ABSTRACT
This study examined Extent of the
Availability and use of Instructional Materials in Teaching and Learning Social
Studies in Aba Education Zone, Abia State. The study adopted descriptive survey
research design. The study determined the extentinstructional
materials are available for teaching and learning of social studies, the extent instructional materials are available
for teaching and learning social studies, the extent the available
instructional materials are used for teaching of social studies and in what
ways can instructional materials be provided and utilized in teaching and
learning social studies. A total number of
8,475 Social Studies
Teachers and JSS2 Social Studies Students were selected for the study through
simple random sampling technique in the nine local government education
authorities (LGEA) in the education zone. Four research questions and Four
hypotheses tested at 0.05 level of significance guided the study. Instrument
for data collection was questionnaire developed by the researcher titled“Availability
and Use of Instructional Material in Teaching and Learning Questionnaire”
(AUIMTLQ) which contain 87 items. The data collected were analyzed using mean
and standard deviation (SD) while t-test statistic was used in testing the 4
null hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The findings showed that
instructional materials are not sufficiently supplied for teaching and learning
of social studies. Also in most cases, teachers do not make use of the
available instructional materials in teaching their lessons. Based on the
findings of the research, it was recommended that instructional materials must
be provided and utilized by executors of educational polices in order to
achieve the set educational objective of social studies.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Instructional
materials are vital tools and instruments which must be adopted for effective
teaching and learning of social studies in schools. According to Hall (2006),
instructional materials are kinds of tools or equipment which can help an
instructor effectively in theory or practical classroom teaching and learning
processes. According to the author, instructional materials help in
concretizing abstract concepts, and help learners understand with ease the
objectives of lessons.
Instructional
materials generally makes teaching and learning processes easier, and helps to
present learning objectives to pupils and students in a more meaningful and
practical form. According to Osaigbovo (2007), instructional materials are
those objects which promote the effectives of instruction and help the teacher to
communicate more effectively. Osaigbovo emphasis here is that instructional
materials help instructors to deliver their lessons effectively, while on the
other hand help learners through the sense of sight and tough in understanding
lesson objectives.
Instructional
materials serve as an aid both in arousing the interest of learners to learn,
and in keeping them attentive all through the teaching period. According to
National Open University Commission (NOUC) (2010), instructional materials are tools used by
teachers to help learners improve observation skill, critical things, and
communicator to reinforce skill, fact or idea and to make leaving interesting.
According to NOUC, instructional materials are designed to facilitate teaching
and learning objectives very quickly and widely to the target group. To be able
to effect the desired change in behaviour in learns which must be through
learners’ active and meaningful participation, the teacher should use a number
of devices to enhance his teaching. Learners on the other hand are expected
also to use a number of devices for successful and maximal achievement of the
objectives of the teacher. These devices are known as instructional materials.
There
has been a trend towards the use of instructional materials over the years in
teaching and learning processes. Ema and Ajayi (2004) stated that instructional
materials have changed over the years all with the aim of making teaching and
learning more appealing to both teachers and learners. Instructional materials
have been various defined as it have been stated by some authors above. It must
be stated to satisfy specific purpose. Therefore, for the purpose of this
study, instructional materials refers to materials or resources such as charts,
slides television, computers, newspapers, flip charts, graphs, films among
others which help to facilitate the achievement and attainment of educational
goals.
There are different types of instructional materials that can assist the
teachers in the delivery of social studies lesson. Yusuf (1999) listed these
materials as including
chalkboards, charts, graphs, diagrams, exhibits, flannel boards, flat pictures,
photographs, prints, maps, models, motion pictures, objects, specimens and
textbooks. Others include farm tools and equipment, excursion or field trips
and demonstrations. Instructional materials in social studies comprise simple
and common objects, print and non-print materials and other tools which can be
utilized in the teaching and learning process to ensure effective transmission
of knowledge and skills.
The classification of instructional materials is carried out according to
specific areas of appeal (Ukoha, 1996). The different classes include:
Audio-aids which appeal only to the sense of hearing. They include radio,
cassette players, head phones and public address systems; Visual aids which
appeal to the sense of sight. They include pictures, models, specimens, tools,
charts, posters, photographs and periodicals; the Audio-visual aids appeal to
both the senses of hearing and sight at the same time. They include television,
video films, motion pictures, documentary films, recorded programmes and
demonstrations they all aid in achieving and teaching and learning objectives.
Learning takes place in a formal and informal environment. It could be
seen as the process through which certain behavioural changes are integrated in
the learner. Offorma (1994) defined learning as the process through which
behaviour is initiated, modified and changed. According to Onwuka (1996),
learning is the permanent
acquisition and habitual utilization of newly acquired knowledge or experience.
Hoy and Miskel (2008) see learning as something that happens when experience
produces a stable change in someone’s knowledge or behaviour. In this context,
learning means the ability of the student to understand the lesson taught by
the teacher with the use of instructional materials.
National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) (1994) lends credence to
this definition by adding that social studies is the integrated study of the
social sciences and humanities to promote civic competence. Social studies
focuses on people’s relationships with their social, physical, spiritual,
cultural, economic, political, and technological environment. Social studies
have also been stressed as an inter-disciplinary field in which man learns
about problems of survival in his environment (Adarelegbe, 1980). In this
context, social studies refer to a subject taught in the junior secondary
schools with the use of instructional materials.
The use of instructional material in the facilitation of teaching and
learning of social studies is very crucial. Bolick, Berson, Coutts, and
Heinecke (2003) asserted that there exists a good relationship between the
teachings of the social studies and the use of instructional materials. He
further stressed that some educators have been fascinated by the potentials of
instructional materials in enhancing teaching and learning. He lamented that
some teachers lagged behind in using instructional materials during teaching
and learning. Nevertheless, others expressed doubts
that instructional materials are integral components of teaching-learning
situations. In fact, the use of instructional material in teaching social
studies it is not just to supplement learning but to complement its process. It
therefore follows that if there must be effective teaching and learning
activity, utilization of instructional materials will be relevant.
However, utilization of instructional materials aids learning one of the
recurring issue in teaching and learning social studies may be, the non-use of
instructional materials in the teaching and learning of the subject. According
to Ekong (1999) students seem to learn better from those practical experiences
which the instructional material expose them to, especially in learning social
studies. Social studies is a core and integrated curriculum. This means that
without the use of instructional materials in teaching social studies, the
goals and objectives of that subject may not be achieved. Active learning in
social studies involves providing opportunities for students to take part
meaningfully by talking, listening, writing, reading and reflecting on the
contents taught. Unfortunately, many social studies lessons continue to be
dominated by only the use of chalkboard and textbooks (Jimoh, 2009). This
dominance prevents teachers from making the lesson student-centered.
Furthermore, it forces the teacher to cater for those students who find the
texts accessible. This may create barriers for those who do not use textbooks
for the acquisition of new knowledge. Although, some students are able to
access the.....
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