TOWARDS REVITALIZATION OF INSTRUCTIONAL LEADERSHIP FOR EFFECTIVE IMPLEMENTATION OF UNIVERSAL BASIC EDUCATION IN NIGERIA

Abstract

This paper examined the needs to revitalize instructional leadership of primary and junior secondary schools headteachers in Nigeria, for successful implementation of the Universal Basic Education (UBE) Programme. Instructional leadership, as viewed in the paper, has to do with creating a school culture that makes students’ learning a priority and provides the resources necessary to support teachers’ efforts to improve students’ learning. The need for revitalization of instructional leadership in the Nigerian Basic Education schools emanates from the identified problems of lack of clearly defined general instructional visions in the schools in question, dearth of instructional materials, ineffective instructional supervision by the headteachers, and absence of school-based professional development programmes for teachers. With the introduction of UBE and subsequent curricular review, the paper discovered that there was the need to re-orient teachers towards effective teaching of the newly infused contents of the 9-year basic education curriculum. The paper, based on the identified needs for the revival of instructional leadership has recommended clear definition of schools’ instructional vision, effective classroom supervision, organizing school-based teacher professional development programmes among other things as foremost measures to be taken to improve this vital function of the school headteachers in question.