Investigation into the pathos of music teacher preparation: A focus on Alvan Ikoku Federal College of Education, Owerri

Abstract

Scholarship on music teacher education in Nigeria has tended to lay more emphasis on the evaluation of the music curriculum for the preparation of the music teachers towards meeting the aspirations of the federal government as stipulated in the two documents that govern Nigeria educational system: the National Policy on Education and the Cultural Policy for Nigeria. The federal government keeps investing a huge sum of money into the educational sector of the nation. As such, it should be kept abreast with the conditions of the sector so as to know if its programmes are to be expanded, improved or discontinued. This study therefore investigates the status of music teacher education in Nigeria. It is aimed at intimating the federal government with the status of National Certificate of Education (NCE) generally and music programme in particular. It is aimed at keeping the Association of Nigerian Musicologists abreast with the status of the Nigerian music teacher preparation programmes. The need to generate debate on the way forward for the Nigerian music teacher education enterprise informs this study. It adopted a case study approach of qualitative research design. Grounded theory guided the study. Data were collected through interviews and analysis of documents. Thematic analysis was adopted for data analysis. The findings of this study reveals that the NCE programme generally is as good as dead in the institution underreview. This paper concludes that the NCE programme should be improved. It recommends that the NCE programme be upgraded to a degree status and Colleges of Education be made to become Universities of Education so as to award degrees for the basic school teachers programmes.