PART 4 -

CURRICULUM

(continued)

T H E Q U A L I T Y OF L E A R N I N G E D U C A T I O N (continued)

IN N I G E R I A N P R I M A R Y

A NOTE ON CURRICULUM AND COMMUNITY NEEDS AN EXAMPLE FROM MATHEMATICS

The following is an example of an alternative method of approaching the teaching of Mathematics in Nigeria. The work is set for the first grade.

Early Number Work The teacher should consider the following. What are the 'counting situations' in the pre-school experience of children in their culture? These will vary according to the stage of development of the area - whether it is urban or rural, densely or sparsely populated, in close or remote contact with an exchange economy, pastoral or agricultural counting. Where this exists, the teacher can build on it; where it is deficient, the teacher needs to supplement it. In every context, however, children should be led to talk and discuss everyday happenings in their culture and community setting - in numerical terms - how many people in the home, brothers, sisters; what animals are kept, chickens, pigs, sheep, cattle, etc.; what did they see on the way to school? Use traditional games, (e.g., lyo, chisolo, or tei). These are games played by several children that help them to know how to count. One will never win if he does not know how to count. Use decorative traditional patterns, (bead work, pottery, etc) as introduction to variety in spatial concepts.

Measurement All communities in Nigeria have evolved their own systems of measures which are exactly suited to their requirements. Some bear no relation to the standard international systems. We suggest that the community's local system be taught first and this is then easily linked with the standard international system, using the very rich experiences all children will have had and which can be directed by purposive visits to the market, enlisting the co-operation of the vendors. Such work would cover the measurement of length, weight and capacity and can easily be related to real life situations.

Areas and Volumes These concepts are likely to appear but rarely in the experience of the African community but they figure largely in the syllabus of the school. Consequently, children

hrternational Review of Education-lnternationale Zeitschrift far Erziehungswissenschaft-Revue h~ternationale de P~dagogie X X I X (1983), 245 246. All rights reserved. Cop)'right ~ by Unesco Institute for Education, Hamburg and Martinus Nijhoff Publishers,

246 too often leave school knowing only that area equals length times breadth and that this is reduced from acres to square inches, or hectares to square centimetres. They have no idea of the meaning of 'acre' or 'hectare'. Children can begin to understand these by measuring irregular shapes in the classroom using, intermittently, local songs and stories that deal with area and volume. In this matter it is understanding the basic concept that is of prime importance rather than facility in calculation, and much work outside the classroom is needed for this to result. The idea of volume is, perhaps, more easy to convey and demonstrate concretely, but again it is something that does not impinge largely on the number of cubic yards of stone and sand needed in building operations and the carrying capacity of lorries. More immediate and relevant examples are needed. The above examples from the teaching of Mathematics are just suggested ways of relating the curriculum to the needs of the community, ways which are based on the local culture, taught in the children's own language with activities based on their experience and environment. Similar methods and approaches can be used with other subjects in the curriculum. PETER LASSA