PERCEPTION OF STUDENTS ON THE STATUS OF SOCIAL STUDIES EDUCATION AMONG NCE STUDENTS

1.1 Introduction

Social studies education is an integrated subject that exposes learners to desirable knowledge, attitudes, values and skills necessary for effective socio-civic life. However, for social studies education to achieve its lofty goals and objectives, the learners must have a good perception of the subject matter. Perception refers to the process in which sensory information are organized and interpreted by living organisms to make meaning (Mukherjee, 2002). Perception of social studies education therefore refers to analysis, synthesis and integration of concepts and generalizations related to man and his environment. It is the process of attaining awareness or understanding of social studies education as an integrated curriculum for promoting effective citizenship. Generally, the perception of what social studies education is to the perceiver (students) is related to information about the subject available to the students over the years.

As a prelude to other parts of this study, this chapter will discuss the background upon which this study was initiated, the statement of problems that led to this study, the Aim and Objectives of the study. Others are Significance of the study, Scope of work, Limitations of the Study and Definition of technical terms.

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1.2 Background of Study

Social studies education is perceived differently by different people, Irmiya (2007) observed that, the differences in the perception of social studies have created misconceptions in the minds of ignorant people. It is important to add that, this problem of misconception of social studies is found even among teachers and students alike of social studies in schools. To some people, it is the study of social sciences which includes economics, sociology, anthropology, geography and political science; to others, it is reflective inquiry leading to critical thinking and problem solving; while another group sees it as citizenship transmission; and yet to another group, it is an integration of concepts and ideas from different subject areas. The above conceptions of social studies education are all relevant depending on the needs and aspirations of the society where it is used.

In Nigeria the integrated approach which fuses and integrates concepts and ideas from the social sciences, humanities and liberal arts has become the mainstream of social studies education (Irmiya, 2007). The difference in the conception of the goals and content of social studies education results into confusion among teachers and students on what constitutes the subject matter or not. This is a fundamental problem that needs to be addressed if the subject is to make any meaningful impact on the learners. Most research studies on perception of social studies education in Nigeria are centered on the teachers' point of view and as such this study is therefore meant to fill the gap by assessing students' perception of social studies education. It is also meant to give students an opportunity to express their opinions on the impact of the subject matter with regards to the attitudes and dispositional of its learners towards effective citizenship.

Since students at this level are teachers in training, their perception of the goals and content of the subject will go a long way in influencing their practice after school, Al- Gharibi (2008) revealed that, although students viewed learning social studies as enjoyable, they did not see social studies as useful for a career or even being related to their lives. Also, Al-Nofli (2010) examined the perception of 407 Social Studies teachers about Social Studies goals and content areas in Oman. Findings showed that, teachers perceived current events, core values, environmental education, geography, history, family life education and public issues as the most important content areas of social studies. It further revealed that, though social studies teachers viewed all social studies goals as important, the perceived implementation of the goals was lower than that of its importance.

Therefore, in Federal College of Education Kontagora, Niger State where the research was carried out, the activities that was conducted is to know the Perception of Students on the Status of Social Studies Education among NCE Students.

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1.3 Statement of the Problem

Investigation revealed that the attitudes associated with Social Studies appear to affect students' performance in the subject. Also, many Social Studies teachers teach Social Studies without instructional materials and facilities (Mberengwa 2004). These observers contend that the failure of Social Studies education to nurture and develop in the Nigerian child the spirit of good citizenship, national consciousness, positive values and attitudes, is substantiated by the host of socio-economic and political vices that still beset the country. It is therefore imperative to find out the causes and possible solutions to the ineffectiveness of Social Studies education in Nigeria.

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1.4 Aim and Objectives of the Study

The main aim of this study is to examine the Perception of Students on the Status of Social Studies Education among NCE Students in Federal College of Education Kontagora, Niger State, Nigeria. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were set out as follows:

1. To find out students perception of the goals of social studies education among NCE Students in the area under study.
2. To assess the availability of instructional materials for teaching social studies among NCE Students in the area under study.
3. To find out the methods commonly used in teaching social studies among NCE Students in the area under study.
4. To find out students’ perception of the extent to which the goals of Social Studies education are implemented to promote effective citizenship among NCE Students in the area under study.

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1.5 Research Questions

The study came up with research questions so as to be able to ascertain the above stated objectives. The specific research questions for the study are stated below as follows:

• What is the students’ perception of the goals of social studies education among NCE Students in the area under study?
• What is the availability of instructional materials for teaching social studies among NCE Students in the area under study?
• What are the methods commonly used in teaching social studies among NCE Students in the area under study?
• What is the students’ perception of the extent to which the goals of Social Studies education are implemented to promote effective citizenship among NCE Students in the area under study?

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1.6 Research Hypothesis

In order to pursue the objective of this study, the following generalized statements have been designed to guide and aids in obtaining the result for the experiment to be conducted. For this work, the null hypothesis will be represented with H0 while the alternative hypothesis will be represented with hypothesis H1.

Hypothesis One

• H0: There is no significant difference between the nature of perception of male and female students of the content of social studies education among NCE Students.
• H1: There is a significant difference between the nature of perception of male and female students of the content of social studies education among NCE Students.

Hypothesis Two

• H0: There is no significant difference between male and female students perception of the goals of social studies education among NCE Students in Federal College of Education Kontagora, Niger State.
• H1: There is a significant difference between male and female students perception of the goals of social studies education among NCE Students in Federal College of Education Kontagora, Niger State.

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1.7 Significance of Study

The study gives various insights into the challenges of teaching social studies in NCE Programme in Nigeria. These highlighted challenges will enable stakeholders in the education sector to take adequate measures in tackling these challenges, and make learning of social studies a lot easier for both teachers and students in Nigerian Colleges of Education.

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1.8 Scope of the Study

The scope of the research is focused on the Perception of Students on the Status of Social Studies Education among NCE Students in Federal College of Education Kontagora, Niger State.

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1.9 Limitations of the Study

During the course of this study, many things militated against its completion, some of which are:

1. Time Constraint: The time frame given to accomplish this project was very short due to school academic calendar and it was carried out under pressure which made the researcher not to implement some necessary features.
2. Research material: availability of research material is a major setback to the scope of the study.
3. Frequent power failure: This made the researcher append more money on fuel to ensure sustainable power.
4. Financial Constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).

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1.10 Definition of Terms

Social Studies: is the integrated study of the social sciences and humanities to promote civic competence.