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EVALUATION OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SECONDARY SCHOOL MATHEMATICS CORE-CURRICULUM BY TEACHERS

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

Evaluation, according to Okoro (2000), is the appraisal of the worth of a thing and the making of appropriate decision on the basis of such appraisal. He said that evaluating mathematical curriculum involves the collection of information judging the worth of and assessing the effectiveness and quality of programmes. Mathematical education is established for some purposes and it is the functions of programmer evaluation to determine the extent to which this purposes of the programme are being achieved.

          According to Oguniyi (1984), education evaluation is carried out from time to time for the following purposes: to determine the relative effectiveness of the programme in terms of students behavioral output; to make reliable decision about educational planning; to ascertain the worth of time, energy and resources invested in a programme, skills, attitudes and societal values; to help teachers determine the effectiveness of their teaching techniques and learning materials; to motivate students to learn more as they discover their progress or lack of progress in given tasks; to encourage students to develop a sense of discipline and systematic study habits etc.

          The two main types of evaluation are: Formative and Summative Evaluation.

          Formative evaluation are done to find out whether after a learning experience, students are able to do what they were previously unable to do. Its ultimate goal is usually to help students perform well at the end of a programme.

          Summative evaluation often attempts to determine the extent the broad objectives of a programme have been achieved. Summative evaluation is judgmental in nature and often carries threat with it in that student may have no knowledge of the evaluator and failure has a reaching effect on the students.

          According to Brubacher (1969), curriculum is the ground which pupils and teachers cover in order to reach the goal of education. In other words, it can be regarded as a total experience with which the school deals with educating young people. That is, all the experiences curricular and co-curricular which children pass through to become what is known as educated person.

          According to Hass (1980), curriculum is the experiences that individual learners have in a programme of education whose purpose is to achieve broad goals and related specific objectives which is planned in terms of a frame work of theory and research or past or present professional practice.

Core is used to describe a portion of the curriculum, usually those courses prescribe for all. The identification of the required portion of the school programme is a crucial issue in curriculum planning. Whatever is chosen to be included will normally be required of all students regardless of their background characteristics. Essentially, core-curriculum is meant to develop unified students based upon common needs of the learners and organized without restriction by subject-matter.

This type of curriculum organization was designed as a synthesis of all other apparatus and to specifically integrate all subject areas, serve the needs of the students, promote actual learning and enhance the relationship between life and learning.

Core-curriculum is used variously to designate Basic Studies, General Studies, General Education and indeed all subjects and courses which educational authorities consider necessary for all students. Such subjects are of interest to all in a social group no matter how typical or atypically such individuals may be within the group. A typical example of core-curriculum could be seen in what constitutes Teachers Grade II Certificate in Nigeria.

In the teachers training programme, English Language, Mathematics, Principle and Practice of Education and Teaching Practice are the core Course/Curriculum.

The secondary school, according to the National Policy on Education (2004), shall be comprehensive with a core-curriculum designed to broaden pupils knowledge and outlook.

Okorie (2001) defined Mathematical Education as that type of education, which develops the mental and physical qualities of people thereby increasing their skill, knowledge and attitude required for utilizing the natural resources needed for economic development of the nation and for their own self improvement.

According to him, Mathematics Education provides individuals the opportunity to develop psychomotor, cognitive and effective skills. In other words, Mathematics Education is functioned, for its content it is both pre-vocational and academics in nature for the all round development of the learner.

According to Okeke and Oranu (1999), the availability of personnel (staff), tool/equipment, fund and infrastructural materials have been identified as sine-quo-non for the successful implementation of curriculum in the 6-3-3-4 system of education in schools.

Mathematics Education receives support from voluntary organization, very rich Nigerians, commercial and industrial forms and concerned individuals. They contribute money by way of endowment fund. The funds are given to schools or an educational institution to help in solving some of its pressing financial problems.

It is on the basis of these efforts to provide qualitative mathematics education that it becomes necessary to evaluate the implementation of mathematical curriculum at secondary schools in Udi Local Government Area.

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