Evaluation of Undergraduate Sculpture Curriculum in Selected Nigerian Universities

Evaluation of Undergraduate Sculpture Curriculum in Selected Nigerian Universities.

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study was to evaluate the undergraduate sculpture curricula in Nigerian Universities to see whether they were working in consonance with the National Universities Commission’s (NUC) Minimum Academic Standard (MAS). The objectives were to: assess the personnel’s awareness of the regulatory body; determine the adequacy and relevance of the curriculum of current undergraduate sculpture programme in universities.

Ascertain the effectiveness of instructional strategies used by lecturers in Nigerian universities; examine the suitability of available facilities and equipment pertinent to effective sculpture curriculum at university level and assess the full implementation of undergraduate sculpture programme in terms of quantity and quality of personnel. A total of seven universities were purposively sampled to reduce the lopsidedness associated with the citing of universities offering sculpture in the country.

The respondents were drawn from the sculpture lecturers and specializing sculpture students of 2009/2010 academic-year in Nigerian Universities. The research method used was descriptive and data were collected through the use of questionnaire administration and informal interviews. The students’ questionnaire contained twenty items, which were meant to corroborate their lecturers’ responses to the twenty items on their questionnaires on the specific objectives of the study.

INTRODUCTION

Education holds the key to the future of Nigeria as well as for each individual. It is essential for our educational system including its academic structure, content and modalities, to be dully adjusted in response to current changes. The nation needs compelling vision for education that will inspire educators, teachers, parents and students alike. The 21st Century knowledge- based economy has compelled all higher institutions to look inward for standard and effective curriculum.

Today’s educational system faces irrelevance unless efforts are made by the universities to bridge the gap between how students live and how they learn. Universities are trying to keep pace with the astonishing rate of social and economic demands on students’ lives after graduation. With the current knowledge explosion in the field, the traditional art curriculum used in training undergraduates for the world of work needs to be reviewed in order to meet the changing needs of the individual and the society (ECHSAR, 2000).

Universities should review the functions: content and mode of teaching of first- Degree programmes and to maintain a balance between the breadth and depth of the curricula so that students would have exposure to other learning domains apart from their own specialized disciplines. Universities now face strategic,  long-term planning to integrate 21st Century skills into standard curricula assessments and professional development.

Such changes do not only present new opportunities, but also generate new challenges for those preparing individuals to work in the creative sector. As an increasing number of new skills and disciplines infiltrate the main curriculum, traditional practice are re-examined and perhaps cast aside as new topics such as the cultivation of social awareness, professional skills, and new proficiency in technology and media are booking for a place in the classroom.

REFERENCES

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StudentsandScholarship Team.