THE TREND OF TEACHER EDUCATION IN NIGERIA: CHALLENGES AND WAY OUT

Sakirudeen, Buhari A & Mariyam Abubakar Hamza

Abstract

Teacher education refers to professional education of teachers towards attainment of attitudes, skills and knowledge considered desirable so as to make them efficient and effective in their work, in accordance with National objectives. The origin and development of formal teacher education in Nigeria can be traced to the beginning of Western education in the pre-colonial Nigeria. The various church missions such as the Wesleyan Methodist, the Church Missionary Society, the Baptist, the Church of Scotland (Presbyterian) and the Roman Catholic were not only the pioneers, but very active in the area between 1842 and 1860. Mean while the purpose of teacher education is to produce well-qualified professional teachers that can adjust to the changing needs of the students and developmental prospects of the modern society. This paper took an overview of teacher education in the pre-colonial era, during and after the colonial administration in Nigeria, it also considers the challenges and ways out of some of the challenges as recommendation. The paper therefore suggested that there should be a strong linkage between teacher, learning and professional development among others.