Project Abstract

National development all over the world has continued to be intricately tied to educational development in which the teacher is the critical element. Many countries of the world have realized this central role of the teacher in the education process, and both developed and developing countries including Nigeria, have made some efforts in this area. The situation in Nigeria, however, has not shown a linear upward progression both in national and education development. Evidence abounds as to the existence of reform agenda, improved monetary wages, and establishment of teachers training institutions and specialized bodies, recruitment of more teachers and well advertised capacity building workshops. The evidence of the positive impact of all these efforts, though not yet empirically researched into, does not seem to be significant. The state of the education sector in Nigeria may attest to this guess. Experts have traced this problem to poor teacher professional development among others. This paper thus reviewed past and present efforts of government and other stakeholders aimed at Teacher Professional Development in Nigeria, identified potholes in the course of this journey and suggested the patches for smooth drive. Initial teacher education, induction and Continued Professional Development (CPD) were considered. The journey started with the activities of the church missions and reached the establishment of Teacher Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN). The potholes noticed include unrestricted entry into the profession, proliferation of teacher education institutions, among others. The need to streamline the various efforts was advocated among others.

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