Educational Practices for a New Nigeria: An Exploratory Study

Authors

  • Hasan Aydin Yildiz University, Istanbul, Turkey
  • Stephen Lafer College of Education, Curriculum and Instruction Department University of Nevada, Reno, USA

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.11575/ajer.v61i2.55709

Keywords:

Leadership, Gülenian Educational Practices, Qualitative Study, Nigeria, Mots clés, leadership, pratiques éducatives, étude exploratoire

Abstract

This article reports on a qualitative study conducted at the Nigerian Turkish International Colleges (NTICs) in Abuja, Nigeria. Twenty-two participants comprised of three administrators, seven teachers, four parents, and eight students participated in the study. The data collected through observations, informal, formal and semi-structured in-depth individual interviews, focus groups, document analysis (of teachers’ syllabi, coursework materials, Nigerian nation-wide exam reports, and copies of district and state lesson design guidelines), and field notes were used for content analysis. Themes of the study were constructed to explore the schools’ role in promoting openness, mutual understanding, and habits of discourse vital to democracy in a society that is deeply divided along religious, ethnic, and geographical lines. This article explains the value of NTICs by focusing on the role of curriculum in promoting tolerance, unity, economic prosperity, and stability. This article also considers how these NTICs attempt to encourage the establishment of a civil society based upon democratic principles of governance while focusing on multicultural values. 

Cet article présente les résultats d’une étude entreprise aux Nigerian Turkish International Colleges (NTICs) à Abuja, au Nigeria. L’étude a impliqué 22 participants, dont trois administrateurs, sept enseignants, quatre parents et huit étudiants. Les données ont été recueillies lors de séances d’observation, d’entrevues individuelles approfondies (informelles, formelles et semi-structurées), de groupes de discussion, d’analyse documentaire (plans de cours des professeurs, matériel de cours, rapports portant sur des examens à l’échelle du Nigeria, lignes directrices de la part des districts et de l’état pour la conception des cours) et par des notes prises sur le terrain. Les thèmes élaborés pour l’étude visaient l’exploration du rôle de l’école dans la promotion de l’ouverture, la compréhension mutuelle et les habitudes de discours essentielles à la démocratie dans une société qui est profondément divisée selon des clivages religieux, ethniques et géographiques. Cet article explique la valeur des NTICs en se penchant sur le rôle des programmes d’études dans la promotion de la tolérance, l’unité, la prospérité économique et la stabilité. De plus, il considère les efforts de ces NTICs pour encourager l’établissement d’une société civile reposant sur des principes démocratiques de gouvernance tout en tenant compte de valeurs multiculturelles.

Author Biographies

Hasan Aydin, Yildiz University, Istanbul, Turkey

Hasan Aydin received his PhD in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in multicultural education in 2011 from the University of Nevada, Reno. Currently, he is an Associate Professor of Multicultural Education in Curriculum and Instruction Department at Yildiz Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey. His research focuses on multicultural education, diversity, democracy, and culturally responsive teaching. He is the author of several books and over hundreds of articles. Dr. Aydin is a chief-editor of Journal of Ethnic and Cultural Studies (JECS), a refereed biannually journal. He also translated James Bank’s book An Introduction to Multicultural Education and Geneva Gay’s Cultural Responsive Teaching into Turkish and published by Ani Academic Publishing.

Stephen Lafer, College of Education, Curriculum and Instruction Department University of Nevada, Reno, USA

Stephen Lafer is a Professor in the College of Education at the University of Nevada, Reno where he has worked for the last 26 years. His areas of expertise are secondary English arts education and socio-cultural contexts of education. He is the co-author of the book The Interdisciplinary Teacher’s Handbook and several articles on the teaching of English within an integrated curriculum. He was instrumental in bringing the middle school movement to Nevada, helping to develop the Billinghurst Middle School curriculum and working with teachers to implement a project-based, problem-solving oriented team-taught program. He is co-founder of the Rainshadow Community Charter High School in Reno, Nevada, a school based on principles developed in the Teacher’s Handbook and tested during the ten years of work with teachers in the Truckee River Projects, a program for in-service teachers who the Projects engaged in the kind of interdisciplinary explorations we were suggesting be used in their classrooms. Billinghurst continues to be one of the most successful schools in Nevada and Rainshadow is now in its 11th year of helping students who do not succeed in school graduate with a love and respect for the process of learning.

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Published

2016-02-08

How to Cite

Aydin, H., & Lafer, S. (2016). Educational Practices for a New Nigeria: An Exploratory Study. Alberta Journal of Educational Research, 61(2), 126–146. https://doi.org/10.11575/ajer.v61i2.55709

Issue

Vol. 61 No. 2 (2015): Summer

Section

ARTICLES

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