LANGUAGE IN INDIA

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Teachers as Nation Builder: Indigenous Lessons from Yorùbá Pedagogy for Societal Transformation

Emoruwa, Oluwatoyin Titilayo, Ph.D.
Awolaoye, Sunday Olayinka, Ph.D.
Saka, Idayat Oyenike, Ph.D.

Abstract

Education is defined as the process of teaching someone especially in a school, college or university. Transformation on the other hand involves a shift in our orientation in such a way that new actions and results become possible. This paper is an examination of the transformative roles of teachers as the center stage in education in the societal transformation of our society, Nigeria, through the lens of Yorùbá philosophical traditions. Drawing on rich Yorùbá literary texts, the study explores how the Yorùbá worldview positions teachers (olùko) as custodians of knowledge, moral exemplars, and community builders. It portrayed teachers as professionally trained personnel charged with the responsibility of disseminating positive knowledge, attitudes and skills to learners in the school. The analysis of the transformative roles of the teachers is established on two Yoruba literatures, a poem (Ogá ni Tísà) and a prose (novel): Erin Lákátabú. Findings establish that the Yorùbá model of teaching emphasizes that teachers serve as role models, counsellors and disciplinarian to their learners. Through this, the character and personality of the learners are moulded in the right direction which leads them to their final destinations. The paper concludes by advocating for the appropriate recognition of teachers for the value of the services that they render and teachers should also develop passion for their job and see it as a calling. This work contributes to the decolonization of education discourse by establishing the importance of indigenous knowledge systems in shaping future-ready educators.

Keywords:Yorùbá pedagogy, societal transformation, indigenous education, transformative role, moral education

Introduction

When a society becomes more complex, it gets more socially and technologically advanced and it is faced with more challenges. To provide solution to some of these challenges, education can be appropriately used as an effective instrument in the transformation of the nation and its overall development. Therefore education should be given adequate attention so as to meet the growing needs and aspirations of the Nigerians. While education may not be expected to change the society in a drastic manner because it is a part and parcel of the society it desires to change, everybody must work together to reposition it to produce upright human beings who can have positive impact on their society. Again, for National transformation to be achieved, the society must be abundantly rich in knowledge which is usually acquired through the teachers. Education, for the purpose of this paper, will simply be defined as the process of teaching someone especially in a school, college or university. This paper, therefore, examines the roles of teachers as the center stage in education in the societal transformation of Nigeria. It portrayed teachers as professionally trained personnel charged with the responsibility of disseminating positive knowledge, attitudes and skills to learners in the school. Transformation on the other hand involves a shift in our orientation in such a way that new actions and results become possible. The analysis of the transformative roles of the teachers is established on two Yoruba literatures, a poem (Ogá ni Tísà) and a prose (novel): Erin Lákátabú. The analysis established that teachers serve as role models, counsellors and disciplinarian to their learners. Through this, the character and personality of the learners are moulded in the right direction which leads them to their final destinations.

Transformation conjures the notion of change whose achievement can be achieved through a conscious and deliberate effort of the individual and the society. Education is necessary in transforming the society because it is an effective catalyst that brings hope to humanity and changes societies positively. Education is seen to be a crucial sector in any nation. As a result, it has always been the preoccupation of educational stakeholders to set goals for education in order to use education to create the kind of human beings required to change the society. It should be noted that teachers are at the centre stage in the transformation of the nation through the effective implementation of the curriculum in the schools. The needs and goals of the people are merged into the curriculum which the teachers translate into realities for the benefits of mankind and the role of the teachers at this level of education cannot be overemphasized as they are the transformation agents. It is an established fact that Nigeria as a country, in spite of her abundant human and material resources, is under developed in almost all aspects of her national life. This under development is realised in poverty, insecurity, corruption, unemployment, lack of productivity and all forms of negative attributes. The country is not achieving much and it is not where it is supposed to be in the committee of nations. There is, therefore, the need for national transformation. In the process of acquiring education, the role of teachers is significant. They are intermediates between educational content and the learners. The worth of a country get examined and graded in the work of teachers. Thus, the people of a country are the enlarged copy of their teachers because the teachers are considered as the real nation builders. The Federal Republic of Nigeria (2009) confirms this by stating that "no nation can rise above the quality of its teachers". Based on this, it can be safely assumed that no effective transformation can be achieved in Nigeria without the teachers playing their required roles. The task of teachers in transforming the society is to first of all transform the learners through effecting an attitudinal change in them.

This is only the beginning part of the article. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.

Emoruwa, Oluwatoyin Titilayo, Ph.D.
Adeyemi Federal University of Education,
Ondo, Ondo State.
tititoyin@gmail.com +2348067392364
Awolaoye, Sunday Olayinka, Ph.D.
Adeyemi Federal University of Education,
Ondo, Ondo State.
awolaoyesop@gmail.com +2348030501542
Saka, Idayat Oyenike, Ph.D.
Adeyemi Federal University of Education,
Ondo, Ondo State.
ridahtullahi@gmail.com +2348030705692
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