Human Capital Development in Science and Technology Education: Challenges and New Responsibilities of the Teacher

Abstract

The importance of science and technology education cannot be over-emphasized. Human capital development in science and technology education is the gateway to a scientific, technological, and progressive society. It is also the very bedrock upon which modern and advanced nations are based. However, science was featured in a few secondary and teacher training schools in Nigeria between 1859 and 1929. The major subjects taught in the schools were astronomy, chemistry, physiology, geology, and botany. These were later systematized and then changed first to Nature Study and later General Science. Training of technology education teachers in Nigeria started in 1962 with the establishment of the Department of Vocational Teacher Education at the University of Nigeria-Nsukka under the supervision of Michigan State University (USA) at its formative years. Human capital development in science and technology education is faced with a lot of challenges such as retraining of science and technology teachers, dearth of qualified technology trainers, and inadequate funding among others. This paper addressed how these challenges could be forestalled for successful implementation of human capital development and also the new responsibilities of the teachers for science and technology education in Nigeria.

Keywords

• Human capital development, Technology education, Science education, Training of science and technology teachers

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