ABSTRACT
This study was carried out to critically examine the
availability and utilization of ICT facilities in teaching and learning of
social studies in junior secondary schools in Awgu Local Government Area of
Enugu State. The study adopted a descriptive survey design in which four
research questions were posed. The population consisted of seven hundred and
sixty nine (769) students and thirty five (35) social studies teachers in Awgu
Local Government Area of Enugu State. Simple random sampling procedure was used
in selecting nine (9) secondary schools to represent the twenty seven (27)
secondary schools in Agwu local government Area of Enugu State. Eighteen (18)
teachers and one hundred and eighty two (182) students were randomely selected
from the selected schools making it a total of two hundred (200) respondents. A
questionnaire of four point rating scale was used as instrument for data
collection. Simple percentage was used to analyze the demographic
characteristics of the respondents, while weighted mean was used for the data
analysis proper with a cut off mean score of 2.50. That formed the standard for
accepting or rejecting any item on the questionnaires. The result of the study
shows that very few information communication technology facilities are
available for the teaching and learning of social studies in the selected junior
secondary schools, and this has made both the teachers and students to stick to
the old methods of teaching which makes them achieve little at the end of a
lesson, the result also Shows expressly
that (1) lack of sufficient computer desktops,(2) poor electricity supply,
(3)inability of teachers to operate the ICT facilities and transfer knowledge
with them,(4) lack of adequate facilities maintenance, etc are some of the
factors that hinder the availability and utilization of ICT facilities in the
teaching of social studies. Based on the results, it was recommended among
others that, The serving social studies teachers in the government secondary
schools in Awgu should be sponsored to attend workshops where they will be
taught how to use most ICT facilities and how to use it in teaching as well,
also Teachers should try as much as possible to use the available ICT
facilities in teaching the students so as to make the lesson interesting and
appealing to them and should also give them to use the computer desktops for
research and so on.
CHAPTER
ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of study
Secondary
education is the second level of the educational system. Federal Republic of
Nigeria (FRN) 2014 asserted that secondary education is the form of education
children receive after primary education and before the tertiary stage/level.
The broad aim of secondary education is to prepare individuals for higher
education and also to prepare them for useful living within the society they
live. Secondary education consists of senior secondary schools and junior
secondary schools. According to Federal Republic of Nigeria FRN (2014) the
junior secondary schools will be both prevocational and academic in nature. It
will teach all the basic subjects which will enable the students to acquire
further knowledge and develop skills. This study is centred on social studies
which is taught at the junior secondary level.
The primary
purpose of social studies is to develop the ability to make informed and
reasoned decisions for the public good as citizens of a culturally diverse,
democratic society in an interdependent world (National Council of the Social
Studies, 1994). The great architects of American public education, such as
Thomas Jefferson, Horace Mann, and John Dewey, believed that every student must
be well versed in his nation's history, the principles and practices which
undergird citizenship, and the institutions that define our government.
Understandings of commerce and geography were critical to their thinking as
well. In essence, Jefferson, Mann, and Dewey viewed the study of social studies
as critical to the mission of public schools. Indeed, they would applaud the
inclusion of a "responsible and involved citizen" in the Guiding
Principles, as well as social studies as one of eight content areas in the
Learning Results.
A
strong social studies education depends upon a clear understanding of its
interrelated disciplines. Without knowledge of the geography and economics of
earlier times, history offers only lists of people, events, and dates. Without
knowledge of history, the institutions of American government and the dynamics
of today's global economy are difficult to understand. Although social studies
curricula vary in their breadth and depth, the Social Studies Standards reflect
a focus on government, history, geography, and economics as the pillars of the
content, with other disciplines within the social sciences deemed important,
but not essential.
The
Social Studies Standards refer to “various" peoples, nations, regions of
the world, historical eras, and enduring themes. School administrative units
should develop a local curriculum that assists students in gaining a coherent,
broad perspective on a variety of peoples, nations, regions, historical eras,
and enduring themes
The
world is moving towards globalization process through information and
communication technology (ICT). Information and communication technology (ICT)
includes the entire modern electronic device used in various sectors of our
economy. It cuts across all aspects of human endeavour such as education,
industry, medicine and financial institutions. Anaele and Vigil (2010) opined
that information and communication technology is an umbrella term that includes
any communication device or applications encompassing radio, television,
cellular phones, computer networks, hardware and software, satellite etc.
Information and communication is used in education to enhance teaching and
learning.
Information
and communication technology (ICT) revolution has rapidly improved the process
of learning and the acquisition of knowledge and is equally transforming the
world in unexpected ways (Arunachalam, 2005). This has facilitated the paradigm
shift from the traditional instructional material or traditional pedagogical
methods to a more modern and innovative technologically based teaching and
learning methods. The emergence of information and communication technology
(ICT) has completely overhauled ways in which to access, process, retrieve and
disseminate information within organizations or across the globe and it has
positively affected the teaching - learning process (Anaekwe, 2003).
The use
of Information and communication technology (ICT) facilities in teaching
implies the application of the facilities in collecting, processing, analyzing,
managing, storing and retrieving information or data which could be used to
enhance, stimulate or promote teaching and learning. Therefore, the application
of Information and communication technology (ICT) to the teaching of social
studies topics provides flexibility to meet the varied learning needs and
abilities of learners. According to Akpan (2008), ICT utilization in teaching
is capable of yielding the following dividends:
- Learners are provided with immediate
access to richer source of materials
- Provide information in new and relevant
ways, which helps learners to understand, assimilate and use it more readily.
- Information and communication technology
ICT utilization in teaching motivate and stimulate learning
- Enhances learning for learners with
special needs
- Motivate learners to try out new ideas
and take risk
- Information and communication technology
ICT encourages teachers to take fresh look at how they teach and ways in which
students learn.
- Information and communication technology
ICT utilization sharpens learners’ attention and also offers potentials for
effective group and individual work.
Information
and communication technology ICT facilities on their own do not enhance or
stimulate the teaching process, they need to be manipulated, and this has to do
with the teachers’ ability to utilize the available and accessible ICT
facilities. Pacey (1999) stated that awareness towards the use of Information
and communication technology ICT in teaching is increasing in the classroom in
the developing world such that, mere verbalization of words alone in the
classroom to communicate ideas, skills and attitude to educate learners is fast
fading away.
Despite
the enormous usefulness of Information and communication technology ICT
utilization in the teaching process, it is obvious that most teachers in our
secondary schools today lack the requisite knowledge on the use of the
facilities. Apart from the requisite knowledge by teachers, Information and
communication technology ICT facilities in most secondary schools are not
adequate, not accessible, and there is gross absence of support materials and
staff. Though, the benefits of using Information and communication technology
ICT in teaching social studies are enormous, the successful application of
Information and communication technology ICT in teaching social studies is
largely dependent on the teachers’ ability to use the available ICT facilities
in the classroom. According to Yusuf (2005) the effectiveness of instructional
delivery depends on the teachers’ ability to effectively use ICT facilities to
enhance his teaching. There are different ICT facilities that can be used for
teaching depending on the situation. ICT facilities commonly used/employed for
teaching in the area under study are:
non-interactive ICT, interactive ICT and multimedia ICT facilities.
Non-interactive
ICT: a non interactive program is one that,
when started, continues without requiring human contact. A compiler is a non
interactive program, as are all batch processing applications.
Interactive
ICT: Interactive processing means that the person needs to provide the computer
with instructions whilst it is doing the processing. For example, imagine that
a computer is running a program that takes a set of files from one directory
and does some work on each one. As each file is processed the computer sends a
screen message to the operator "Where do you want this file to be
stored". i.e. the user 'interacts' with the computer to complete the
processing.
Multimedia
ICT: Multimedia enables us to provide a way by which learners can experience
their subject in various manners. The key to providing this experience is by
presenting graphic, video and audio simultaneously to engender the students’
interest rather than presenting them one after the other. The appeal of
multimedia learning is best illustrated by the popularity of video games
currently available in the market (Beichner, 1994). Therefore multimedia can be defined as an integration
of multiple media elements (audio, video, graphics, text, animation etc) into
one synergetic and symbiotic whole which results in more benefits for the end
user than any one of the multiple media elements can provide individually
(Fenrich, 1997).
A
careful look at the secondary schools in Awgu Local Government Area Of Enugu
State reveal that many teachers still rely more on the traditional “talk and
chalk” method of teaching rather than embracing the use of Information and
communication technology ICT. There is the need therefore to replace the
traditional pedagogical practices that still underpin our educational system in
the state, hence the need for the utilization of ICT to boost the teaching
process and method.
It is
important that mention be made of public and private schools in Awgu local
government Area. According to National Center for Education Statistics (NCES
2014), Public schools are schools which are maintained at the expense of the
state government for the education of the children of a given district and that
constitute a part of a system of free education. Private schools, also known as
independent schools, non-governmental or non state schools, are not administered
by local, state or national government, thus, they retain the right to select
their students and are funded in whole
or in part by asking their students to pay high amount of money as tuition
rather than relying on mandatory taxation through public (government) funding.
Private school is a school under the financial and managerial control of a
private body or charitable trust, accepting mostly fee-paying pupils. It is
also an independent school supported wholly by the payment of fees. A school supported
by a private organization or private individuals rather than by the state.
The
defining distinction between public and private schools is their different
sources of support. Public schools depend primarily on local, state, and
federal government funds, while private schools are usually supported by
tuition payments and sometimes by funds from other non-public sources such as
religious organizations, endowments, grants, and charitable donations.
It may
also be obvious that in secondary schools in Awgu local Government Area, ICT
facilities are either provided and are insufficient or that the teachers may
lack the requisite skills to adequately use the facilities, hence they have
been minimally used to enhance the teaching of social studies in such areas as
practical lessons, experiments, teaching large classes, conducting and grading
of assessment tests. It is therefore against this background that this study
seeks to determine the availability and utilization of ICT in teaching social
Studies in Secondary Schools in Awgu Local Government of Enugu State.
Statement
of Problem
Information
and communication technology is already a vital factor in the successful
development of education; therefore, teaching and learning for the new emerging
societies require effective utilization of ICT’S to facilitate instructional
delivery.
The
federal republic of Nigeria (FRN, 2002) in line with the global best practices
in the field of education came up with a national IT policy. The national IT
policy’s strategies for education include the integration of it into the
mainstream of education, training and the establishment of facilities for
electronic and distance learning networks and ensuring internet connectivity
among others.
Despite these efforts by both government
and non-governmental agencies in making ICT facilities readily available and
accessible to schools, some vital areas of ICT application in teaching appear
not attended to in secondary schools in Awgu local government area of Enugu
state.
The
implications of this scenario are far reaching to the field of education in
general and social studies education in particular. If social studies teachers
and students do not take full advantage of ICT in teaching and learning, the
chances to expand educational opportunities or improve the quality of existing
education could be lost. More also, the opportunities to provide social studies
teacher education to a broader audience are hampered as much as the vision and
mission of education are mere dreams. It
has been noticed that in most secondary schools in Agwu local government area,
ICT facilities are not made available or accessible to enhance their adequate
utilization, while in some cases, the teachers lack the requisite knowledge on
ICT utilization even when it is available, and in other cases the facilities
are inadequate which may also be responsible for the poor quality of graduates
produced in our secondary schools in terms of knowledge of social studies. The
problem of this study is to identify the ICT facilities that are available for
teaching and their utilization by teachers for the purposes of teaching social
studies in Awgu local government of Enugu state.
Purpose
of the Study
The
main purpose of this study was to determine the availability and utilization of
ICT in teaching social studies in junior secondary schools in Awgu local
government area of Enugu state. Specifically, the study sought to:
1. Identify the
various Information and Communication tools available for the teaching and
learning of social studies
2. Determine the
extent of utilization of in the teaching of social in public secondary schools
in Awgu local Government Area of Enugu state
3. Identify the factors that hinder the
effective utilization of ICT facilities for the teaching and learning of social
studies?
4. Suggest strategies that can be employed to
improve the effective use of ICT facilities in the teaching and learning of
social studies?
Significance
of the Study
The
following people will benefit from the study:
Social
studies education teachers:
will find the findings of this study quite beneficial, as they will be exposed
to the need to regularly use ICT facilities to enhance their teaching. The
findings will also serve as a parameter for self-evaluation for the teachers who
will also see the need to develop ICT competences or requisite skills and how
to use ICT facilities to access resource materials for teaching social studies
subjects in secondary schools. They will also be encouraged to use ICT
facilities effectively to improve the quality of their presentations in class,
select the appropriate facility for particular lessons, motivate students to
achieve positive attitudes to learning of social studies subjects and identify
aspects of the subjects where students’ individual needs can be met more
effectively through the appropriate use of ICT resources.
Educational
administrators/policy formulators: at the various levels will benefit immensely from
the findings of this research work because it will fashion their administrative
approaches in terms of training and retraining of staff along the line of ICT
competence, the type of facilities or equipment to acquire (in terms of
quantity and quality), staff recruitment, provision of infrastructure, e.g.
Classroom and lecture theatre. Methods
of instructional delivery will also be designed by the teacher in collaboration
with educational administrator to accommodate the utilization of ICT
facilities. Educational administrators will greatly benefit from the findings
of this study as it relates to organizational approach to more flexible
teaching/learning, research oriented education and flexible attitude to time
and space.
Students:
will
equally benefit from the outcome of this research work because they will be
exposed to the numerous benefits of ICT utilization during the teaching of
social studies. These benefits include, arousing their curiosity whereby, they
will be engaged in meaningful and relevant learning, and exposure to
construction of knowledge which will reduce the risk of failure. ICT
utilization will improve their creativity, become useful aids to problem-
solving, lead to unrestricted access to learning materials and the use of ICT
facilities for researches.
It will
help the students to identify and appreciate other ICT facilities such as
CD-ROM, slides, tapes, other than internet and computer. This will enable them
exploit the information contained therein either for their assignment, class
work or research work.
Scope
of the Study
The
study is delimited to finding out the available ICT facilities in teaching
social studies in junior secondary schools, the extent to which the available
facilities are being used, the factors that hinder the utilization of ICT
facilities, and ways of improving on them in
junior secondary schools in Awgu local government area of Enugu state. The
secondary schools chosen for this study are public and privately owned
secondary schools. The subject of this study comprises of teachers, students,
researchers, principals/school administrators etc.
Research
Questions
The
study was guided by the following research questions:
1. What Information and Communication tools
available are for the teaching and learning of social studies?
2. To what extent are ICT facilities utilized for
the teaching and learning of social studies?
3. What factors hinder the effective utilization
of ICT facilities for the teaching and learning of social studies?
4. What strategies can be employed for improving
the effective use of ICT facilities in the teaching and learning of social
studies?
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