This study examined the reforming Nigerian primary education by teaching of thinking. Primary education which is seen as the bedrock of all intellectual processes and activities as well as a stepping stone towards secondary and higher education is affected as a result of epistemic dysfunctions. There is a popular saying that goes “our people perish due to lack of knowledge” describes the epistemic dysfunctions pulling down this most important level of education. The curriculum provided by our government as that guides primary schools in faulty. As a result of many pupils are adversely affected by poor teaching and planning methodology. This research work deeply emphasizes on the teaching of thinking as a solution to the problems encountered.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title page - - - - - - - i

Approval page - - - - - - - ii

Dedication - - - - - - - - iii

Acknowledgement - - - - - - - iv

Abstract - - - - - - - - - v

Table of contents - - - - - - - vi

CHAPTER ONE

Introduction 1

1.1 Background of study 1

1.2 Statement of the problem 4

1.3 Significant of the study 7

1.4 Scope of the study 9

CHAPTER TWO

Review of related literature 11

2.1 Concept of thinking 11

2.2 Thinking in the teaching field 13

2.3 Assessment of thinking 16

2.4 The elements of thinking 24

CHAPTER THREE

Expose of the problem 26

3.1 The effect of schooling without thinking in our primary schools 26

3.2 The harmful role of pedagogy in our schools 32

3.3 Effects of lack of thinking 35

CHAPTER FOUR

Implication of study 38

4.1 The application of thinking in our primary school 38

4.2 Education reforming through philosophy for children (P4C) 45

CHAPTER FIVE

Summary, conclusion and recommendation 51

5.1 Summary 51

5.1 Implication of the findings 52

5.2 Recommendations 54

5.3 Limitations of the study 57

5.4 Suggestion for further studies 57

References 59

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF STUDY

The ability to see beyond the limits of assumptions makes the failure of planning very rare. The societal growth and development is dependent on the strength of the planning and the level of the implementation. This is because the ability to plan creditably is not the ability to carry the plan to the fullest.

Nigerian primary education, like its count part in the whole world, is the bedrock or educational growth and development. People are moulded and given the strength to make further achievements in the educational field through their secondary education. This entails that once the foundation is strong, the base for the growth and development of the other areas of life would be assured. This would be of a great importance to the realization of the country’s goals and aspirations.

When the secondary education is able to make its needed impact, the crisis that could rise in the subsequent areas would be avoided. Suffice this, is to say that the basically ingredients for the emergence of authentic secondary education in Nigeria was not given a serious thought by the departed foreign powers. Even in the planning of the pattern for the implementation approach that does not encourage the thinking among the people. And it is observable that thinking is the stepping stone towards the socio-political and economic development of the people.

The views of Eze showed development gives room for self esteem, freedom and creative initiative of the persons and the country in general. The pressing question becomes what would be the pre-requisite to the realization of this noble trend in the life of Nigeria. Our secondary school is charge with the duty of initiating the child into the basic life racy and innumeracy. It is equally to guide learner in the art of reflective thinking and scientific inquiry. But the realization of this noble role is far from the real.

The study is search for the basic ingredients to the realization of a functional secondary school system that would engender scientific inquiry and the thinking ability in the lives of Nigerians. It is very much assured that the introduction of the critical thinking, creative thinking, caring thinking, systems thinking, synergic thinking, Ecumenical thinking, mathematical thinking and other forms of thinking that make up our higher order thinking that the Nigerian problems of academic enslavery and moral decadence would be solved.

1.5 Statement of the problem

Everybody seems convinced that our youths are far from the expected leaders of tomorrow which we all sign that they are evident that the children initiate what they see in the environment which implies that with the adequate supply of the needed environmental stimuli, the children would live up to the expectations of the society. But the questions remains: are these children playing their roles as we expect of them?

Primary education is aimed at providing the necessary background to the thinking and problem-solving in the children and also in the adult world. Is this role realizable in our society? Why are our children in the moral quagmire they are in today? Anih stated that the good will alone in our academic curriculum is not alone. Taking it biblically he lamented that good will when not followed by action avails us nothing. The next question becomes: How can the children be assisted to think and be reasonable in themselves? How can the foundation of their formed education, which is the primary school be made to play this role very well? The level of schooling without thinking in the society is pointing to the fact that once the primary level is very shaky that the effect would spill over to the other levels of education. This could attest to why several of our own graduates become job seekers instead of employment creators. Education in the country has not been able to raise the dependency syndrome which the colonialists systematically put in our inherited formal education.

The teachers are seen as being veritable to the unfolding of education too. This is telling us that the quality of the teacher is very important in the course of the students development. The big question becomes whether our teachers are ground in the facts and skills of thinking. How can a teacher who was not taught to think, be able to teach thinking to secondary school pupils. If it is true that one does not give what he/she does not have, how can the improvement of our secondary education be achieved in the face of modern educational crises?

It is pertinent to note that much of our subjects in the schools are already tabulated. What would thinking do in the already devised education in which the subjects have already been designed pedagogically? The focus of this research would then be the patterns through which thinking can be applied in the learning of English, mathematics, Elementary science, Igbo language, and even other subject in the primary school curriculum.

The teaching of thinking would engender some kinds of reformation in our society. It is to be convinced as the backbone to the ushering in the pure development of democratic values and the life that would be value-oriented. Unfortunately these are not present in our society today.

1.6 Significant of the study

The first beneficiary to the introduction of thinking in the secondary education is our teacher education and the teachers themselves. The instruments for the effective teaching should be the effective teaching should be the concern of efficient teachers. In our conceptions of the teacher as an academic midwife, it is evident that no teacher would be happy if the academic progress is still born. The teachers in the field and the teachers in the colleges of education would see this innovations as the path to the unlocking of the children’s thoughts. They would find the classroom interesting when the community of inquiry approach is utilized to usher in thinking in the pupils.

The study would be of a strong benefit to the pupils. The introduction of thinking in the secondary section is the path to their self realization. This would entail that the products of this great reformation would be free from the schedule patterns of learning that colonizes and dehumanizes. The outcome of this work would serve as boost to the freedom of the learners who would be made to reason through thinking in place of memorizing through rote-learning and cramming of the pre-determined learning outcome.

The experts in curriculum planning would use this in the coming of the problems of live up its educational challenges. They would use this study as a guide to the there eddying of the schooling without thinking which is presently constituting the cog in the wheel of our development. Finally, this study would be a boost to the development of moral functional and personnel development in Nigeria. The outcome could be a pointer to the reasons behind the kind of life that our school leavers are living. Thinking creates room for reflection and this is the path to deeper understanding of phenomena. The improvement of the primary section is the improvement of the over all facts of the society.