Discrepancies between official science curriculum and actual classroom practice: The Nigerian experience

Abstract

This paper is based on an investigation of how an officially prescribed science curriculum (OPSC) was interpreted and translated by teachers into actual classroom practice in Nigerian primary schools. Due to various pressures and constraints, contents of the official curriculum were not transmitted to pupils in their original forms. Mismatches between official and hidden curricula were very rampant, and these were often created by factors beyond the control of either teachers or pupils ‐ similarities were also more superficial than real. It is argued in this paper that the official view of teachers as mere ‘implementers of policies imposed from higher quarters’ is both inaccurate and misleading. On the contrary, the teacher's role in primary science is more of a ‘policy broker’ than an implementer of official programmes.