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.
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.
It has also been observed that instructions in the Social Studies in schools and colleges have suffered because of general unsatisfactory training of teachers as demanded in the epistemology and ontology of the curriculum package intrinsic in the subject (Mezieobi,1999;Mkpa,1993;Popoola,2000&Whyte,2001). This unsatisfactory training of teachers has not only resulted in the production of low quality teachers but has also made the use of poor teaching method possible (National Teachers Institute, NTI, 2006.) NTI further highlighted this problem in relation to the teaching and learning of Social Studies as follows:
The teacher has been blamed for this seemingly poor outing of Social Studies as a school subject. The teacher is accused of using inappropriate pedagogical approaches like lecturing, dictation and note copying for a programme that requires interactive techniques in a conducive social environment for the development and sustenance of desirable social skills, attitudes and values (NTI, 2006: p. iii).
The above observations by different scholars go to show the ineffectiveness of the lecture method.
In the conventional lecture method of teaching, the Social Studies teacher usually enters the class stands authoritatively in front of the students, introduces the topic, tells the students what the topic is all about, asks them questions if he/she wishes, then gives them notes to copy. In this method of teaching, the teacher dominates classroom activities while the students listen passively and copy the notes given to them without making any input. This is antithetical to what obtains in the drama method. Though the lecture method has a lot of weaknesses, it also has some advantages. These advantages include: It allows for adequate coverage of the course content in a short time; there is economy of time and materials; it is easy to prepare and finally, students can collect valid notes from the teacher (Igbokwe, 2007). However, despite all these advantages of the lecture method, the performance of students in Social Studies has not been encouraging over the years.
The lecture method is teacher-centred and leaves the students in the passive position in the classroom. This kind of method may not yield much positive result as students are usually passive during teaching and learning. Richards (2001) observes that if teaching is successfully carried out, learning will occur and that successful teaching axiomatically implies good teaching application. There is therefore urgent need to use methods that are interactive and capable of arousing the interest of students in the Social Studies classroom. One of such methods which has been tried in subject areas that include Christian Religious Knowledge, English Language, Mathematics and Igbo Language and found to be very effective in enhancing students’ performance is the drama method of instruction (Onder,2004& Onwuazor, 2006).
The word drama is taken from the Greek word ‘dran’ which means do or act. Drama in real life involves action, which is one of the most important methods of seeing life (Ibitola, 2009). According to Durusel (2007) in Duban and Duzgun(2013) ,drama provides a presentation and interpretation of a physical or mental activity and is a way to transform students’ mental and physical potentials into creative acts. According to Littledyke (2001), drama as an educational method allows students to reflect, discuss, make connections with real life, and look at the events from different angles. In his own view, Iwuala (2012) asserts that topics in all subject areas can be recognized and dramatized by the students in order to make them clear and easier to understand and make learning a pleasurable venture. In other words, the use of drama method of instruction in the teaching and learning of Social Studies will help in making the students develop interest in the subject. This will be very rewarding because it is only when students develop interest in a subject that they will be able to record positive achievement in that subject. The use of drama method of instruction in teaching has a lot of advantages. Some of these advantages according to Basom (2001) include: Self-confidence: when students take risks in class and in performances, they learn to trust their ideas and abilities as individuals; Critical Thinking and Problem Solving: Students working through this process learn how to communicate their thoughts and look at things from a different perspective and formulate their decisions; Imagination and Creative Thinking: Through decision making and creative exploration, students are given the chance to play with imaginative ideas; Cooperation and Collaboration: Working in groups with other peers allows students to collaboratively discuss, rehearse and combine creative ideas with peers at various levels and most importantly, drama is fun and makes learning active and hands on. Social Studies has to do with behaviour transformation.
Similarly drama changes people’s perspectives about life. According to Basom (2005), Drama holds up a mirror for us to examine ourselves, deepening our understanding of human motivation and behaviour. In using the drama method in classroom teaching, some stages are involved which the teacher has to follow. These stages or steps as identified by Ahove (2001) include: Identify the problem to be dramatized; Prepare the script and identify the inherent values portrayed; Allow students to select their role/character; Discuss with each actor/actress on his/her role; Set the stage for the drama and give enough time; Use guide questions for follow up discussions and Evaluate the actors’ performance and the general proceedings for future improvement. With these stages, students are actively involved in the teaching and learning process unlike what obtains in the conventional lecture method.
Apart from poor teaching method, another factor that can affect students’ academic achievement is location. As reported by some studies, like Coleman (2000), Okebukola (1990) among others, school location has an influence on teaching of school subjects at secondary school level. Location has to do with a particular area a school is situated. According to Igbokwe, (2009:20) “where a school is locate d and the socio-economic environment of the school determines how well both the teachers and learners realize their goals of education.” Igbokwe goes further to state that “schools in urban areas usually have better teachers and adequate instructional materials.” There is no doubt that location of a school can influence students’ achievement positively or negatively. Schools in the urban areas usually have access to modern facilities like potable water, electricity, Information Communication Technology (ICT) facilities, among others. All these facilities help to make life easier for students and expose them to current events that are happening in the world around them. It even makes them ward off inferiority complex unlike their counterparts in the rural areas who do not have access to the facilities. Many studies have been carried out to investigate the effect of location on achievement and interest of learners (Eneh, 2002). While some say that there is no basis for location differences, others agree that rural and urban learners achieve differently. Based on this assumption, there is need for further studies on the issue of influence of school location on the achievement and interest of students in Social Studies.
Furthermore, academic achievement may also differ according to gender. Gender is a socio-culturally ascribed attribute which differentiates feminine from masculine (Imoko, 2004). Danmole and Adeoye (2004) found no significant difference in the achievement of students due to gender. Instead they opined that achievement of both males and females can be affected by teaching and learning styles. Similarly, Musibau and Adigun (2010) did not find any significant difference in students’ academic achievement due to gender. On the other hand, a study carried out by (Umo, 2001) showed that female students achieved higher than their male counterparts in Igbo grammar. There has not been any conclusive evidence as regards whether males perform better than females or vice versa in academic endeavour in Social Studies. This study seeks to find out whether the use of drama method will have any significant difference in the achievement and interest of male and female students in Social Studies.
Apart from the above mentioned variables, another important variable which may influence learners in the school system is interest. Lai (2010) defined interest in learning as personal preferences with regard to learning, which sometimes means that an individual chooses one thing rather than other things and sometimes a positive psychological state occurs during his/her interaction with the circumstances that engender further learning motives. The above definition is in line with the earlier position of Chang (2006) who from the psychological perspective said the term interest has a two-meaning that involves, first, an individual’s internal orientation when he or she expresses the choice of someone or something and second, the small difference between interest and motive as both of them are the internal causes of an individual’s behaviour.
The term interest in learning according to Cheng (2008), is considered under three categories:
Individual interest, which is a personal quality that is quite stable and fluctuates little; situational interest, which is an emotional state elicited by amusing mathematics-related activities or the content of teaching materials; and interest-induced psychological state that occurs when an individual is showing intense interest in something and he or she focuses all attention on what sparks that interest, while ignoring anything else in the surroundings (P.141).
From the foregoing, it can be deduced that interest is a very significant concept that can influence one depending on the situation one finds oneself. According to Li (2009:8), “In a classroom setting, interest is required to meet students’ intellectual as well as emotional needs; interest can never be imposed on an individual by external forces, but a teacher can help increase the learners’ interest”. Interest in learning can therefore be defined as a learner’s positive feelings or leanings towards a particular aspect of learning. Interest in learning can motivate a learner to learn a particular subject or even a particular topic in a subject. This may affect the learner’s academic achievement in that particular subject or topic.
It is important to note that students’ interest can be induced or increased by the teacher (Li, 2009). This may be done through the use of teaching methods that are learner-centred. In other words, a method of teaching that allows students’ active participation may arouse their interest in learning. This study therefore, seeks to identify the effects of drama method and lecture method on the students’ interest in Social Studies.
Statement of the Problem
Social studies is a subject taught in all the junior secondary schools in Nigeria. The sole purpose of Social Studies is to inculcate norms and moral values into the young citizens of Nigeria and expose them to the happenings in the world around them. Unfortunately,it has been observed that some Social Studies teachers lack the necessary skills to teach the subject effectively. This is evident in the high rate of students’ poor performance in Social Studies in the recent past coupled with the level of moral decadence in our schools and society today. It has also been observed that most of the teachers who teach Social Studies are not adequately trained to teach the subject as they are usually graduates of other subjects like History and Geography. This ugly situation, no doubt, adversely affects the teaching and learning of the subject. More worrisome is the fact that most of these teachers teach Social Studies using the lecture method which is teacher-centred and makes learning stale and uninteresting. There is therefore the urgent need to devise a better and more productive method of teaching Social Studies to make it interesting and rewarding to the learners. One method that may be useful in this regard is the drama method of instruction. This is because it involves active participation of the learner in the teaching and learning process. This method may also arouse the interest of learners. Although the use of drama has been tried in the teaching of Christian Religious Studies, English Language, Igbo Language and Mathematics, and found to be effective, its effectiveness, to the best of the researcher’s knowledge, is yet to be determined in the teaching of Social Studies in Bomadi Education Zone of Delta State. Based on the foregoing, therefore, the problem of this study is to find out the effect of drama method of instruction on JSS II students’ interest and achievement in Social Studies in Bomadi Education Zone of Delta State.
Purpose of the Study
The main purpose of this study is to determine the effect of drama method of instruction on JSS II students’ achievement and interest in Social Studies. Specifically, the study sought to:
1. identify the effects of drama method and lecture method on students’ achievement in Social Studies
2 .identify the effects of drama method and lecture method on the students’ interest in Social Studies.
3. determine the effect of drama method of instruction on the achievement mean scores of rural and urban students taught Social Studies.
4. determine the effect of drama method of instruction on interest mean scores of rural and urban students taught Social Studies.
5. determine the effect of drama method of instruction on the achievement mean scores of male and female students taught Social Studies
6. determine the effect of drama method of instruction on the interest mean scores of male and female students taught Social Studies.
Significance of the Study
The study will be significant in many ways. Theoretically, the findings of this study will help to explain the effectiveness of the ideas put forward by constructivist theorists like Piaget and Vygotsky. Proponents of this theory believe in students’ active participation in classroom activities instead of passive receivers of knowledge. In other words, the learner is the person who creates new understanding for himself while the teacher coaches, moderates, suggests but allows the students room to ask questions and try things that seem not to work. This is in line with the use of drama which involves students’ active participation while the teacher acts as a moderator, coach or supervisor. The understanding of this theory especially as it relates to students and teachers would be of great significance to researchers in the field of education who research on different teaching methodologies.
Practically, the findings of this study will be beneficial to students, teachers, educational administrators, curriculum planners, textbook writers, the Nigerian society and future researchers. The students will be exposed to a different teaching method which is exciting, learner-centred and rewarding. This will not only arouse their interest but also enhance their academic achievement because students usually achieve better in any learning experience they have interest in.
The study will be of great relevance to Social Studies teachers as they will adopt a better teaching approach that will help them achieve their set objectives with less stress and less emphasis on the monotonous, teacher-centred method.
Furthermore, it is hoped that the curriculum planners will find this study as an aid in the planning of the curriculum so as to emphasize the use of the method of instruction by teachers to achieve maximum result from the students.
Textbook writers will also benefit from this study because it will expose them to produce good and comprehensive textbooks on Social Studies that will cover drama method of instruction.
Besides, the Nigerian society will benefit from this study. This is because Nigerian society has a lot of societal problems. It is expected that this study will be of great help in solving the societal problems by exposing the students to the right type of values that are needed to foster the progress of the country.
Finally, it is expected that this study will also serve as available data for future researchers on their search for better techniques in the teaching and learning process.
Scope of the Study
This study was carried out in junior secondary schools in Bomadi Education Zone of Delta State. Bomadi Education zone comprises three Local Government Areas. They are Bomadi, Burutu, and Patani. Bomadi has eight (8) public secondary schools, Burutu has eighteen (18) public secondary schools and Patani has nine (9) public secondary schools. The JSS 2 students in the above named education zone were used for the study.
In terms of content coverage, the following topics selected from the Social Studies curriculum of the Federal Ministry of Education were used for the study. They are: corruption, drug abuse, accidents in the school and poverty.
Research Questions
The study was guided by the following research questions.
- What are the mean achievement scores of students taught Social Studies using drama and those taught using conventional (lecture) method?
- What are the mean interest scores of students taught Social Studies using drama method and those taught using conventional method?
- What are the mean achievement scores of rural and urban students taught Social Studies using drama method?
- What are the mean interest scores of rural and urban students taught social studies using drama method?
- What are the mean achievement scores of male and female students taught Social Studies using drama method?
- What are the mean interest scores of male and female students taught social studies using drama method?
Hypotheses
The following null hypotheses were formulated by the researcher to guide the study.
The hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance.
HO1: There is no significant difference in the mean achievement scores of students taught Social Studies using drama and those taught using conventional (lecture) method.
HO2: There is no significant difference in the mean interest scores of students taught Social Studies using drama and those taught using conventional (lecture) method.
HO3: There is no significant difference in the mean achievement scores of rural and urban students taught Social Studies using drama method.
HO4: There is no significant difference in the mean interest scores of rural and urban students taught Social Studies using drama method.
HO5: There is no significant difference in the mean achievement scores of male and female students taught Social Studies using drama method.
HO6: There is no significant difference in the mean interest scores of male and female students taught social studies using drama method.
