Record: Abdulrahman Y. Maigida, “Homeschooling in the Non-formal Education of Nigeria: A Mechanism for Sustainable Educational Development”. [Abstract here]
Summary: Dr. Abdulrahman Maigida is a professor of educational foundations at the University of Port Harcourt in Nigeria. He won a competition for research in Islamic education in 2018.
In this article Maigida provides what is to my knowledge the first English-language academic piece on homeschooling in Nigeria. He begins by noting that correspondence education was popular in the early colonial period for individuals trying to pass the London Matriculation Examination, but homeschooling has never been widely known as an educational option in the country. However, given the sorry state of Nigerian formal schooling, most notably the widespread sexual harassment and rape of girls by male teachers and students, it might be something more parents should consider.
As there is little to no information about Nigerian homeschooling, Maigida spends most of the article defining terminology, summarizing some of the older U.S. literature, describing various curricular options popular in the U.S., providing brief descriptions of the legal climate in several countries around the world, and outlining potential benefits of homeschooling.
Near the end of the article Maigida turns to Nigeria. He notes that the country faces several challenges that might limit homeschooling adoption, including lack of formal curriculum, lack of support from media and government, lack of parent education in pedagogy, lack of a legal category for homeschooling in Nigeria, widespread illiteracy among adults, and the fact that many mothers work full time.
He concludes by recommending that highly educated Nigerians would perhaps be best fitted to homeschool, and he’d like to see the government recognize homeschooling as a legitimate option and for parents who choose it to take their responsibilities seriously and to make sure their children are given wide experiences outside of the house to learn more about the broader world and its people.
Appraisal: Like Michael Olatunji noted in the South African context, the danger Nigerian schools pose to girls seems like it could be a real push motive for Nigerian families. Unfortunately, there wasn’t really any information about homeschooling in Nigeria at all in this article. Maigida didn’t mention a single family doing it. He basically just summarized some of the more dated U.S. literature and made some recommendations. Olatunji’s article on South Africa gave us much helpful information about the history and present state of home education in that African country. It would be wonderful if Maigida or other African researchers in other countries on that continent could do the same.
Milton Gaither