A Critical Appraisal of the Mode of Implementation of Nigeria Secondary School Curriculum: A Case Study of Bauchi State

Abstract

This study assesses the critical appraisal of the mode of implementation of Nigeria's secondary school curriculum. The study employed a descriptive survey design. The instrument titled (CAMINC) was adopted with 23 items. A five points Likert scale of Very large extent (VLE), large extent (LE), moderate extent (ME), small extent (SE) and Very small extent (VSE) was used. The instrument was subjected to face validation by experts from Adamu Tafawa Balewa college of education kangere. Bauchi. A pilot study was conducted using the test re-test method and the reliability co-efficient was within the acceptable range. The total population of the study is 190 while the sample stood at 105 principals in the study. Frequency and simple percentages were used for demographic variables. five objectives were formulated, four research questions were used and answered using mean and standard deviation and four null hypotheses were formulated and the testing was done using Pearson product-moment correlation. The results showed Nigerian secondary school curriculum was considered appropriate in terms of goals and content in meeting the philosophy of the Nigerian secondary educational system but was found weak in its method of implementation. The teaching method used in the implementation of Nigerian secondary school curriculum was mainly theoretical, with exception of a few sample schools where teaching had a blend of theoretical and practical demonstration. The practical test conducted showed teachers and students from FGS and HCPS in Bauchi Local Government Area, demonstrated a high degree of practical skill as opposed to SGS and LCPS. The same pattern was found in Katagum Local Government Area, In Misau Local Government Area, teachers displayed high practical skills but their students did not. Home Economics, Agricultural Science, Introductory Technology, Music, Fine Art, Food and Nutrition, Technical Drawing, Computer Science, and Typing/Shorthand were the core vocational and technical subjects that were mostly taught in Nigerian secondary schools. On the contrary, Arts & Craft, Clothing & Textiles, Metal Work, Building, Woodwork, Applied Electricity, Electronics, and Auto Mechanic did not receive much attention.