There is the need of Government of Nigeria to restructure, create avenue where primary, post-primary and tertiary level of education purely for vocational technical education be made

STRUCTURING EFFECTIVE VOCATIONAL TECHNICAL EDUCATION AT THE PRIMARY AND POST PRIMARY LEVEL OF EDUCATION

                                                                              BY

MA'AJI CALEB ZONKWA.

METHODOLOGY IN INDUSTRIAL EDUCATION 2001

FACULTY OF EDUCATION

DEPARTMENT OF VOCATIONAL TEACHERS EDUCATION

UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA

NSUKKA.

INTRODUCTION                                                                                     

The general rule observed in Nigeria educational policies progress report of Northern Nigeria 1952; Review of Educational system in Eastern Nigeria, 1962; The Taiwo committee, 1968; Recommendation of the 1969, National curriculum conference; Nigeria constitution 1978 CHAPTER II, Item 12; National policy on education 1981, the colloquium on black civilization and education, FESTAC 1977) is that all attempts at curriculum development have to start of a more functional processes in terms of the needs of the child and the community i.e. to start by accepting the challenges of competence training at primary school level.
Weighting the present curriculum and syllabuses of primary school education in the country. It is being observed that, there has not been sufficient consensus, or enough experience to arrive at {a definition of} the concept of Vocational Technical Education.  Similarly, concept of competence or at its implementation in practice {of Vocational Technical Education} at post primary has not reach a sufficient consensus by scholars and government {Report on Technical college organization for Nigeria,. 2n^d April 1949; Report of the Federal advisory Committee on Technical Education and Industrial Training, 1957; National Policy on Education 1973, 1981 and 1998) colloquium on black civilization and education {1977:109-110}, Nwachukwu {2001:16-17}, Okorie {200128.33}, Okeke {1994:128-129}.                                                       

Information from many countries { Amadio 2000} shows a broad definition

of what vocational Technical Education is and their structure. They concentrated the Educational funds for competence and they defined competence and conceiving it as :-

(a) knowing how to do with knowledge and

         (b) awareness regarding the impact of that doing (Ma 'ail 1984:13-25).

Another way of expressing competence as in Nwachukwu (2001) Oeser (1972: 26-27) is an internalized procedure (Methodology) which is being constantly revised and perfected, and which is aimed at solving problem, while assuming responsibility for the consequence.

COMPETENCE FOR EFECTIVE VOCATIONAL TECHNICAL EDUCATION AT PRIMARY AND POST-PRIMARY

If competence is conceiving it as knowing how to do with knowledge and awareness regarding impacts of that doing; presenting and accessing their ideal of the above mention competence as found in Okoro (2000) Okorie(2001) Nwachukwu (2001) Harbour- Peter (1999) Grace (1994) and Nworgu (1992). It is not proper at this point, to explore the style of structuring, which will be apt for such competence. But merely to underline the need of accessing it in two ways to:-

1.     personal capacities and

2.     the socio- cultural background and activity of those who are being trained and re-trained.   

A. The aim of '1' above, should be for schools intended for adolescents

and young people to train there :

'a' cognitive,

'b' if affective and ethical,
'c'  interactive and practical capacities all at one and the same time.

Simply, the children and young Adult should be thought        simultaneously in `a’ ‘b' and 'c' to :-

(i)        Know

(ii)       Learn

(iii)      Be

(iv)      Live together and

(v)      To do.

B. Therefore as; at 2 above, it is being suggested that schools should be able to situate these contents within the context of areas in which:-

                          'a'      Social,

'b'      Natural,

'c'      Scientific and Technological, symbolic aspects of 'A' above predominate.

PEDAGOGICES FOR EFFECTIVES VOCATIONAL TECHNICAL EDUCATION AT PRIMARY AND POST-PRIMARY SCHOOL

Dozens of studies have shown that the home environment has the powerful effects on what children and the youth learn within and outside school. This environment is considerably more powerful than the parent's income and education in influencing what children learn in the first six years of life and during the twelve years of primary and secondary education. Walberg and Paik (2000:7), Grace (1994). Recently genetic factors are inclusively being considered and observed to predominate all other factors. Umeano {1999:31-33} Harrisons (1980:293-325

Therefore the pedagogic underlining the preference for competence as the

starting point and object of the curriculum is that these very competence can be inculcated according to different :-

1.     contents, Grace (1994)

2.     Methodologies, Oeser (1971) Nwachukwu (2001) and Grace (1994)

3.     Institutional Models, {Grace 1994; Okoro 1991; and       
        Nwachukwu 2001:94-103; Ezeji 2001}

Though within a given spectrum of characteristics as mentioned by Harbour-Peter (1992).

The introduction of competence- oriented curricula should enable them, for instance, to select contents and activities that would allow them to

(a) further develop certain aptitude or

(b) delve deeper into topics that attract their interest.

Critically, in a serious term education should continue to ensure the transmission of Adult culture to the younger generation, but developing other method of learning with useful cultures of youths without claiming the teaching of everything to everyone as practice in the traditional school system today, in most Nigerian schools.

STRUCTURING THE CURRICULUM

There are at least five economics trends presently occurring worldwide which are also evidently appearing in the Nigerian scene and they are

                 :-I.reduction in employment opportunities; it is not  

                                    available; but it is necessary for basic requirement    

                                     of society.

{The meaning of this is that pupils emerging from the

educational process are increasly being king delayed into the labour market 
 2.    growth of jobs available in the service sector than      

                          agricultural and  industrial sectors.

3. growth of informal than formal employment

4. rapid changes taking place in job profile particularly specific skills.

5. changing scale on which the working lives of individuals are conducted in practice.

[This is because workers have the possibilities of migrating from one country to another to find a better fit with the requirement and availability of their interrelated capacities and opportunities).

The worsening of social inequalities according to a number of authors, is the starting point in life especially at the primary level, which should increasingly be seen in our societies today as the determining factor in an individual’s sub-sequence career, Okoro (1991) Grace (1994) Okorie (2001) UNESCO (1998) Oke (1990) Ezeji(2001:138-1441. The combination of a solid general education with humanistic, scientific, technological and context-related components would among others the only possible alternative allowing young people to have access to the types of jobs that will endure arid for the performance of which they will need to know both how to think and how to do, Ma'aji (2000). The combination would also enable the young people to learn how to think better and do better. If vocationally Technical Education is well articulated in the primary and post primary.

In view of current challenges, there seem to be a need to offer radical changes in teaching and learning methodologies (Nwachukwu 20010 that still adhere too closely to repetitive verbal traditions. Once the desirability of adopting the need for different curriculum frame works that areas flexible but at the same time rich, (Grace 1994). According to Grace (1994) and Harbour- Peter (1992); A rich curriculum seem to be that one which guide the teachers through the daily educational routine with respect to a great variety that affect the quality of learning achieved with students in different schools, - it is a frame - work that refers not only to:

a.     what has to be taught, but

b.     Also what for

c.      Why, when,

d.     Where and to

e.     Whom.

They also mentioned a flexible curriculum frame work is understood as one

that can admit variation according to the characteristics of the individual establishment in which it is being implemented. Then alternative ways must be found of promoting teaching and learning methodologies different from those in the past , moving away from standardized, prescriptive approach in class room work (Nwachuku 2001).                          

Such standardized, prescriptive approaches assume that educational theories need to be enshrined in state policies. At present some curriculum materials for it universal Basic education (UBE) and the junior secondary school with some strategies for their implementation, subscribed to modern hegemonic theories especially constructivism. This is so for lack of freedom to adopt and create methodologies that will be better suited to individual’s situations and groups of students.                              CONCLUSION                                                                                                           All attempts at curriculum development in Nigeria, is to start functional learning processes of the primary level of education.

Experience in defining what Technical and vocational education is, in addition to also address its position in Nigeria educational curriculum for primary and post-primary is yet to reach a consensus between Government and scholars.

Competence in any curricular is suppose to be ‘knowing’ how to do with knowledge and awareness regarding the impact of that doing. These seems to depend on the environments that will effects the competency required of a primary or a post primary pupils in technical and vocational education as we have deduced in text. Also, genetic consideration is made especially in physical abilities of pupils.

Therefore it is being observed, for effective Technical and Vocational education in primary and post-primary education: for the pupils to have a concrete functional skill. There is the need of Government of Nigeria to restructure, create avenue where primary, post-primary and tertiary level of education purely for vocational technical education be made. These to address education that will better suit the individual situation and groups of students as explained in the text.

OTHERS http://evatechs.blogspot.com/
              http://educkate.blogspot.com/
               http://guidancerolemz.blogspot.com

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