A Theoretical Framework for Culturally Responsive Teacher Education in Multilingual Nigerian Contexts

This study develops and validates a theoretical framework for culturally responsive teacher education in the multilingual and multi-ethnic contexts of Nigeria, drawing empirical evidence from teacher education institutions across the South West, South East, North Central, and North West geopolitical zones. The absence of an indigenised framework that accounts for Nigeria's complex sociolinguistic landscape represents a critical theoretical gap in teacher education scholarship. The study employs a multi-phase mixed-methods design. Phase one conducts systematic literature synthesis across African and global culturally responsive pedagogy frameworks. Phase two uses Delphi methodology with 45 teacher education scholars and practitioners across six universities. Phase three validates the framework through a survey of 480 pre-service and in-service teachers. Structural equation modelling, Delphi consensus analysis, and Grounded Theory-informed coding were applied. The study extends Gay's Culturally Responsive Teaching Framework, Ladson-Billings' Culturally Relevant Pedagogy, and Abdi's African Philosophy of Education to develop a context-specific model with six validated dimensions. Findings are anticipated to produce a robust, peer-validated framework adopted by the National Commission for Colleges of Education as a benchmark for teacher preparation. Recommendations are directed at the Federal Ministry of Education and teacher education institutions on institutionalising culturally responsive pedagogy as a cross-cutting competency in teacher certification standards. The study makes an original theoretical contribution to indigenous education scholarship in Nigeria. Keywords: culturally responsive teacher education, theoretical framework, multilingual contexts, Nigeria, indigenous pedagogy