overall
expectancies and way of life of the culture are transmitted to the child
through the family.
3.3 The School

78
According to Marx Webster, School is an organisation with an
administrative structure, characterised by a high degree of specialisation.
The primary function of the school is education; and all the personnel of
the school are in school to further such functions of educating the
learners.
The school exists to serve the interest of the community. The
community provides the atmosphere and resources with which the
school can work. The school must change continuously in both size and
functions in response to the social and technological demand of the
community. This is important because the community is never static. It is
always changing because of the effects of influences within an outside
the community, the curriculum of teaching, methodology, recruitment of
qualified staff and admission of more pupils from every section of the
community.
The school must be ready to help the community to carry out any form
of project when occasion demands. Such projects may include
enlightenment on educational matters and environmental development
and sanitations and the organisation of literacy programmes such as
extra-organisation of literacy programmes such as extra-mural classes,
nursery schools and adult education.
3.4 The Community
A community simply defined, is the group of people living in one place,
district or country considered as a whole'. (Oxford Dictionary).
Similarly put in a more academic manner, community is 'a territorially
bounded social system within which people live in harmony, love,
intimacy and share common social economic and
cultural characteristics. ,
People who think about education in broad terms as a process of
teaching children the concept and attitudes of their society and of
teaching them how to behave in their social, civic, and economic
relations tend to think of the whole community as an educative agent.
From this point of view, the school cannot do the job of education,
therefore, the result of living and growing up in a community.
3.5 Religious Organisations

These are organisations that serve as agencies of education. They.have
among their numerous activities provision of programmes of instructing
for young people, some want to perpetuate the beliefs of their groups.
Some work directly with children in their different institutions and have
different categories of instructors. The religious organisations have
several functions in relation to children. One is to prepare the child to
become a member of the group, this is done by teaching children the
religious beliefs and practices of the religion and secondly, is to teach
the child moral behaviour and moral principles.
In addition, the religious organisations provide models for character
development, through their leaders, youth groups and other adult
members.
79
3.6 Mass Media
The mass media comprises of the newspapers, radio television,
computer, internet. etc. Mass media provides information, education and
entertainment. It has been observed that the mass-media available to a child goes a
long way to determine a child’s beliefs and opinions on contemporary issues . A
child that is exposed to newspaper and fond of story on a particular column of the
newspaper, the tendency is to show interest in reading the aspect of the newspaper.
The habit he develops for reading is academic and has education value.
3.7 The Peer Group
This is the social relationship between people who fall within the same age range.
Peer group exerts great influence on the education of individuals. When a child
interacts with others, the freedom and equal status of the peer group help the child to
acquire the culture of democracy. The members of the peer group express their
feeling freely, ask questions and even demonstrate their potentialities. The respect
and loyalty which members have for the group assist them to learn.
In this unit, you were exposed to the various relationships between

education and society and how agencies of education can contribute in
the process of educating members of the society.
Education and the Society 63

It is a truism that school and the family share responsibility for
educating child. And there is no doubt that the responsibility of
educating the rest is in the hands of all the mentioned agencies
I. Name all the agencies of education you know and write brief~on any
one? --~ Explain the function of education to the society
Fafunwa A. B., History of Education in Nigeria. Ibadan: NPS
Educational Publishers Limited, 1995.
Adesina, S., Planning and Educational Industries. Nig. Ltd. Box 2651
Lagos: Box 998 Ibadan Nigeria, 1977.
Aminu, K. I., Historical Foundation of Education in Nigeria. Kano:
Debis-Co Press & Publishing Com- pany Limited, P.O. Box 11961
(GPO), 2001.
Neugarter H., Society and Education. USA: Aliyu And Bocon INC
Boston, 1964.
Social Class and Educational Opportunity 65

~' ,. ~
c In all human societies, people have been different from each other,
different in age, sex, height, intelligence, attitudes, some have gotten on
well in life while others find themselves in the bottom of the ladder.
But individual differences often lead to group differences, thus in every
society, we find a collectivities of people who are like one another in
some respect and different from others. It is in view of the above that
this unit will be discussing issues relating to social class, educational
opportunities, stratification and social mobility.
80
!
r
( fjy
Cf
At the end of this unit, you should be able to
(i) Appreciate the differences between yourself and others; and
(ii) ~e reasons why some people are better than others in terms of
educational opportunities.
3.1 Social Class and Educational Opportunities
The term social class refers to "a collection of men (and women) who
share basically the same position in the allocative scheme or more or
less endogamous stratum consisting of families of about equal prestige
who are or would be acceptable to one another, for social interaction that
is culturally regarded as more for less
symbolic of equality".
81
Class is an aggregate of stratum of people socially bunched together by
some prior determined criteria in a given community or society. It is
entirely devoid of legal or religious sanctions and is by far more open
than any other stratification system. It's history can be traced to the
development of capitalism when reward and status began to be based
more on competition and achievement than on birth and ascription. This
means that class is a phenomenon of the modern, complex society rather
than of traditional simple society. Class is a social institution, though
much more informally institutionalised than say caste.
The basic unit of a class is the family, that is to say, class membership is
a family not an individual status; for a class is a conglomeration of
group of families of equal standing. Members of the same family are
generally regarded as class equals in as much as they behave and
interact with one another in ways which can be described essentially as
on equal basis. In general, one's family orientation basically determines
one's class position until one graduates into an adult or old enough to
establish one's own class which may be higher, lower or equal to one's
class position in one's family of orientation.
Ordinarily, the husband's socio-economic position determines the clas~
placement of the entire family while the rest of the members of the
family share his status. On the contrary, neither the social origin of the
wife nor her occupation after marriage influences significantly the class
placement of the family except in
some scattered instances.
One democratic imperative of education in most countries today is to
provide equal educational opportunity in which all children are given
access to education and are able to develop their inherent capabilities as
best as they can. However, one of the causes of these inequalities is
social class difference. In practical life, every society's class differences
remain an obstacle to the egalitarian tendencies of school system.
No matter the professed political ideology, and it affects both the child's
access to education and his ability to benefit from formal schooling. This
differential is more pronounced the higher one ascends the educational
ladder, thus more at the tertiary stage than in second level institutions,
and more in secondary schools than in
primary schools.
In countries where education is neither free nor compulsory, this
inequality of opportunity is said to be found both in access and
achievement. But in countries with free and compulsory education, these
differen- tials are manifest only in the children's ability to benefit from
this education. Children in these situations have
access to schools but the home and other environmental experiences
continue to affect their performance.
3.2 What Accounts for these Difference?
82
Firstly, lower class families due to their poor economic dispositions
cannot afford the high cost of education for their children. Equality true
is the discrimination at secondary school level in that the quality of
education is positively related to income and the effect of this class bias
on the quality of students at different socio- economic levels will be in
part, responsible for the lower educational performance of the children
of the working class or the systematic difference between the upper and
the lower classes.
There is no doubt that the upper classes are better able to provide for
their children's education than the working class. They can more easily
pay the education bills of their young ones. The lower classes on the
other hand, are usually unable to afford the money that will enable their
programmes to sail through the educational hurdle.
Secondly, it is also thought that the poor educational performances of
children from lower classes are due more to the intellectual
improverishment of their out-of-school experience than to deficiencies
in intellectual potential. Upper class families can provide their children
with a richer social and intellectual environment and norms that are
conducive and encouraging to intellectual activism.
In addition, evidences from several studies suggest that teachers often
judge their pupils on the basis of their social class origin, often
discriminating, albeit unconsciously, against working class children.
This bias arises from the fact that teachers are themselves middle class
either by virtue of their social origin in the middle class or through the
acquisition of middle class values in their successful passage through
primary, secondary and perhaps also tertiary institutions. This
discrimination no doubts lead to differential performance by children
from different social class.
Thus, in the area of moral standards, children from working class homes
come to school with standards totally different from those of the school,
which always transmits middle class values.
11'~ji~:.
Show how parent's socio-economic background affects children's
performance at school?
3.3 Stratification
Stratification may be referred to as any classification based on
individual or group differences.
Sociologists believe that in modem societies, stratification is plainly of
crucial importance in all areas of life, not just for analytical
conveniences but also for administrative and other purposes.
Stratification in society arises from two main factors namely the fact that
(a) many good things in life are scarce and not easily accessible by all
and sundry e.g. education, good food etc., and
(b) those who are able to get these things do so essenti~lly by virtue of
individual and group differences and certain qualities which they posses
83
such as intelligence, wealth, high income, high honour and other social
endowments.
3.4 Why Study Stratification?
Discussion here will lead us to first of all examine one's class position
which tends to determine to a large extent one's life chances, namely
one's education, one's income, one'sjob expectations, one's leisure activi-
ties, one's attitudes and so on.
Secondly, people often respond to other people and to situations not just
as individuals but as members of a class or group. Thus if a child's
background is middle class, he will have middle class approach to
situations, if it is that of working class he carries working class
characteristics. Conversely, people tend to react to others on the basis of
what they perceive to be these others' class position. The study of
stratification is,
uv~,u, v,u u"u ~...,"' "yy'" ,..",,)' '"

therefore, another way, of understanding why some people behave as
they do. Thirdly, classification of people is also a convenient device for
simplifying the world in which we live. Of course, classes tend to
produce numerous organisations and other kinds of groupings based on
commonness of interests and which tend to behave in the same way or
act together e.g. labour unions. The study of stratification makes our
understanding of these organisations and groupings in a society easier.
In the world of information media and advertising, knowledge of classes
could be an indispensable necessity. A knowledge of the characteristics
and composition of the various groups in the society could be a useful
asset in the spread of information and in advertising. It could enable a
producer to know where to place certain information or a media agent to
couch his message appropriately.
, 3,5 Social Mobility
The term social mobility refers to the movement of an individual from
one position to another in the social structure.
Social mobility may mean movement from one social class to another,
involving the consolidation of the various elements of the new social
position including occupation, income, types of house and new organisa-
tion membership. We, therefore, have class structure through which this
mobility occurs, thus we have - upper class, middle class, and lower or
working class. For those whose bread is buttered, it is easy for them to
move upward from the lower class to even the upper class. This may be
due to educational attainments, wealth or power.
Social mobility tends to occur by an uneven and at first partial
movement across the line that divides one class from another. Mobility
on the other hand requires vive and purpose, and willingness to sacrifice
some iTJlmediate pleasures for a greater future gain. So does success in
school. The working class youth who succeeds in college not only learns
84
the social and occupational skills necessary for mobility but learns also
how to work and wait.
In this, you were exposed to the different aspects of foundations of
education including social class, educational opportunities,
stratification and social mobility. These are crucial aspects of the
sociological aspects of
~ education, since it shows how individuals live and rise.
You now study classes and group with the aim of not just to find
similarities and differences between them but with these findings to
draw attention to those who may be concerned with the welfare of the
members of that society to areas of needs and concern.
Equal educational opportunity can never be realised in a developing
country like Nigeria. Discuss. Discuss the importance of the study of
social stratification in relation to educational opportunities.
Ezewu, E. Sociology of Education. Lagos: Longman Nig. Ltd. Ikeja,
1984.
Fafunwa A., History of Education in Nigeria. Ibadan: Samadex Nig.
Commercial Ent. Ltd., 1985. Adesina, S. et ai, Foundation Studies in
Education. Ibadan: University Press, 1985.
This unit is designed to introduce to you the different factors that

influence the education of our children from the sociological perspective
of the foundations of education. Discussions will be focused on the
social status of parents; culture and the environment in which the
children like all can influence the children's education.
At the end of this unit, you should ,be able to:
(i) State why some children perform poorly while others perform
excellently in schools.
mI"t:";"flitit
Ifl~Qc.(~("'~
3.1 Parents Social Status
There is a plethora of evidence to suggest that social class positions
influence education in many ways, but in particular, who goes to school,
one's achievement in school and for how long one remains in the
system. Whatever conclusions are arrived at, there is no doubt about the
positive influence of parents social class on the education of their
children, they eat the best food, they sleep in the best house, they are
exposed to the best modem materials and even attend the best schools.
The existence of educational inequalities is never in doubt, and one of
the causes is attributed to the social class position or status.
Parents of different social status have different attitudes to childcare and
train their children differently. This affects the child's education in many
ways. In achievement motivation for example, parents 'who set high
goals for their children indicate a high evaluation of their competence to
do a task well and impose standards of excellence upon problem-solving
tasks, even in situations where he has both freedom of action and
85
responsibility for success or failure. These factors are believed to be
more pronounced among the upper than the lower classes.
It is also evident that in modes of thought and actual development of
intelligence and perception, children of the upper class have greater
language dexterity and wider vocabulary, which enable them to express
their ideas more articulately. All these have added advantage to children
from the 'upper class over equally bright one's but coming from the
working class'. The working class child comes to school with many
handicaps. His innate intelligence is under-developed in certain aspects
that are important for success in the educational system as it is now
organised and his personality is so structured that he is unlikely to do
well in school.
According to Adesina (1985), the socio-economic status, refer to the
home background, and the parental economic status of the child. The
child, during socialisation process, is taught how to behave, interact with
people, accept certain values and traditions of the society. The economic
aspect is the extent to which the parents of the child can finance his
needs, for example, good quality food, toys, books, pictures, clothes,
medical care because social amenities have their effect on performance
in school.
3.2 Culture
Culture simply means civilisation and a cultured man is synonymous
with a civilised man. In a related development, culture is viewed as "that
complex whole which include knowledge, beliefs, arts, morals, laws,
customs and any other capabilities acquired by man as a member of
society. Culture plays an important role in the education of its owners, it
is for that reason that we now classify culture into the following
component parts so as to attest its influence on the education of our
children:
(1) Speech, which includes language, writing system, e.g. we can
distinguish between Arabic, the Chinese and the Greek system of
writing.
(2) Material traits, which includes food habits, shelter, transportation,
dress, utensils and tools, weapons, ,,! occupations and industries. ~
..(3) := includes carving, painting, drawing, music, etc. .-
(4) Mythology and scientific knowledge.
(5) Religious practices, which include ritualistic forms, treatment of the
sick, care of the dead.
(6) Family and social practices which includes forms of marriage,
method of reckoning relationships, inher- itance, social control, sports
and games.
(7) Governrnent,judicial and political forms. (8) Welfare.
From the above we can see that everything we do is culturally
conditioned. The way we eat and sleep the
86
way we dress and the types of dresses we use, the language we speak,
the values and habits we hold, the goods and services we produce, the
transportation system we have and the entertainment we enjoy -all are
part of our cultural heritage.
In its characteristics, culture is ideal and manifest. Ideal culture involves
the ways people ought to behave or what they believe they ought to do.
Manifest culture involves those things, which they actually do that are
recognisable by others; that is, what others see them do.
Culture is also shared and learned. Culture is shared when we consider
the fact that people are born into an existing culture and it becomes a
group property and that it is through interaction that individuals imbibe
the values of the group. Culture is learned when we consider the fact
that although cultural elements belong to the,meIfibers of the group as a
right, all individuals do not imbibe the cultural values.at the same rate.
Culture, therefore', can be summarised as the content of education and
for that reason should have a bearing on our school curriculum. Any
education enterprise that does not take into cognisance of the people's
culture is bound to fail.
.
"The parent's social status in a society seriously affects his children's
education" Discuss in favour or against this statement.
3.3 Environmental Factors
If environment suggests the physical setting of the society or community
in which one lives, it is, therefore, no doubt that, that environment can
affect the learning of children in schools because this physical setting
varies enormously from class to class. One has only to consider the
housing typical of lower class families in rural areas as compared with
that of the middle class family in a house in a sub-urban community or
bigger houses in the cities.
Children from the poor rural areas suffer lack of good drinking water,
hygiene, food, and nutrients. In fact, all the characteristics of a rural
setting suggest poor environmental quality and therefore, this has an
adverse effect on the children's education.
Envir.onment may in a more academic manner mean all the external
conditions affecting a person. Such external conditions or surroundings
usually have a powerfu I effect on the growth and development of
people. Environment in this context includes the physical, chemical,
social and economic factors, which affects the growth and development
of a child.
3.4 The Physical Agents of Environment
When a child is born, the toys and other hardwares, which are given to
him, are physical in nature. He can touch, manipulate, dismantle and
assemble them as he pleases. During all these processes, the child learns
a'
lot of things. As the child grows up, he comes into contact with ?ooks;
television sets, learning aids and ! equipment. All these physical
87
facilities enable the child to learn faster and carry out many functions.
The J physical elements of the environment which influence the chilq
includes his clothes, shoes, ornaments, types j of dwelling, furniture and
the urban infrastructures. As mentioned above, a child who comes from
a slum, for j instance, will behave differently from one who comes from
a sub-urban setting. This is the effect of environ-
.J
Factors that Influence Education 71

ment. A child who has been exposed to a lot of learning equipment and
audio-visual aids will have a more improved perception than the one
who has none of such facilities.
Children in the urban areas are exposed to modem facilities for learning,
their environmental quality is a model and that automatically should
have a positive influence over their education.
This unit contained some of the factors that can influence the education
of children in their early life and aspect like the culture of the people
should adequately be taken care of when designing any educational
enterprise.
To cap it all, this aspect of the sociological perspective of the
foundations of education is very important and therefore, is pertinent for
educational planners to consider very important factors like the culture
of the people in whatever educational enterprises.
Why do you think the people's culture is a factor that influences the
education of their children?
Explain why the inculcation of cultural values is important in the
process of education in your society. ;;)!j~1~?i~rrl;i
e:le1F,e:
'",,"0 0
Ukaonu, W. U., Sociology of Nigerian Education for Universities.
Owerri: New African Publishing Company Ltd, 1984.
Chudi, C.N., Sociology of Education. Uruowulu-Obosi: Pacific
Correspondence College & Press' Ltd., 1991.
Ezewu, E., Sociology of Education. Lagos: Longman Nig. Ltd., 1984.
Adesina, S. et al., Foundations Studies in Education. lbadan: University
Press, 1985.
Fafunwa A. B., History of Eduction in Nigeria. Ibadan: Samadex
Nigeria Commercial Ent. Ltd., 1985.
Index
Academics, 7
Achievement, 7, 26, 62, 65, 69 Ideas, 32, 41
Acquisition 21 66 Independence, 42, 46, 47 Age, 7,61 , ,
Informatio~,4,37,67 Akinpelu, I.A., 6 Interpretation, 6, 7
Approaches, 4
Knowledge, 2, 3,21, 35-37, 42, 58, 61, 67-70
88
Behaviour, 10, 12, 15-17,26,37,69 Kobiowu, S.V., 6, 64
Beliefs, 2, 4, 40, 69
Bernstein 7 Language, 2, 4, 41 ,
Body,10,21 Leamer(s),3,6, 11, 12, 18, 19,21,23,29,31 Learning, 14-
18,21-27,34,35
Caste 65 66 Life, 2, 6, 37-39 , ,
Children, 6, 7, 39,41, 43, 65, 66, 69, 70
Christianity, 41, 42 Management, 42, 55, 56
Citizen(s),6,7, 8,37,61 Materials, 12, 17,23 Class (also see caste)
Maturation, 21, 23
Cornmission(s), 42,45 Methods, 4, 11,21,23,35 Cornmunity,
37,42,48,62,64 Mind, 10,21
Culture, 61, 69, 70 Missionaries, 41, 45,58 Cwriculum, 31,40,46,62
Motivation, 17,23-28
Mushin Education (see education)
Defmition(s), 10,15,56
Democritus,10 Nigeria, 7,41-48,50-53,53-57
Descartes, 1O
Development, 10,47,50,58,61 Objectives,2,6, 10,
15,21,25,30,34,40,45,50,53,58,
Discipline, 10,37 61,65,69
Document, 56 Opportunity(s), 6, 64-67
Education, 2, 3, 6,11,33-48,50-55,60-63,68-71 Parents, 7, 61, 69
Education; Pavlov, 16-18
-Innovation in 52-56 Performance, 66
-Levels of, 50 Philosophers, 10,37 -Mushin,41 Philosophy, 1-4, 10
-Traditional, 40 Policies, 3, 39, 48, 60 -Types of, 40-43 Population, 7,61
-Western, 41, 42 Principles, 3,10,16,17,21,31,60 Environment, 6,
7,10,15,34,65,66,69,70 Problems, 2, 3, 6,11,30,58 Experience(s), 2, 22,
23, 65 Programmes, 6, 47,66 Experiment, 16 Psychologist, 10,23
Psychology, 9-13,15,33 Family(s),6,7,61,62, 65 Pupils, 17,20,31,62,66
Goals, 3,46, 47 Qua1ification(s) 7, 61 God, 2, 41 Question(s)2,10,32
Government, 6-8,44-48,61,70 Quran, 41
Health, 6, 61 Reinforcement, 17
Higher Education, 51 Religious Organisations, 62 Human Beings 4 1O
1726Research, 11
",,
Index 73
Resources, 6 UBE, 7, 55, 56, 61 Response, 18,21 UPE,47,53-56
UNESCO, 34 Schools, 3,7,22,37,41,62, 66 Universe, 2 Skills,
15,21,22,30,34-36,40,61,67
Society, 4, 34 Values, 3, 34, 3-7,61,65,66,70 Sociologist, 66
Soul, lOW ealth, 66, 67
Stimulus, 17, 18,21 Webster Marx, 62 Strategies, 6-8, 30, 4fJ, 61
Welfare, 67, 70
89
Stratification, 65-67 Western Education, (see education) Students, 2, 3,
17,27,31 Wisdom, 2
System, 61, 67 World, 2, 3,4,34,67 Worship, 41,45
Task, 21,23, 30, 69
Teacher(s),2,3,7, 12, 18-20,25,28,30,31,57-59,65 Years, 7,61,62
Teaching Aids, 12 Youths, 46 Theories, 3, 10, II, 14-18,25-27
Thorndike Edward, 16- 18,21 Zero transfer, 30 Tradition, 34, 70
Traditional Education (see education)
90

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NATIONAL OPEN UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA

COURSE CODE: EDU 111

COURSE TITLE: FOUNDATIONS OF EDUCATION

Course Team Dr. F. Umar (Developer/Writer) – BUK

Course Reviewer: Dr. Tilije R. N.

NATIONAL OPEN UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA

First Printed 2004

All Rights Reserved.

This course will expose you to concepts and principles of philosophy

The course will consist of 16 units of teaching. They include a course

What you will learn in this course

The general aim of the course, Foundations of Education is to introduce

The aims of the course can be summarised as follows:

The course aims at making you understand the foundation units of

i) Define the concepts of philosophy, psychology and sociology

Working through this Course

Major Components of the course are:

The study units in this course are as follows:

The first five units discuss psychological issues in education. The

The presentation schedule included in your course materials gives the

There are three aspects of the assessments. First are self-assessment

You are advised to be sincere in attending to the exercises. You are

Tutor Marked Assignment (TMAs)

There are five tutor-marked assignments in this course. Each assignment

Assignment questions for this course are contained in the assignment

When you have completed each assignment, send it together with a

Course Marking Scheme

Unit Table of Work Course Guide Weeks Assessment

Table 2: Course Organiser

How to get the most from this course

The following is a strategy for working through the course.

There are 20 hours of tutorials (ten 2-hour sessions) provided in support

Do not hesitate to contact your tutor by telephone, e-mail, or discussion

Module 1 Philosophical and Psychological Perspective

Unit 1 Philosophy of Education: Meaning and Relevance

Module 2 Historical and Sociological Perspective

Unit 1 Concept and Nature of Education

Unit 1 Philosophy of Education: Meaning and Relevance

UNIT 1 PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION: MEANING

In this unit, we shall think of philosophy as an activity in three modes:

By the end of this unit, you should be able to:

3.0 MAIN CONTENT

3.1 Meaning of Philosophy

Philosophy is a personal attitude to life and the universe. When a person

Philosophy is a method of reflective thinking and reasoned inquiry. It

Philosophy is an attempt to gain a view of the whole world. It seeks to

Philosophy is the logical analysis of language and the clarification of the

Philosophy is the study of knowledge, reason, and reality.

3.2.1 Speculative Philosophy

Speculative philosophy is a way of thinking systematically about

3.2.2 Prescriptive Philosophy

Prescriptive philosophy seeks to establish standards for assessing values,

3.2.3 Analytic Philosophy

Analytic philosophy focuses on words and meanings. The analytic

Philosophy of Education is the application of the knowledge of

Educational philosophy is speculative when it seeks to establish theories

1. Philosophy of education is not a worthwhile activity therefore, it

3.3 The Relevance of Philosophy of Education

 It encourages critical examination of issues and justification for