ABSTRACT
This study sought to investigate the effect of drama method of instruction on the interest and achievement of junior secondary school 2 students in Social Studies in Bomadi Education Zone of Delta State. The study employed a quasi-experimental design. Specifically, pretest, post-test, non-equivalent control group design was used. The population of the study was 2618 junior secondary school two (JSS 2) students in the 35 public co-educational schools in Bomadi Education Zone in the 2013/2014 academic session. Simple random sampling technique was used to draw four schools out of these schools. The schools were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. Intact classes of each school were drawn for the study giving a total of four intact classes. Students in the intact classes constituted the sample of 172 used for the study. Data were collected using a 25-item Drama Method of Achievement Test (DMAT) and a 20-item Social Studies Interest Inventory (SSII). The instruments were validated by experts from both Social Studies and Measurement and Evaluation Departments. The reliability index of 0.74 determined through Kuder-Richardson 20 formular was obtained for the DMAT while an internal consistency index of 0.91 was obtained for the SSII using Cronbach Alpha method. Mean and Standard deviation were used to answer the research questions while analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to test the hypotheses formulated at 0.05 level of significance. Based on the discussion of the findings of the study, the researcher recommended among others that emphasis should be made on the use of drama method by the teachers to enhance students’ interest and achievement in Social Studies; equal learning opportunities should be provided to learners in both urban and rural areas and that teachers should acquaint themselves with the skills and principles of this method and use them to enhance effective teaching and learning process. This could be achieved through attending seminars, workshops, conferences and other in-service training programmes organized by the Federal and State Ministries of Education and other professional bodies.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Social Studies is the study of man and his environment. It is an integrated subject that deals with man’s activities, his relationships and interactions with one another in his environment, and his knowledge of science and technology to solve the problems in his environment. Such social sciences as Economics, Political Science, History, Geography, Psychology, Anthropology and Ethics are all under Social Studies (Odedele & Egotanwa, 2010). Social Studies therefore covers a wide range of disciplines and issues which have to do with humanity as a whole. Dania and Enakhire (2012) posit that the discipline Social Studies centres on systematic study of the principles and skills pertinent to all aspects of operations, resources and administration. Osakwe (2009) noted that social studies is a contemporary and environmentally focused field of study and therefore provides the learner with requisite knowledge, skills, values, attitudes and competencies to contribute meaningfully to Nigeria’s national development.
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Apart from the above-mentioned benefits of Social Studies, another important role it plays in national development is in the area of security. Okiro (2008) and Etim (2009) have observed the unpalatable state of security in Nigeria which is highly lamentable. Social Studies education can make immense contributions towards achieving national security in Nigeria through its teaching (Dania & Eboh, 2013). This can be achieved through the teaching of such important values as honesty, integrity, hard-work, fairness, justice and togetherness which are necessary for national cohesion and development.
Social Studies was first used in 1958 by educators of the Ohio University project which sought to introduce its teaching into Teachers’ Training Colleges in the former Western Region of Nigeria (Adewuya, 2002). However, social studies had a shaky start in the 1960s but was eventually adopted for all primary as well as junior and senior secondary schools under the National Policy on Education by the 1990s but later restricted to the junior secondary in 2004 (Ogunyemi, 2010). Social Studies as a subject is important because it instills in students the knowledge, skills, attitudes and actions that are considered vital in the relationship and interaction of man and those around him and the entire environment (Ogunbameru, 2006). The main objectives of Social Studies as stated in the National Policy on Education (2010:2) are as follows:
- 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;
- the training of the mind in the understanding of the world around; and
- the acquisition of appropriate skills and the development of mental, physical and social abilities and competencies as equipment for the individual to live in and contribute to the development of the society.
The above mentioned national objectives are to build the citizens to become useful to themselves and the society and these can only be achieved if education is used as a tool. Abubakar (2013:49) observes that “Social Studies education as an area of study has a lot of contributions towards the attainment of national objectives”. The above observation of Abubakar is in line with the views of Onuoha (2009) who stated that Social Studies aims at producing students who are creative, patriotic, responsible and useful members of the society. This implies that Social Studies brings about national development by first of all transforming the citizens and making them nation builders. Social Studies can therefore be defined as an area of study which is aimed at producing patriotic and responsible citizens for the development of the society.
In spite of the fact that National Policy on Education accepted Social Studies education as a curriculum designed for inculcating norms and values of active citizenship among young learners in Nigerian schools, most of the studies carried out by different scholars (Akims, 2003; Shingumi, 2002 and Kazi, 2004) reveal that some Social Studies teachers lack the necessary skills to teach the subject effectively. In addition, Funtua (1980) criticized and frowned at the present practice of assigning the teaching of Social Studies in our schools and colleges to History, Economics and geography teachers. Funtua maintained that it creates the erroneous impression that these teachers are necessarily effective teachers of Social Studies. The author lamented that these unqualified teachers usually used a single subject approach in teaching the content areas of Social Studies.
Besides, it has been observed that there is a sharp fall in interest and performance of students and pupils in Social Studies owing to an unbridled use of conventional lecture and storytelling method in teaching Social Studies (Arinze,Okonkwo&Iwunor,2006). In other words, Social Studies teachers use only the traditional method to teach the children. This is worrisome because it is a method that is characterized by teacher-centredness. NTI (2012) presents the major difference between the traditional teacher-centred method and the learner-centred method as follows:
Traditionally, teacher-centred methods emphasize the importance of transferring knowledge, information and skills from the teacher to the learner. Emphasis is on the mastery of the subject and authority. The teacher is positioned in front of the class, using the blackboard, while learners sit in row facing the teacher. On the other hand, learner-centred philosophies are less authoritarian and more focused on the individual learner’s needs. They place the learner at the centre of the educational process (P.2).
The above differences between the traditional, teacher-centred method and the learner-centred method expose the weakness of the former which may be the cause of the students’ poor performance and lack of interest in Social Studies. Data collected from Ministry of Education, Delta State attest to the poor performance of junior secondary school III (JSS III) students in Social Studies in the Basic Education Examination in Bomadi Education Zone between 2011 and 2013 (See appendix III). The data are summarized below.
In Esanebe College, Bomadi between 2011and 2013,out of 378 students that sat for the examination, only 98 candidates passed Social Studies, the rest failed the subject. In Kpakiama Grammar School, between 2011 and 2013, out of 271 candidates that sat for the exam, only 65 passed Social Studies, the rest failed the subject. In Tuomo Grammar School, out of 347 candidates that sat for the exam, only 72 candidates passed Social Studies,the rest failed the subject.In Oproza Grammar School,out of 410 candidates, only 150 candidates passed Social Studies,the rest failed the subject.
The data presented above indicate that the performance of students in Social Studies has not been encouraging in the recent past. This is in line with the observation of Adesina (2003) that students have been found to perform poorly in Social Studies over the years. Adesina goes further to explain that from personal interaction with many students, it is the general feeling that most students feel inadequate in this subject area and often complain that it is complex and difficult to understand. This situation calls for concern because the implication is that, as the students develop apathy or lack of interest in Social Studies, they cannot retain relevant knowledge in the subject area necessary for successful academic performance and participation as members of the society. This will be detrimental to both the student and the society because Social Studies is a subject that is expected to provide the learner with requisite knowledge, skills, values, attitudes and competencies to contribute meaningfully to Nigeria’s national development (Osakwe, 2009).This problem is made worse by lack of well trained teachers in the area of Social Studies.
