Current and Future Trends in Higher Education Learning

Emerging educational practices and growing demand from education researchers and learners appear to be driving a shift toward the learner and context-centered teaching approach. Higher education is transitioning delivery from a predominantly teacher-centered mode to a non-traditional learner-oriented one. This change is being primarily facilitated by the advent of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in curriculum design and delivery ushering online learning. In this chapter, we discuss the current and future trends in higher education for curriculum design and delivery using online learning. We present Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) as an online teaching-learning future trend that can help provide educational access to millions of students geographically situated all over the world. We share a case study from India, highlighting the initiatives in the field of higher education and course delivery with the use of ICTs and the changes in methods of learning-content delivery. The advantages and challenges associated with MOOCs are also discussed.

Curriculum Implementation and Teacher Motivation

While teachers can play role toward success or failure of curriculum implementation, this chapter discusses teacher motivation and curriculum implementation. It particularly attempts to indicate many areas which teachers can be motivated to get involved in effective curriculum implementation. Various theories of motivation are consulted to come up with authoritative document on how teachers can be motivated to play their role in a meaningful sense. These include two-factor theory, self-determination theory, person-object theory, expectancy theory, equity theory, and job enrichment theory. Extensive literature throws light on the theme in a deeper sense and reviewed studies guide us to come up with a discussion that is theoretical in nature. This chapter concludes that although not clearly stated, teacher motivation remains a major component in curriculum implementation.

Potentials of Selected Information and Communication Technologies in Adult Education Programmes in Nigeria

This chapter evaluated the potentials of selected information and communication technologies in adult education programmes in Nigeria. Infrastructure and funding are among the important issues, but scepticism about the pedagogic value of information and communication technologies and staff development are probably the most challenging. Institutions are grappling with bringing use and funding of e-learning and other computer-based instructional strategies into the mainstream of their organizations, and are beginning to contemplate restructuring to take account of information and communication technologies, in terms of staffing, staff development, course design and student support. Even though studies have captured the imperatives of information and communication technologies in Nigeria's educational system, little is still known about the subject matter in relation to adult education systems in the country. Consequently, this chapter explores and provides the much-needed insight on the subject and the issues that the process raises in the context of adult education in Nigeria.

Technology and Learning

This chapter presents innovation and change in university preparation of teachers requires acquisition of technological pedagogy in response to the demands of a knowledge economy where students are engaged in technology implementation in a constantly changing world. Teacher preparation programs historically have been contained on campus using face-to-face instruction. As the second decade of the twenty-first century unfolds, universities have adopted online learning in teacher preparation to accommodate the needs of a more diverse clientele. Educator preparation now faces two major challenges: a critical mass generated by Net Generation students who have increased demands for online access to learning and a teaching force without prerequisite skills and dispositions to dramatically alter modes of instruction.

Active Learning Application of Technology Tools and Services and Increased Student Achievement

This chapter evaluated the use of technology tools and services and increased student achievement in online and blended learning environments in higher education institutions, which have experienced universal uptake and is responsible for enormous changes in online and blended learning environment, not only in industrialized nations, but in developing countries education as well, particularly sub-Saharan Africa. Given the role that online and blended learning can play in educational development worldwide, higher education institutions, students, employers, and governments are increasingly urged to examine the economic, demographic, and technological environments of the present so as to ensure comprehensive preparedness for the future. This study employs an inclusive data gathering process. The findings reveal a significant improvement in the use of online and blended learning methods to achieve effective and active academic performance in students. The impact of online and blended learning in higher education institutions is evidenced in the changing instructional strategies to increase student academic achievement, which results from more active interactive learning processes.

Current Economic and Political Dispensation and Teacher Education Programs in Niger Delta Region

In this chapter we highlighted the impact of the current economic and political dispensation in Nigeria and its impact on teacher education programs and the means of enhancing teacher education in the Niger Delta region. This paper is a conceptual and methodological breakthrough in Nigeria's academic landscape where qualitative and quantitative experiences highlight issues that are pertinent to teacher education program in the Niger Delta. The chapter proposed that the Niger Delta region's and the entire Nigeria's teacher education programs would be advanced if the component parts of the current economic and political disposition are resolved. This chapter contends that the Niger Delta region has the potential to address the challenges currently faced in the region such as social disruption (violence threat), poverty, hunger, disease, conflict, marginalization, and the achievement and improvement for effective teacher education programs. This chapter is of the immense judgment that successfully addressing the challenges currently faced in the Niger Delta region, teacher education programs will greatly improve qualitatively and quantitatively.

Leadership and Management in Instructional Technology in Teacher Education

This chapter evaluated leadership and management of instructional technology in teacher education. It recalls that training and educating teachers is of great importance to society. Teachers can have either positive or negative effects on students which can impact on society. A lot of models have been produced for training and educating teachers. According to Wallace (1991), the most common models are skill, applied science and reflective models. The management of the equipment dimension of educational technologies in teacher training is the effective use of the available equipment. Information technology used in the inservice training provided for teachers who are officially teachers, and in the preservice training provided for preservice teachers, should be applied at the top level. The leadership in the dimension of the equipment of educational technologies in teacher training is that it is regularly renewed by the state of the art technology. First of all, it is needed to use updated information technology in order to achieve the equipment target used in preservice training for preservice teachers and inservice training for teachers at the top level.

Educational Leadership for Enhancing Quality in Teacher Education

Educational leadership refers to the process of soliciting and managing the capacities and vitalities of teachers, pupils and parents toward achieving common educational aims. Educational leadership also refers to an individual or group of people who are in charge and lead schools, institutions, programmes and students. The development of leadership as a separate entity goes some way in arguing that an effective educational leader will share much of the same characteristics as a successful business leader. If one sees leadership as a distinct vocation, then one can see that many of the skills and traits are transferable. However, education is a special case, because teaching students has to be the central purpose that educational leadership must reflect. Hence, even if it is drawn from various existent theories of leadership, yet the success is dependent on how much it would enhance the quality of teacher education. The overall mission of this valuable study is to aid researchers in recognizing and understanding the need of educational leadership for enhancing the quality of teacher education.

Merits and Worth of National Open University of Nigeria as Distance Education Intervention

This chapter employed Program Theory-Based Evaluation Design and Summative Evaluation Model to evaluate the merits and worth of National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) from 2003 to 2013 as a distance education intervention. A sample of 902 was drawn from students of and staff of NOUN, National Universities Commission and conventional Federal Universities in Nigeria. Construct validated Program Theory-based Evaluation Questionnaire with reliability coefficient of 0.79 was used. Ten hypotheses were tested using ANOVA and independent samples t-test at 0.05 alpha. Results indicated that great discrepancy exists between the expected and actual outcomes of NOUN as it is significantly inadequate in addressing ‘higher education for all in need' intervention for which it was established. Though the objectives for which NOUN was established has been partially implemented as defined and aspects of its objectives achieved. The study recommends that the defected aspects of NOUN should be modified to meat stated objectives.

Teacher Education in Nigerian Universities

Teachers play pivotal roles in the education process. Knowledge transmission constitutes integral aspects of their roles. In order to perform this role effectively, institutions responsible for teacher training have been striving to reposition teacher education for greater results by aligning with global best practices, at the centre of which is instructional technology. However, one thing is to desire the infusion of instructional technology into teacher education, another is to plan how to achieve the best result with it. In this regard, this paper focused on teacher education in Nigerian universities and how leadership and management of instructional technology are reshaping it. Highlights of the discussion include: background, teacher education in Nigerian universities, instructional technology in teacher education in Nigerian, leadership and management in instructional technology in teacher education, challenges of leadership and management in instructional technology and strategies for improving leadership and management in instructional technology.