ABSTRACT
Many Nigerians have passed through poor quality education because of ineffectiveness of qualified personnels in the educational sector. Many teachers lack the indepth knowledge of the subject matter but the worst is that majority don’t know the rightful teaching methodology in approaching the subject matter. Teacher’s effectiveness invariably affects students’ effectiveness. This study exposes the Andragogical method of education as the rightful approach in teaching economics to students in secondary schools.
CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Nigeria needs a better educational system than what we she has at present. There is no gain saying the fact that authenticity has eluded us both individually and collectively as a people. Our environment is polluted with artificiality. We ignore nature’s gifts within and around us in preference to synthetic existence.
We prefer to copy the work and life of other people regardless of our own background, nature and nurture. We thrive in sacrificing authenticity at the alter of conventionality. Because of these misgivings and misconceptions, we have persistently witnessed in our societies and communities cultural upheavals and disenchantment, political and democratic imbalances, socio-economic disequilibrium and academic backwardness.
All these individual, social lives and values are immersed in the deep see of deception. The position we find ourselves and the state of affairs of the nation is filled in utter confusion. It has been severally said that the life of any nation depends on the type of education it has. Apparently, no one seems to have any correct answers to the multifarious problems facing the country’s education system. The government is handicapped in finding a lasting solution to the nation’s education problems instead it is contented with the policy of remediationLack of authentic education has been the bane of Nigeria’s existence from cradle: There are numerous cases of in authenticity in our society.
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
The method of education adopted by any country speaks volumes as to how far the country would go in solving her domestic or internal problems and her relationship with other people especially her external neighbours.
Each country has problems and needs that are peculiar to her and her environment and as such need to construct her education philosophy with regards to her needs. Education in Nigeria is an instrument par excellence for effecting national development (N.P.E. 2004:4).It has witnessed active participation by individuals, communities, non-governmental agencies as well as government intervention. It is therefore desirable for the nation to spell out in clear and unequivocal terms the philosophy and objectives that underlines its investment in education.
The Federal Government of Nigeria has stated that for the benefit of all citizens the country’s educational goals shall be clearly set out in terms of their relevance to the needs of the individuals and those of the society in consonance with the realities of our environment and modern world (ibid).Unfortunately, Nigeria’s education system is still in the woods courtesy of strict adherence to the conventional pedagogical method of education which she received from her erstwhile British colonial master which does not consider the implications of such education philosophy to Nigeria’s political, socio-cultural, economic, environmental and ecological needs.The pedagogical method of education is devoid of reasonableness because the British came to Nigeria and other African colonial dependences not to develop them but to saturate their economic and political ambitions and so their educational objectives are based on how to maximize their profit and expand their territorial ambition.
They introduced to the colonies the type of education that ensured their continuous domination of those colonies which emphasizes basically the “3Rs” – Reading;’ writing and Arithmetic through which they produced those who could read their letters or directives (Anih,s ; Igwe, S. and Igwe, C. 2004: 110). This method of education is devoid of the 41h R reasonableness which is the missing link in our education system.Since the system does not teach reasonableness, it does not possess the capacity to empower the citizens towards self – actualization, self fulfillment and self – emancipation. The system was only able to produce local teachers, catechists, interpreters, clerks and other minor workers, who have no capability to play any leadership role in economic cum socio-political arena of their countries. The colonial masters tended to cling to these leadership roles perpetually while keeping the citizens of the colonies in perpetual bondage of servitude.
It then became true that no education philosophy could appropriately address the problems of a country than the one made for her by her own citizens because it is one who wears the shoe that knows where it pinches him