I write this topic with a feeling of
nostalgia because my parents (now late) were teachers. They were part of
the professional teachers of yester-years.
I can recollect vividly how my mother
instructed us sternly never to attempt to change the handedness of my
younger brother from left to right because it could affect his academic
performance. She professionally justified her counsel from the principle
of handedness in psychology of education.
On getting to medical school and
postgraduate training in psychiatry, I came across the same principle. I
was excited, but at the same time, challenged, at the professional
dexterity that my mum, an elementary school teacher, demonstrated
confidently.
I can also remember her words of caution
concerning another sibling that had a little challenge executing his
speech as a result of stuttering. She counseled that all he needed was
our patience in listening to him, even as he was coached on how he could
calmly pick his words.
I am currently doing the National
Teachers’ Institute, Kaduna, programme in post-graduate diploma in
education and my encounter with their syllabus brings sweet memories of
my mother and respect for her professionalism.
The first semester has taken us through
the history of education, developmental psychology, general methods in
education, curriculum design and development, measurement and
evaluation, educational psychology, philosophy of education, research
methods in education, sociology in education, statistical method in
education and micro-teaching.
Despite my background in psychiatry, I
find the course illuminating, as I discovered practical lessons of
intelligent application of psychological principles in the arena of
learning. As I read through the modules which have been prepared by
competent academicians, I saw that the future of this country lies with
our teachers.
Prof. B.O. Ukeje defines education as
any influence that produces a change in the physical and mental
behaviour of human beings. Education is also defined as the process by
which every society attempts to preserve and upgrade the accumulated
knowledge skills and attitude in its natural setting and heritage, in
order to foster continuously the well-being of mankind and guarantee its
survival against the unpredictable attacks of hostile and destructive
elements and forces of man and nature. This qualifies education as a
cornerstone of meaningful development of any nation.
Sociologists define education as a
process by which the individual acquires physical, moral and social
capacities demanded of him by the group into which he is born and must
function. This process articulates education as the most effective tool
of socialization.
Psychology of education empowers the
teacher to creatively use various theories of cognitive, emotional and
social development to understand the learner and to adopt an appropriate
teaching methodology. Teaching is not just a hobby, it is an intensely
professional endeavour such that when a teacher picks up a topic, he
should bring out some desirable changes in the pupils’ behaviour. He,
therefore, needs to focus on those aspects of the pupils’ behaviour in
which he wants these changes to occur. They are referred to as
instructional and behavioral objectives. When the instructional
objective is stated in terms of observable learner’s behaviour, we call
it behavioural or lesson objective, and it deals with the three
dimensions of man where learning takes place, namely: the cognitive, the
affective and the psychomotor domains.
With all of our improved an imported
curricular, the emphasis has been largely on the cognitive. I think our
teachers need a renewed emphasis on how to define measurable behavioral
objectives with special concerns for the affective domain that include
attitude, values, feelings and emotions.
Recent findings have demonstrated the
superiority of emotional intelligence over the basic intelligence
quotient for career success and ultimate outcome in life. Drug addiction
is getting to an alarmingly scaring dimension, and the age of
initiation is as low as nine years.
The consequences are grave, as it
affects human capital development, security and economic wellbeing of
the nation. The family unit has become dysfunctional as a result of
socio-economic problems; hence, the primary agency of socialization is
faulty.
The school, therefore, becomes the
custodian of children with psychological challenges, especially drug
addiction. The wholesome socialization strategies through the teachers
are equally challenged by the peer group, which boasts of alternative
but destructive templates of socialization.
I am not certain that our modern and
very expensive schools have the crucial emphasis in the affective and
the psychomotor domains of learning in their curriculum as a strategy of
stemming the menace of drug addiction that has assumed ubiquitous
dimension with grave consequences.
I wonder what has become of our guidance
and counseling teachers of yester-years who should be able to set up a
‘psychological clinic’ for students who exhibit anti-social behavioral
patterns. A stitch in time, they say, saves nine.
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