History of Education and the Development of Nigeria Society: An Analytical Approach.

International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume II, Issue VII, July 2018 | ISSN 2454–6186

History of Education and the Development of Nigeria Society: An Analytical Approach.

Alikor, Oroma¹, Jerome Ibejika Wosu Ph.D²

 ^{1, 2}Department of Educational Foundations, Faculty of Education, Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, Rivers State, Nigeria

Abstract:-This paper examined the relevance of history of education in Nigeria to the teacher and society at large. In order to actualise this aim, a short explanation on what education is was made, including who a teacher is, what history of education is all about and a relationship between the teacher and history of education. Furthermore, a basic review of history of education in Nigeria was made with a finding consistent with the assertion that “the African today is a product of two Worlds, the African and the west”. The traditional educational system in Nigeria, including a short review of the Islamic education in Nigeria was made. The introduction and subsequent growth of western education in Nigeria were also assessed. This paper further established the relevance of history of education to the teacher pointing out how history of education helps the teacher to gain knowledge of the past educational policies, curriculum and perspectives which influences the future. This paper also revealed some positive aspect of history of education to the society, including development of good citizenship, provision of identity and development of democracy in a nation amongst others.

Keywords: Education, History of Education

I. INTRODUCTION

Education which has remained a social process in nation building and the maintenance of society for decades (World Bank, 1998:11) can be regarded as a weapon for the acquiring of skills, relevant knowledge and values for surviving in a changing world. According to the national education law no. 2 of 2003 ‘Education is the conscious effort to create an atmosphere of learning and the learning process’ Igbuzor (2006:4) in emphasising the importance of education, states that education is a human right that should be accorded to all human beings with Obani (1996:5) depicting education as a core instrument necessary for societal development. Education can therefore be regarded as the best legacy a country can give to its citizen.

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