Proceedings of The 8th International Conference on Social sciences Humanities and Education
Year: 2023
DOI:
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Evaluating Gender Equity and Equality in The English Language Teacher Curriculum, ICT Policies and Learning Materials in Nigeria
Oris Tom-Lawyer, Michael Thomas, Samuel Amponsah, Maureen Kalane, MM van Wyk
ABSTRACT:
The THEMIS project was a two-year British Council funded research study that explored gender equality in the English language teacher curriculum, ICT policies and learning materials of four countries (Botswana, Ghana, Nigeria and South Africa) in line with UN SDGs 4 (educational quality) and 5 (gender inequality). It adopted a mixed methods approach using interviews, questionnaires, classroom observation and textbook analysis and the CIPP (Context, Input, Process, Product) curriculum evaluation model as a theoretical framework. This paper reports specifically on the data arising from the two Nigerian Colleges of Education (CoE) involved, and was guided by the following research questions: What is the context of the English language programme of the Nigeria Certificate in Education? How does gender representation in English language textbooks impact on gender equality? How is ICT integrated into the teaching and learning of the English language? The sample comprised 200 trainee teachers and 20 lecturers from two CoEs. Findings from the project highlighted that the vast majority of trainee teachers were females; the ratio of female to male trainees were 31:19 and 40:9. The textbook analysis indicated that gender inequality was evident in the use of stereotypical roles and occupations for women. ICT was used by lecturers to develop teaching materials and by the trainee teachers in group work situations for discovery-based learning. Typically, ICT tools were limited to the use of projectors, integrated boards, laptops and digital equipment. Most significantly, the CoEs suffered from overcrowded classrooms and there is a direct link to the perceived low quality of presence-based English language teacher training as a result.
While more female trainees were recruited to English language teacher training courses in the CoEs than males, the textbooks they used relied on out-of-date gender stereotypes and are in need of substantive review and revision.
keywords: CIPP Evaluation Framework, Four African ODA Countries, Teacher Training, Gender Lens, College of Education