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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