AN ACADEMIC CONTRIBUTION ON TEACHING AND THE SOCIETY
TOPIC: THE PLACE OF TEACHING IN THE SOCIETY
BY
FR. DR. ALOZIE EUGENE. I
NOVEMBER, 2023
THE PLACE OF TEACHING IN THE SOCIETY
INTRODUCTION
In a short page dedicated to teachers, a question was posited who is a teacher? Immediately many descriptions and qualifications followed as follows; “some say a good man or woman, fun loving, passionate and very curious. Another group says a rock star and game changer anywhere anytime. Others say awesome and goofy. And for many other folk, an artist and an engaging magician etc” (Alozie, 2015). The writer ended by saying that teachers are world builders, which directly catches a glimpse of the link between teaching and the society.as another author put it; “if you think that you can work alone and achieve success in your life without needing the help of anybody, then you are wrong. That is because when you are stuck in the middle of something, you look up to that one person who can guide your way (Ievedshedid, 2017). And that one person is no other but your teacher.
MEANING AND NATURE OF TEACHING
In education (Infoscipedia2013), teaching is described as the concerted sharing of knowledge and experience which is usually organized within a discipline, and more generally the provision of a stimulus to the psychological and intellectual growth of a person by another person or an artifact.
In the real sense, educating is wide than teaching, almost in the same way that student-based learning is wider than teacher- based learning. That is why every teacher should aspire towards being an educator. According to Rufai(2023) education is an effective means of developing the full capacities and potentials of the human resource, as well as the development of the competent workforce, through the acquisition of practical life skills relevant to the world of work; as a veritable means of developing sound, intelligent, learning societies, fit and relevant in the 21stcentury. As already indicated, teaching is related to a learning which invariably can influence the society. According to Pushkaragarwa(2023),”teaching and learning are a process through which the teacher, the learner, the curriculum and other variables are organized in a systematic manner in orders to attain the pre-set goals”.
Bothering about this interlink between teaching and learning, some educators have affirmed that teaching and learning are vital processes in survival as the both comprise the foundations of growth in the society. Teaching and learning are the methods which are necessary to achieve development by seeking to actualize significant change in behaviour. Teaching and learning are so interconnected that you have to learn something before you can teach it, and that the act of teaching can make you learn something as well. Whether we teach or learn, the end goal is always the behavioural and a positive societal change. That is why the curriculum for teaching must continue to be relevant by being able to achieve the national policy of education in the nation. Where this is not possible for whatever reason, there comes the need for curriculum improvement or development. The most practical part of any curriculum development is its implementation or teaching, which is the medium through which it impacts on the society.
Finally STEAM education which comprises: Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics, has come in vogue as an improvement on STEM by an inclusion of Art into the sciences. STEM ever excluded it till now. Putting this into practice and trying to bridge the gap between society and education, the Nigerian educational system has brought in a concrete measure recently, to see that teaching and learning have direct link with the society. it is understandable that these emerging improvements need to anchor on a more practical, modern and dynamic instructional pedagogy like the flipped classroom, in order to yield all the expected maximal result in our society.
THE IMPORTANCE OF TEACHING IN THE SOCIETY
Teaching uses curriculum development as a tool for societal development and for the development of the individuals within the society. Curriculum has been described as a “planned and guided learning experience provided by the school to help the learner to develop” (Mkpa(1988). Another author added the word a systematic reconstruction of knowledge and experience, under the auspices of the school for the learner’s continuous growth and personal competences. (Onwuka, 1981).Usually the word used her ‘personal competence’ is naturally related to an ability to perform effectively in the satiety. The word here ‘systematic reconstruction’ naturally implies that curriculum is not a dogma. It is not static. The question is why is curriculum not static? It is because the society always undergoes some changes every now and then, changes that arise from within and from without. an example of such change is the recent explosion of digital gadgets in all spheres of our human endeavors, from banking, transportation to communication etc. what it means is that schools and teaching will become inadequate if it fails to recognize that Information and Communications Technology (ICT) has to be integrated in teaching and learning in order to produce graduates who can fit into the society of today. On the other way round when a society and her citizens become incompetent to measure up with the global or the environmental challenges and expectations, such ripples are well addressed through the enterprise of teaching and learning. This is done through an adjustment of teaching curriculum called curriculum review. In most case there would be need for a paradigm shift in what is taught in schools to meet up. In general every nation has educational goals. Such goals are expected to correspond with the global educational expectations. However, all these goals of nations automatically have to be re-adjusted as problems arise either for the individual or for the society in question. The last 10th International Conference held in the Abia State University Uturu, Nigeria was titled: Revitalization of Education in a Distressed Economy. This important international conference held in the faculty of education already unveils the close relationship between education and her society and how each affects the other either positively or negatively.
NIGERIAN EDUCATION AND THE PROBLEMS OF TEACHING AND LEARNING
Educational challenges are not limited to the Nigerian society. It is a global matter. This is because change can happen so fast in the society and school is a microcosm of the society. The ripples of any change may begin to affect the society at large. What it means is that something has to change in the school too. As Nigeria schools grapple with the problems of integration of technology in education in order to meet the requirements of the digital age, many other rifts seem to existbetween the education and the society at large. After graduation many educated ones cannot find jobs about which they have been tarrying the schools. Those who stop at the secondary school level find it very difficult to fit into any particular sector of the society for job opportunities and or for self-fulfillment. The nation cannot give enough financial support either to her school institutions nor give job opportunity for her mammoth crowd of graduating students. Nigerian schools are full of highly certified professors and teachers, as well as students who could have filed at a high wavelength, had there been a good remuneration and rewarding employment. The society wobbles with a distressed economy and students graduate and begin with cueing up around the foreign embassies in order to escape from hopelessness and seek greener pastures with their highly valued education. However, there is still life in Nigeria. It is not as if everything has failed. In the most part rather, there seems to be a gap between teaching and learning,the national education goals and the reality on ground. As Elekwaand Eze(2012) pointed out, problems of this nature can arise “whenever the curriculum of an educational system fails to satisfy the current reeds of the society and, of the individual within the society” and this brings us to recall once again a nexus that exists between educational technology and curriculum improvement.
Being at the epicenter of the learning sciences that resolves educational problems, EdTechemploys systems approach to troubleshoot and spot out whatever must have gone wrong in the educational system and proffer the accurate solutions. In such case, it is now time to recline once again to the expertise of the science of the EdTech since it has the powers to analyze, and identify problems, then to deconstruct, reconstruct and update teaching curriculum whenever there is need. As pointed out already, a need such as this arises whenever there is an unsuspected societal evolution in philosophy and or life in general. Coming back to our real problems globally today, an educator said, no doubt “our children want to live in atechnological world; what we need to ask ourselves is, what do they really need to be taught” clearly, there is something missing in our world which are: communication, understanding, tolerance and emotional education (Madvisit, 2020).
GAP BETWEEN SOCIETY AND TEACHING; A PEDAGOGICAL SOLUTION.
All forms of curriculum planning or organization has no effect until it reaches its goal in curriculum implementation. Curriculum implementation is the classroom instruction or teaching proper. It is this memorable learning experience between the educator and the learner that leverages its impact on the society. However, curriculum improvement comes in varied forms. When curriculum development bothers about finding out whether the national policy on education mirrors what is expected in the society, it is called curriculum improvement at the macro level. When it bothers about if the school modules punctuate adequately what is slated on the national policy in education, this is called curriculum improvement at the mezzo level. And whencurriculum instructional systems designers are at work finding out whether the instructional techniques and efficacy are all at par with the overall school curriculum description and if the objective of teaching are met in the classroom of learning, this is called curriculum development at the micro level. It is at this level of curriculum implementation or teaching proper that the positive objectives of teaching are felt by the society at large and for her citizens. It is important to note here that curriculumimplementation cannot work well if it stands alone. It must have an eye at the macro and mezzo level just as the macro and mezzo level must have an eye on the micro level. In actual fact, instructional system design is made of cyclic functions that make it to function effectively.
The basic and most common flow chat of instructional systems design in educational technology is the ADDIE model. ADDIE is an acronym that represents: Analyse, Develop, Design, Implement and Evaluate. In the practical sense what it means is that while you analyze the objective of teaching, you must watch the efficacy of the teaching materials, you must at the same time beevaluating what you are indeed doing to make sure it is in line with the four elements of curriculum improvement: objectives of the lesson, content or learning experiences, media, and the general evaluation. Curriculum at every stage of its development has an obligation to undergo evaluative assessment at each stage. Practically, in analyzing objectives and goals, you have to
evaluate, in developing, you have to re-evaluate, in designing the media/techniques, you have to constantly re-evaluate and in
implementing, you have to evaluate. All these constant evaluations can have their effect either in the formative or in the summative assessments. In the implementation stage which is teaching proper, you have to constantly re-evaluate what you are doing until there is the expected behavioural change in the learner as well as the society following the core curriculum. This is why it is better for any teacher to as well be an educator to be more abreast. This looks like recasting and re-printing in our mind the ancient poetic dictum which says “let us never rest, until our good is better and our better, best”. Evidently, teaching work can imply this and so, calls for a continuous cyclic process.
TEACHING IN DIVERSE AREAS OF THE SOCIETY
It has been strongly noted by many educators that though the primary idea of teaching remains constant, it can acquire new connotations and implications when applied to diverse areas of the society and disciplines like Religion, Health, Politics, Business and Entrepreneurship etc. While the basic ideas of the meaning of teaching revolves around conveying knowledge, facilitating learning and so on, the methods and areas of emphasis may vary when applied to varied disciplines that influence the society. According to ……
- Teaching and Religion:
In the area of Religion, teaching could have special implications and involvements like interpreting sacred texts, promoting adherence to accepted doctrines, or principally guiding individuals in their spiritual growth. In the areas of Religion teaching could be preoccupied with shaping people in moral values and beliefs. In most cases great teachings in the area of Religion, teaching can influence the society by modifying some cultural practices and traditions adequately.
- Teaching and Health:
In an important area of health or healthcare, the concept of teaching can entail some varied efforts like promoting healthy behaviours, educating patients, training Professionals like Nurses and Medical Doctors etc. In the aspect of having some influence in the society, teaching can really empower citizens on how to take control of their health and safeguard them from upcoming disease.
- Teaching and Politics
In our very sensitive area of Politics, teaching can actually be a tool that shape public opinion, education of citizens in the aspects of their political rights like franchise and so on. Teaching in Politics can really be a tool towards influencing policy decisions. In the areas of how teaching of Politics can affect the society, it is evident that teaching can impact on voter turnout and some civic engagements. Teaching in this area can also influence social justice amid the populace and be a veritable instrument of enlightenment on the general human rights.
- Teaching and Business.
In Edtech, teaching is understood as something that extends to the areas of business and industry. Here teaching comes in form of training. It is an extension of teaching to the wider society just because the word learning is also necessary in the area of business as well. Industries and small scale businesses often have the need to train their workers especially when new skills have become necessary. Managerial trainings come up every once in a while and all trying to serve the need of the society as one or two changes emerge. Such training could come in the form of sales and marketing education as well as financial literacy at times.
- Teaching in Entrepreneurship
Once some aspects of entrepreneurship involves learning, then teaching becomes involved too. Such teachings may come in the form of business mentorship. In the Eastern part of Nigeria called Igbo, there is a powerful form of business mentorship called Igba boi. It has been regarded as a world class idea in Entrepreneurship teaching or training in Africa but useful globally. It is a kind of business startups incubation. Teaching or training in entrepreneurship could lead to entrepreneurial new ideas and accelerate growth in the society.
In the final analysis teaching in these aforementioned areas of the society can furnish individuals with the knowledge, skills and mindsets required to effect a societal positive change. In these facets as well, teaching could come in form of coaching, training sessions, workshops or online courses. It is notable here that teaching in these areas can successfully lead to influencing government policies and important decisions, business best practices as well as job creations and economic growths in the society. Robinson(2011) is one of those popular Edtech authors who have been profusely quoted as saying that teaching must be a broad concept encompassing creativity, critical thinking and personal growth.
CONCLUSION
This work agrees with Medvisit(2020) who said that, “clearly there is something missing in our world of teaching today which include: communication, understanding. Tolerance and emotional education”.In Nigeria and beyond, we observe a number of young people who can simply say yes to you without really thinking of any commitment to those words in action. A polite ‘no’ could be better. We observe a number of girls who talk down and look down on those who approach them for friendship in our African world where non marriage can cause a lot of distress on the life of a woman. A better flavor of effective communication principles can handle such dilemma that can result to a violent psychological malady. In Nigeria and beyond, we observe young students who practice a superfluity of obeisance, without a commensurate decision to learn the skills that can bring them to the expected, similar, self-efficacy that can earn them such competences for the workforce. In actual fact, many of the non-employment syndromes among graduate youths arise as a result of lack of emotional skill, understanding, that is required to click well with some business tycoons and entrepreneurs. In Nigeria and beyond we notice an unruly and impersonal use of phones among youths, which detach them from the favorable assessments of others, who desire to rather enjoy free warmth of sharing of their gifted social life. at times quality heart to heart discussion with a fellow humans can be richer, more collaborative and can earn someone a soft spot in the hearts of other quality persons. Such effective communications can become gainful immediately of later. In Nigeria and beyond, we have so many learned men and women who have no respect for a sense of time, which can deny them their own personal goal accomplishment as well as the required inter-personal considerations that can fuel a very quality and gainful relationship. In general, this work thinks that an update in the training of attitude or soft skills are required today in our teaching, in order to harmonize the students improved behavior with the constantly emerging modern realities of our digital civilization.
Good enough,recently in Nigerian education, an intervention has been made to ameliorate these challenges and disparities between education and society. The most resent of such interventions is called CCMAS. It implies core curriculum academic standard. In the practical sense, from September, 2023, it is required in Nigerian education that 30% of the teaching curriculum must evolve from the background of the learner, at least in the tertiary education for now. The objective is for the students to have a deeper understanding of the sociocultural environment where they find themselves and make it part and parcel of their learning. as an online document captioned CCMAS education (2022) outlined, overall, such curriculum improvement will include “a competence in computer literacy skills, quantitative skills, communication skills, information technology skills and entrepreneurship”. Based on this,this work recommends that an applicability of real CCMAS in Nigeria can only be achieved with a positive or growth mindset. There must be an addendum of the required solution oriented mind frame; otherwise we may end up fixated in the perpetual syndrome of recounting Nigerian innumerable problems and blame-shooting them on the political hijackers, which has always dissuaded so many talents around to uplift Nigeria and the world. At the mention of the need for entrepreneurship skills by CCMAS, this work adds the need to look into “Igba-boi” in Nigerian Igbo land, as a place of special attention. Igbaboi which is a recently acclaimed, but age-old method of Nigerian entrepreneurship, has to be upgraded with some bits of personal and professional development curriculum. Igbaboi, an Igbo world class entrepreneurship development for raising younger stars has succeeded over the years in Nigeria. in an impotent online document captioned Igbo Apprenticeship System (2023),it was said that Igbaboi which originated from Eastern Nigeria has been described worldwide as “a spur of economic of growth and stability; and a sustainable level of financing and investing on the human resource through vocational trainings”. However, it is important that those young boys who involve in it could be assisted with some form of formal or non-formal instructional resources rather than rely only on what their master has to tell them. Some audio books, simple business guides or constant soft-skill seminars could be good for a beginning for them. This is important today as business takes a new turn in the digital world.
Finally, as STEAM education has evolved, it is another great power to enhance teaching efficacy and curriculum implementation. STEAM education with its evolving inclusion of arts and science can anchor on a dynamic teaching technique like the flipped classroom in order to delve into the new problems of the modern education and resolve them. In the real sense, education and teaching do not need to be detached from the society. This is because teachers teach for the society while learners learn about the realities of the society and life, in order to build the society and enrich their own lives through their quality contributions. This is the rightful place of teaching in the society.
REFERENCES
Alozie E.I (2015). Be a Modern Teacher with Emotional Intelligence..United Kingdom; Author House Press.
Azzam A.M. (2011). Why Creativity Now? A conversation with Sir Ken Robinson. Retrieved from www.edp.ascd.ord/LMScourse.
CCMAS education (2023). Retrieved from mcc.ccmas.ng, on 16/11/2023
Ievedshedid.S(2017).Teaching is A Mother of All Other
Professions. Retrieval from Ikonoficial.wordpress.com, on
16/11/2023
Pushkaragarwal2l(2023). Relationship between teaching and learning; important questions for B.E.iedExams. Retrieved from www.beled.in, on 14/11/2023
Infoscipedia(2023).What is teaching ?Retrieved from igiglobal.com/, on 6/11/23
Medvisit(2020).Technology in schools.Retrieved from medvisit. 10/technology.in.school/, on 16/11/2023
Mkpa M.A. (1988). The system’s Concept in Curriculum Development, in Onyemezi D.A (ed); Nigerian Education.
Onitsha: Summer Educational Publisher (Nig) Ltd.
Onwuka.U (ed) (1981). Curriculum Development for Africa.
Onitsha: Africana Publishers (Nig) Ltd.
Rufal, A. R (2013).Federal Republic of Nigeria.National policy on Education.Nigeria; NCRDC Press.
Wikipedia (2023). Igbo Apprenticeship System. Retrieved from en.m.wikipeida.org/, on 17/11/2023.