SOME PROBLEMS OF TEACHING SOCIAL STUDIES AT THE SECONDARY SCHOOL LEVEL
The problems of teaching social studies at the primary school level include: i. Brain drain
ii. Image problems
iii. The teaching environment
iv. Government policies
v. Teachers qualification.
BRAIN DRAIN
Most trained
teachers have their primary assignment elsewhere. They cannot be compelled to
take social studies as their primary assignment. Some are presently teaching
but are denied, the proper training.
Mobility and brain
drain have had their own share of adverse effect on the teaching of social
studies. Some trained teachers have gone to the banks, public and private
sector in search of “greener pastures”. The reality is that many employers of
teachers want their service, but they do not want to pay for the services
rendered by teachers.
According to Farrel
(1987), the educational system lack quality manpower because variable like
pre-employment training, on-the-job training, recruitment, remuneration,
personnel development and promotion are not properly addressed by government,
thereby making teachers remuneration policies inconsistent with market rules
and realities, resulting in qualified teachers abandoning the profession for other
jobs with better remuneration. This suggest that government should build
flexibility into the remuneration policies to make room for correction.
Providing monetary and non-monetary incentives for teachers to improve their
performance. Such incentive may range from salary increase to merit awards. If
monetary incentives are crucial for recruiting the teaching force, then
teachers will improve their performance in the classroom.
IMAGE PROBLEMS
The teachers have
over the years suffered several negative image problem which evokes traditional
image of poverty, lack and marginalization, balance only by the stipend they
receive as salaries.
The general outwork
of a teacher shows negative image and suggests a botton line that could
discourage hard work and encourage truancy and negligence, while it would be
pointless not to acknowledge this fact, it is useful to underline that teachers
could be fascinating and efficient professionals given the right motivation and
encouragement to work.
We want to see a
high standard of primary school education. If the image problem of teachers
could be addressed then the vision of having a vibrant educational system will
become a reality of the 21st century. The real challenges of course lies on the
government. Over 80% of teachers live below the poverty line and are
psychologically demoralized to carry out effective classroom work. Based on
this would be easy to understand why people often seen a disconnection between,
the teacher’s image and the reality of teaching in modern educational
environment.
THE TEACHING ENVIRONMENT
Teaching
environment which is often an overlooked dimension of teaching, not only affect
how easily students are managed, but also how well-enlightened, comfortable and
colourful classroom is certainly more conductive to teaching and learning than
a dim, drab and colorless one (Jacobson,1981). It is mythical to think that
teaching as a practice in the developed nations can be imported to the
developing nations state to produce the same result. In the reality, the
environment in which teaching is expected to thrive in Ihiala turbulent one
compared to that in the developed states.
The socio-economic
instability in the developing countries threatens the entire education system.
The political climate in the Local Government and State and also the country at
large within incessant strikes, long duration closure of schools, no doubt has
an adverse effect on the teaching and learning process. Hinchilitte, (1989:90),
observed that “in local government areas many school in some areas have no roof
or collapsed walls. In some part proof, the South children can be seen carrying
their desks to school everyday”. In some cases, valuable lesson hours are lost
to teachers trying to find suitable places for a lesson under trees and such
environments that do not give room for any meaningful academic work, without
doubt, poor teaching environment.
GOVERNMENT POLICIES
Education in local
government and indeed the state over is the strongest weapon for development.
(FRN, 2004).
It states that “the
federal government has adopted education as an instrument par excellence for
effecting national development.”
Over the years, the
Nigerian education system has witnessed various change both in system and in
policy affecting education, but the pathetic thing is that the method and
timing of the changes always leave and be desired as stressed by (Okeke, 1985).
When he asserted “the rapid changes in our educational system do not permit the
internationalization of one be another is crushed upon us. The incessant change
both in administration and in policies do not give much room for the attainment
of our educational objectives or national goals”.
Anywiko (1991) for
example, in 1960, we inherited the British system of education. In 1973 after
the seminar on educational policy was held in Lagos, we came up with the
national policy on education, which brought about the 6-3-3-4 system of
education (after the American system). The implementation of this policy has
been faulty and politicized.
In government
budgetary allocations, teachers salaries and government expenditure on
education also witnessed changes on the world over. Heyneman (1989), asserted
that between 1975 and 1985, the proportion of educational expenditure on
teaching matrices was almost halred in Nigeria from 7.6 to 4.2 percent.
In Latin America
and the Caribbean, it fell from 4.2-1.8 percent.” Government has also made
education budget the politically most sensitive item. Despite this, the salary
level has continued to be very low, this had forced teachers to take up other
jobs to survive, leaving their primary jobs of teaching to suffer. The
government policy also imposes a very heavy syllabus on the children in order
to enable them have maximal capability to learn through the social studies in
the last six years of primary education. Here, the children have to master all
basic skill structure and attitudes Items of socialization. This approach is
much demanding and less result-oriented.
TEACHERS’ QUALIFICATION
Teachers are
indispensable in the whole product of education because they activated the
major catalyst that advise the whole process of teaching methodologies and
evaluation strategies, the teaching will find it difficult to achieve their
much desired learning objectives.
According to Akude
(1986) he noted that those who studied other subject rather than social studies
were drawn into the teaching of social studies because of the persistent death
of social studies teachers.
It is therefore,
believed that such branch of social studies teachers are devoid of necessary
information and initiative that would have compelled them to search for new
ways enhancing their teaching effectiveness.
The social studies
course in the college of many countries is handled by teachers who have little
or no idea of what integrated social studies is all about. Those who are
supposed to equip teachers with the rationale, approaches, content and methods
of social studies are themselves not trained in these matters.
In Uganda, for
example, Odada (1980) surveyed teacher trainers who taught social studies, one
of his finding was that 75% of these trainers claimed complete ignorance of
social studies. They regarded it as vague and underdeveloped subject that had
no experts to explain all that it is all about.
SUMMARY OF REVIEWED LITERATURE
During the review
of the literature we highlighted the concept of social studies, that social
studies is controversial and that its concept is dynamic in nature. From the
background of social studies the definition of social studies from various
scholars was defined.
A brief history of
social studies was also highlighted. The objectives of social studies deals
with people’s attitudes, beliefs, values, norm and interaction with themselves
and with their environment. Also, what primary education is all about was
highlighted. And social studies curriculum at the primary school was also put
in consideration. The teaching of socio-economic, socio-political and
socio-cultural has some limitation, which mainly resulted from failure on the part
of the teachers in explaining the strategies that were involved in a particular
study of culture of society in which the teachers should anticipate the pupils
to focus on the setting custom and action with a degree of scope and vividness
that the stage rarely duplicates. This no doubt, will serve as a base for
suggesting problems facing social studies teachers in Ihiala Local Government
Area of Anambra State.
CONCLUSIONS
Having studied the
problems and prospects of teaching and learning social studies in the primary
schools in Ihiala Local Government Area and having found some valuable and
reliable information, the following conclusions are drawn from the research.
One of the biggest
problem associated with the teaching of social studies in primary schools
within Ihiala Local Government Area is lack of enough qualified social studies
teachers.
One other observed
problem is lack of guidance services in all the schools visited. As there are
no guidance and counseling services in these primary schools, the students face
the problem of career selection because there is no one to guide them on the
subject to choose or select and put much interest in studying it. As a result
of this, they choose at random any subject they want to with nobody to direct
them. At times they run after other subject because they see their friends
studying those subjects.
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