AN EXAMINATION OF ECONOMIC RETROGRESSION AND ITS INFLUENCE ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF SECONDARY SCHOOL CURRICULUM BENUE STATE

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Since the arrangement of schooling and higher education has long been connected with the concept of curriculum, it is acceptable to argue that curriculum is all about the experiences needed of a kid for overall development. A curriculum is a specific type of specification for the teaching practice. It is neither a collection of resources or a list of topics to cover; rather, it is a technique for converting any educational concept into a tested hypothesis in reality. It encourages examination rather than acquiescence (Stenhouse, 2005).

Additionally, a curriculum is defined as a specification for the teaching practice that takes into account the pragmatic effectiveness of the learners' experiences. As a broad notion, experience refers to information or abilities earned via participation in or exposure to something or some events. In this regard, the curriculum is a critical component of education, with the overall goals of education being heavily dependent on the nature of the curriculum (NERDC, 2004).

Curriculum experts have stated that developing, designing, implementing, or reforming a curriculum requires the participation of essential stakeholders if it is to be relevant, meaningful, and appropriate to satisfy the requirements of the people for whom it was created. According to Dewey (1897), education is a social construct that is a part of society and should reflect it. In this sense, the curriculum is the driving force behind education, including current trends, traditional values, and individual expression.

Bobbitt (2008) defined curriculum as the curriculum of actions and experiences that help learners develop into the adults they need to succeed in adult society. In other words, the curriculum promotes the whole range of formative behaviors and experiences that occur both within and outside of school for the aim of purposefully forming adult members of society.

A curriculum, on the other hand, may refer to a well-defined and specified course of study that students must finish in order to graduate from a certain level of education. That is, the curriculum is seen as the collection of educational activities that comprise a specific system of education. Ackerman (2008) detailed how the curriculum is sequenced in schools in his assessment of cognitive development theory.

In Nigeria, for example, the secondary school curriculum is meant to help all students to develop their spiritual, intellectual, and social potential, as well as an appreciation for the value of education in their everyday life. It is critical to remember that developing or designing a curriculum is one thing; implementing it successfully is another. At any level of education, objectives cannot be met if the planned programme for that level of education is not executed effectively. According to Onyeachu (2008), implementation is critical regardless of how effectively a curriculum is developed, created, and recorded.

It is possible that educational institutions were established to satisfy worldwide criteria for creating workforce capable of serving in a variety of capacities and positively contributing to the nation's socioeconomic and political development in Nigeria (Abdulkareem, Fasasi & Akinubi, 2011). However, how well has Nigerian education fulfilled its mandate? In other words, does the curriculum of Nigerian education represent the aims of the country's national education policy?

The strength of a country is defined by its economy, and the economy of a nation is defined by its productivity, which is fueled by the creativity of its residents and inhabitants, since the nation is made up of people. There is no country without its people.

The economy of a country is the sum of the earnings from all productive activities conducted by the country in order to create income that can be used efficiently and effectively for the country's growth and gross development.

In light of this, a nation's economy is derived from the productivity of its citizens and inhabitants, which is a function of idea generation and strategic implementation to generate tangible and intangible valuables for the exchange of other valuables from other sources, which includes both internal and external value for value exchange, which involves nations in the process of international trade.

The history of Nigeria's economic growth is inextricably linked to the history of Nigerian education, as early nationalists recognized that the country could not develop without a solid foundation in a national education system capable of producing the desired high-quality workforce required for national development and economic growth.

In accordance with the government's declaration for the nine-year Basic Education Programme, the NERDC, with a mandate from the National Council on Education, reviewed the existing Senior Secondary Education Programme for this level of education, SSEC, in order to meet the education program's targets in relation to the NEEDS, MDGs, and EFA, all of which are government-sponsored programs. However, the economic slump in Nigeria has complicated the implementation of the curriculum in secondary schools.

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Effective curriculum implementation has been a key issue at all levels of our educational system. The curriculum's implementation, especially at the senior school level, has experienced several hurdles. There are concerns about a large disparity in student-teacher ratios; a lack of instructional materials and learning facilities such as the mathematics laboratory; a lack of positive student-teacher relationships; poor instructional quality as a result of the use of ineffective instructional approaches (Tyler, 2012); and, of course, economic regression. As a consequence, pupils almost certainly do poorly in the subject. Regrettably, despite the intrinsic relevance of secondary school education in human daily activities, empirical evidence reveals that learners do badly on the West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (WASSCE) and the National Examination Council (NECO) (Ajimobi, 2018).

As a consequence, an examination of the senior secondary curriculum's implementation is important to ascertain what went wrong. The study will examine the degree to which economic retrogression has an effect on the curriculum implementation in senior secondary schools.

1.2 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The primary aim of this study is to examine economic retrogression and its influence on the implementation of secondary school curriculum Benue State. Specifically, this study seeks:

i.          Ascertain the extent to which secondary school curriculum is effectively implemented in Benue State.

ii.        Determine whether economic retrogression has a negative effect on curriculum implementation in secondary schools.

iii.      Determine whether economic retrogression affects the provision of adequate teaching materials required for effective curriculum  implementation in secondary schools.

iv.      Determine whether economic retrogression affects the employment and retention of qualified teachers needed for effective curriculum  implementation in secondary schools.

1.3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The following research questions will be answered in this study:

i.          What is the extent to which secondary school curriculum is effectively implemented in Benue State?

ii.        Does economic retrogression have a negative effect on curriculum implementation in secondary schools?

iii.      Does economic retrogression affect the provision of adequate teaching materials required for effective curriculum  implementation in secondary schools?

iv.      Does economic retrogression affect the employment and retention of qualified teachers needed for effective curriculum  implementation in secondary schools?

1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This study is noteworthy because of the theoretical additions it will make to the current literature on the evaluation of secondary school curricula in Nigeria. The findings presented will serve as additional literature on how to improve teaching and learning in the senior secondary school curriculum. The significance of curriculum evaluation is critical in determining the effectiveness of a course of education. The literature generated by these evaluation studies contributes to the existing body of knowledge about procedures for improving the quality of teaching and learning in schools. Every educational program should be monitored on a regular basis to determine whether the program's objectives have been met. When published, the findings of this study will be critical to the Ministry of Education, the Post Primary Schools Management Board, mathematics instructors, students, and parents, as well as future scholars in the field of mathematics teaching and education.

Education Ministry: The data may assist the State Ministry of Education (Quality assurance unit) to implement the Federal Ministry of Education's laws governing the teaching and learning in all public and private secondary schools in Nigeria.

Additionally, the Ministry of Education may utilize the data to arrange seminars. Workshops and conferences for principals and instructors to educate and train them on how to properly apply the national curriculum, which covers all elements of child development, and to ensure that it is adhered to at all times.

The findings of this study will also be beneficial to the Post Primary Schools Management Board because they may help them recognize the importance of taking serious measures to ensure that facilities/instructional materials are available and adequate for children attending secondary schools in both urban and rural areas. PPSMB may also find the knowledge gleaned from this study's conclusions beneficial in ensuring the continued professional development of biology instructors. This may also benefit instructors by exposing them to current developments in mathematics education and child development.

Parents may also benefit from this study's findings. This is because the high-quality education and care provided to their wards and children through teaching programs may also provide the family joy and happiness. Their children's education and performance may also serve as a guarantee of a brighter tomorrow.

Finally, the findings may be beneficial to future researchers, particularly those interested in teaching and learning. The information might offer them with empirical data on the extent to which specified minimum criteria for education are being implemented in Nigeria, which could be beneficial for future study in related fields.

1.5 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

This study will be focused on examining the influence of economic retrogression on curriculum implementation in secondary schools in Benue State. Specifically, this study will be focused on ascertaining the extent to which secondary school curriculum is effectively implemented in Benue State, determining whether economic retrogression has a negative effect on curriculum implementation in secondary schools, determining whether economic retrogression affects the provision of adequate teaching materials required for effective curriculum  implementation in secondary schools and determining whether economic retrogression affects the employment and retention of qualified teachers needed for effective curriculum  implementation in secondary schools.

Teachers and students of selected secondary schools in Benue State will serve as respondents for this study.

1.6 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

As with any human endeavor, the researcher experienced small impediments while performing the study. Due to the scarcity of literature on the subject as a result of the discourse's nature, the researcher incurred additional financial expenses and spent additional time sourcing for relevant materials, literature, or information, as well as during the data collection process, which is why the researcher chose a small sample size. Additionally, the researcher conducted this inquiry in conjunction with other scholarly pursuits. Additionally, because only a small number of respondents were chosen to complete the research instrument, the results cannot be applied to other secondary schools outside the state. Regardless of the limits faced throughout the investigation, all aspects were reduced to ensure the best outcomes and the most productive research.

1.7 DEFINITION OF TERMS

 Influence: the capacity to have an effect on the character, development, or behaviour of someone or something, or the effect itself.

Economic retrogression: the act of returning to an older and worse state.

Curriculum: In education, a curriculum is broadly defined as the totality of student experiences that occur in the educational process. The term often refers specifically to a planned sequence of instruction, or to a view of the student's experiences in terms of the educator's or school's instructional goals.

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