THE PSYCHO-SOCIOLOGICAL, COUNSELING AND SPECIAL NEEDS RESEARCH GROUP
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATIONS
UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NIGERIA
Functional education is the key to national development. This type of education produces individuals that are well adjusted and prepared to face the challenges of modern societies and fit into the present global world order. Thus, to meet these expectations, individuals are required not only to acquire the cognitive competences needed to fit into the global knowledge economy but also social and emotional competencies necessary to engage positively in the complex human relationships that are prerequisite for success in whatever endeavour one engages in today’s world. These therefore demand a clear understanding of the psychological and sociological foundations of education.
The psychological foundation of education focuses on such areas as the processes and factors associated with human development and learning, the theories that explain them and their application to teaching and learning. Successful teaching requires the understanding of the different areas of human development (physical, intellectual, social, emotional, language moral and personality development), the factors that hinder or promote successful development and how development in one area affect the other areas. Proper development is very critical in every child’s education. Retardation or malfunction in any area of development may present a challenge that may require specialized service in order to meet the special needs of such individuals. This implies that physical, social, intellectual, emotional, moral, language and personality development have implications for human learning.
What a child can learn; how he/she will learn and where he/she may learn can be linked to his/her pattern of development. In order words, the factors that shaped our development may be critical in our preferred learning styles, motivation to learn, the learning and memory strategies that help us retain and retrieve information learned. This means that proper learning requires guidance not just from the teacher who is a subject matter specialist but a professional counselor who understands the different areas of human development and how challenges in the cognitive, affective and psychomotor domains affect not only human learning but the general human functioning.
The school has been described as a social system where people and resources are managed. The sociological foundation of education focuses on the socio-cultural influences on human behavior. It explores the beliefs, values, attitudes, life philosophies which shape the pattern of interactions within a social system and how such interaction guide activities which lead to the attainment of societal goals. Such established patterns dictate the nature of gender relations, adult-child relations, child-child, and leader-subordinate relations in the society. In other words, the school-community relationship, the school-teacher/learner relationship, the teacher-learner and learner-learner relationship are determined by the socio-cultural cum school cultural milieu which set the tone for the school climate.
Based on the foregoing, it could be said that a functional education system requires a collaborative engagement of educational psychologists/counsellors, educational sociologists, special needs educators and educational managers working in tandem to produce a whole child. The global trend in research is that it is becoming increasingly interdisciplinary and collaborative. This understanding gave the impetus for the formation of the research group’ “The Psycho-Sociological, Special Needs and Counselling Research Group”. The group is focusing specifically but not limited to the following areas:
- Learning to Learn with special interest in metacognitive learning strategies
- Students/pupils with emotional behaviour disorder (EBD)
- Accommodating learners with special needs in an inclusive classroom
- Family and vocational counseling
- Behaviour/stress management in schools, supervision and quality assurance
- Gender and women studies
Membership
- Professor Uche Eze- Coordinator
Uche Eze is a Professor of Educational Psychology, University of Nigeria Nsukka, a member of Nigerian Council for Educational Psychologist, Nigerian Academy of Education and Association for Childhood Education International. He is an educational data analyst, a research consultant for UNICEF, Nigeria and has been involved in a good number of teacher professional development workshops.
Email-uchechi.eze@unn.edu.ng Phone: 08036867032
- Dr. Eucharia Nwosu- Member
Dr. Nwosu is a Lecturer 1 in the Department of Educational Foundations, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, with a strong background in Sociology of Education and Research. She holds a Ph.D in Sociology of Education and is a senate approved postgraduate supervisor. Nwosu is the author of many scholarly articles in national and international journals and an active member of Nigerian Association of Sociology of Education
Email eucharia.nwosu@unn.edu.ng Phone: 08038816268
- Dr. Liziana Nnenna Onuigbo
Liziana Nnenna Onuigbo is a Lecturer in the Department of Educational Foundations, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and specialized in the area of Special Education with research focus on inclusive education. She is a research consultant for UNICEF, Nigeria and has been involved in a good number of teacher professional development workshops.
Email- liziana.onuigbo@unn.edu.ng Phone: 08066956428
- Dr. Theresa Oforka
Dr. Oforka is a Lecturer 1 in the Department of Educational Foundations, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, with a strong background in Sociology of Education and Research. She holds a Ph.D in Sociology of Education and is a senate approved postgraduate supervisor. Dr. Oforka is the author of many scholarly articles in national and international journals and an active member of Nigerian Association of sociology of Education
Email-theresa.oforka@unn.edu.ng Phone: 08039211769
- Dr. Immaculata Akanaeme
Dr. Akanaeme is a Lecturer 1 in the Department of Educational Foundations, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, specializing in Educational Psychology. She holds a Ph.D in Educational Psychology and is a senate approved postgraduate supervisor. Akanaeme is the author of many scholarly articles in national and international journals and is an active member of Nigerian Council of Educational Psychologists.
Email- immaculata.akanaeme@unn.edu.ng Phone: 08037085384
- Dr. Obiyo Ngozi Obiageli
Dr. Obiyo Ngozi Obiageli is a Lecturer in the Department of Educational Foundations, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, specializing in Special Education. She holds a Ph.D in Special Education and is a senate approved postgraduate supervisor. Dr. Obiyo is the author of many scholarly articles in national and international journals. She has also attended many conferences and workshops nationally and internationally
Email- obiyo.ngozi@unn.edu.ng Phone: 08059180100
- Dr. Joy Anyanwu
Dr Anyanwu is a Lecturer 1 in the Department of Educational Foundations, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and specialized in Guidance and Counselling. She holds a Ph.D in Guidance and Counselling. Her research focus is in the area of family and vocational counseling. She is a senate approved postgraduate supervisor. Dr. Anyanwu has authored many scholarly articles in national and international journals and is an active member of the Counselling Association of Nigeria.
Email-joy.anyanwu@unn.edu.ng Phone: 07069163665
- Dr. Ezenwaji Ifeyinwa Ogoegbunam
Dr. Ezenwaji is a Lecturer 1 in the Department of Educational Foundations, University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Her area of specialization is Educational Planning and administration. She holds a Ph.D in Educational Planning and Administration and Masters Degree in Guidance and Counselling. Dr. Ezenwaji is the author of many scholarly articles in national and international journals.
Email- ifeyinwa.ezenwaji@unn.edu.ng Phone: 08035663963
- Dr. Chinwe Enyi
Dr. Chinwe Enyi is a Lecturer 11 in the Department of Educational Foundations, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, specializing in Educational Administration and Planning. She holds a Ph.D in Educational Planning and Administration. Dr. Enyi is the author of many scholarly articles in national and international journals.
Email- chinwe.enyi@unn.edu.ng Phone
- Dr. Uchenna Lebechi Igbokwe
Dr. Uchenna L. Igbokwe is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Arts Education, University of Nigeria, Nsukka. She holds a Ph.D in curriculum and instruction and has published extensively locally and internationally. She is a member of Curriculum Organisation of Nigeria.
Email-uchenna.igbokwe@unn.edu.ng Phone: 08063912182
- Chigbu Baptista Chinyere
Chigbu Baptista Chinyere is a lecturer in the Department of Educational Foundations, University of Nigeria, Nsukka. She holds a Masters Degree in Educational Administration and Planning and is an active researcher in her field of specialization.
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