Abstract

The first quarter of 2020 was a hard time for the global community. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced sudden transformation in many sectors of the global community, turning the world upside down. One of the social areas that faced the strongest challenges, without being really prepared for it, is that of education. Teachers, students, parents, schools and local communities and, last but not least, the state was suddenly put in a position to change their rules of operation, teaching techniques or examination methods overnight. Stakeholders and management of higher education institutions had no other option but to make use of internet technology, thus virtual teaching for the continuation of academic activities across all schools worldwide. The sudden transition to online pedagogy as a result of COVID-19 in developing countries has exposed some inequalities and challenges as well as benefits. These challenges and inequalities have now become the new realities in the educational sector of developing countries. Recommendations are provided here so that the challenges presented by the new approach can be mitigated while we come to terms with the disruptions occasioned by COVID-19 to our education sector.

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Abstract Education has been considered to be the powerful instrument of social change and development. This is because it helps to disseminate new knowledge and ideas in the mind of the society. Education is expected to give new life and direction for new thought, ideas and creativity to emerge. However, for this to be possible, it requires learning through some possible means such as social media. Therefore, this paper examined thoughtful implications for social media on education in Nigeria. Aspects discussed include education, social media and social media implications on education. Recommendations were made among which include Schools should encourage teachers to use social networking sites such as Google Classrooms and Face books to create pages for their classes so that they will serve as an open discussion boards where daily queries can be posted to encourage students to voice their opinions and join the conversation. So doing, it will improve learners’ communication skills, participation, and knowledge acquisition and reduce the time they normally waste engaging in non educational activities. Educational institutions can also try to arouse students’ intellectual curiosity, the appetite for more learning and development of critical spirit so that they can effectively use social media for the purpose which it is known for. The paper concludes that social media has the tendency to improve teaching and learning, this is because the significant implications of social media for education far outweigh its negative consequences on students if judiciously articulated and rightly applied for the achievement of educational objectives.

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Abstract

This paper examines the concept of education and the practice of virtual education in Nigerian universities. The concept of education was analyzed and taken to mean all the activities that promote learning regardless of whether it takes place within or outside a school setting. The criteria for education were put forth to include any activity that is meaningful and worthwhile, promotes flexibility, openness to varieties of learning experiences, skill acquisition and indebt understanding of principles. Otherwise known as e-learning, virtual education is presented as an electronically aided means of facilitating teaching and learning at all levels of education. This could be via pre-recorded videotapes, zoom, google-meet, google classroom, and any other means excluding face to face contact. Unlike traditional patterns, it is not limited to time and place, promotes student-centred system, exposes students to a variety of learning materials, allows for active interaction and facilitates shared experiences among students from different backgrounds. Access to university education is therefore enhanced. Unlike developed countries, the combined problems of poor electricity, inadequate funding, insufficient computer compliant university teachers, poor facilities, lack of political will by the government are some of the problems bedevilling massive usage of virtual system in Nigerian universities. Thus, it is suggested that there should be increased funding and policy framework by relevant authorities to ensure effective application of virtual education in Nigerian universities. While the aptness of virtual education is undeniable, it is needful to consider the benefits of adopting a hybrid of virtual education and conventional schooling through comparative analysis.

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AbstractThis paper critically analyzed the concepts of education, politics and leadership which are considered as sine qua non in our contemporary society. Education in any nation is an important national asset that transforms its citizens’ existence and as well renovates political, cultural, social and economic activities for rapid development. Education has the foremost objective which is to establish wide knowledge in the politics and leadership institutions. Nigeria is a country affected by low investment in the area of education and its forms, politics and leadership. This has caused setback on the national growth and development. The paper examined education and denotation of education by different scholars and the stakeholders’ contributions, politics and leadership philosophically and it showed that the concepts are interdependent. Analytical reviews of the concepts agreed that they are tangled and cannot be separated. Also, the relationship between politics and education and its challenges, leadership and education and its challenges were discussed. It concluded that the three concepts are educational trinity; hence, they cannot exist separately. It further recommended that leadership studies, political studies and history of education should be taught separately as subjects in the Nigeria schools system. In addition, electing or appointing leaders should be based on the intensity of education acquired, evidence of political involvement and leadership knowledge.

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Abstract

This paper discusses Philosophy of Education, politics and leadership in Nigeria. Philosophy of Education is always confronted with the problem of explaining the nature of man and his society. Hence, it is needed to put order, harmony and meaning to the different and conflicting issues that emerge in an effort to solve the problems encountered. In Nigeria as in many African nations, leadership is a big problem. It is simply not enough to criticize Nigeria and Nigerians, an attempt should equally be made on how to salvage the nation. The paper discusses Nature of society, leadership question for Nigeria and the Philosophy of Education for Nigerians. The paper recommends among other things a special training course for Nigerian leaders.

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Abstract

Today, the issue of insecurity has become a topic on the lips of every Nigerian. The deteriorating security situation in Nigeria is worrisome and is probably the cause of endemic penury, high rate of unemployment, low industrial output, high inflation rate, deteriorating exchange rate, rising external debt and so on. It is clear that these happenings have stifled the economic, socio-political, religious, scientific, ethnic-cultural and mental life of the average human in the country. This work therefore, attempts a critical examination of the relevance of citizenship education in addressing the issue of insecurity in the country using the descriptive qualitative research methodology. The study among others suggests that authorities of educational institutions should partner with the government and international organizations to engage citizens on real civic training outside the four walls of the classroom for the purpose of making them responsible citizens.

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Abstract

The attention and interest of education systems, especially at the university level, have been shifting, of recent, to virtual teaching and learning. This is a mode of learning that enables the teacher and students to interact and communicate without being physically present to each other. The age-long traditional classroom learning appears to be gradually fading away. Nigerian universities have keyed into this new way of learning; though, still immersed in the traditional classroom setting. The thrust of this study is to critically appraise virtual teaching and learning vis-à-vis traditional classroom learning in Nigerian public universities. The study was survey analytic in nature. The study adopted a qualitative method which embraced conceptual frame, literature review, descriptive and comparative approaches. It explored the concepts of virtual learning and its associated term`, as well as physical classroom learning; noting their merits and demerits. These were related to the context of Nigerian public universities. Data were sourced through library materials, textbooks and internet surfing and concurrently analyzed. The findings of the study showed that there is awareness of virtual learning and its benefits in Nigerian public universities but there is poor implementation. This is due to a number of challenges such as infrastructural deficiency, poor funding of education by the government and epileptic power supply, among others. Traditional classroom learning is therefore still in vogue. The study concluded that despite the awareness of virtual learning, its benefits and students’ general disposition to embrace it, Nigerian public universities are not yet well positioned for effective e-learning, compared to their private counterparts. It then recommended, among others, that the government and university authorities should join hands to provide enabling environments for effective e-learning in all of its aspects. It also recommended that traditional classroom learning and hybrid or blended learning both go on for now, until such a time when virtual learning becomes ingrained in the fabrics of Nigerian public universities. 

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Abstract

The paper “philosophical analysis of how social media redesigned education system in Nigeria” was focussed on the inclusion of social media in teaching and learning. In lieu of that, the researcher explained briefly what education and social media meant and the changes that occurred by the cooperation of social media in education. The researcher enumerated the various social media platforms for the intended social media user to choose the right platform to use. The use of social media has changed the look of almost all aspect of life especially the changes that occurred in society when Nigerians had enough of the atrocities of the uniform men by coming up with the Hashtag ENDSARS where the nation sparked off the protest which started on 8^th October, 2020. Social media has become integral parts of education in this generation where both the teachers and the students do resort to it to updates themselves and be prepared for the next class. The necessity of social media in education in Nigeria was brought to limelight by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic where schools were closed longer than expected. Thereupon, the use of social media to teach the students at home was adopted using different platforms. Usually the platforms that were commonly used in education were Telegram, Zoom and WhatsApp but beside these there were other platforms available on internet for students and teachers. The availability of these platforms expose students to different challenges associated with internet usage which include lack of privacy, health issues, no real friendships etc.

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Abstract

Knowledge economy has become more popular and inclusive in determining the economic prosperity and growth of nations not by supplanting industrial or resource economy but in globalizing knowledge about them and in the process revealing new techno-scientific approaches in their economic processes. This paper examines the nature of knowledge economy, the difference between information and knowledge and the elements of knowledge economy. It also discusses the implications of knowledge economy for education in Nigeria in terms of policy re-orientation, curriculum reorganization, role of higher education and teacher training. Furthermore, it recommends that teacher training, secondary education and higher education should be innovative, technologically driven and problem–solving focused if Nigeria is to benefit from knowledge economy.

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Abstract

Africa’s significant problem is economic. While this seems to ostensibly be only in terms of finance, it rather extends beyond that and permeates the process of knowledge generation. Globalization and the infusion of Western culture through Western education has afflicted Africa’s economy with a seemingly incurable malady. However, there is the neglect of localization, whereas, in the real sense, localization breeds globalization, because there can be no globalization without localization. The African present condition undermines the complementariness of localization and globalization. African indigenous knowledge seems to be pivotal and thus necessary to play a significant (positive) role in securing Africa’s participation in the knowledge economy of the twenty-first century. Considering that education is critically oriented and Africa is replete with rich cultural values; Afrocentric curriculum and decolonized pedagogy will eventually facilitate the accomplishment of the stated aim (knowledge economy) since it is critically based; and Africa is endowed with rich cultural values that suffice its aplomb stature such that if the decoloniality of western education is embraced and Afrocentric curriculum is engaged and integrated, Africa will  key into the knowledge economy in this 21st Century.

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