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EFFECTIVE TEACHING OF CULTURAL AND CREATIVE ARTS 

(CCA): INTEGRATED APPROACH 

 

Ojukwu, Ebele Veronica & Onyiuke, Young Sook 

Department of Music, Nnamdi Azikiwe University & Department of 

Music University of Lagos Nigeria.  

ev.ojukwu@unizik.edu.ng, ysonyiuke@yahoo.com  

 

 

Abstract 

Quality education for young students is critical not only for individual 

growth, but also for a society’s future. Considering the fact that 

cultural and creative arts is indispensable in the lives of the young 

students, paying attention to the methodology of teaching the subject 

is very essential. The success of cultural and creative arts programme 

in the pre-tertiary schools depends on how much emphasis that is laid 

in the teaching and learning carried out by the teachers and students 

of CCA. This should be geared towards achieving a well rationalized 

system of cultural and creative arts education that can sustain the 

transmission of age-old indigenous knowledge and a systemized 

practices and creative advancement effectively. This paper is 

therefore aimed at providing an integrated approach towards 

effective teaching of cultural and creative arts in the secondary 

school in which the ultimate goal is to have each student achieve 

his/her maximum potential both artistically and academically. The 

paper also discusses the obstacles to CCA teachers’ performance. 

Survey and library method of research is employed. It concludes by 

recommending for constant re-training of the teachers of CCA in 

order to get them acquainted in the new teaching methods focused on 

the innovative techniques of teaching CCA. 

 

 

 Awka Journal of Research in Music and the Arts (ARMA) Vol. 10 2014 

mailto:ev.ojukwu@unizik.edu.ng
mailto:ysonyiuke@yahoo.com


 
 

75 

Introduction 

As society changes, so is the curriculum also changing to meet or 

adapt to the needs of society. The needs of society should be fully 

reflected in the educational system for relevance to be achieved. The 

Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) has 

developed and published new curriculum as approved by the National 

Council on Education (NCE) with effect from September 2007. The 

curriculum comprises the new 9-year Universal Basic Education 

Curriculum and also the New Senior Secondary Education. The new 

curriculum was designed to fill the gaps in the old curriculum, 

introduce new subjects to replace obsolete subjects, redefine core 

subjects and also meet the key targets of the National Economic 

Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS). These key targets 

are expressed as: value re-orientation; poverty eradication; job 

creation; wealth generation and using education to empower the 

citizenry (NERDC, 2007). The implication is that the school principals 

and the teachers are the key people, and they are the players that 

will ensure that the new curriculum succeeds in schools across Nigeria. 

For teachers to be successful in handling this new curriculum there is 

need for them to study effectively their subject areas and merge it 

with the components of the scheme of work derived from the new 

curriculum which has been prepared in a thematic pattern. The nature 

of the topics and content areas to be taught by teachers of various 

subjects will determine the type of skills to be developed in the 

students. ‘Government is transforming the education sector’ to make 

teachers more relevant in their teaching job because quality education 

for young students is critical not only for individual growth, but also 

for a society’s future (http://www.lagostelevision.com/.../minister-

states-accessed-n50b-ubec-cash-in-2011-the-nation-newspaper/-31k).   

Teachers play a vital role in the effective implementation of 

the changing curriculum because they are involved in very many ways 

in the things that learners do in school. The teacher is the principal 

Ebele Veronica & Onyiuke, Young Sook 
 

http://www.lagostelevision.com/.../minister-states-accessed-n50b-ubec-cash-in-2011-the-nation-newspaper/-31k
http://www.lagostelevision.com/.../minister-states-accessed-n50b-ubec-cash-in-2011-the-nation-newspaper/-31k


 
 

76 

actor in all teaching and learning situation and as a result, much 

centres on him/her. A good teacher must cultivate and possess some 

personal qualities or characteristics that will ender him/her to the 

learner. According to Ikeme & Oforma in Nwokenna (2006:48) ‘a 

teacher needs to be competent both in the content and subject 

pedagogy to make his teaching interesting to the learner’.  Effective 

learning is the product of effective teaching. For both teaching and 

learning to be effective, much depends on the ability of the teacher 

who will handle the teaching and learning process and the variables 

that enhance teacher effectiveness. Students must be properly 

guided by the teachers through planned activities so that learning may 

be acquired. High quality education is essential if individuals are to 

realise their full potentials and the teacher is fundamental in that 

process. 

  The cultural and creative arts (CCA) education has been listed 

as one of the ‘core basic subjects’ by NERDC in the new 9-year basic 

education curriculum (FGN, 2007:7). It is aimed at developing the 

students’ acquisition of cultural repertoire, aesthetic perception, 

artistic talents, creativity and expression.  

It is designed to stimulate interest and inquiries into the 

theoretical and practical areas, particularly as they affect the 

teaching of the arts in school (http://www.ncceonline.org/…/ Arts…/). 

The importance of teaching CCA in schools has often been viewed as 

seemly less essential than other core subjects particularly by school 

administrators, whereas it is not supposed to be so. This may have 

been the reason why several previously held workshops focused 

predominantly on subjects such as English language, mathematics, 

basic science, basic technology and social studies. It should be noted 

that the ancient world held the arts education to a high esteem and it 

was included in their curriculum. Nigerian government equally 

recognized that arts education is the expression of the people which 

reflects the society, the environment and aspect of their culture. 

According to an internet source (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arts 

Effective Teaching of Cultural and Creative Arts Ojukwu,  
 

 



 
 

77 

integration-cashed), ‘these therefore constitute the underlying 

principles for formulating the philosophy of cultural and creative arts 

education for primary/junior secondary school in Nigeria’. The 

integration of arts education could have been highly welcomed by the 

teachers of these arts subjects but it is ill-timed because the 

teachers were not given adequate orientation before introducing it. 

The teachers of cultural and creative arts must be acquainted with 

the existing programme of cultural and creative arts from the onset 

for developmentally appropriate cultural and creative arts education 

for young students to be provided. It is expected that the classroom 

teacher should provide an integrated approach in the teaching of CCA, 

stressing creativity, artistic expression, in its historical and cultural 

context. Though, the teachers are forced by circumstances to 

embrace CCA, most of them have come to realise the aesthetic values 

inherent in the subject and are now more eager to learn the best ways 

to handle it.   

   

 

The Concept of Cultural and Creative Arts 

Cultural and creative arts education is the umbrella term which brings 

together the three arts subject areas; music, fine and applied arts 

and drama/theatre. Though, these three subject areas ‘have their own 

discrete characteristics which largely inform their particular and 

varied ways of working but within that work model arguably the 

creative aspect is fundamental’ (http://www.reading.acuk/a-z). 

Cultural and creative arts have been introduced as holistic and 

integrated subject. The integration of the three major arts subjects 

has been achieved in some countries of the Western world as arts 

education and had been in existence in different forms during the 19th 

century. Arts education gained popularity as part of John Dewey’s 

‘Progressive Education Theory. In the later part of 20th century, ‘arts 

education’s role in public schools ebbed and flowed with the country’s 

Ebele Veronica & Onyiuke, Young Sook 
 

 

http://www.reading.ac/


 
 

78 

political leanings and financial well-being’ (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ 

Arts_integration-cashed).These three major arts subject areas that 

are integrated into one subject is an expression of the people, it 

reflects the society and the environment and it is the aspects of the 

people’s culture. This is in accordance with what constitute the arts in 

traditional culture as ‘music, dance, drama, et cetera are usually 

integrated and often are performed and presented together at 

appropriate occasions, in order to promote the cultural 

heritage’(http://www.ncceonline.org/ …/Arts…/). 

 

 

Integrated Approach to the Teaching of CCA 

Teaching and learning like any other activity in life has been 

undergoing changes. What the society regarded as teaching two 

decades ago is no longer what it is today. For the purpose of this 

paper, teaching is defined as a process of manipulation of the 

environment to bring about learning while learning is a deliberate 

change in behaviour of learner(s) through activities, experiences 

leading to permanent improvement in knowledge, skills, attitudes and 

modes of adjustment of learners (NTI, 2011). Alla-Boison in NTI 

(2011:141) classified teaching into formal and informal teaching. 

Formal teaching is teacher centred because the teacher does all the 

talking with minimum involvement of the learner while in informal 

teaching a teacher facilitates learning by taking into cognizance and 

use of learner needs, thus it is termed ‘learner-centred’, ‘learned –

focused’, ‘learner-friendly’. A teacher who is worth his/her onus 

employs appropriate methods (strategies and techniques) that are 

learner centred to bring about permanent learning. Teaching should be 

more of activities and the learner should be at the centre of learning. 

Nye & Nye (1970:78) asserted that ‘children learn best when they see 

meaning and have a part in establishing their purposes’.  

Effective Teaching of Cultural and Creative Arts Ojukwu,  
 

 



 
 

79 

The goal of integration of CCA is to increase knowledge of the 

subject area while concurrently fostering a greater understanding and 

appreciation of the three major art areas. Fundamental to the 

philosophy of education is the precept that children learn by doing and 

performing 

(mckinley.pasadenausd.org/modules/cms/pages.phtml?...cashed). CCA 

exposes students to both theory and practical in various areas of CCA. 

The integrated nature of the practice of CCA necessitates the use of 

specialised teaching strategies by the teacher. The initial artistic 

quality in the life of the students should be discovered and the 

teachers’ needs as they respond to and participate in cultural and 

creative arts practices. Many methods/techniques of teaching abound, 

such as discussion, lecture, demonstration, project, field trip, 

discovery, questioning, brainstorming, et cetera. Each of these 

methods/techniques can be made to be learner-centred if properly 

managed. CCA teacher needs to employ methods and techniques that 

will bring about permanent learning which is also learner centred, 

learner focused, learner-driven and learner friendly. CCA teacher is 

morally and professionally bound to carry out the teaching as an active 

performer.  

Adequate care must be taking in planning CCA lessons to ensure 

effective teaching and learning. Adequate lesson plan is a building 

block for effective teaching at the level of students. Teachers should 

have a firm grip of the fundamentals of the lesson plan and their 

import in purposeful teaching. Without adequate lesson plan, the 

teacher finds it difficult to maintain a focus and may end up teaching 

much but imparting little knowledge. Maduewesi (1999:18) asserted 

that it is ‘the teacher’s responsibility to create or influence desirable 

changes in behaviour or in tendencies towards behaviour in his 

students’. 

  For effective teaching of the content areas in the CCA 

curriculum, teachers need to be knowledgeable and skilful in 

Ebele Veronica & Onyiuke, Young Sook 
 

 



 
 

80 

construction of the teaching objectives and using learner-friendly 

methods and techniques of teaching. The objective of a lesson 

determines how much a teacher wants to achieve in his/her lesson. It 

is a teacher’s guide throughout the period of the lesson. Teachers 

should aim at achieving performance based objective that is the result 

of a student’s action which is observable and can be measured at the 

end of a lesson. ‘A lesson without performance objective is like a 

missionary without a mission’ (NTI, 20011:138). Performance 

objectives are stated using measurable verbs that is, verb that 

describes an action. Examples of measurable verbs for stating 

performance objectives are: to list, to describe, to state, to mention 

to demonstrate to interpret, to draw, to cut, to sketch, to apply, to 

carry out, to diagnose, to construct, to dismantle, to assembly, et 

cetera (NTI, 2011).  

Teaching a CCA class especially at this period poses several 

challenges. Therefore, it is the duty of a competent teacher to plan 

for the effective management of such challenges since the 

assessment of the CCA programme will be based on the following: 

 Whether the teachers of cultural and creative arts conduct 

instructions based on learning outcomes. 

 The extent to which teachers of cultural and creative arts 

specify objectives when teaching to cover the three domains of 

education. 

 Whether the curriculum of cultural and creative arts was 

viewed as short term planning rather than a planned series of 

sequential activities designed for the development of cognitive, 

affective and psychomotor skills with definable goals and 

outcomes. 

 The extent to which the instructional materials and other 

equipment are provided for the proper teaching and learning of 

cultural and creative arts. 

 Whether the teachers adopt activity-based teaching by 

involving lots of activities in their teaching. 

Effective Teaching of Cultural and Creative Arts Ojukwu,  
 

 



 
 

81 

 The kind of topics that best provide opportunities for the 

students to explore their nature and develop their creativity. 

 Whether the teachers of cultural and creative arts emphasize 

the learner centeredness in their approach to teaching. 

 Whether the teachers of CCA are using appropriate teaching 

aids which will include the following: video tape recorder, 

pictorial reproduction, photographs, slides, film stripes, charts, 

sound-producing objects, improvised sound-producing objects, 

arts materials, musical instruments, et cetera 

(http://www.ncceonline.org. 

There is need for modern educators in the cultural and creative arts 

to be mentally and practically equipped. Performance of students in 

cultural and creative arts can improve if teachers possess certain 

competences in handling the subject. This will enable the teachers 

inculcate in the students their cultural identity and creative practices. 

 

Obstacles to Teachers’ Performance in Cultural and Creative Art 

The policy provides that the curriculum for universal basic education 

in the primary and junior secondary schools in Nigeria should include 

cultural and creative arts. The integration is done without putting the 

teachers into consideration or at least give them enough orientation 

on how to go about it.  According to Okafor & Okafor (2009:34) ‘there 

is no guide as regards selection, variation, implementation, goals and 

opportunities for this provision’.  It should be realised that these 

teachers who are specialists in their different subject areas are 

pushed to teach two other subjects merged with their specialty.  

Due to the nature of cultural and creative arts education and 

the government inability to organize workshops or retraining exercise 

for the teachers of cultural and creative arts, most of the teachers 

lack ideas and confidence in handling the subject. Is it not proper for 

the authorities concerned to organize workshops to retrain the 

Ebele Veronica & Onyiuke, Young Sook 
 

 



 
 

82 

teachers of creative arts to get them abreast with the new 

development before enforcing such curriculum on them? 

  The National Policy on Education laid down certain expectation 

as to the quality of educational outcome. However, a number of 

difficulties in the operating environment inhibited the full attainment 

of these outcomes particularly in the quality of education. Most 

teachers do not handle the lessons adequately as it should be. This 

situation is not quite because of lack of knowledge and teaching 

approach but because of certain factors. The schools are congested. 

The Policy specified a maximum of forty (40) students per class in the 

secondary schools. Experience today shows that in urban schools, 

classes have grown so large that there are secondary schools with 

over fifty (50) students in a class built for forty students. The large 

number of students has not been matched with a corresponding 

increase in educational facilities and infrastructure. Classrooms, 

teachers, instructional materials and equipment are inadequate and 

the students are the ones affected on the long run.  Evidently, little 

meaningful teaching and learning can take place in such congested 

classes. 

 Due to inadequate funding, classrooms are insufficient and 

teachers are in short supply. Over populated classrooms, inadequate 

periods in the school timetable and jam packed scheme of work has 

resulted in the teachers of cultural and creative arts relying more 

heavily on conventional methods of teaching such as lecture method, 

dictation and note taking among others which are not interactive in 

order to meet up with the demands of their job. 

 

 

Recommendations 

 Secondary school represents a critical stage in the educational 

system of any nation. It provides further educational and vocational 

opportunity for completers of primary school as well as lays the 

foundation for academic pursuit at the tertiary level. For education 

Effective Teaching of Cultural and Creative Arts Ojukwu,  
 

 



 
 

83 

presently in Nigeria to achieve functional curriculum implementation in 

the area of CCA, the following are recommended: 

 In other to develop a high quality cultural and creative arts 

curriculum, it is necessary that the government should identify 

the difficulties that current teachers of cultural and creative 

arts face when teaching the students; 

 

 There is need for constant re-training of the teachers of CCA 

in order to get them acquainted in the new teaching methods. 

The retraining workshops should focus on the innovative 

techniques of teaching CCA because according to an internet 

source, (http://portal.unesco.org/education/es/ files) retraining 

may take place when the teachers job imposes new and 

emerging demands driven by curriculum change and pedagogy 

that require regular re-training of teachers to upgrade their 

knowledge and in order to meet new standards of education 

that are geared towards the improvement of the entire 

education system. 
  

 More varied and applicable procedures should be adopted in 

handling the cultural and creative arts as a course of study. 

Teachers of cultural and creative arts should take up remedial 

courses in the other two subject areas that are not his/her 

specialty in other to be equipped  and possess sufficient  in-

depth knowledge of the methodology and skills required for 

handling all aspects of cultural and creative arts; 
 

 It is my candid opinion that Basic Education Certificate 

Examination (BECE) should be based on area of student’s 

specialty as is obtainable in certain subjects like business 

studies where students are allowed to choose their special 

areas. This will enable the students choose the areas their 

teachers taught best;  
 

Ebele Veronica & Onyiuke, Young Sook 
 

 

http://portal.unesco.org/education/es/%20files


 
 

84 

 Achieving quality assurance and capacity building in education 

should also include sending the teachers on in-service training 

such as study leave with pay to enable them further their 

education, sponsoring them in seminars and conferences and 

other new developments and trends in education; 

 Computer technology and other internet facilities should be 

incorporated in the secondary schools and should be maximally 

utilized by the teachers to complement the traditional 

pedagogical and didactic approaches. This will help to improve 

the teachers’ competencies and they also will be mandated to 

learn from their colleagues from other parts of the world from 

the internet and that teachers will also ‘be able to raise their 

heads high among their counterparts in the developed countries’ 

(Olorunsogo, 2008:34) 
 

 Teachers are advised to make efforts to provide their own 

instructional materials from local sources, involving the 

principles guiding the teaching of large classes and emphasizing 

learner centeredness. 

  

 

Conclusion 

A student begins to learn when he becomes deeply involved in the 

learning situation. The vehicle for transfer of learning is the method a 

teacher employed in teaching or presenting the lesson.  This suggests 

that substantial attention should be given to mode of teaching and 

learning of cultural and creative arts to ensure that each student 

achieves his/her maximum potential both artistically and academically 

in the Nigerian educational system. This paper aimed at suggesting an 

integrated approach in the teaching and learning of cultural and 

creative arts in Nigeria. It has several implications for both the 

teachers and students of cultural and creative arts. It also provides 

valuable information to policy makers in education to develop a useful 

Effective Teaching of Cultural and Creative Arts Ojukwu,  
 

 



 
 

85 

cultural and creative arts curriculum as well as in-service or retraining 

exercises for professional development of the teachers. There is no 

doubt whatsoever that the performance of students in cultural and 

creative arts can improve if teachers possess certain competences in 

handling the subject. 

 

References 

 

Arts integration-Wikipedia the free encyclopaedia. Available @  

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arts_integration-cashed [Retrieved: 24 

May, 2012]. 

Federal Government of Nigeria (2007). The 9-year basic education 
curriculum at a   glance. Abuja: NERDC. 

http://portal.unesco.org/education/es/files  [Retrieved: 16 

February, 2012]. 

http://www.lagostelevision.com/.../minister-states-accessed-n50b-

ubec-cash-in-2011-the-nation-newspaper/-31k  [Retrieved: 16 

February, 2012]. 

http://www.reading.ac uk/a-z [Retrieved: 16 February, 2012]. 

http://www.ncceonline.org/…/Arts…/ [Retrieved: 24 May, 2012]. 

Maduewesi, B. U. (1999). The elements of education. In B. U. 

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Solomon. 

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mckinley.pasadenausd.org/modules/cms/pages.phtml?...cashed 

[Retrieved: 24 May, 2012]. 

National Teachers’ Institute (2011). Manual for the re-training of 
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http://portal.unesco.org/education/es/files
http://www.lagostelevision.com/.../minister-states-accessed-n50b-ubec-cash-in-2011-the-nation-newspaper/-31k
http://www.lagostelevision.com/.../minister-states-accessed-n50b-ubec-cash-in-2011-the-nation-newspaper/-31k
http://www.reading.ac/


 
 

86 

Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) 

(2007). The new 9-year basic education curriculum at a glance. 
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Nwokenna, E. N. (2006). Competencies needed for effective teaching 

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Nye, R. E. & Nye, V. T. (1970). Music in the elementary school.  
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Okafor, R. C. & Okafor, C. U. (2009). Music and national development 
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Olorunsogo, A. (2008). The advancements of computer music: a 

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