Abstract
M.Ed.
There have been a series of educational changes in Nigeria before, during and after colonial
administrations, which have been described as less successful because they have not met the needs
and aspirations of Nigerians. This has led to the current deplorable state of education in Nigeria,
consequently, her citizens, legislators, teachers’ unions, students’ unions and the executive are
clamouring for the declaration of a state of emergency in education with the intention of bringing
about system-wide change. Systemic change provides a framework for an all-inclusive model
change that relies on locally driven, system-wide change guided by stakeholders through ongoing
collaboration and joint ownership of the reform process. Such change requires resources in the
form of people, money, supplies, facilities, and time to learn and experiment. Teachers are key
role-players in educational change. For that reason, the aim of this study was to explore teachers’
experiences of the introduction and implementation of systemic change in the Nigerian primary
school system. I used system theory as the theoretical framework to inform the study.
The study is located in a constructivist research paradigm through the lens of a generic qualitative
research design with the use of one-on-one semi-structured interviews for the data collection and
the use of qualitative content analysis techniques for analysing the data. Research quality is
achieved by providing an audit trail, keeping a reflexive journal and writing thick descriptions.
The findings of the study present how teachers tried to cope with the role they played and the
challenges they faced in the introduction and implementation of system-wide change, as well as
how they felt the introduction and implementation of system-wide change could be best managed
in a satisfying and sustainable way. These findings provide the basis for recommendations
concerning the application of systemic change in future Nigerian education system change
initiatives.