Perceptions of Unequal Access to Primary and Secondary Education: Findings from Nigeria

Sunal, Cynthia Szymanski

Abstract:

Nigerian parents and teachers were interviewed with the purpose of understanding how ordinary citizens view the unequal participation in education in Nigeria. Several areas of concern were identified in relation to participation in schooling such as its financial cost to families, the perceived limited value of education in adulthood, and the low quality of instruction. The interviewees acknowledged the continuing unequal participation of some groups and gave some reasons for their exclusion, though they did not seek to justify it. Specific policy suggestions are made for increasing participation in schooling by all children and for improving the quality of schooling.

Résumé: Nous avons interrogé des parents et des enseignants nigériens afin de comprendre comment les citoyens ordinaires considèrent la participation inégale à la scolarité au Nigeria. Plusieurs domaines d'inquiétude relatifs à la participation à la scolarité ont été identifiés, tels que le coût financier pour les familles, la valeur limitée de l'éducation perçue dans la vie adulte, ainsi que la faible qualité de l'instruction. Les personnes interrogées ont reconnu la participation inégale constante de certains groupes, et ont donné des raisons pour leur exclusion, bien qu'elles n'aient pas cherché à la justifier. Des suggestions de politique spécifique sont faites, destinées à accroître la participation de tous les enfants à la scolarité et à améliorer la qualité de l'éducation.

Introduction

Approximately 125 million primary school students were enrolled in subSaharan Africa in the school year 2000-2001, a 90 percent increase from 1985 (UNESCO 1994). While most children in sub-Saharan Africa have some primary schooling, far fewer African children participate in secondary education, and about 12 percent will never receive any formal schooling (Lassibille & Gomez 1990:513). Since not all children will be enrolled in school in the early years of the twenty-first century, it is important to investigate which children will not be served, whether the groups they represent can be predicted, and what factors will have an effect on children's unequal enrollment.

Since 1960, when there was a continental conference in Addis Ababa, African countries have been committed to universal primary education. At that conference, 1980 was set as the target year for the achievement of universal primary education. Although this goal was not met, enrollment was far greater than the projections had suggested it would be. Whereas many African children begin school, a large proportion do not complete their schooling. Primary school completion rates declined in the lowest-income countries (those with an annual per capita income of U.S.$450 or less), such as Chad and Mozambique, during the 1980s (Sunal, Sunal, & Osa 1994; Sunal & Haas 1998:37-70).

The Problem

Meaningful improvements in education, including equal access to education, require pressure on government from below. Such improvements also require support from policy-makers and educational planners, and continuous negotiation among those at different levels of the educational system (Chapman, Mahlck, & Smulders 1997). [Lambda] concern for all educators, then, is the following question: How do advocates who seek to reform education into a system in which all participate fully get a wide circle of individuals to be involved with, and support, education? The exploration of the perceptions of those who make up the broad base of the educational system (classroom teachers, parents, and children) can help identify beginning points for reform efforts.

The Madagascar Quality Study identified three factors affecting enrollment and continued participation in schooling: community involvement, strong local school leadership, and availability of teachers' materials such as guides and textbooks (Henevald & Craig 1995). In addition, community involvement was found to have a role in the acceptance and institutionalization of different instructional approaches in Madagascar. Studies in the U.S. have consistently found a similar strong role for community involvement in educational reforms that seek to implement different instructional approaches (Freeman 2001). Kenya's School Improvement Programme (SIP) has worked to improve primary schooling through childcentered teaching methods (Aga Khan Foundation 1997), though the likelihood of sustaining the SIP's impact has been found to be highly questionable because of high school staff turnover, currently untrained SIP staff, quality dissipation in training, and non-child-centered influences such as the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education. Many educational reform efforts are based on masses of information collected by central planning agencies summarizing exam scores and similar numerical data. Information from interviews with individuals forming the base of the system-teachers and parents-is very limited. Yet research studies have indicated that community support is vital to educational reform.

This study explores whether Nigerian parents and teachers perceive unequal participation in education as occurring and whether they believe that some groups of children are less in need of education than others. It considers the financial cost of schooling to families as a possible factor in underenrollment. Finally, it identifies policy recommendations based on the findings.

Education in Nigeria

While Nigeria is a populous, relatively wealthy sub-Saharan nation, the country struggles with problems that face all the nations in the region: rapidly increasing populations, slow-growing economies, and many unschooled adults (Sunal Sc Haas 1998). These problems are representative of the region. Nigeria has expanded educational opportunities since independence, yet unequal participation continues among its children.

Primary Education in Nigeria

In 1976 Nigeria committed itself to universal primary education (UPE). A six-year level of education was seen as a means of working toward the equalization of educational opportunities by providing a minimum level to which all children would be educated (Ozigi & Ocho 1981; Adesina 1982). There was a recognition that those receiving a primary education tended to be male, urban, well-to-do, and resident in a southeastern or southwestern state in Nigeria. The national commitment to UPE was endorsed by many Nigerians. However, rural parents and conservative Muslim parents were less likely to support it for their daughters. These parents were also likely to be concerned about the influences of the public schools' Western style of education on their children (Casapo 1983). In 1996, approximately 67 percent of males and 52 percent of females aged 6-11 were enrolled in Nigerian schools (Nigeria Ministry of Education 1996).

The UPE program has been a success in that millions of Nigerian children have received a primary education. But problems occurring in the first few years after UPE was initiated were described by Casapo (1983), Wilson (1978), and Urwick (1983). First, there was an initial serious underestimation of enrollment. Second, the large UPE enrollment created the need for huge additional expenditures of money, although large amounts of money already were being spent. Education expenditures ranked first in state and second in federal budgets. Third, a lower percentage of northern Muslim children enrolled, continuing earlier imbalances.

The status of primary schooling and specific problems were addressed a decade into UPE by 147 school inspectors who described conditions in primary schools (Sunal, Osa, Gaba, & Saleemi 1994). The inspectors noted several problems. Crowding resulted in some classes being taught outdoors. There was a great shortage of textbooks and basic teaching aids. Many teachers did not meet minimum qualifications. And a lack of basic amenities such as access to health care resulted in difficult living conditions for many teachers. They also identified positive developments, rioting that larger numbers of qualified graduates of teachers colleges began careers by teaching in the primary schools and also that state and federal budgets continued to assign significant resources to education.

A few years later, midway through UPE's second decade, researchers again examined its status (Sunal, Sunal, & Osa, 1994). They found that the Ministry for Women, which had been created at the state level, had become a vehicle for developing programs to ameliorate concerns in specific groups about possible negative influences of primary schooling on females. Experimentation with state primary school management boards facilitated a focus on primary schooling issues, input from citizens, and experimentation with new ways to attract unenrolled children and keep them in school. Schools were teaching primary school children in the dominant local language rather than in English. The curriculum incorporated local folk stories and community service. These developments were considered positive influences encouraging parents to send their children to school.

Financial responsibility for primary schooling has been turned over by federal government authorities to local education agencies. Because these agencies are inadequately funded, extensive efforts to enroll all children and keep them enrolled are difficult to accomplish (Lockheed & Verspoor 1991). Many Nigerian primary school students come from families whose adults have little schooling. Among adults aged 25 and older, males average 1.8 years of schooling while females average 1.3 years. The adult illiteracy rate is 38 percent among males and 61 percent among females. The number of illiterate Nigerian women was 167 per 100 illiterate men in 1985, increasing to 174 in 1990, and was projected to be 185 by the year 2000 (UNESCO 1994.) Although the numbers of children in UPE continue to grow, girls are expected to continue to fall behind boys both in enrollment and in literacy, which is a product of enrollment and length of time enrolled.

Since UPE's initiation, it has been evident that some sectors of the population are underenrolled, with Muslim girls the most evident group. There have been concerns in families that primary schooling conflicts with traditional practices, reducing a female's ability to pass on her culture to her children (Mohammed 1984; Sunal, Osa, Gaba, & Saleemi 1989). Mohammed found that 58 percent of the one hundred rural Muslim parents she interviewed in northern Nigeria were concerned with their daughters' marriageability (Mohammed 1984). These parents favored marrying girls at an early age, from 12 to 14, if there was a good prospect for a husband. In 1994 the average age of marriage in Nigeria, as reported by UNESCO, was 18. Although parents who favor the tradition of early marriage do not represent the average Nigerian, they do constitute a large group in the society.

In recent years, low-income families are underserved as the imposition of school fees makes it more difficult for them to send their children to primary school. Schooling results in the loss of children's labor during the hours they are in school, thereby reducing the family's income. Primary schooling also is no longer viewed as a guarantee of a job as it once was when few children were schooled (Sunal 1998).

Over a twenty-year period UPE has faced many problems, some of which have been partially ameliorated. But the underenrollment of specific groups within the population continues.

Secondary Education in Nigeria

Secondary education has expanded in Nigeria since independence, offering a variety of options including teachers colleges, science secondary schools, and schools offering a wide curriculum. In 1983 Adaralegbe predicted that primary school completers would have automatic access to secondary education by 1985. This did not occur because funding was not available as oil revenues dropped sharply. The establishment of secondary schools continues at a slow rate of expansion (Farouk 1998).

Secondary education is costly. Laboratories and science materials, maps and globes, libraries, and other expensive components are needed if the higher-level concepts and thinking skills inherent in curriculum at this level are to be taught (Hawthorne 1992). Class sizes must be relatively small since laboratory workspaces are limited and students in all subjects need opportunities to interact with teachers. Secondary education fees place a burden on parents who must carry the extra expenses while losing all or some of the adolescent's earning power. Expenses for uniforms, learning materials, laboratory materials, transportation, and living expenses are greater than for primary school students (Bashir 1985; Nyirenda 1995).

The enrollment difference between males and females rapidly increases in the junior secondary school and through the senior secondary school as the problems limiting access to primary education are exacerbated at the secondary level (Farouk 1994). Some studies have indicated these contribute to the male/female enrollment difference in secondary education (Farouk 1994).

The many problems facing primary and secondary education in Nigeria are slowing progress toward providing a quality education for all. These problems may have an impact on perceptions regarding who should participate in schooling.

Data Collection and Report

Data were collected through interviews in Nigeria investigating the perceptions of a sample of parents and teachers toward education and unequal participation in primary and secondary education. Three questions guided the research: (1) How does a sample of Nigerians perceive major factors, suggested in the research literature, that may affect children's participation in education: costs incurred by families whose children attend school, physical conditions in schools, quality of teaching, the incorporation of the indigenous culture into the curriculum, the perceived effects of education, and whether any groups could legitimately have their access to education reduced because of a perceived lesser need for education? (2) What expectations do a sample of Nigerians have regarding the likelihood of all Nigerian children participating in education? and (3) How does a sample of Nigerians view children's labor and its financial value to their families as a constraint limiting children's participation in education? The analysis describes how interviewees reflected on and responded to these questions about the major factors that may affect Nigerian children's participation in schooling.

Procedures

Interviews were conducted with eighty parents and forty teachers by faculty from three Nigerian universities. Initially, two states were chosen randomly from each of the three major areas of the nation: the southeast, southwest, and north. Each region is inhabited primarily by one of the three major ethnic groups: Igbo, Yoruba, or Hausa-Fulani. After selecting the six states, a seventh was chosen at random from the remainder. Of the seven states represented, two were in southeastern Nigeria, two in south-western Nigeria, and three in northern Nigeria.

Parents with children in school were identified from fifty schools chosen randomly from school lists at the state Ministry of Education. Then one student was selected at random from each school's student list. An effort was made to contact parents of the students chosen. Although fifty parents were initially identified, contact could not be made with ten. All of the forty parents contacted agreed to participate in the study. Local school authorities from each school having a parent in the study then identified three nearby families that were not enrolling all their school-age children. Out of this group, forty parents were randomly selected from the sixty-seven willing to be interviewed. The sample of parents with nonattending children was constructed as a convenience sample and has inherent limitations because of the nomination process used. Forty teachers were then selected at random from the schools serving the children of the parents who were to be interviewed and all participated in the interviews. The total sample interviewed was 120.

The sample was small but representative because it involved interviewees from Nigerian states whose citizenry belongs to one of the three major ethnic groups as well as members of five minority groups. Table 1 describes the sample. Also represented were Muslims, Christians, and a few practitioners of traditional religions. Both fathers and mothers were among the interviewees. All of the teachers were parents. Among the teachers, 60 percent were male and 40 percent female, a ratio similar to that among the parents.

The investigation involved a preliminary visit to each individual's home as a means of establishing contact and conveying respect. This was followed by a second visit during which the interview occurred. Finally, during a third visit the individual was given a formal written letter of thanks. Each visit lasted approximately four hours. Travel time between the university campus and each interviewee's home ranged from one hour to thirteen hours with a mean of five hours.

The interviews were conducted in the native language of the interviewee, translated into English, and recorded on interview forms. Both parents and teachers were asked the same questions about nine topics: (1) personal and family data; (2) physical conditions in the schools; (3) quality of teaching; (4) incorporation of indigenous culture into the curriculum; (5) educational costs; (6) effects of schooling; (7) knowledge of families keeping children out of school and their reasons for doing so; (8) groups whose members could legitimately have their access to schooling reduced; and (9) future trends. The interview questions for each topic are given in the appendix.

Findings

The findings are organized by the nine interview topics. Percentages often are reported as a means of clarifying the description. No statistical analysis was carried out on the percentages reported because no experimental variables were manipulated.

Interviewees' Personal and Family Data

Parents sending all eligible children to school had one to five children in school, with a mean of two, at the primary and/or secondary level. Those not sending all eligible children to school had zero to two children in school, with a mean of one. Of this group, twenty-nine (73 percent) were sending at least one child to school. Among the parents sending all their eligible children to school, 45 percent had completed primary schooling, while 15 percent of parents in the other group had done so. Some of the parents with all children in school had completed additional levels of education, with one holding a master's degree. Among those not sending all eligible children to school, one parent had completed secondary school. All of the teachers had completed secondary education, with fifteen having postsecondary education (see table 1).

Physical Conditions in the Schools

Questions were asked about physical conditions in schools because the physical environment of the school can facilitate or limit opportunities to learn and may influence family decisions about educating children (Farouk 1994). Parents based their responses on personal visits to schools and on reports of school conditions by their children. The interviewees reported that classrooms were available but overcrowded. Teachers reported class sizes of forty-five to sixty students and doubling and tripling up of students at desks. All interviewees reported poorly maintained buildings and furnishings, indicating a view that there was little money in school budgets for maintenance. Secondary teachers reported being unable to depend on using technology such as an overhead projector because national power-sharing made electricity often unavailable.

Quality of Teaching

Prior studies have reported concerns with quality of teaching in sub-Saharan Africa (Sunal 1998). Most of these interviewees reported continuing concerns (see table 2). Parents said most problems with teaching quality existed at the primary school level because there were many teachers who had failed their examinations. According to one, "If a teacher can't pass his exams, he has not learned enough. . . . If he can't learn himself, how can he teach others to learn?" "While the teachers agreed, they noted that primary school teachers have higher qualifications than in the past because other jobs in government service and business are currently less available. One teacher noted that "in the past. . . primary school teaching was only for those who had very little education, low qualifications, or no ambition. Now, there are not so many choices and even primary school teaching, with its low salary and low respect, is attractive. . . . It has some respect."

All teachers and seventeen parents said they could name at least one secondary school teacher who had a bachelor's degree but they could not do so with primary school teachers. Ten parents, five in each group, said poor primary school teaching caused parents to decide not to send children to school because it was not a meaningful use of children's time (see table 3). Those five parents in the group who were not sending all their children to school viewed their unenrolled children as not having a great deal of academic potential and as unable to overcome the obstacles presented by poor teaching.

When asked about their perceptions of the teaching methodologies used, parents said they thought teachers mostly stood in front of the class and talked. A typical description was: "Students listen and, especially in secondary schools, take notes. Material is learned when the pupil memorizes it and can recite it." Teachers said federal guidelines expected the use of discussion, group work, and inquiry-oriented teaching. These methods were taught at teacher-training colleges, but often the instructors did not demonstrate them. Teachers explained the dominance of lecture and recitation as a result of citizens' respect for these traditional methods and of the lack of instructional materials and library resources. The lack of materials meant that teachers must either use lecture and recitation or spend unrealistic amounts of time scrounging for materials and planning creative lessons. None of the interviewees voiced the perception that lecture-recitation teaching methodologies may limit learning among some students or discourage the enrollment of some children.

Many parents thought that a lot of material was taught in school but that children did not learn it because teachers were not. well qualified. Parents voiced opinions similar to those of one interviewee who said that "poorly qualified teachers don't prepare good lectures, so children don't learn." Nineteen parents discussed reasons for what they considered to be a high dropout rate in primary school (see table 3). First, the child was not a scholar and was likely to repeat grades. Second, some parents are not literate and cannot help the child in school, so parents remove the child from school. Third, some teachers had not been good students themselves, so they were unable to help the child.

Many teachers identified poor quality of teaching as the most common reason for dropping out of school (table 3). The second reason given was an illiterate household where the students had inadequate support for learning and little understanding of their needs as students. The secondary school dropout rate was perceived as low by all interviewees because of the competitiveness of the process for selecting students.

Incorporation of Indigenous Culture into the Curriculum

The incorporation of indigenous culture and language into the curriculum can motivate students to learn and make the school context resemble the students' home and community (Osa 1998). All parents thought that primary school children could learn most easily in their home language. But half of the parents and all of the teachers noted that children who belonged to a minority group in the area could not be taught in the home language. Most thought this discouraged minority children from completing primary schooling. They acknowledged that instruction in a nonindigenous language was not ideal, but thought such children needed to know the local majority language and culture. Seventeen parents (43 percent) and thirteen teachers (33 percent) said primary schooling should be partly in English because, as one parent said, "English is good to know for business." English instruction at the secondary level was preferred and considered important for financial success in the adult world.

All parents thought the primary school curriculum should include elements of indigenous culture. But 85 percent said it should not be a major part because knowledge of Western ideas was important to financial success in life and children would learn about the indigenous culture at home. The teachers said there was a heavy emphasis on indigenous Nigerian cultures, involvement of community members, and community service in the primary-school curriculum. All teachers thought the reduction in emphasis was appropriate in the secondary school because students should be exposed to ideas from outside Nigeria, particularly those from Europe and the U. S. since these regions had a great influence on the world. A small group of teachers (20 percent) thought the secondary curriculum should include oral and written works by Nigerians, while 15 percent thought works from other African nations should be studied. All teachers and 35 percent of parents thought students should become familiar with African geography and politics.

Educational Costs

The interviewees were queried about the perceived cost of education to families because such costs could affect a family's ability and willingness to school its children. All but four parents and one teacher began by comparing current with previous school costs when asked the initial question, "What monies are paid out by families to school their children?" The interviewer had not yet asked for such a comparison. All reported school costs as rising, with the imposition of many school fees. At the time of data collection, a U.S.$1.00 was equal to approximately Naira 80. Reported school fees ranged from Naira 200 to Naira 1200 with a mean of Naira 634 (U.S.$9.50). Two parents found fee receipts saved over a nearly twenty-year period and used them as support. Both parents paid three primary school fees (equivalent to U.S.$2.40) with the oldest child while one paid thirteen fees in the past year for one child and the other paid eleven fees with a mean equivalent of $7.92. Among those not sending all eligible children to school, textbooks were cited as an expense many could not afford, with the cost per child estimated at a mean of Naira 1266 (U.S.$15.83).

Effects of Schooling

Since the perceived effects of schooling may influence the decision to send a child to school, interviewees were asked to describe their perceptions of such effects. Most parents (85 percent) thought that primary schooling does not help an individual get a job and discussed the reduction of job opportunities in recent decades. One parent commented, "Under British rule a primary school completer could get a good civil service position but few people could go to school. Now, many go to school and good positions go to those with more schooling." Teachers mostly agreed but thought that primary schooling was worthwhile in terms of personal development of abilities and skills. All the parents thought primary and secondary schooling were important if the child had academic ability and would qualify for a place at a university.

Families Keeping Children Out of School

The interviewees were asked to state whether they knew of any families keeping their children out of school and what the reason for this decision might be (see table 3). Those who had not enrolled all of their eligible children in school were asked to discuss their reasons for doing so. Many teachers as well as parents who were sending all of their eligible children to school identified acquaintances who were keeping children out of school for economic reasons, specifically, direct school costs and the loss of the child's labor. One said: "People do not want others to know that they cannot survive without a child's labor. It is a loss of status. . . . If a family now needs children's work, they have dropped in status. So they may give other reasons for keeping a child out of school."

All interviewees who were not enrolling all their eligible children described children's labor as contributing to the needs of the family through work on farming plots. They mentioned the need for older children to supervise younger siblings so that the mothers' time could be freed up for farming or manufacturing and/or selling homemade products such as peanut oil and working at various manual labor or sales jobs. Children's participation in schooling was reported to have a large negative effect on the family because income produced by the children was lost. One parent said, "When my child is in school . . . I have to pay for his uniforms, so money is given out while it is not coming in. To pay for his uniforms and other school monies I have to work until it is late at night making peanut oil. When he is in school, he can't hawk oil. School is very costly."

If a choice must be made, twenty-nine of these parents said the likelihood of academic success was important. Seven said they enrolled only male children with academic potential because they would have to support families. Five chose to enroll an academically able eldest daughter if they lived near a town where schooling would help her get a job with which she could contribute to the family's livelihood. Seven parents did not enroll girls because they viewed schooling as introducing foreign ideas, making girls less likely to respect their parents' wishes, not connected to the indigenous culture of the home and community, and discouraged by their religion. Three parents from a minority group whose children would not be schooled in their home language did not enroll their children because they perceived schooling as disconnected from their culture.

Groups Whose Members Could Have Their Access to Schooling Reduced

Since not all Nigerian children enroll in school, and since perceptions of the effects of schooling may vary, the interviewees were asked whether schooling is of less value for some groups. The interviewees said that schooling was of value to all people because it develops basic literacy and numeracy. However, three groups of children for whom primary schooling was considered less useful were then identified. The first group was students who do not pay attention in school and therefore learn little. The second group was girls whose parents wish to have them marry at an early age. Teacher interviewees also mentioned girls as a group that might be kept out of school if parents thought early marriage was best for them. The third group was nomads because they need little or no schooling since the skills they learn from family members are sufficient if they continue to be nomads. Five teachers (2 percent) thought schools with a large intake area cause concern among parents because they do not know the families of most other students and they believe the diversity among students introduces ideas parents do not condone.

In cases of financial difficulties, 58 percent of the parents thought daughters, rather than sons, were most likely to be kept out of school. Slightly over half of these parents (twenty-five) were keeping at least one child out of school. However, one-third of the total group of parents and 40 percent of the teachers said the eldest female should go to school because women need their own income to provide extras for their children while the children's father provides for basic needs.

Many interviewees-73 percent of the parents and 60 percent of the teachers-stated that the government and educators should not concern themselves with those who do not want their children schooled. Effort should be focused on giving those who want to go to school the best education possible with available funds. As one parent said, "There is not enough money for education. So, what there is should be spent on children whose families want them to go to school."

Future Trends

The final portion of the interview asked participants to discuss their predictions regarding future trends in schooling in Nigeria, how opportunities for schooling could be made more equal, and what new means might be instituted to help finance schooling. All of the parents and half of the teachers said the quality of schooling would improve and more children will be going to school in the long term, within thirty to fifty years. In the near future, however, all predicted that those from poor families either will not go to school or will not be able to finish schooling because the financial situations of these families would not improve. They said the basic needs of the education sector, transportation, clean water supplies, and other services must be financed before more money is used to expand educational opportunities. Giving a rationale, interviewees pointed out that clean water and good health services insure a child's survival. As one parent said, "If the child doesn't survive, education has no point."

When asked for specific suggestions regarding means by which perceived unequal educational opportunities could be resolved without large expenditures of additional funding, many parents (78 percent) and over half of the teachers (58 percent) suggested that community elders be used to encourage parents to send children to school. If school administrators were able to convince community elders of the usefulness of schooling, they would talk most parents into cooperating. The state Ministry of Women was mentioned by 30 percent of parents and teachers as a means of increasing girls' school participation. Schooling girls was considered a means of improving the condition of women in the society because educated girls were more likely to be successful in generating income and less likely to be exploited by unscrupulous individuals. Ten parents favored shifting money from programs for adult women to girls because this would have a greater long-term benefit.

Teachers, but not parents, mentioned primary school boards as a means of addressing unequal enrollment. Such boards could focus on primary school issues and have greater contact with primary schools, teachers, administrators, the curriculum, and communities. They might find avenues for working with underenrolled groups at the local level. The teachers thought such board members would be more knowledgeable about local concerns and issues and about the status of primary schooling.

Discussion

The study has reported the perceptions of a sample of Nigerian parents and teachers about (1) major factors suggested in the research literature that may affect children's participation in education, (2) limitations imposed by the financial needs of families on children's schooling, and (3) expectations regarding whether all children are likely to be schooled.

While the interviewees thought all children should have primary and secondary schooling, they identified major factors that may limit its value. School facilities and furnishings were described as overcrowded, minimal, and poorly maintained at both primary and secondary levels. The curriculum, particularly at the primary-school level, utilized the local majority culture and incorporated community service. However, its implementation at the primary-school level was viewed as poor because teachers were underqualified. Lecture and recitation dominated instruction. These instructional strategies were acceptable to most parents, but teachers noted that other options were possible. Teachers also noted constraints that resulted in their reliance upon lecture and recitation, particularly a lack of materials, textbooks, planning time, and modeling of other methods by teacher-training colleges.

The interviewees described financial problems many families face, created by a weak national economy. An increasing number of school fees had been imposed on families because the government could not absorb all costs of schooling. At the same time, families were more dependent on children's labor for the income needed to satisfy basic needs. Therefore, when families could afford to pay for some school, many enrolled only their most able children. Interviewees indicated that less able children were unlikely to learn in overcrowded schools with underqualified teachers. Many interviewees questioned whether primary, and to some extent secondary, schooling had value in terms of the child's future financial success.

While it was acknowledged that not all children would be schooled in the near future, the interviewees thought the situation would change so that all children would be schooled in thirty to fifty years. There was a consensus that all children should have a free education but that there was not enough money available for the government to provide it. Therefore, choices about who is educated must be made. Since available funding was insufficient, interviewees thought it was best spent on improving education for those enrolled. But some inexpensive means were suggested for encouraging children's enrollment in school. These suggestions utilized and respected existing social structures and addressed local needs.

The portrait that emerged was one of education in a setting of bare essentials and involving factors contributing to unequal participation in schooling. Even though rationales were given for the existence of unequal participation, these parents and teachers expressed commitment to the long-term goal of full enrollment in school for all children. Policy recommendations follow that address the problem of this study: How do advocates who seek to reform education into a system in which all participate fully get a wide circle of individuals to be involved with, and support, education?

Policy Recommendations

Implement Targeted Efforts to Improve School-Level Practice

Nigeria has consistently endeavored to improve the quality of teaching. Increased salaries have been awarded to those completing higher levels of training. Professional development activities for inservice teachers have been organized. Finally, a detailed national syllabus has been developed and distributed to teachers and administrators. These efforts have had limited effects. The ever-growing need for more teachers has meant that underqualified individuals are hired. Advanced education and inservice professional development have not been expanded rapidly because so much funding has been needed to build classrooms and train additional teachers at a basic level (Sunal 1998). Since primary schools are perceived as delivering a poor quality education with little value to students, targeted efforts are needed to improve school-level practice.

Reform involving the utilization of different instructional strategies has been shown to require a long-term effort of about five years for each strategy (Comer 1988; American Association for the Advancement of Science 1998). Such an effort can begin with the targeting of one or two strategies that work well in classrooms with large numbers of students. For example, cooperative grouping and greater use of discussion have been used successfully in classrooms with large numbers of students. These two strategies might be targeted for a first effort. Complex strategies such as inquiry teaching, with which both teachers and parents have little experience and for which few resource materials are available, can be planned for a later five-year period. A comprehensive national twenty-five-year plan broken into five-year periods is suggested here. Such a plan would enable state ministries of education to (1) establish time lines based on needs within the state, (2) establish rubrics enabling inspectors and principals to diagnose teachers' current level of instructional ability, and (3) prescribe goals to be accomplished on a yearly basis. School inspectors and principals will need widespread and well-planned professional development focusing on the diagnostic and prescriptive evaluation of teachers. Expertise in teacher evaluation is necessary in order to formulate a basis for mentoring. Teacher-training colleges, two-year advanced teachers colleges, and university education departments should be partners in planning and implementation. These institutions must focus on modeling all of the types of instruction within the twenty-five-year plan. Intensive modeling of the targeted instructional strategy or strategies in each five-year period in teacher-education programs is a critical component of the long-term plan to improve school practice. The expertise of teacher-training faculty could gradually expand as each new five-year period is initiated. As efforts are focused on learning to implement and model additional instructional strategies, teacher-education programs will be better able to demonstrate a range of approaches.

Implement Community Involvement in Site-Based Management of Education

These interviewees suggested enrollment outreach efforts at the community and state level. These suggestions focused on utilizing community elders to talk with parents about the value of schooling, creating an initiative within the state Ministry of Women targeted at increasing girls' enrollment, and maintaining local primary school boards. Such suggestions are consistent with conclusions from case studies in a variety of countries reported by Chapman, Mahlck, and Smulders (1997). They found that the interests of stakeholders at lower levels of the education system may differ meaningfully from those at the top, and that there is value in local participatory approaches to educational reform. Community involvement in enrollment outreach, as suggested by the interviewees, is a beginning point for long-term development of site-based management of schools.

Site-based management includes community members, teachers, and the school principal on a team that makes decisions at one or more of the following levels: (1) identifying and discussing problems and posing solutions; (2) developing short- and long-term plans for initiatives to address needs and build educational quality; (3) decision-making in terms of hiring and retaining teachers and the school administrator and establishing budget allocations; and (4) involvement of community members in direct instructional activities. Site-based management can be implemented in stages over a period of time, perhaps ten to twenty years. The four levels identified above are not a linear sequence. For example, a school, or region within a state, may start with the fourth, involving community members in instruction. In Nigeria such involvement has already been documented at limited levels (Sunal 1998). Site-based management implies local decision-making in regard to which levels are implemented at different points. Site-based decision-making and management involve community members as equal partners with teachers and the school principal. A typical team size is ten to twenty members. Each member of the team has one vote, thus all are given some voice.

Site-based management can be an effective means of considering problems identified by interviewees. Among the identified problems that should be considered are the perceived value of education, poor teaching, addressing the needs of minority students, addressing the needs of less academically able students, and creating an environment that parents view as nonthreatening to their cultural and religious values. The primary school boards suggested by the interviewees can be part of this effort. A primary school board operating at a regional level within a state could function as a means of negotiating the development of site-based management within a school, providing resources and information for site-based teams, and facilitating communication between teams at different schools.

Chapman, Mahlck, and Smulders (1997) note a disadvantage to increased communication at all levels and to the involvement of community members in education reform. Working effectively with constituent groups can be difficult. Increased local participation has been found to include increased conflicts among individuals and friction among groups. It is presumed that better local decisions will result, but that without careful planning, an understanding of the local community, and expertise in conflict resolution the process could backfire. National information systems often do not provide the types of information most needed by those working to change practice at the school and community level. Little is known about transactions between teachers, students, principals, and community members. Nor is much known about the perceptions of each group regarding the others and the educational system. Different information is needed, particularly data that are most descriptive of transactions within and between the school and community. It is evident, however, that site-based management in education at the levels identified above has several requirements that must be met if it is to be successful. First, national and state government must provide strong support to site-based management. second, short- and long-term plans for implementation of site-based management must be developed at state and local levels with community involvement. Third, training in consensus-building must occur at school, community, and state levels. Fourth, continuous evaluation of the process by all participants must take place.

Implement the Reallocation of Existing Funding

Existing educational funding is a significant but insufficient part of the government budget. It is not likely that large budget increases for education will occur in the near future. Reallocation of existing funding is a viable option for addressing needs identified by the interviewees and in other research. Reallocation can focus on funding the professional development of teachers and on facilitating site-based management. The reduction of funding in any sector of education will produce hardship, and must be determined by Nigerians. But guidelines for such decision-making are indicated in the research literature (Sunal 1998). A portion of the budgets for teacher-training colleges, advanced teachers colleges, and university departments of education (undergraduate and graduate levels) can address two purposes: targeted professional development of teachers, and training the consensus-building skills needed in site-based management. In addition, teacher-training coursework should be increasingly site-based, with faculty and students observing and participating in teaching at local school sites. Diagnosis, prescription, and negotiation of teacher, administrator, parent, and student needs and solutions can be developed more thoroughly through a constant involvement and interchange with the school site.

Further reallocation can occur from the relatively small existing budget for inservice teacher professional development. The current professional development budget is inadequate and has limited reach. Some reallocation to targeted development of quality school practice will place inservice development within a larger, coordinated framework.

Funding also can be reallocated from existing curriculum development and research structures. Site-based management can include curriculum research and development, which then could be disseminated nationally and used to influence the national school syllabus. Such curriculum development and research can be negotiated by the site-based team and higher education faculty. Negotiation should address the incorporation of strengths in learning arising from local culture. Negotiation should also address misconceptions fostered by the local culture.

Finally, some funding can be reallocated from other government sectors. For example, a portion of the funding for the Ministry of Women can be allocated to focus on fostering girls' education as part of a long-term effort. Such an effort can utilize site-based teams which include representative illiterate, as well as literate, women from the community. Public education funding from the Ministry of Health might be partially reallocated to increase professional development of teachers. A focus of teacher development can be an increase in the quality of instruction about health concepts and procedures.

Articulate the Value of Schooling

Many of the interviewees expressed reservations about the value of primary schooling and to some extent of secondary schooling. These concerns were expressed specifically in relation to the ability of schooling to enhance one's future financial success. The implementation of efforts to increase the quality of education for all children can, over the long term, result in more positive perceptions. However, national and state governments need to implement efforts via the media and public gatherings to document and publicize the value of current schooling, even though it has limitations. These can be combined with efforts to work with communities to foster educational quality.

Primary schooling provides basic skills in literacy and numeracy which enable schooled individuals to understand new ideas in agricultural and small-business practice more successfully than unschooled individuals can (Honig 1998). Secondary schooling opens opportunities in formal business, government, and primary-school teaching. It also gives individuals many skills that can lead to success in the informal sector. Honig carried out research in Africa and the Caribbean investigating the skills that had been acquired through schooling. He found secondary school completers often have skills enabling them to learn small-business accounting practices and the ability to calculate and set prices that generate a reasonable profit. Secondary school completers also frequently use their writing and communication skills; for example, they often serve as representatives for small manufacturers. The development of the knowledge and skills that are acquired through schooling is a long-term investment in the individual, affecting many areas of life (Honig 1998). Government agencies should enlist the support of business and industry in articulating the value of schooling to the media and via public gatherings. A well-planned effort to provide business and industry representatives with a short, clearly-written list of skills fostered by schooling could be used to stimulate their articulation of schooling's value.

Conclusion

The portrait emerging from the study carries with it the limitations of a small sample. Yet because it is constituted from the voices of Nigerians who represent a range of ages, geographic locations, cultural backgrounds, and educational levels, the portrait offers indications of the perceptions of ordinary Nigerians. These are voices difficult to hear in developing nations. This study has attempted to establish beginning points, but further work is needed that incorporates a larger number of Nigerian voices. The limited portrait that emerges identifies numerous and similar concerns with education at all levels among the parents and teachers interviewed. Participation in education is valued among these individuals, although unequal participation in education is acknowledged. Structures exist in Nigeria that can be adapted to reform education. Such an effort will be lengthy, needing an overall systematic plan with specific time periods allocated to identified goals. A key component, and perhaps the most difficult to accomplish, will be intensive community involvement. The diversity of Nigerian society necessitates community involvement and consensus-building if education is to give voice to all Nigerians and grow in its value to the individual and the nation.

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Cynthia Szymanski Sunal is head of Elementary Education Programs at the University of Alabama and a professor of social studies education. Dennis W. Sunal is a professor of secondary curriculum, teaching, and learning at the University of Alabama. Both have published widely on higher education in sub-Saharan Africa and have been Fulbright Professors in Nigeria. Ruqayyatu Rufai is a senior lecturer in history education at Bayero University, Kano, Nigeria, and has published a history of the palace of the Kano emirate. Ahmed Inuwa is a member of the Faculty of Education at Bayero University, Kano, Nigeria, and currently is working with an effort to incorporate online technologies into Nigerian public schools. Mary E. Haas, a professor of social studies education at West Virginia University, is a co-author of texts on social studies education.

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