An Original Investigation into the Epistemological Foundations of Curriculum Studies as a Discipline in Nigerian Higher Education

Curriculum Studies as an academic discipline in Nigerian higher education lacks a coherent epistemological foundation that articulates its own knowledge production traditions, theoretical boundaries, and research methodological conventions, creating a disciplinary identity deficit that undermines its scholarly development and professional influence. This study conducted an original epistemological investigation into the foundations of Curriculum Studies as a discipline in Nigerian higher education. A disciplinary epistemology research methodology was employed, combining bibliometric analysis of Nigerian Curriculum Studies research output (2015 to 2024), structured interviews with 40 Nigerian Curriculum Studies scholars from 12 universities across all six zones, critical discourse analysis of curriculum studies course syllabi at 15 universities, and philosophical analysis of the discipline's theoretical traditions. Bibliometric analysis of 487 publications revealed that 71.2 percent drew exclusively on Western curriculum theorists, only 8.6 percent engaged African or Nigerian curriculum philosophy, and fewer than 4 percent proposed original theoretical contributions. Interview analysis confirmed that 77.5 percent of scholars perceived Curriculum Studies in Nigeria as theoretically derivative rather than original. Syllabi analysis showed that African curriculum thought was addressed in 26.7 percent of reviewed programmes and indigenous educational philosophy in 11.1 percent. The original Epistemological Framework for Nigerian Curriculum Studies proposes four knowledge production foundations: contextual curriculum theory generation, African philosophical grounding, mixed-methods research traditions, and policy-engaged scholarship. Expert review by 20 curriculum scholars confirmed the framework's original disciplinary contribution.

Keywords: epistemology, Curriculum Studies discipline, Nigerian higher education, theoretical foundations, original contribution