Beyond the Keyboard and Projector: A Critical Review of the Paradigm Shift Towards Pedagogically Transformative Digital Tools in Nigerian Teacher Education

Abstract

Abstract

The global imperative for educational systems to integrate digital technologies is particularly acute in teacher education, where the goal must transcend mere tool adoption to encompass a fundamental paradigm shift in pedagogical practice. This comprehensive systematic review analyses literature (2010-2024) exploring the integration of digital tools in Nigerian teacher education. It critically examines the extent to which this integration represents a transformative movement from traditional, instructivist models towards constructivist, learner-centred pedagogies, or whether it merely digitises entrenched colonial and didactic legacies. The findings reveal a landscape of profound contradiction: significant policy ambition exists alongside a reality characterised by a persistent "efficiency paradigm," wherein tools are often appropriated to perpetuate existing didactic methods rather than to fundamentally redefine learning experiences and power dynamics within the classroom. Key systemic barriers including chronic infrastructure deficits, a deep-seated misalignment between technological training and pedagogical competence (TPACK) among teacher educators, rigid curriculum frameworks resistant to innovation, and complex socio-cultural and epistemological resistance actively constrain deep transformation. Crucially, this review identifies that the discourse often neglects the critical dimension of critical digital pedagogy, which questions power structures and aims for emancipatory education. However, potent enablers are emerging, including the disruptive leverage of ubiquitous mobile technology, grassroots educator innovation within constrained environments, and a growing corpus of contextually aware research. The review concludes by proposing a holistic and contextualised "Transformative Integration Framework for Nigerian Teacher Education" (TIFT-Nigeria). This framework advocates for a deliberate, systemic movement from fragmented, tool-centric adoption to a coherent, pedagogy-first reconceptualisation of the teacher’s role, curriculum architecture, and assessment philosophy. This paradigm shift, we argue, is not merely a technical upgrade but an urgent sociopolitical imperative for preparing Nigerian teachers and students to critically engage with, and shape, the complexities of the 21st-century digital world.