Education and Human Development: Public Secondary-School Teachers’ Perspectives on Fafunwa’s Seven Cardinal Goals in Kwara Central

Abstract

Education contributes to human development by expanding knowledge, practical competence, ethical capacity, social participation, cultural identity, and opportunities for meaningful livelihoods. Fafunwa’s Seven Cardinal Goals of Education provide a historically significant African framework for examining these broad purposes. This study explored how public secondary-school teachers in Kwara Central perceive the extent to which current schooling practices reflect Fafunwa’s Seven Cardinal Goals. A qualitative descriptive design was adopted. Eight public secondary-school teachers from Asa, Ilorin East, Ilorin South, and Ilorin West Local Government Areas participated in the study. Data were generated through open-ended interviews and analyzed thematically with the support of ATLAS.ti. The findings show that teachers perceive the present schooling practices as reflecting some of Fafunwa’s goals while falling short in others. Intellectual development was viewed as relatively well accommodated, while physical talent development and vocational education were perceived as inadequately supported. Teachers also expressed mixed views on character development and respect for authority, with some participants acknowledging positive effects of schooling and others identifying declining discipline and competing social influences. Community participation was viewed as constrained by weak family and school-community connections, whereas cultural heritage was perceived by some teachers as receiving attention through subjects that connect learners with cultural knowledge. Major constraints included inadequate facilities and equipment, theoretical rather than practical delivery of vocational subjects, inconsistent educational policies, limited instructional resources, teacher-related capacity challenges, and parental or community factors. Teachers recommended stronger government provision, practical and vocational learning, curriculum improvement, stable policy, teacher support, and greater collaboration with parents and community-based skilled workers. The study concludes that, from the perspectives of public secondary-school teachers in Kwara Central, contemporary schooling reflects Fafunwa’s goals only partially. The findings support a contextual and contemporary interpretation of the goals rather than a national claim about the entire Nigerian education system.