Experiences of distance education and development in Africa: a case study of the National Open University of Nigeria

Abstract

The place of teacher education in the context of the overall development of any nation is extremely important. The emergence of open distance learning, with its particular characteristics and its usage in offering teacher education programmes, has created unique challenges for teacher education. This paper uses a historicalcum- descriptive approach to provide an overview of various attempts at using distance education in offering teacher education in Nigeria. It aims to focus attention on important aspects of teacher education such pedagogy, teaching practice, and curricular as well as programme administration, among others. The challenges that the National Open University of Nigeria experiences, as well as efforts to address these, are highlighted with the purpose of providing evidenced-based experiences from which other countries can learn.