Published Article

The curriculum of every nation in the world needs to be contextual. Contextual curriculum lays strong emphasis on the idea that learning happens in a context. This encompasses the relation of learning to experiences, culture and environment. In this case, the learning environment and other factors is Nigeria as a nation. If curriculum is fully contextualised, the country would genuinely achieve its developmental goals. In this paper, therefore, efforts have been made in discussing what contextualised teaching and learning are. This presupposes the fact that learning must be relevant to both  learners who learn the curriculum and the country that designs it. More so, the importance of curriculum in education and national development is examined which lays claim to the relevance of the curriculum to the socio-economic needs of the nation. To extend further, the principles of contextual education system are elaborately discussed. The teacher’s goal is to help the learners, co-ordinate character and value education, teaching through differentiation, encouraging the child’s curiosity and so on. This paper also x-rays curriculum content and nation-building explaining that the context of any curriculum is an embodiment of the attitudes, knowledge and skills which a society intends to impart to her citizens through the schools and other socialising agencies. Based on the above discussions and observations, recommendations have been made for the socio-economic well-being of the nation, Nigeria. This could be realised by contextualising curriculum for nation-building in the 21^st century.

Keywords: Contextualisation, Curriculum content, Nation-building, Nigerian Educational System, Development, Socio-economic, Learning and Teaching