ABSTRACT
The study investigated the "Effects of Community Resources on students Academic Performance in Social Studies in Junior Secondary Schools in FCT Abuja". A quasi experimental design was utilized and a pre-test, post-test control and treatment groups were used. The population of the study consisted of 7,669 male and female students from twenty four (24) Junior Secondary Schools in FCT Abuja. Two (2) were randomly selected from both urban and rural areas where one school is experimental and the control groups respectively. The treatment groups was taught with a lesson plan and note using community resources while the control group was taught without community resources. Three research questions were stated with three corresponding hypotheses. The data collected was used to answer the research questions and test the hypotheses using mean, standard deviation and t-test respectively. The findings of the study showed that the use of community resources favoured the experimental group in terms of performance than the control in Social Studies. One of the major recommendations made is that government should make the use of community resources compulsory, particularly in the teaching and learning of social studies education at lower and upper model primary level in particular, and secondary schools in general.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
The inspiration to undertake a study on impact of community resources on academic performance of Junior Secondary School students in FCT Abuja and the role it plays in enhancing the Social Studies is premised on the grounds of constant failure of students in school subjects. The issue of failure is to be addressed hopefully through assisting teachers to help their students acquire many skills through community resources. If teachers can effectively and resourcefully use community resources properly there will be a sound academic performance of students at the primary level, and by the time these students go to Secondary Schools Education, they can further prepare on this foundation before writing their social studies examination at the West African School Certificate level.
According to Mezieobi, (2008) some teachers have wrong notions about resource materials for the teaching of Social Studies. Some of these teachers think that the materials available for the teaching of Social Studies are the ready made materials that are brought from the bookstores or markets, and are being kept in the school for use at every lesson time. Others focus their attention and stick to text books all the time; they forget to use the appropriate community resources centres. He argues further that lessons in Social Studies should be student centred. It could be true that teachers might have been taught that way, but they must not forget the fact that subject matter changes. Therefore, the methodology must also change for more effective teaching, because students are trained for the community to improve their standard academic performance and be prepared for their future roles as leaders of tomorrow. Therefore, there is need to rely more on community resources for the teaching of Social Studies. Thus, some authorities have diagnosed the meaning of the concept of community resources as that which focuses on man in relation to place and the overall view of the world of man’s environment. Community resources abound within and beyond the communities in which schools are located and of course for students, for effective functioning later in their lives, as they are exposed to the realities of their community. It also include leaders, farmers, hunters, fishermen, gardeners, mechanics, carpenters, craftsmen, artists, blacksmiths, butchers, priests, architects, librarians, legislators and postmen among several others.
The school premises or classrooms are not the only places where learning can take pace. Other places can be used, many spaces are available for learners to meet, learn, play, rest or think in almost every local community. While we complain of lack of enough classrooms, we tend to forget that the best learning places, particularly for Social Studies lessons, are the offices, conference rooms, shrines, abattoirs, cinema, theaters, churches, mosques, and many others within the local community.
This research study is carried out to show the different types of community resources that are available for useful teaching and ways of making better use of them in the teaching of Social Studies in secondary schools. The teachers in the secondary schools, curriculum designers, and Social Studies teachers are also the focus of this project. This study, therefore, intends to make teaching of Social Studies Education develop into a capacity that would enable students learn and acquire certain basic skills of observation, analysis, be active citizens and be able to draw inference which are important for decision making.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
The researcher has observed that the impact of community resources on academic performance in Social Studies of Junior Secondary School students have not been properly utilized. Real resources are animate and inanimate things within the environment. They exist in our environment and when not effectively utilized, they cannot stimulate learning. Real resources, in their natural state, are undoubtedly, resources which offer students firsthand experience of what they learn and when not properly used, students academic performance fails. Poor funding by school authorities kill morale of teachers and affects the use of community resources for students academic performance in Social Studies.
On the side of students, when they are confused about the resources seen and taught, their ineffective academic performance in Social Studies is glaringly seen. Academic performance of students who are not progressing could be due to teacher’s lack of skill acquisition and strategies on the effective utilization of the resources in Social studies Education students are not exposed to real local resources, and so they are not familiar with the subject taught, and they are not aware that resources are part of their environment with which they are suppose to relate more easily. All these result in poor or lack of knowledge about Social Studies and the importance of community resources which also affects effective learning among secondary school students. Therefore, this research study intends to determine the of community resources on academic performance in Social Studies of Junior Secondary Schools in FCT Abuja.
1.3 Objectives of the Study
The major purpose of this studies is to investigate the impact of community resource persons on the effective teaching and learning of social studies education in FCT Abuja. Some of the specific are;
1. To investigate the impact of community resources on the academic performance of students exposed and those not exposed and their academic performance in social studies education.
2. To find out the impact of community resources on academic performance of male and female students in social studies education in Junior Secondary Schools in FCT Abuja.
3. To examine the impact of community resources on academic performance of students in social studies education in Junior Secondary Schools in FCT Abuja with regard to their location.
1.4 Research Questions
The following research questions are set to guide the study:
1. What is the impact of community resources on the academic performance of the two groups of students in Social Studies of Junior Secondary Schools in FCT Abuja?
2. What is the effect community resources on academic performance of male and female students in Social Studies in Karu and AMAC Local Government Area, FCT Abuja?
3. What is the impact of community resources on academic performance of rural and urban students in Social Studies of Junior Secondary Schools in FCT Abuja?
1.5 Hypotheses
This study has the following null hypotheses to be tested:
Ho1: There is no significant difference in the academic performance of students exposed to community resources and those not exposed to in Junior Secondary Schools in FCT Abuja.
Ho2: There is no significant difference in the academic performance of male and female students exposed to community resources in Junior Secondary School in FCT Abuja.
Ho3: There is no significant difference in the academic performance of the rural and urban students exposed to community resources in Social Studies of Junior Secondary Schools in FCT Abuja.
1.6 Significance of the Study
The findings of this study will hopefully help to raise the standard of Social Studies Teaching in Junior Secondary Schools in the following ways. The findings of the study would encourage active participation of students in class activities, which will in turn help in meaningful teaching and learning, thereby making academic performance to improve and be effective. The finding of the study if found positive will help in minimizing the high failure rate of secondary schools students in social studies. This would rekindle interest in the subject and provide ample activities and participation by students.
The finding of the study will serve, as a foundation for further research studies on community resources, particularly in teaching other Arts and Social Science Subjects. The finding of the study will also help the teacher to effectively teach social studies in secondary school so as to minimize the discouragement of students in social studies subject.
The finding of the study will equally help the curriculum planer in designing community resources as teaching aids which will improve students pass rate, and parents will be encouraged to buy some of these community resources for their children.
1.7 Scope of the Study
The scope of the study covers the impact of the use of community resources as teaching material on Junior Secondary School students Academic Performance in Social Studies in FCT Abuja. The essence of limiting the study to two Local Governments is because FCT Abuja is very large and the number of Junior Secondary Schools are many. Therefore, the researcher limits the study to two secondary schools to serve as representative sample for the rest of the schools. The research work is also experimental.
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