CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
The learning possibilities supplied in schools make significant contributions to the process of educating for active and responsible citizenship. Effective teaching and learning of a topic, on the other hand, cannot be guaranteed in the absence of instructional resources such as teaching aids. Instructional materials are those that are used to improve teaching and learning. It is sometimes referred to as educational media, teaching aids, or instructional materials. The primary goal of incorporating them into the teaching/learning process is to facilitate learning. Learners are engaged in actions and processes that result in the acquisition of new ideas, skills, attitudes, or behaviors. Such tasks and procedures might be carried out more meaningfully with particular materials, hence necessitating the necessity for instructional materials. The utilization of such instructional materials is especially important in social studies, which is an activity-oriented topic. According to Oni (1992), instructional resources are a strategic aspect in the organization and delivery of education by instructors. This is because they help to elaborate an idea that the instructor would not be able to do without the usage of instructional materials. This helps kids to learn more easily, which improves their academic achievement.
According to Farombi (1998), instructional resources include books, audio-visual materials, software, and educational technology devices. He also believes that the availability, sufficiency, and relevance of instructional resources in classrooms may affect effective teaching, which can improve students’ learning and academic achievement. Thus, Farombi’s expertise of relating instructional resources opined that students’ academic success is crucial in providing quality education. According to Killen (2006), while the issue of resources may be difficult to overcome, the key thing to remember is that teachers should not use a lack of resources as an excuse for poor teaching. The message is that alternatives exist, and teachers should not rely exclusively on the local council for ready-made materials; instead, they should seek out local items and improvise as needed. According to Jotia (2006), the insufficiency of instructional resources and a lack of educational excursions force instructors to employ instructional materials that do not correspond to the intellectual level of the pupils. For example, instead of taking pupils to see a dam, teachers frequently show them two-dimensional graphics that most students never grasp. The absence of proper resources for the students’ intellectual level prevents them from actively participating in their learning. According to Survey (1981), the social studies classroom should consequently emphasize the use of teaching tools that will assist mold pupils into forming a democratic character. Ajayi and Ogunyemi (1990) expand on the same concept, stating that when instructional resources are offered to satisfy the relative demands of the teaching process, students will have access to the reference materials indicated by the instructor, and each student will be able to study at his or her own speed. As a result, pupils will do significantly better overall.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
The primary purpose of social studies is citizenship education, which aims to prepare citizens to face difficult situations in life with confidence. To put it another way, social studies is expected to teach students how to be functioning problem-solving citizens. Its major goal is to assist young learners in developing the capacity to do well in social studies. As indicated by the yearly PSLE scores from 2004 to 2008, pupils continue to perform badly in social studies. This the resource persons exclaimed that f children fail social studies in elementary school, it follows that they would lack the foundation for civic education as Nigerian citizens, which will have a negative influence on students’ individual self-realization, preventing them from utilizing their unique abilities and potential in contributing to the creation of a sustainable democracy. According to Agboola (1990), there aren’t many resource centers, and most textbooks are either inadequate, outmoded, overly ambitious and superficially deficient, or overpriced. In addition to the challenges with aids, there is a lack of suitable library resources and competent resource centers to employ in supporting instructors, and the majority of social studies teachers are not well suited to teach the topic. The amount to which teachers utilize accessible instructional tools is also important. Only a few social studies teachers make full use of the numerous instructional resources available. This remark is particularly telling since poor use of instructional materials is a more or less universal issue that is unique to social studies education. Therefore it upon this premise that this study seeks to conduct an examination on the adequacy of resources in the teaching of social studies in some primary schools.
1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The broad objective of this study is to conduct an examination on the adequacy of resources in the teaching of social studies in some primary schools. Other specific objectives includes:
1.       To investigate the types of instructional resources applicable to teaching and learning of social studies.
2.       To determine whether there are adequate resources available for teaching of social studies in primary schools.
3.       To ascertain the attitude of teacher towards utilization of instructional material in social studies.
4.       To establish  how the use of  instructional materials in social studies affect students performance.
