Qualitative Study on Curriculum Development Trends in Teacher Education Programs in Nigeria: Challenges and Remedies

Education in general and teacher education in particular is germane to growth and development of knowledge and the society in general, but it is unfortunate that teacher education today is beset with systematic and operational problems. Teacher education curriculum is being faulted for its ineffectiveness to provide learners with adequate intellectual and professional background which makes them to be stunted academically and professionally. The paper therefore, highlights the importance of teacher education, the relationship that exist between teacher education and the curriculum, while the paper also, pointed out the irrelevance of today’s teacher education curriculum, because it has isolated todays teacher from the realities of the modern world and why it is important to move with the new trends in curriculum development and design, as well the need to incorporate new methods in preparing the 21st century teachers which must find its way into the teacher education curriculum. Finally, the paper draws conclusions based on the fact that it is only when and if teachers are made to be a part of the development and designing of the curriculum in Nigeria, to suggest innovative contents and ideas that we can have a functional teacher education curriculum