THE INDIVISIBLE LINK: UNIFYING CURRICULUM AND PEDAGOGICAL REFORMS FOR EFFECTIVE TEACHING AND LEARNING IN NIGERIA

Abstract

The issue of subject overload on learners in Nigerian primary and secondary schools and the request for requisite skills to overcome the challenges of the 21^st century has been the concern of many researchers and education stakeholders over the years, in response to this the Federal Government of Nigerian has just introduced the new curriculum meant to address these challenges. This paper therefore analyzes the Federal Government of Nigeria's recent curriculum reform, which aims to align the nation's education system with 21st-century skills. While the new curriculum laudably reduces subject overload and introduces a focus on digital literacy and vocational skills, this paper argues that the reform is fundamentally incomplete. Drawing on a theoretical framework that posits the indivisibility of curriculum and pedagogy, we contend that the top-down, content-focused approach fails to address deep-seated systemic and pedagogical deficits in the Nigerian education system. Using evidence from Nigeria and cautionary tales from global case studies, we demonstrate that a curriculum-only reform will not translate into improved learning outcomes. The paper concludes by proposing a comprehensive, phased framework for an integrated reform that prioritizes teacher professional development, addresses critical infrastructure gaps, and fosters a collaborative, bottom-up culture of change