An appraisal of the Philosophy of Nigerian Education for Sustainable Livelihood in Nigeria (2008 - 2012).

Abstract

The philosophy of Nigerian education seems not to guarantee good lives for citizens of Nigeria. The macro-economic indicators for five years (2008 – 2012) now continuously recorded increase growth rates in Nigeria but without significant development. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which the philosophy of Nigerian education could justify sustainable livelihood in Nigeria. This study was designed to provide baseline information for macro policy-management on education in order to enhance the welfare of Nigerian citizens. The study adopted a descriptive survey design in Cross River State of Nigeria as a study area. One research question and one hypothesis were applied to guide the study while the related literatures were reviewed. The population of study was 2,395 university teachers and out of which 250 was drawn using a simple random sampling technique. Researchers’ constructed instrument was used to collect information from the respondents. Data was statistically analyzed using tables, mean rating and population t-test statistics. Results obtained revealed that the contemporary socio-economic trends of the philosophy of Nigerian education have not accelerated sustainable livelihood in Nigeria. Basic needs provision among the geo-political zones of Nigeria indicated disparities. Therefore, it was recommended that better measures of economic development such as Human Development Index (HDI) be utilized to ensure sustainable livelihood in Nigeria.

Keywords: Livelihood, sustainable, philosophy, education, socio-economic trends.