An Original Investigation into the Epistemological Role of Textbooks in Shaping Curriculum Implementation in Nigerian Secondary Schools

Textbooks function simultaneously as curriculum artefacts, instructional tools, and epistemological authorities that determine what knowledge counts as legitimate curriculum content, and investigating this role in the Nigerian secondary school context reveals important dynamics about curriculum knowledge construction and implementation. This study conducted an original epistemological investigation into the role of textbooks in curriculum implementation in Nigerian secondary schools. A critical curriculum analysis methodology was employed, combining critical discourse analysis of 30 approved secondary school textbooks across five subjects (English, History, Biology, Social Studies, and Government), structured interviews with 50 teachers and 20 curriculum developers from four zones, classroom observation data from 60 lessons where textbook use was documented, and sociological analysis of textbook production and approval processes. Critical discourse analysis revealed that 72.6 percent of knowledge presented in examined textbooks was structured as authoritative fact rather than constructed understanding. Indigenous epistemological perspectives were absent or marginalised in 83.4 percent of analysed content. Textbook authority was questioned in only 13.3 percent of observed lessons. The textbook approval process showed minimal teacher participation in 88.0 percent of documented cases and absent community knowledge representation in all cases. The original Textbook Epistemic Authority Framework proposes four textbook epistemological functions in Nigerian curriculum: knowledge legitimation, community knowledge exclusion, pedagogical identity formation, and examination culture reinforcement. Expert review by 20 curriculum and educational philosophy scholars confirmed the framework's original contribution to curriculum theory.

Keywords: textbooks, curriculum implementation, epistemology, secondary school Nigeria, curriculum knowledge