Importance of instructional materials in the teaching social studies?

Answer 1

Introduction

The introduction of Social studies into the Nigerian school system was based on certain philosophical considerations. One of them is to address social issues and man’s problem of life in their interrelatedness, as they appear in real life situations instead of addressing them in an uninterlated manner as those learnt through separate disciplines like geography, religion, sociology and anthropology. Social Studies, according to Ezegbe (1994), was therefore introduced as an integrated discipline to make education real to life.

Social studies was also introduced into the Nigerian school system to achieve one of the philosophies of Nigerian education as indicated in the National Policy on Education which is “the development of the individual into a sound and effective citizen” (1998:7). The realization of this objective through Social studies is possible since the subject is an integrated programme which are taught and learnt in Social studies looks at all aspects of the life of the child in the society. It is therefore, better equipped to properly socialize the child to become a sound and effective citizen.

It is further stated in the National Policy on Education (1998:8) that education is to achieve the inculcation of national consciousness and national unity; the inculcation of the right type of values and attitudes for the survival of the individual and the Nigerian society. All these, according to Ezegbe (1994) involve the development of modern democratic values which are taught and learnt in social studies because of its broad based scope. The accomplishment of the purposes for which Social studies was introduced in schools would depend to a large extent, not only on the availability of the right caliber of professionally trained Social studies teaching personnel, but also of the material resources available in schools for its teaching. Of all the personnel involved in the development, implementation and evaluation of a curriculum, the teacher is the most important. Brown (1982) pointed out the vital role of the teacher in the curriculum process when he noted that:

the curriculum can be a great success or a dismal failure depending on teachers and the instructional materials at the disposal of the teacher are of vital importance. They are the keypersons who alone can make the curriculum design achieve whatever it was designed to achieve… (pg. 19).

No matter how strongly motivated a nation may be in desiring to provide education for its citizens irrespective of the financial resources and the good will, the effectiveness of the system ultimately depends on the quality of the teachers that operate it and availability of instructional materials and educational inputs that are of vital importance in the successful implementation of social studies curriculum. . It is the teacher who translates societal values and aspirations to practical lessons in the class. Several educators amongst who are Coombs (1970), Fafunwa (1974), Fayemi (1991) and Ukeje (1970) have written on the vital role of the teachers as implementers of the curriculum. According to them, whatever abilities are available, whatever content is presented for teaching, whichever kind of environment the school is situated and whatever kind of pupils are given to teach, the important and vital role of the teacher cannot be over-emphasized. Teachers represent a large proportion of the input of an educational system.

Instructional materials are also educational inputs and they are of vital importance in the successful implementation of any curriculum. Relevant and appropriate textbooks, visual and audio-visual materials like globes, charts, slides, maps, tapes etc are of paramount necessities in the teaching-learning process. Audio-visual materials supplement and consolidate what is read in textbooks and journals. This study was aimed at finding out if there are necessary human and material resources in the Nigerian secondary schools for the implementation of the new social studies curriculum at the senior secondary school level.

In conclusion, though, Social studies had been introduced into the educational scene in Nigeria since 1958, it went through various stages of development before it was officially entrenched in the educational curriculum of the nation at the primary, junior secondary, teachers colleges and tertiary levels of education. However, social studies was not included in the senior secondary school curriculum until 1998. The basic problem it has encountered is in the area of availability of instructional material for it teaching at the various levels of learning. More need to be done by policy executors in the educational sector in Nigeria. The inability of student to effectively comprehend the subject may be due to lack of adequate facilities, both instructional and personnel.

References

Borg, W. R. & Gall, M.D. (1979). Educational Research: An Introduction (3rd Ed.) New York: Longman.

Brown, N. (1982). Curriculum and Instructions. Lagos: Macmillan.

Coombs, P.H. (1970). The World Educational Crisis: A Systems Analysis. New York: Oxford University Press.

Adegbe, M. O. (1994). “Social Studies Curriculum and Instructions” in Amadi, H.C. and Joof, G.W. (1994) (eds). Social Studies in Schools: Teaching Methods, Techniques, Approaches and Perspectives. Onitsha. Outrite Publishers.

Federal Republic of Nigeria (1998). National Policy on Education, Lagos: Federal Ministry of Information.

Obagah, H. (1993). “The Senior Secondary School’s Social studies Syllabus. An Unfinished Business”. Paper presented at the 2nd National Conference of Social Studies Association of Nigeria.

Ukeje, D. O. (19970). “Performance Oriented Teacher Education”. Report of the 5th Annual Conference, Western Council of the Association for Teacher Education in Africa.

Answer 2

1.1 Significance of the Study

This research is of significance to the domain of educational technology as it extends the knowledge base that currently exists in that field. The concept of Intranet technology is relatively new to the majority of educational institutions. The handful of schools who have chosen to embrace the concept and implemented the technology have welcomed the educational and administrative benefits it has to offer. Therefore, research which explores the advantages of such technology will help to raise awareness among those who are unacquainted with its potential applications and benefits within their educational setting. To illustrate the potential of a school-based Intranet the research investigated two institutions currently using the technology. The findings which have resulted from each case study have the capacity to impact upon the method by which electronic information literacy skills are currently undertaken in schools.