ABSTRACT
This study was carried out to find out
Social studies teachers perception on the use of community resources in the
teaching and learning of social studies, the frequency of their utilization
problems militating against constant usage and criteria employed in the
selection of community resources. To this effect, five randomly selected
secondary schools in Ota, Ogun State were used for this study. A total of 150 students
and 10 teachers 30 students and 2 teachers from each school were used. The
method of data analysis based on frequencies and simple percentages and the
following were the results:
(1)
The
schools selected for this study did not have enough community resources for
their social studies teaching.
(2)
The
little materials available in these schools were generally not in good quality.
The percentage of those in good qualities in below 40%.
(3)
Teachers
and students used these resources occasionally.
(4)
Teachers
have skills in using these materials appropriately in terms of content,
objective and characteristics of the students.
(5)
The
act of improving community resources in the schools covered the study of about
nothing to write home about.
The implications of the finding
discovered and some recommendation were made to improve the availability and
utilization of community resources for Social studies teaching in our Junior
Secondary Schools.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
In that year, the committee on Social
studies defined the subject as those whose subject matter relates directly to
the organisation and development of human society and to man as a member of social
group (National Education, 1916). The group of subjects subsumed under “Social
studies” includes Geography, Economics, History, Civic, Government, Psychology,
Political Science, Social Work and Sociology.
However, by 1960’s the teaching of Social
studies had gathered force among teachers and children of elementary and
secondary school both in the United States of America and Europe. Eventually,
the subject began to have impact in developing countries.
In Nigeria, the inspiration to get
converted to Social studies from the general discontentment with the colonial
education as provided by the British was really great. Akinlaye (1998) while
assessing the quality of e education given to Nigeria citizens by the says that
during the colonial days, there were no clear cut policies about the nation’s
social and political institution.
Before
and after independence in 1960, there were wide spread feelings that the
colonial education was inadequate to meet the needs of the youths and society
and this later culminated into various conferences, seminars and workshop for
innovations in education in Nigeria.
The
interest in Social studies as a school subject was first demonstrated in
Nigeria in 1963 when members of the social studies department of the
Comprehensive High School, Aiyetoro in the Western Region of Nigeria started
working on Social studies textbooks titled “Social studies for Nigerian Schools”
Book I and II with the assistance of the Ford Foundation and Comparative
Education study and Adaptation Centre (CESAC) of the University of Lagos, the
books were published in 1968. These books were regarded as an eye opener to
what social studies is capable of achieving in Nigerian’s school curriculum.
Also,
the National Policy on Education 1977, which stemmed from the 1969 curriculum
conference recommended the 6-3-3-4 system of education for the country (six
years for primary school, six years for secondary school and four years for
post-secondary education). The Junior Secondary School (J.S.S.) is the first
three years of the six years (3 – 3) secondary school education prescribed by
National Policy on Education.
Among
other things, the National Policy on Education designated social studies as one
of the “core” subject which is to be studies at the Junior Secondary School
(J.S.S.) as well as elective and examinable by West African Examination Council
(WAEC) at the Senior Secondary School (S.S.S), (National Policy on Education
(FGN, 1981). Generally, it has been observed and investigated by various
researchers such as Abdullahi (2003) that students in Junior Secondary Schools
because of their age tend to remember vividly what they see and touch than what
they learn in abstract. In social studies where students learn about practical
life experience, an investigate into the problem need not to be over estimated.
Farrant
(2000) emphasized that an invest into problem are not teachers aids but pupils
aids. Therefore, the use of community resources is very important if the
teachers expect the students to learn effectively what he teaches them.
Adigun
(2004) has argued that if the problems are solved, learning will be promoted.
He wrote, a teacher could use community resources in various ways to make his
teaching effort more efficient, effective and productive in terms of student learning’s
and growth. He can for instance see them to arrest and sustain attention help
his present facts and information, teach concepts and principles, guide
thinking and induce transfer of learning.
Dele
(2005) defined instructional materials as those things, which do not depend primarily
upon reading to convey the meanings. That its used to assist the teacher to
make lessons interesting. They are used to complement the teacher’s tasks. They
promote meaningful communication, ensure better retention, stimulate and
motivate the student to learn instructional material help to develop interest in
other areas of learning and encourage active participation, especially if
students are allowed to manipulate material used. There are various types of
instructional material; they can be classified into;
–
Visual audio and
–
Audio-visual aids. Examples are
flannel boards, textbooks, charts, radio, television and so on.
Okobia
(2006) said that teacher is expected no his own part to emphasize and create opportunities
for students learning activities for the realization of the curriculum
objectives including the following:
–
The development of critical ability
and power of imagination.
–
Relating homes, schools and community
experience.
–
The need for efficient utilization and
management of resources.
–
Appreciating the dignity of labour and
creativity (pg. 7).
From
the above, one would therefore, believe that the use of instructional material
for effective teaching and learning is very important particularly when the concept
of child-centered education is taken in consideration various subject like
social studies. Therefore, social studies like Geography, History, Economics
and so on are open to the use of community resources either visual or
audio-visual. Teaching social studies at any level requires that the students
be exposed to some from of stimulation. Learning cannot take people in a
sensory vacuum “as a minimum physical requirement, the instructor must be able
to produce stimuli having enough strength and definition to get through to the
students, for the student must notice something (Miller, 1957).
The
early practice that teachers sometimes rely solely on words to make their
meaning clear, tends to make their teaching boring on most times uninteresting
to the student that they tend to impact the knowledge on. However, the advent
of community resources such as maps, models, pictures, filmstrips, specimen projector,
globe, and chalkboard.
At
the common wealth educational conference in Lagos in February March, 1968, the
committee on community resources submitted that “the new media for learning
social studied should as far as possible be integrated into the entire school
curriculum and that it was important to depart from the practice which had
tended to prevail so far where by these new materials to the learning process
were regarded as mere embellishment of the work of the classroom.
Researchers,
which had been carried out, indicated that continuous uses of community
resources will improve, induced and encourage teaching and learning of social
studies.
Adigun
(2004) to this end opined that, if instructional materials are used, learning
would be promoted, by also saying “a teacher can use instructional materials in
various way to make his instructional efforts efficient effective and thus
productive in terms of students learning and growth. He can for instance, use
them to arrest and sustains attention to help him presented facts and
information teach concepts and principles, guide thinking and induce transfer
of learning. He can ever, sometimes uses instructional materials to help him
and his students assess attainment of learning. It needs to be noted that instructional
material is an integral part of teaching and learning in social studies. They
help to bring about permanent and meaningful experience, as well as to provide
the man for extending the horizon of experience of the learners.
Educational
technologists have advanced solution to the problems to instructional process
in our educational system. Then the whole world would have gone scientific and
educational section should not be left behind. They claimed that with the
application of technology to our education, the teaching-learning process would
be made effective.
Benedict
(2005) says, “Educational technology is the process of applying the scientific
process on problem solving to solve problems within an educational system. He
then divided educational technology into two branches:
–
Technology
in Education: Which is concerned with teaching and
learning process. It includes the use of instructional material such as maps,
model, pictures, filmstrips, specimen, projectors, charts, radio, television,
etc.
–
Technology
of Education: This deals with the organisation of
instructional process. It includes the use of system approach to instruction.
It is in light of using the first branch of educational teaching (that is
technology in education) to solve the problems confronting social studies
teaching and learning and to make the instructional process more effective that
this study has set out to investigate the availability and the utilization of community
resources for teaching social studies in some selected Junior Secondary
Schools.
Bearing
in mind the importance of instructional materials mentioned above, it would be
necessary to say that no teaching should take place in social studies class
without community resources.
Ogunkoya
(2005) says “there is no gain saying the fact that the use of instructional
materials help to create good mental image in the students and arouse their
interest. Teachers therefore, need to regard these tools as indispensable one”.
The
sole responsibility of purchasing these materials rests on the government. But
in a country with economic problems such as Nigeria, government has been unable
to provide these materials for our schools. Teacher should be able to improvise
them for the purpose of making teaching-learning process easier and effective.
It is in connection with this in valuable importance that this study has set
out to look into the availability of these materials in the teaching of social
studies in our schools. This study shall also investigate the utilization of
these materials by both the teacher and students.
1.2 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
The
teacher also blames the pupils and their parents, so creating a state of
confusion in the teaching and learning of social studies in our junior
Secondary Schools. But since educational technology had claimed with evidence
to have solutions to most of the problems within educational system. It is most
important to research into how this is being used to solve problems with the
teaching and learning of social studies in our schools.
1.3.
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
This
research in the field of discourse analysis will analyze an aspect that
concerns social studies teachers’ perception on the use of community resources
in the teaching and learning of social studies. This research aims to identify
the perception of social studies teachers on the use of community resources in
the teaching and learning of social studies
The
specific objectives include
1.
To evaluate how adequate the community
resources which are available in schools are for the teaching of social studies
2.
To evaluate the percentage of
available community resources that are in good quality
3.
To evaluate how often teachers and
students utilize the resources
4.
To analyze how frequent teachers,
utilize theses resources appropriately in relation to content, objective and
characteristics of students
5.
To analyze how teachers improvise in
case of absence of resources
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1. How
adequate are the community resources which are available in schools for the
teaching of social studies?
2. What
percentage of available community resources is in good quality?
3. How
often do teachers and students utilize the resources?
4. Do
teachers utilize the resources appropriately in relation to content, objective
and characteristics of students?
5. How
often do teachers improvise in case of absence of resources?
1.5.
RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS
Ho:
There is no direct relationship between the perception of the use of
community resources in the teaching and learning of social studies with the
attitude and utilization of social studies teachers
H1:
There is a direct relationship between the perception of the use of
community resources in the teaching and learning of social studies with the
attitude and utilization of social studies teachers
1.6 SIGNIFICANT OF STUDY
The
finding of this study will also reveal to the teachers, policy makers, government,
etc. the importance of social studies in our secondary schools. The teachers
will know how often to utilize community resources, how often to improvise
resources from the finding of this study.
This
study will reveal the quantity of materials in our Junior Secondary Schools and
the government will be advised on the appropriate quantity and quality of
materials to be used in our schools. It is hoped that this study will make
policy makers to realize the importance of community resources in social studies
teaching, so that its utilization can be made compulsory when developing
curriculum.
Another
significance of this study is that is will be useful for future researchers who
want to evaluate the availability and utilization of community resources in any
part of the country.
1.7 SCOPE
1.8 DEFINITION OF TERMS
Instruction materials: For this study, it
will mea those materials that the teachers use to assist in teaching and
learning activities.
Audio materials:
These are teaching and learning materials that could be seen e.g. projected and
non-projected materials.
Audio-visual materials:
They are materials that stimulate sense of hearing and seeing e.g. Television.
Educational Technology:
This is the application of scientific and systematic approach to instructional
process so that the process will achieve its stated objectives.
Instructional process:
This is a process whereby the teacher imparts knowledge and experience into his
students. It can otherwise be referred to as the teaching-learning process.
Community resources:
These are materials and devices that are used by the teachers to pass
instruction to his students. These materials help in making teaching-learning
process more meaningful.
Map:
This is a two-dimension. The map shows spatial patterns of a place, country and
the world in general.
Globes:
This is the representation of the world on a round object. It is a three dimensional
object used to represent the world.