THE USE OF IMPARTIAL KNOWLEDGE DEVELOPMENT STRUCTURE FOR DEVELOPING PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS’ PROFESSIONAL ABILITY

1.1Background to the Study In the 21st-century educational landscape, the transformation of teacher education has become imperative for national development and global competitiveness. The role of teachers, particularly at the basic and secondary levels, extends beyond subject delivery to shaping future citizens. However, the quality of teachers largely depends on the type and structure of knowledge they are exposed to during their training. Pre-service teachers must not only master subject content but also develop pedagogical, ethical, and reflective capabilities to perform effectively in diverse classrooms (Darling-Hammond, 2020). To this end, impartial and structured knowledge development becomes crucial in professional preparation. Impartial knowledge development refers to the systematic delivery of unbiased, comprehensive, and contextually relevant content in teacher education. This approach aims to neutralize ideologically skewed content, cultural biases, or pedagogical partialities that may limit pre-service teachers' critical thinking or adaptability. In developing nations like Nigeria, where socio-cultural and political influences often shape curricular content, the need for impartiality in knowledge development becomes even more pertinent (Ololube, 2021). Equipping pre-service teachers with an equitable knowledge framework ensures balanced intellectual formation and prepares them to deliver inclusive and quality education in real-world settings. Moreover, the growing body of literature supports the argument that teacher education programs anchored on structured, evidence-based, and objective knowledge systems tend to produce more competent educators. According to Owuamanam and Nwaham (2022), structured training models that prioritize learner-centered approaches, critical inquiry, and reflective practice empower teacher trainees with autonomy and innovation in instructional delivery. Such systems foster self-regulated learning, enabling pre-service teachers to adapt, improvise, and manage diverse classroom challenges. Impartial knowledge structures, therefore, go beyond content delivery to shape the epistemological foundation of teacher professionalism. With globalization and the digital age reshaping educational demands, teacher education institutions must re-evaluate the frameworks they use to develop future educators. Curriculum content must not only be current and factual but must also promote cognitive impartiality, intellectual openness, and social responsibility. As Uko et al. (2020) note, a teacher trained under a biased or overly politicized system may inadvertently transfer such biases to the classroom, thereby reinforcing inequality and educational injustice. Hence, integrating impartial knowledge development into pre-service teacher training serves as both a quality assurance mechanism and a moral imperative in education. Finally, the Nigerian education sector continues to grapple with inconsistencies in teacher quality, partly due to weak foundations in teacher preparation programs. Several reports have criticized the prevailing teacher education curricula for their rigidity, limited scope, and failure to address practical classroom realities (Ajayi & Ayodele, 2023). In response, this study investigates the use of an impartial knowledge development structure as a strategic pedagogical tool to enhance pre-service teachers’ professional ability. The research contributes to the discourse on educational reform by proposing a transformative approach to building teacher competence and responsiveness in Nigeria’s dynamic educational environment. Statement of the Problem Despite numerous reforms in Nigeria’s teacher education sector, the persistent decline in teacher quality remains a matter of national concern. Many pre-service teachers graduate without the requisite skills, ethical orientation, and professional dispositions needed for effective classroom practice. This gap has been linked to traditional training structures that emphasize rote learning and ideological conformity over critical inquiry and pedagogical versatility (Eze, 2022). As such, there is growing dissatisfaction with existing models of teacher preparation which fail to adequately develop core professional abilities. A major factor contributing to this inadequacy is the partiality embedded in knowledge delivery within teacher education institutions. Often, educational content is tailored to reflect institutional or societal biases—political, religious, ethnic, or ideological—which compromise the objectivity of training. Consequently, pre-service teachers may internalize these biases, which then manifest in discriminatory practices or limited worldview in their teaching careers (Obi & Okafor, 2021). The absence of impartiality in curriculum content and instructional strategy undermines the goal of producing inclusive, reflective, and adaptive teachers. Furthermore, there is a glaring need for empirical evidence to validate the impact of structured and impartial knowledge systems on teacher development outcomes. While theoretical arguments abound, few studies have systematically tested how impartial content structures influence the cognitive, affective, and psychomotor domains of pre-service teachers’ professional development. Without empirical validation, reforms in curriculum design may lack direction and fail to address the root causes of teacher inefficiency in the Nigerian context (Adeniyi & Oyetunji, 2020). This knowledge gap calls for a research-based intervention to support evidence-driven policy and practice. Given the critical role teachers play in national development, addressing this problem is both timely and strategic. There is a compelling need to investigate whether an impartial knowledge development structure can significantly enhance the professional abilities of pre-service teachers, thereby closing the quality gap in teacher education. This study, therefore, aims to fill this void by exploring the efficacy of impartial, structured pedagogical frameworks in developing competent, ethical, and effective teachers for Nigeria’s education system. 1.3 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY The primary objective of this study is to examine the use of impartial knowledge development structurefor developing pre-service teachers’ professional ability. The specific objectives are as follows: 1. To examine the extent to which impartial knowledge development structure is integrated into teacher education programmes in Enugu State. 2. To assess the impact of impartial knowledge structures on the pedagogical competence of pre-service teachers in colleges of education and faculties of education in Enugu State. 3. To evaluate the influence of impartial knowledge frameworks on the ethical orientation and reflective practice of pre-service teachers in Enugu State. 4. To investigate the challenges and prospects of implementing impartial knowledge development structures in teacher training institutions across Enugu State. 1.4 Research Questions 1. To what extent is the impartial knowledge development structure integrated into the curricula of teacher education programmes in Enugu State? 2. How does the use of impartial knowledge structures affect the pedagogical competence of pre-service teachers in Enugu State? 3. In what ways does impartial knowledge development influence the ethical and reflective practices of pre-service teachers in Enugu State? 4. What are the major challenges and prospects associated with the implementation of impartial knowledge development structures in teacher training institutions within Enugu State? 1.5 RESEARCH HYPOTHESES The following hypotheses will be tested in the study; H01: Pre-service teachers do not solve their problems or make them more epistemically progressive. H02: impartial knowledge development structure will not develop pre-service teacher ability. 1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY The Objective Knowledge Growth Framework (OKGF) allows education to gain a grounded perspective on the issues at hand by receiving rational criticism. It preserves what works and eliminates inadequacies. The success of the teachers in learning about issue at hand will depend on the extent to which they can identify the relevant explanatory hypotheses. Teachers need to be trained on how to identify and articulate their theories to ensure that their tentative theories can be tested adequately against empirical evidence. Since teaching is highly sensitive to context, the tentative theories that are being tested will comprise many hypotheses that are potentially relevant to the observed outcomes. The study shall be relevant by describing popper’s idea that knowledge progresses through falsification which is the central idea of popper’s philosophy of science, and not through observations or repetitive tasks. (1) Findings from pre-service teachers in a compulsory course in a teacher education program are used to illustrate how OKGF has promoted teachers critical thinking and how such an approach has help them successful make decisions in new uncertain contexts when faced with a limited amount of knowledge. (2) Attempts to help-pre-service teachers create successful trajectories for their decisions in their teaching contexts and hence enhance the advancement of teacher knowledge. 1.7 SCOPE OF THE STUDY The study will examine if Pre-service teachers solve their problems or make them more epistemically progressive by effectively bracketing the background and focusing on one or two aspect of the situations. The study will also evaluate if there is an impartial knowledge development structure for developing pre-service teacher. The study further find out if recruiting, preparing and retaining good teachers are the central strategy for improving school. Lastly, the study will investigate how to develop pre-service teachers’ professional ability. Hence this study is delimited to secondary schools in Ilorin, Kwara state. 1.8 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY This study was constrained by a number of factors which are as follows: Just like any other research, ranging from unavailability of needed accurate materials on the topic under study, inability to get data. Financial constraint, was faced by the researcher, in getting relevant materials and in printing and collation of questionnaires. Time factor: time factor pose another constraint since having to shuttle between writing of the research and also engaging in other academic work making it uneasy for the researcher. 1.9 DEFINITION OF TERMS Knowledge: facts, information, and skills acquired through experience or education; the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject. Development: the process of developing or being developed. Structure: the arrangement of and relations between the parts or elements of something complex Pre - service teacher: a period of guided, supervised teaching Professional: relating to or belonging to a profession. Ability: possession of the means or skill to do something