Educational Management Challenges in the Implementation of Nigeria’s Curriculum Reform: Bridging Policy Intentions, Governance Structures, and Classroom Realities

Abstract

Curriculum reform has become a strategic mechanism for improving educational quality, enhancing human capital development, and aligning national education systems with twenty-first-century competencies. However, in many developing countries, including Nigeria, persistent gaps exist between curriculum policy intentions and classroom implementation outcomes. This study examines the educational management and administrative challenges influencing the implementation of Nigeria’s 2025 Curriculum Reform. The study is anchored on Policy Implementation Theory, Educational Change Theory, and Stakeholder Theory. A qualitative conceptual and documentary research design was adopted, drawing on secondary data from policy documents, peer-reviewed literature, and reports from UNESCO, OECD, and the World Bank. Thematic content analysis was employed to interpret data based on key educational management constructs, including governance, leadership, teacher capacity, financing, stakeholder participation, quality assurance, and monitoring and evaluation systems. Findings reveal that implementation failure is largely driven by governance fragmentation, inadequate teacher professional development, weak instructional leadership, insufficient financing, limited stakeholder engagement, and weak monitoring and accountability systems. The study argues that curriculum reform should be conceptualized as a systemic educational management process rather than a purely curricular or pedagogical intervention. The paper proposes an Educational Management Curriculum Implementation Framework (EMCIF) to explain the interaction between key management variables and implementation outcomes. It concludes that strengthening educational management systems is critical for translating curriculum reform policies into improved learning outcomes and sustainable educational development.