ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to
investigate social studies teachers’ perception on the use of community
resources in the teaching and learning of social studies in some selected
junior secondary schools in Egor Local Government Area of Edo State. The sample of the study was made up of 100
social studies teachers in 20 junior secondary schools. Four research questions and two hypotheses
were raised in the study to find out the teachers’ perception on the use of
community resources.
The research instrument used for this
study was a modified 4-point Likert type scale questionnaire consisting of
seventeen items. The instrument used was
validated by the supervisor and two other experts in the department of
educational psychology and curriculum studies.
A reliability coefficient of 0.67 was obtained. Data were collected and simple percentage and
t-test of independent sample was used to analyze the data collected. The two hypotheses were tested at an alpha
level of .05.
The finding of this study revealed
that the perception of professional and non-professional teachers was not
significant in their use of community resources. However, it was recommended among others,
that there should be full scale implementation of community resources in the
teaching/ learning social studies in junior secondary schools.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
The introduction of social studies
into the Nigeria School System was based on certain philosophical
considerations. One of them is to address social issues and man’s problem of
life in their interrelatedness, as they appear in real life situations instead
of addressing them in an uninterrelated manner as those learnt through separate
disciplines like Geography, Religion, Sociology and Anthropology. Social
Studies according to Ezegbe (1994), was therefore introduced as an integrated
discipline to make education real to life.
Social studies was also introduced
into the Nigerian School System to achieve one of the philosophies of Nigerian
education as indicated in the National Policy on Education (2004) which is “the
development of the individual into a sound and effective citizen”. The
realization of this objective through social studies is possible since the
subject is an integrated programme which is taught and learnt. Social studies
looks at all aspects of the life of the child in the society.
It is further stated in the National
Policy on Education (2004) that the essence of education is to achieve the
inculcation of national consciousness and national unity; the inculcation of
the right type of values and attitudes for the survival of the individual and
the Nigerian society. All these, according to Ezegbe (1994) involve the
development of modern democratic values which are taught and learnt in social
studies because of its broad based scope. The accomplishment of the purposes
for which social studies was introduced in schools would depend to a large
extent, not only on the availability of the right caliber of professionally
trained social studies teaching personnel but also of the material resources
available in schools for its teaching. Of the personnel involved in the
development, implementation and evaluation of a curriculum, the teacher is the
most important. Brown (1982) pointed out the vital role of the teacher in the
curriculum process when he notes that:
The curriculum can be a great
success or a dismal failure, depending on the teachers. They are the key
persons who alone can make the curriculum design achieve whatever it was
designed to achieve… (pg. 19).
No matter
how strongly motivated a nation may be in desiring to provide education for its
citizens irrespective of the financial resources and the good will, the
effectiveness of the system ultimately depends on the quality of the teachers
that operate it. It is the teacher who translates societal values and aspirations
to practical lessons in the class. Several educators amongst who are Coombs
(1970), Fafunwa (1974), Fayemi (1991) and Ukeje (1970) have written on the
vital role of the teachers as implementers of the curriculum. According to
them, whatever abilities are available, whatever content is presented for
teaching, whichever kind of environment the school is situated and whatever
kind of pupils are given to teach, the important and vital role of the teacher
cannot be over-emphasized. Teachers represent a large proportion of the input
of an educational system.
Instructional materials are also
educational inputs and they are of vital importance in the successful
implementation of any curriculum. Relevant and appropriate textbooks, visual
and audio-visual materials like globes, charts, slides, maps, tapes etc are of
paramount necessities in the teaching and learning process. Audio-visual
materials supplement and consolidate what is read in textbooks and journals. An
important, but often – neglected source of instructional material for effective
teaching and learning of social studies is the community. No matter the nature,
size and location of the community, there are various resources both human and
non human which enhance the teaching and learning of social studies within and
outside the classroom. Social studies as a broad discipline deals with the
study of the activities of man in his physical and social environment (i.e how
man influences the environment in which he lives and in turn examines the
environmental effect on man). Consequently, the community becomes the
laboratory for social studies teachers.