Project – CONTROLLING THE FACTORS MILITATING AGAINST TEACHING AND LEARNING SOCIAL STUDIES IN PRIMARY IN JOS PLATEAU STATE IN NIGERIA

ABSTRACT

The study examined “controlling the factors militating against teaching and learning Social Studies in primary in Jos Plateau State in Nigeria”. The study objectives are to: Insufficient numbers of qualified teachers affects students’ mass failure in Social Studies subjects; Unavailability of instructional materials for teaching of Social Studies subject affects students’ mass failure in Social Studies subjects; The previous socio-economic backgrounds of the students affect them in studying Social Studies subject; and the attitude and interest of students towards the nature of Social Studies subject contribute deeply to their mass failure in COMMON ENTRANCE. The study employed the descriptive survey design.  The nature of the problem was duly considered in the study.  The research design used for this study is the survey design. The reason why this design was adopted was because the researcher would make use of the primary data obtained through the questionnaire. The area of the study covers students of five selected primary schools located within Jos Local Government Area, Jos, Jos. The target population consists of public primary school students in Jos Local Government Area, Jos. Simple random sampling technique was adopted for the study. The researcher useD a total of one hundred (100) students from five (5) selected public primary schools in Jos Local Government Area, Jos. The research instrument used was questionnaire. The data collected was analyzed using simple percentage while hypotheses were tested using Chi-Square Statistics. The study recommended that Government both at the federal and state levels should employ more qualified teachers for primary schools to ensure efficiency and optimal performance in Social Studies subject. The study also recommended that Teachers should develop positive relationship with students and stress classroom activities, that will involve active teaching-learning process and students participation in the class. The study concludes that insufficient numbers of qualified Social Studies teachers and instructional materials for teaching affects Social Studies subject.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1    Background of the Study

Social studies education focuses on teaching children about their world so they can establish their own views about society and culture. Learning about their own and different cultures gives children a well-rounded view of the world.  The choosing of social studies as a subject in both junior and primary school curriculum has been seen as a choice to be made by the prospective student just to complete the required number of subjects one is expected to choose to meet the minimum standard requirement by the school board. This is because most persons do not choose social studies subject as a course because they desire to make a profession out of it, but just to complete the required number of subjects permitted. In most cases, it is very difficult to see students registering social studies as a course in the final primary school certificate examinations. This trend does not seem to be very healthy for social studies as a course especially as it has been seen as a subject that inculcate the right type of value and social norms in the learners who become committed to the subject.

The need for the examination of factors militating against the teaching and learning of social studies as a subject is justified by the demand for social education principles whose product makes a more responsible citizenship in the communities. Inyang-Abia (1995) in examining the problems of teaching and learning social studies posited that the subject social studies is very important since it helps to prepare young people of our time to be committed to social responsibilities that expands in number and some cases, those positions are suffering from inadequacies and incompetent of reliable citizens to fill such vacancies. The national policy on education (1981) states the objectives of social studies in respect to social life as follows:

1. Enable students to imbibe the basic existence of factual information about society with emphasis on where and how it may be discovered, classified, arranged and presentation rather than haphazard memorization.
2. To develop respect for the ideals, heritage and institution of the nation and a feeling of brotherhood towards fellow human being everywhere.
3. To acquire and develop a capacity to learn certain skills such as listening, speaking, ability to observe, analyze and influence economic and political judgment.
4. To learn about the problems and challenge that confront people today in the realm of social living and human relation at different levels, local, state, national and international.

Little or no effort was made in propagating or integrating social studies subject until recently that Social Studies began gaining ground in the various level of education system, this has made it possible as a result of increase in the training of social studies teachers  and other were also trained in other related field. The teaching of social studies in our school system has been taught by both trained and quack teachers, making the teaching of the subject is done in a disjointed and uncoordinated manner which makes little sense and meaning to the student. Example History, geography, economic are taught separately by professionals especially in our primary schools, but social studies has never been taught like that. The new social studies program is integrated in the sense that it is interdisciplinary in form as it draws its content from other social sciences.

Makinde (1979) observed that social studies tries to direct the attention of student to their immediate environment before showing them more of the other world. It begins with the family as the first unit of the community, then school, community, state, nation and the international community. The advantage of this system is that, it promotes greater integration of learning experience by unifying subject matter as it employs systematic correlation of subject around them drawn from the function of living things and their interactions with their environment.   Social studies is also organized around the problems and needs of adolescent especially those that demand persona-social understanding as reflected in the social studies syllabus in primary schools.

Effective teaching of Social Studies is a process by which a Social Studies teacher adopt all the possible method used in teaching in the classroom to make sure that students understand Social Studies and be able to respond positively during assessment or to produce a good result. Teachers’ effectiveness is exhibited in the teaching method, classroom managements, the material as well as the way students are being handled, a good teacher always bear in mind the individual differences of the students while presenting the lesson and frequently check the student’s understanding of his or her points to make sure that they are getting of understanding his lesson. This also includes the ability of the teacher to answer question asked by the students, having knowledge about his or her subject matter and ability to show students how to conduct appropriate research.

Effective teaching is crucial, in order for students to reach educational success in and outside classroom setting, therefore, there has been some factors militating against effective teaching of Social Studies in primary school in Nsukka Local Government Area, which some of them are as follows:

1. Unqualified Social Studies teacher: Inappropriate training background of science teachers especially Social Studies teachers and qualification of Social Studies teachers are the major factor that militate against effective teaching of Social Studies because some Social Studies teachers in some primary school did not undergo enough training to enable them get skills, qualities and enough knowledge of the subject matter and how to impact the knowledge to the students.
2. Poor method of teaching Social Studies in primary school: For teaching to be effectives one must use different methods of teaching. According to Eke (2001), teaching is effective if only it produces or yields the desired results, the ability of the teacher to adapt to different situations and produce a desired result in the classroom is a mark of teaching effectiveness. Vennier and Faith (2001) are of the opinion that all the teaching activities are supposed to produce learning, so that test of effective teaching will be amount of learning that occurs.

When the following methods are used, teaching of Social Studies can be effective. According to Bigmen (1999), activity method, inquiry method, and discovery method which elicit student’s interests and enhance their level of attainment or comprehension of Social Studies. Activity method the methods that encourage students to participate actively during the lesion while teaching at the same time. Oforkansi (2008) defined activity method as a method whereby the students learn through active involvement rather than being passive or being at the receiving end.

According to Ofokansi (2008), discovery means finding out. Exploration, manipulation and experimentation are components scientific enquiry that help one to discover. This approach demand that the teacher create the problem and allow the pupil/students to find answer for themselves. The author also said that enquiry involve active participation by the student/pupil rather than transmit a preconceived notion about situations.

3.Inadequte supply of Social Studies equipment: In some schools, many laboratories equipments like microscope, glass tube, Beaker, slide, Bones of vertebrates etc. charts of different animals development, systems, organs, etc, work book for practical and textbooks are not adequate for the students in learning of Social Studies. Social Studies is a science subject which is all about practical and also when combined with other science subject one will be able to study courses like medicine, nursing, pharmacy etc in higher institution. Beaty and Woolnough (1990) are of the opinion that the obsolete and insufficient teaching of Social Studies in primary schools. They stressed that the teacher may be competent enough and have all the qualities to impact the knowledge to the students but to the obsolete and insufficient availability of biological equipment the aim is defeated.

Teachers attitude towards the teaching of Social Studies: the teachers personalities such as the way the teacher walks, talks, reacts to issues, his/her code of conduct and dressing code has become the major factors which leads to the ineffective teaching of Social Studies. It goes with the saying that the personality of such teacher affect the effective teaching of Social Studies in a great way. Enwieme(2001) continuous to stressed that teachers personality invariably affect the effectiveness of teaching of Social Studies. Oforkansi(2008)opinion that personal qualities do not only enhance teaching and learning but also promotes the tone of the school as well as the profession.

In summary, ineffective of teaching of Social Studies in Nuskka Local Government Area could be due to the several reasons such as classroom management, communication, teachers qualification, supply of Social Studies equipment, teachers personality, negligence of seminars, and workshop by the teachers of Social Studies, inadequate illustration and practical aspect of Social Studies is another factors, infrastructural facilities and absences of laboratories etc.

Notwithstanding, it has been observed that there are many problems militating against the teaching and learning of Social Studies in Post primary schools as enumerated by many writers on problem of Social Studies in Nigeria. They attributed the high level of failures in Social Studies to lack of students concentration in the classroom, their view steamed from observed students performance in Social Studies.

Thus, observed failure could be as a result of inability of the students to understand economic terms, lack of finance to buy relevant textbooks, inadequate teachers, inability of the students’ to interpret Social Studies table and graph, inappropriate and ineffective method of teaching, lack of control over the attitudes of students and teachers and others which have contributed to low level of teaching Social Studies in primary schools.

Okorie (1979: 152) suggested that for the effective teaching to take place, the skillful teacher needs to use the many effective method and techniques effectively because in them his success and failure depends. He further emphasized that the success in the use of methods depends on the intelligent analysis of educational purposes, pupil in the class and the curriculum content of the moment.

A few moment reflection is sufficient to reveal that every society faces crucial issues and problem in education which have very serious economic angles that cannot be overlooked easily for instance, the production of education as well as the acquisition of education both require the use of large qualities of scare resources (Production of education requires conducive classrooms, administrative blocks, personnel, librarians, laboratories while the acquisition of education requires expenditures on tuition fees, book, travels, uniform, lodging etc. and students time.

1.2    Statement of the Problem

Addressing the factors that hinder the effective teaching and learning of Social Studies in primary schools in Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria, is a multifaceted challenge that requires a comprehensive approach. Social Studies, as a subject, plays a crucial role in shaping young minds by providing them with the knowledge and skills necessary to understand their society and the world at large. However, several issues impede its effective delivery in this region.

One of the primary challenges is the lack of adequately trained teachers. Many primary schools in Jos suffer from a shortage of qualified Social Studies educators. This shortage is often due to insufficient teacher training programs and inadequate professional development opportunities. Teachers who are not well-versed in the subject matter or pedagogical strategies may struggle to engage students effectively, leading to a lack of interest and poor academic performance. Addressing this issue requires investment in teacher education and continuous professional development to ensure that educators are well-equipped to teach Social Studies.

Another significant factor is the inadequacy of teaching materials and resources. Many primary schools in Jos lack the necessary textbooks, visual aids, and other instructional materials that are essential for effective teaching and learning. Without these resources, teachers may find it challenging to deliver comprehensive lessons, and students may struggle to grasp complex concepts. To mitigate this problem, it is crucial to ensure that schools are well-stocked with up-to-date and relevant teaching materials. Additionally, incorporating technology, such as digital resources and interactive learning tools, can enhance the learning experience and make Social Studies more engaging for students.

The socio-economic background of students also plays a critical role in their ability to learn effectively. Many students in Jos come from low-income families, which can affect their access to educational opportunities and resources. These students may face challenges such as malnutrition, lack of school supplies, and limited parental support, all of which can hinder their academic performance. To address this issue, it is essential to implement programs that provide support to disadvantaged students, such as school feeding programs, scholarships, and community engagement initiatives that encourage parental involvement in their children’s education.

Furthermore, the curriculum itself may pose challenges to effective teaching and learning. In some cases, the Social Studies curriculum may be outdated or not adequately aligned with the needs and realities of the students. An irrelevant or overly theoretical curriculum can make it difficult for students to see the practical applications of what they are learning, leading to disengagement. To combat this, curriculum developers should work closely with educators and experts to ensure that the content is relevant, culturally sensitive, and designed to foster critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

Classroom environment and infrastructure also significantly impact the teaching and learning process. Overcrowded classrooms, poor ventilation, and inadequate seating arrangements can create a challenging learning environment. In such conditions, teachers may struggle to manage the classroom effectively, and students may find it difficult to concentrate. Improving the physical infrastructure of schools, including building more classrooms, providing adequate furniture, and ensuring proper ventilation, can create a more conducive learning environment that supports effective teaching and learning.

Lastly, community and cultural attitudes towards education can influence the success of Social Studies programs. In some communities, there may be a lack of awareness or appreciation for the importance of Social Studies, leading to limited support for the subject. Engaging with community leaders, parents, and other stakeholders to raise awareness about the value of Social Studies and its role in developing informed and responsible citizens is crucial. Community involvement can foster a supportive environment that encourages students to take an active interest in their education and understand the relevance of Social Studies in their daily lives.

Addressing the factors militating against the effective teaching and learning of Social Studies in primary schools in Jos, Plateau State, requires a holistic approach. By investing in teacher training, providing adequate resources, supporting disadvantaged students, updating the curriculum, improving school infrastructure, and engaging the community, it is possible to create an environment where Social Studies can thrive. These efforts will not only enhance the quality of education but also contribute to the overall development of students, preparing them to be informed and active participants in their society.

 1.3    Purpose of the Study

Study has been undertaken with a view to identify the problems involved in the teaching and learning of Social Studies in primary schools and Jos Local Government Area and factors responsible for these problems. Specifically, the study sought to find out if:-

1. Insufficient numbers of qualified teachers affects students’ mass failure in Social Studies subjects.
2. Unavailability of instructional materials for teaching of Social Studies subject affects students’ mass failure in Social Studies subjects,
3. The previous socio-economic backgrounds of the students affect them in studying Social Studies subject.
4. The attitude and interest of students towards the nature of Social Studies subject contribute deeply to their mass failure in COMMON ENTRANCE.

Research Questions

In assessing the purpose of the study, this research project will answer the following questions:

1. Does insufficient numbers of qualified Social Studies teachers affects students’ mass failure in Social Studies subject?
2. Does unavailability of instructional materials for teaching of Social Studies subject affects students’ mass failure in Social Studies subjects?
3. Does previous socio-economic background of the students affect them in studying Social Studies subject?
4. How would interest of students towards the nature of Social Studies subject contribute deeply to their mass failure in Common Entrance?

 Research Hypotheses

In carrying out this research work the following theoretical statements are buttressed to serve as a direction on which the work will be premised:

1. H₀: Insufficient numbers of qualified Social Studies teachers does not affects students’ mass failure of students in Social Studies subject

H₁:  Insufficient numbers of qualified Social Studies teachers and instructional materials teaching affects Social Studies subject.

1. H₀: There is no significant relationship between availability of instructional materials for teaching of Social Studies subject and students’ mass failure in Social Studies subjects.

H₁:   There is significant   relationship   between availability of instructional materials for teaching of Social Studies subject and students’ mass failure in Social Studies subjects.

 1.6    Scope of the Study

The research work seeks to examine the factors militating against effective teaching and learning of Social Studies in primary. The study will be limited to five selected schools in Jos Local Government Area, Jos.

1.7   Significance of the Study

There is need to apply knowledge from Social Studies to many area of our life in other to benefit the society. The achievements of the objective necessitates an understanding of the basic teaching of Social Studies. We cannot attain national objectives in the light of poor or average performances in examinations and lack of application of Social Studies to life students.

Without doubt, improved teaching and learning of Social Studies will spur us into greater heights. This study will help to make our educational administrators to see the need to have qualified Social Studies teachers to handle the subject effectively for the benefit of the students and society at large.

This study will help to sensitize the educational administrators to appreciate the need to make available the necessary materials, example, chalkboard, graphs, audio-visual materials etc. that will enhance effective learning of Social Studies if they are not available.

This study will if need be direct the Social Studies teachers’ attention to the need for them to adopt more appropriate teaching method in order to bring about the above mentioned desirable experience in the learners. This study will have a great significance because it is going to provide information to Social Studies teachers for formation and evaluation of their plans.

It will be useful to learners for through this, they will be able to identify the factors militating against the proper teaching and learning of Social Studies. This study will help to produce sound Social Studies students that will function very well in the economy such as:

(a) Knowing how to use scarce productive resources with alternative uses to meet prescribed ends and be able to apply the principles of Social Studies.

(b)  The product of Social Studies that should be able to pick employment within a limited employment opportunity in any economy.

This work will serve as a source of encouragement to students and teachers that will come across it. It is hoped that the findings of this study would also form the basis for further research work by future researchers on this issue.

 1.8 Definition of Terms

Social studies: Social studies education focuses on teaching children about their world so they can establish their own views about society and culture.

Instructional Materials: These are materials that are used to aid in the transference of information from one student to another in Education arena.

Teaching: the act or profession of a person who teaches.

Job Performance: This is the work related activities expected of an employee and how well those activities were executed.

Remuneration: Reward for employment in the form of pay, salary, or wage, including allowances, benefits (such as medical plan, pension plan), bonuses, cash incentives, and monetary value of the noncash incentives.

Condition of Work: Regulations governing on-the-job standards and conditions of work such as those affecting health and safety of workers.

Project – CONTROLLING THE FACTORS MILITATING AGAINST TEACHING AND LEARNING SOCIAL STUDIES IN PRIMARY IN JOS PLATEAU STATE IN NIGERIA