Norma Perchonock was educated at Temple and Northwestern Universities. She was a pioneer staff of the Sociology Department at Ahmadu Bello University, teaching there from 1970-1985. She actively participated in the revision of the curriculum in the Department to move it away from a Eurocentric orientation to one that reflected the realities of Nigerian and African society. Along with three other women, she was a founder of the organisation “Women in Nigeria”. In 1985, she moved to the University of Jos where she taught until 1990, when she established and ran an organic vegetable farm outside of Jos for 15 years, until the security situation in the areas forced it to shut down.

She has done wide-ranging research: in Borno (on marriage and divorce), in Kano (on redevelopment of Kurmi Market and the history of the wards around the market), and Jos (history of the Hausa community), on women and land issues in Kaduna State, on peasants and workers in Tukur Tukur, Zaria, among other
topics. Research interests include urbanisation, rural-urban relations and gender issues. She was a long time colleague and associate of Dr. Bala Usman, working with him on various struggles in A.B.U. in the 1970sand 1980s, and on Analyst and Fitila magazines, among others