Improving teacher education requires more than strong classroom interventions. Lasting change happens when effective approaches become part of national systems. This is the central lesson from the GPE KIX supported Pre-service Teacher Education Project (Pre-STEP).

Beyond generating evidence at the classroom level, the research project informed national teacher education policy in Nigeria, leading to the inclusion of its learner-centered 4-in-1 teaching model in the Nigeria Certificate in Education Minimum Standards. The result was a shift from pilot innovation to system-wide reform in how future teachers are trained.

The project introduced an innovative teaching approach across six colleges of education, combining Microteaching, Jigsaw, Problem-Based Learning and Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge to strengthen pre-service teacher training.

While the model advanced inclusive teaching practices at the Federal College of Education (Special), Oyo, an equally important part of the story is how government leadership helped move the model from implementation to institutionalization.

That shift began at the top.

A major milestone came when the Federal Ministry of Education directed that the model be considered during the review of the Nigeria Certificate in Education curriculum. The revised minimum standards subsequently incorporated the approach, making learner-centered pedagogy a required component of pre-service teacher education nationwide.

For the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE), this alignment was critical. “Alignment with national standards is crucial to any educational innovation,” said Professor Paulinus Chijioke Okwelle, outgoing Executive Secretary, NCCE. “While new ideas are essential for progress, they must fit within the broader policy and regulatory framework to ensure quality and sustainability. When alignment exists, it becomes easier for these innovations to be adopted by other colleges of education and scaled nationwide.”

Seeing reform in practice

Government ownership was built not only through policy discussions, but also through direct engagement with classrooms. During quality assurance visits, NCCE joined the project team to observe pre-service teachers learning and applying the 4-in-1 model.

In Akwa Ibom State, Professor Okwelle led a field visit to Akwa Ibom State College of Education, Afaha Nsit, where second-year students were discussing, questioning and teaching one another through collaborative learning approaches that differed markedly from traditional lecture.

Reflecting on the visit, he said: “What stood out most was the enthusiasm of both lecturers and student teachers. We observed practical demonstrations of more interactive and learner-centered teaching approaches, which is exactly the direction teacher education needs to move in.”

Building sustainability into the system

Sustainability was built into the project from the outset. Rather than focusing only on student teachers, Pre-STEP trained 20 lecturers in each of the participating colleges of education, deliberately shifting the focus from intervention to system strengthening and ensuring the approach could continue long after project closeout.

With the model now embedded in national standards and lecturer capacity strengthened, the foundations for long-term implementation are already in place.

As Professor Okwelle emphasized: “It will be important for the partners to ensure that these innovations become fully embedded within the institutions, so they continue beyond the life of the project—through capacity building of the lecturers and implementers.”

From federal policy to classroom practice

Government support extended beyond national regulators. During teaching practice monitoring, representatives from the NCCE, the Federal Ministry of Education, State Universal Basic Education Boards (SUBEBs) and the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) joined supervision visits to observe pre-service teachers applying the model in real school environments.

At the state level, collaboration with SUBEBs helped secure access to primary schools, enabling trained student teachers to complete their teaching practice in public school settings.

This coordination among federal, state and institutional levels helped move reform from isolated success to system-wide adoption. As Professor Okwelle confirmed: “The NCCE will continue to support this process through policy integration, capacity development for lecturers, and knowledge sharing among institutions.”

The path forward

The Pre-STEP experience shows that evidence must be matched by strong government leadership and institutional commitment to scale educational innovation.

With the learner-centered 4-in-1 model now embedded in the NCE Minimum Standards, Nigeria has moved beyond the pilot phase.

With support from KIX, what began as a research project is now helping shape how Nigeria prepares and trains its future teachers, demonstrating how innovation can move from individual classrooms into the education system itself.