A Historical Analysis of the Role of Teachers in Nation-Building: Imperative for Quality Teacher Education in Nigeria

DOI

No DOI

Published In

Volume 3, Issue 2 (2023)

Published Online

March-April 2023

Pages

13-15

Article Type

Research Article

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The purpose of this paper was to investigate the roles of teachers in nation-building and the need for quality teacher education in Nigeria. The paper traces teachers' role in nation-building from the dawn of human society, when learning and teaching were imitative, gestural, and informal in families, to the Sumerians' invention of writing and subsequent development of school in the late third and early second millennia. This was demonstrated by Jewish scribes and Rabies, the Athenians' Sophist, and the Greco-Roman instructor a. During the Medieval period, scribes and clergymen enabled teaching and learning, even reviving learning in Europe through the translation of Aristotelian writings and the eventual development of universities between the 12th, 13th, and 14th centuries. The paper also identified teachers as modern nation builders, citing their roles in Japan's transition from a feudal to a modern society, China's transition from a poor agrarian to an industrialized economy, and the development of many African countries. However, the paper identified some of the challenges to teacher education in Nigeria as professionalization of teaching, teacher status, retention of quality teachers, and poor remuneration. The authors advocated for higher pay for teachers' roles in nation-building, as well as regular seminars and conferences and the professionalization of teaching.