Nigerian students' perception of Student-Centered Learning (SCL)

The Nigerian formal education has long been dominated by the traditional lecture method where the lecturer or professor impart knowledge to the passive learners through oratories; which makes students to be passive recipients of information and thus memorizes facts for tests and examinations. Thus, there is a need to study the perception of Nigerian students about the learning approach to pave way for successful implementation of Student Centered Learning (SCL) curriculum in the Nigerian education system. Therefore, this study aims at carrying out the perception study among Nigerian students in some Malaysian public Universities about the SCL approach in terms of the perceived benefits and satisfaction. The study was conducted among 222 students from four public Universities in Malaysia using questionnaire as the survey instrument which was developed for the two constructs (perception (benefits) and satisfaction). The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics. The findings of the study showed that the surveyed students perceived SCL to be of great advantages in their learning process and they also feel satisfied with the approach most especially the collaborative form of SCL. It is recommended that future studies should expand the coverage and also investigate the implications of the approach on both the teachers and students. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I give all thank and adoration to Almighty Allah for seeing me to the end of this program; it was not a smooth path; but with His love and mercy I was able to scale through successfully. The support and unlimited guidance from my amiable, understanding, effective and efficient supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr Nurahimah Mohd Yusoff can never be over emphasized; I am very grateful for the time spared for this project despite your tight schedule. Your strength and teaching skills would forever be admired. My appreciation also goes to my parents; Alhaji Ismai'l Abiodun Raji and Mrs Ganiyat Yetunde Raji, whom are always there for me. Their words of advice, encouragement, love, and affection, financial and moral support are priceless. I am also grateful to all my diligent and hardworking lectures who made all necessary efforts to ensure that teaching and learning becomes a success; as such am indebted to Dr.Arsaythamby Veloo, Dr. Ruz1an.M. Ali, Assoc. Prof. Dr. lzam Ghazali, Assoc.Prof. Dr. Abdul Malek Abdul Karim, Dr. Abdul Shukur, Dr Arumugan and Dr. Hameedah and Dr Sarimah Sheikh Abdallah. I am very grateful for your positive roles in my academic pursuit. I must also appreciate my husband, friend and life partner (Jimoh, Rasheed Oladepo Olugbenga) who stood with me at the time of thick and thin with an unflinching love and care. You are my engine while Abdul Muheez and Muheebdeen my best gifts are the wheels that took me to the land of success. I am also grateful to all my friends and well wishers both in Nigeria and in Malaysia. You all mean a lot to me. Lastly am thankf~~l to UUM for giving me the opportunity to carry out this study in a convenient and conducive arena. Jimoh Taibat Bolanle (Nee Raji) Table of Content ........................................................................... Title Page ............................................................. Permission to Use .............................................. Abstract ........................... . .............................................................. Acknowledgement.. ................................................................... Table of Content ...................................................................... List of Figures ....................................................................... List of Tables ii iii