Philosophical Appraisal of Curriculum Design as Nigeria’s Educational Social Contract: A Systematic Review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.64420/ijitl.v3i2.566Keywords:
Critical pedagogy, Curriculum design, Decolonial education, Democratic pedagogy , Educational social contract; Epistemic justice; Knowledge hierarchiesAbstract
Background: Curriculum design in Nigeria is usually treated as a technical administrative task, yet it represents the foundational commitments of the state under its educational social contract. Objective: This systematic review evaluates whether contemporary Nigerian curriculum design fulfills the epistemic obligations owed to citizens using social contract theory. Method: Guided by PRISMA principles, a search across seven databases identified 62 relevant publications from 2017 to 2026. Forty core sources underwent full thematic synthesis, while 22 sources provided theoretical framing. Results: Five analytical themes emerged: the widespread policy practice gap, persistent colonial knowledge hierarchies, epistemic flaws in language policies, tensions between democratic ideals and transmission pedagogy, and the interdependence of curriculum, assessment, teacher education, and language reform. Conclusion: The failure of the Nigerian educational social contract is structural and philosophical rather than administrative. Successive post independence revisions remain symbolic, preserving inherited colonial epistemologies. Sustainable reform demands systemic epistemological reconstruction, addi-tive multilingualism, and transformed pedagogical practice. Contribution: This study introduces epistemic obligation as a vital dimension of state responsibility, shifting the curriculum reform paradigm in post colonial contexts from simple policy revision toward fundamental epistemological reconstruction.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Emmanuel Lucas nwachukwu, Lasbrey Unegbu, Godson Chidi Nwokorie, Sule Omeiza Adebayo
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