ASSESSMENT OF AVAILABILITY AND UTILIZATION OF INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS FOR TEACHING ISLAMIC STUDIES IN JUNIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN KADUNA STATE, NIGERIA

ABSTRACT
The study focused on assessment of availability and utilization of instructional materials for teaching Islamic Studies in junior secondary schools in Kaduna state, Nigeria. It explored, the responses of male and female teachers on relevance of instructional materials; assessed the extent to which urban and rural teachers utilize instructional materials for teaching of Islamic studies and the responses of urban and rural teachers on obstacles to effective utilization of instructional materials in teaching of Islamic Studies in junior secondary schools in Kaduna State. Literature was reviewed in line with the objectives, research questions and hypotheses in the study. Descriptive survey was utilized. Out of the total population of five thousand six hundred and eight-three (5,683) Junior Secondary School teachers in Kaduna State, a sample of one hundred and eighty- three (183) Islamic studies teachers were drawn, through the use of purposive and quota sampling technique. The researcher used instrument titled “Assessment of Availability and Utilization of Instructional Materials for teaching Islamic Studies questionnaire for collecting data. The data collected were descriptively analyzed using mean and standard deviation, while the hypotheses were tested using t-test statistical tool. All the four (4) null hypotheses developed for the study were rejected at 0.05 level of significance. The finding revealed that, Significant difference was found between the responses of male and female teachers on instructional materials available for teaching of Islamic studies in junior secondary schools, Kaduna state; There was no significant difference between the responses of urban and rural teachers on utilization of instructional materials for teaching Islamic Studies in junior secondary schools, Kaduna state; Significant difference did not exist between the responses of urban and rural teachers on relevance of instructional materials in teaching of Islamic Studies in junior secondary schools, Kaduna state; and Significant difference was not found between the responses of male and female teachers on obstacles faced in utilization of instructional materials for teaching of Islamic Studies in junior secondary schools, Kaduna state. The study recommended among others that, the state ministry of education should provide junior secondary schools in Kaduna state with more modern instructional materials such as overhead projectors, film strips, videos and enough computers in order to promote quality teaching and learning in JSS, there is urgent need for government and other stakeholders in education to organise regular workshops/seminars for Islamic Studies teachers and principals on the importance and current developments and progress in the utilization of instructional materials and resources in Islamic studies teaching in the junior secondary schools.


CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
In Nigeria, the government pronouncement and activities is geared towards encouraging secondary school students to study abound. Towards this development, the Nigeria Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) was mandated to develop Islamic studies curricula for use in Junior Secondary education and indeed all levels of educational system in Nigeria. In line with government declaration for Universal Basic Education Programme. The NERDC was directed by the National Council on Education (NCE) to re-structure and re-align the existing Junior secondary school subjects curriculum to meet the target of the Nine (9) year Basic Education which seeks to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) now Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (Mundi, 2008; National Teachers Institute Kaduna-Nigeria, 2012; Nwafor & Eze, 2014) The curriculum reflects depth, appropriateness, and interrelatedness of the Islamic studies curricula contents. Since the curricula represents the total experience to which learners must be exposed, the contents, performance objectives, activities and instructional materials were provided. Instructional materials refer to materials that are used to facilitate teaching and learning. It enables the teacher communicate ideas or concepts with ease as they appeal to many senses at a time (Mundi, 2008; Nwafor & Eze, 2014).The learner can see, touch, smell or taste thereby making learning more meaningful. This agrees with the Chinese proverb that states: I hear – I forget, I see – I remember, I do – I understand.

Moreover, education impacts skills, attitudes, belief, ability to reason, knowledge and any other form which enables one to adjust and interact effectively with other individuals. Through the acquisition of skills, it enables an individual and the group to proceed to the actualization of the individuals‟ destiny. Indeed, instructional material improves students skills, ability to reason and make informed decision about what is going on in the global village (Mmari, 2008).

The influence of instructional materials in promoting students academic performance and at promoting teaching and learning in an educational system is indisputable. The teaching of Islamic studies in Nigerian secondary schools needs to be properly handled. The materials used by teachers to teach and drive home their subject points at the secondary school levels of Nigerian education system is incontrovertibly a paramount important issue in practical classroom interaction and successful transfer of knowledge from the teacher to the learners. Instructional materials are materials which assist teachers to make their lessons explicit to learners. They are also used to transmit information, ideas and notes to learners ( Ijaduola, 2007).

Instructional materials include both visual and audiovisual aids such as pictures, flashcards, posters, charts, tape recorder, radio, video, television, computers among others. These materials serve as supplement to the normal processes of instruction. The origin of instructional materials in Islam could be traced to the time of Prophet Muhammad (Salallahu Alaihi Wa Salam) and the early mission of Islam. The available learning resources during this period are: the scribes, flat bones, leaves of date - pall and bark of trees (Tijani, 2007; Ahmad, 2013 & Yusuf, 2013). As soon as a passage of the Holy Qur'an revealed, Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) would memorize it and then communicate it to his companions who would do the same. At the same time, he would dictate the revelation to some of his scribes who would write it down on these available materials. This way all the portions of the Qur'an that were revealed were written down and put together in one place (Tijani, 2009). These served as the electronic or mechanical means of arresting, processing or restructuring visual or verbal information then. This is why the educational technologists traced the history of technology to this period which they referred to as stone-age (Adigun, 2007 & Mandama, 2007).The stones were used as matches, flat bones, stones, date-palm, leather and bark of trees formed the earliest instructional materials for study and memorization of the Qur'an then instead of lap-tops, computers, radio, projected media which are currently available in the 21st century. After the death of Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W), there was advancement in the availability of writing material and therefore, during the Khulafau Rashidun it was possible to put the word of Allah (Qur'an) into a book form compilation (Bidmos, 2008).

Presently, there are different resources from the afore-mentioned resources for teaching and learning of Islamic Studies in junior secondary schools, the choice of resources to be used depends on the topic in question. In junior secondary school Islamic Studies currcular, some of the themes from which different topics could be derived include: Tawhid, Fiqh, Tahdhib, Sirah or Tarikh and Hidayah (Kareem, 2002 in Mandama, 2007). Islamic studies curricular at junior secondary school in Nigeria is designed to enable the learners develop interest in their religion (Islam) , acquire basic knowledge and skills in act of Ibada (Worship), and also apply their knowledge and skills in worship of Allah as it is revealed in the holy book(Al-qur‟an). If these objectives will be achieved, then efforts should be made to provide adequate instructional materials to Nigeria Junior secondary schools in teaching of Islamic studies and to encourage its effective use. According to Okobia (2011) the Nigerian male and female teachers operate from a deficient environment where teaching and learning is seriously impoverished particularly in the rural set up. And even in the urban areas only few schools are connected to the national grid while virtually all the rural schools do not have access to instructional materials. Male and female Islamic Studies teachers in urban areas are those that teach in schools located within urban areas characterized by many amenities like big markets, television, networks, pipe-borne water, road networks, hospitals, companies, and banks. Those in rural areas teach in school located within the area where many amenities are lacking (Nwabunwanne, 2009).

Despite the emphasis placed on the usefulness of instructional materials in teaching and learning process, most students still find it difficult to cope with the study of Islamic studies in schools. This may have resulted from lack of or underutilization of instructional materials by teachers. The main focus of this study is to ascertaining the availability and utilization of instructional materials for teaching Islamic studies in junior secondary schools in Kaduna State.

1.2 Statement of the Problem
Effective instruction in Islamic studies depends on the availability and utilization of relevant instructional resources and the skill of the teacher. This is because instructional resources facilitate the understanding of difficult concepts, themes and topics in Islamic studies. More so, the resources make it easier for learners to follow, understand and retain content of the lesson (Abdullahi, 2014). Moreover, the use of instructional materials has a lot of importance on teaching and learning process. The teachers‟ level of resourcefulness, creativity, and imagination is credited to the achievement of quality education. These are expressed in how well the teacher is able to perceive, create and use the relevant information that can enhance and promote effective teaching and learning activities. The argument above implies that failure to provide instructional resources may impact on meaningful teaching and learning of Islamic studies. Islamic studies teacher needs to select and use a wide variety of instructional resources when teaching to take care of individual differences in class. This is because the resources make the entire teaching and learning processes complete and functional.

However, the provision of instructional materials for teaching Islamic studies has received little attention. Many schools are not able to provide a variety of instructional resources needed for Islamic studies teaching. Most a times, the available instructional materials in some of these schools include: chalk, chalkboard, pictures, maps and textbooks that are obsolete and as well irrelevant for teaching of Islamic studies (Yusuf, 2013). More so, in some schools where these instructional materials are available, utilization becomes a problem, due to inability and inadequate time to apply them in teaching, irrelevance to subject matter and many more. Moreover, most teachers fail to utilize instructional materials because they do not know their benefits in promoting teaching and learning, while to others, it is due to laziness, poor attitudes and negligence of the teachers. Also, availability and utilization of these instructional materials are sometimes obstructed by inadequate fund, government attitudes towards teaching and learning, poor supervision of teachers, among others. Nonetheless, little or none has been done on Islamic studies in junior secondary schools in Kaduna state. This existing gap in research has prompted this study. Against this backdrop, this study assessed the availability and utilization of instructional materials for teaching Islamic studies in junior secondary schools in Kaduna state.

1.3 Objectives of the Study
The objectives of this study are to:

1.    assess the responses of male and female teachers on availability of instructional materials for teaching of Islamic studies in junior secondary schools, Kaduna State;

2.    determine the extent to which urban and rural teachers utilize instructional materials for teaching of Islamic studies in junior secondary schools, Kaduna State;

3.    investigate the relevance of instructional materials to male and female teachers in teaching of Islamic studies in junior secondary schools, Kaduna State; and

4.    find out the obstacles to effective utilization of instructional materials in teaching of Islamic Studies in urban and rural junior secondary schools in Kaduna State.

1.4 Research Questions
In order to achieve the objectives of this study, the following research questions are raised to guide the investigation:

1.       What are the responses of male and female teachers on instructional materials available for teaching of Islamic studies in junior secondary schools in Kaduna State?

2.    Which of the instructional materials are utilized by urban and rural teachers for teaching of Islamic studies in junior secondary schools, Kaduna State?

3.    In what way are instructional materials relevant to male and female Islamic studies teachers in junior secondary schools, Kaduna State?

4.    What are the obstacles to effective utilization of instructional materials among urban and rural Islamic Studies teachers in junior secondary schools, Kaduna State?

1.5 Hypotheses
The following null hypotheses were tested in the study:

1.       There is no significant difference between the responses of male and female teachers on instructional materials available for teaching of Islamic studies in junior secondary schools, Kaduna State.

2.       There is no significant difference between the responses of urban and rural teachers on utilization of instructional materials for teaching Islamic Studies in junior secondary schools, Kaduna State.

3.       There is no significant difference between the responses of urban and rural teachers on relevance of instructional materials in teaching of Islamic Studies in junior secondary schools, Kaduna State.

4.       There is no significant difference between the responses of male and female teachers on obstacles faced in utilization of instructional materials for teaching of Islamic Studies in junior secondary schools, Kaduna State.

1.6 Basic Assumptions
The study was based on the following assumptions:

1.       It is assumed that there is difference in the opinions of respondents on the types of instructional materials available for teaching of Islamic studies in junior secondary schools, Kaduna State.

2.       It is assumed that there is difference in opinions of respondents on utilization of instructional materials for teaching of Islamic Studies in junior secondary schools, Kaduna State

3.       It is assumed that there is difference in opinions of respondents on the relevance of instructional materials in teaching of Islamic studies in junior secondary schools, Kaduna State

4.       It is assumed that there is difference in opinions of respondents  on obstacles faced in
utilization of instructional materials for effective teaching of Islamic Studies in junior secondary schools, Kaduna State.

1.7 Significance of the Study
The study is expected to be of great significance to various groups and individuals like the Ministry of Education, policy makers, curriculum planners, principals and teachers. Findings of this study will help to assess the effectiveness of the stated objectives of secondary school –Islamic Studies curriculum. Subsequently, the findings of the study will help Islamic Studies teachers in choosing an appropriate instructional material capable of relieving students‟ tension towards the subject thus improving students‟ academic performance in Islamic Studies. It will motivate Islamic Studies teachers to develop interest towards utilizing suitable teaching materials that will be a possible means towards reducing problems in the teaching and learning of Islamic Studies. Findings of this study will help clarify among the teachers the need for continuous and regular improvisation of suitable instructional materials for teaching and learning of Islamic Studies. Moreover, the results of this study will be of great significance to the Islamic Studies curriculum planners. The curriculum developers will find the work useful in reviewing the Islamic Studies curriculum by seriously laying emphasis on utilization of instructional materials so as to meet up with emerging needs of the society. This study will be of immense benefit to researchers in the field of Islamic Studies by forming a basis for further studies on the usage of instructional materials and teachers‟ quality in learning of Islamic Studies as a subject.

The study will also equip educational administrators in the Ministry of Education as well as educational test and measurement experts on the need to provide instructional materials for teaching Islamic Studies in secondary schools particularly in selected secondary schools and the Kaduna State. The study will also be useful in educational policy making. The research will equally arouse Instructional Resources funding agencies such as Federal Ministry of Education, National Teachers‟ Institutes and other professional bodies to formulate educational polices which may be useful in the implementation of Islamic Studies curriculum.

1.8 Scope of the Study
This research work is focused on the assessment of availability and utilization of instructional materials for the teaching and learning of Islamic studies in junior secondary schools in Kaduna State. The content of the study focused on the availability, utilization, relevance and obstacles to effective utilization of instructional materials for teaching and learning of Islamic studies in Kaduna state. The study will cover all public Junior Secondary Schools in Local Government Areas of Zaria and Kudan (Zone A), Giwa and Birnin – Gwari (Zone B) and Kagarko and Kauru (Zone C). The fact is that, all the schools in these local government areas teach Islamic studies as a subject. The study will focus on Islamic studies teachers in the aforementioned schools in local government areas to be covered by the study. This is based on the fact that, it is the teachers who use these instrumental materials in teaching of the students.

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Item Type: Project Material  |  Size: 100 pages  |  Chapters: 1-5
Format: MS Word   Delivery: Within 30Mins.
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