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AN ASSESSMENT OF RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN STUDENTS' PERCEPTION OF SOCIAL STUDIES AND THEIR ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN COLLEGES OF EDUCATION

ABSTRACT

The objective of this study was to find out the relationship between students’ perception of Social Studies and their academic performance in the subject in Colleges of Education in Kaduna State. The respondents of the study comprised NCE 2 and NCE 3 students of Social Studies at the Federal College of Education in Zaria and the Kaduna State College of Education in Gidan Waya. The data for the study was collected using a questionnaire with reliability coefficient of 0.87. The Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation Coefficient was used to test the hypotheses formulated for the study. The hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance with df = 232. The findings were as follows: 1. The Social Studies students in colleges of education in Kaduna State do not record high academic performance in the subject. 2. Students’ perception of the Social Studies curriculum does affect their academic performance in the subject. 3. Students’ perception of relevance of Social Studies education has no bearing on their academic performance in the subject. 4. Students’ perception of public attitude towards Social Studies has no impact on their academic performance in the subject. 5. Students’ general perception of Social Studies does not affect their academic performance in the subject. Based on these findings the following recommendations were proffered for Social Studies researchers and policy makers. a. There is need for further research in order to determine the actual cause of students’ failure to display high performance in Social Studies. b. The NCE Social Studies curriculum should be reviewed in terms of volume and difficulty.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Social Studies as a school subject is a relatively new discipline in the world's educational arena. It only emerged in America and Europe in the early 20th century, and reached Nigeria not long after her independence from Britain in 1960 (Aina, Adeyoyin, Obilo & Ahmadu, 1982). The first national primary school curriculum on Social Studies in Nigeria was developed in 1971 (NERDC, 2003).

Social Studies evolved in the Nigerian educational system as a problem- solving field of study. The European colonizer left behind for Nigerians a system of education that, as Fafunwa (1974:194) put it, 'alienated Nigerians from their cultural environment'. Furthermore, the new nation of independent Nigeria, consisting of hitherto autonomous contiguous peoples, was faced with the enormous challenge of a common national orientation for her diverse socio-cultural groups. Consequently, the series of post- impendence educational reforms that led to the establishment of Social Studies in the Nigerian school system had, according to Akinlaye (1981:5), the following underlying motives:

The need to make education more relevant to the needs of the individual and society; (b) The  need  to  use education for national integration and social and economic development; (c) The need to  develop  the right societal values; (d) The need to make an individual responsive to the society in which he lives.

In a nutshell, Social Studies came to Nigeria, according to Balyejusa (1981:10-12), as a "corrective study" to redress the educational ills of the colonial era as well as to address the present and future socio-intellectual needs of Nigeria and Nigerians. According to Okam (1998:9-10), it was "the socio-civic function of Social Studies that recommended it to many African educators" to the extent that "the National Policy on Education gave it a pre- eminent place within the core subjects of the schools curricula in the new 6- 3-3-4 system of education established in 1982".

In view of its relative newness, however, Social Studies is still a discipline in identity crisis of some sort. Research authorities advise that personal experiences constitute a source of information for topics in research so researchers should make use of that source (Kolo,2003, and Olayiwola, 2007). Indeed, it was the researcher's experiences from two separate incidents that led him to appreciate the problem of identity facing the discipline of Social Studies, as a result of which the researcher intended to undertake this study.

The first incident occurred in August 2007 when the researcher was asked to teach the course "Introduction to Social Studies" in the Long Vacation Term (LVT) programme in the Faculty of Education at the Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria. The researcher sadly discovered that most of the students in the Social Studies class could not adequately explain what constituted Social Studies education in spite of the fact that most of them, having studied Social Studies at the Nigeria Certificate of Education (NCE) level, had been teaching Social Studies in primary and junior secondary schools for quite sometime. More sadly, these students appeared to be harbouring some feelings of inferiority as students of Social Studies - largely due to somewhat unfavourable public attitude towards the discipline. One of them narrated to the class, for instance, that when she informed an uncle that she had secured admission to read Social Studies at the Ahmadu Bello University, the uncle's sneering remark was this: "So that you can go and be telling people stories at the end!... You should have gone in for something better!" In a rejoinder, another student in the class reported being asked sarcastically by a friend: "Have you seen a professor of Social Studies before?!"

The second incident occurred in November 2007 when the researcher prepared a paper for presentation at a conference organized by the Christian Religious Section of the Department of Education at the Ahmadu Bello University. The theme of the conference was "The Role of Religion in a Sustainable Democracy in Nigeria". And the topic of the researcher's paper was "Christian-Muslim Dialogue: A Prerequisite for Sustainable Democracy in Nigeria". A senior colleague in another section saw the topic of the researcher's paper and protested: "But you're in Social Studies - what's your business with a conference on religion?! You're not in Islamic Studies, you're not in Christian Religious Studies..." The researcher was stunned to discover that even a senior educationist like that colleague did not appear to have a fair idea of what constituted the discipline of Social Studies which is a core subject in the Nigerian school system.

The experiences cited above have significant implications for Social Studies in Nigeria. Research findings have indicated that Nigeria is a kind of society in which parents, relatives and indeed peer groups wield significant influence over the career choice of students (Oladele, 2000). It has also been found that career choice by most Nigerian students, especially those from high social classes, is driven by societal glamour and prestige attached to the type of career involved (Gesinde, in Ipaye, 1986). In view of all that, it is safe to presume that the perceived negative view being held by the general public about Social Studies education will go a long way in producing a poor perception of Social Studies education in the psyche of the Nigerian student. In fact, this presumption is well substantiated by the researcher's observation of academic inferiority complex in the Social Studies students as recounted above. The operant conditioning theories of Pavlo (1927) and Skinner (1953), which state that positive reinforcement encourages learning while negative reinforcement discourages learning, is of relevance to the point at stake. Poor public attitude towards Social Studies is undoubtedly a negative reinforcement for the Social Studies student. There is a story of a Nigerian illiterate father who refused to sponsor his son to study veterinary medicine at university because in his (i.e. the father’s) view any illiterate could take care of cows and goats so he saw no justification in going to university merely to learn how to look after cows and goats (Oladele, 2000). This suggests that Social studies students in Nigeria may be faced with lack of due motivation and support from their parents if the parents have poor perception of the subject.

The researcher also observed a general state of poor academic performance in the Social Studies classes mentioned above. For instance, in a class of 21 students only 4(i.e 19%) students obtained the average mark of 50% (or more) of the examination score. This eventually led the researcher to suspect that there is a linkage between the students' somewhat poor perception of Social Studies and their poor academic performance in the subject. Correlation between self-esteem and academic performance has been reported in “a significant amount of study” (Stringer & Heath, 2008:329); and public recognition and respect for any profession/career plays a major role in fostering sense of self-esteem among members of that profession/career (Oyegbe, in Ughamadu, 2002). The researcher's observation in this respect was further corroborated by the generally poor academic performance of Social Studies students in colleges of education affiliated to the Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria. For instance, out of the results of 155 students randomly selected from semester examination results submitted to the Ahmadu Bello University (between March and May, 2008) by two of such colleges, only 58(38%) of the students passed the examinations.

The fact is that there can be no excellent academic performance without effective learning. It has been well-established among psychologists that strong motivation plays a predominant role in effective learning process, and there can be no strong motivation to accomplish a task of learning if there is poor perception of the task (Kuppuswamy, 1991).

It is natural of men, of course, not to appreciate or value anything they do not really understand. In view of the ever-growing importance and relevance of Social Studies education in the Nigerian context (NERDC, 2003), there is need for widespread education of both students and the general public on the real nature and objectives of Social Studies so as to nurture keen student interest in that discipline. In order to successfully nurture student interest in the discipline of Social Studies, student perception of that discipline must of necessity be carefully studied and clearly understood first and foremost. Hence the topic of this research: "An Assessment of the Relationship Between Students' Perception of Social Studies and their Academic Performance in Colleges of Education in Kaduna State". The perception of Social Studies by students in colleges of education is vitally important and pertinently crucial because colleges of education are the training grounds for primary Social Studies educators in the country.

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

According to the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (2003), Social Studies as a school subject was intended to enable the Nigerian child develop the spirits of patriotism, tolerance and other types of productive qualities of citizenship. Unfortunately, it has often been noted that Social Studies education in Nigeria has all along been a failure in terms of its purpose of incorporation into the Nigerian school system (Ubah, 1991;

Okam, 1998; Philips, 2001; Okam, 2002). 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.

The researcher has observed from personal interaction with some groups of Social Studies students at the Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria that these students are generally characterized by low morale due to their poor perception of Social Studies education. The researcher has also observed that the Social Studies students at the Ahmadu Bello University and its affiliated colleges of education generally record poor academic performance in the subject. These amount to a problem because students with poor perception of Social Studies education do not possess the requisite motivational force for high academic performance; and students who cannot achieve challenging academic performance can only be of little help in attaining the ultimate objectives of Social Studies education in Nigeria.

As Mukherjee (2002: 140) stated, “Implications from the psychology of  motivation  in  learning  situations  should  be  taken  into  serious consideration in every programme of education”. Poor perception of a task leads to low motivation to accomplish the task. As such, only students who have positive perception of Social Studies education and are therefore self- confident and proud of the subject can be taken as reliable vehicles for the attainment of the goals of Social Studies education in Nigeria. There is need to study the nature and quality of students’ perception of Social Studies education as well as the relationship, if any, between their perception of Social Studies and their academic performance in the subject.

1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

This research aims at investigating the relationship between students' perception of Social Studies and their academic performance in the subject in colleges of education in Kaduna State. The investigation centers on the constructs outlined below:

1. Finding out the impact of students' perception of the Social Studies curriculum on their academic performance in the subject.

2. Determining the impact of students' perception of relevance of social Studies education on their academic performance in the subject.

3. Verifying the effect of students' perception of public attitude towards Social Studies education on their academic performance in the subject.

4. Determining the impact of students' general perception of Social Studies education on their academic performance in the subject.

The ultimate objective of these investigations is to discover how students’ academic performance in Social Studies in Nigerian colleges of education might be improved. Once a linkage is established between perception and poor performance a way towards improved performance can be reasonably proffered.

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

Ndagi (1999:37) has noted that statement of research problems in question forms makes a research more clearly focused because the researcher will then be looking for answers to specific questions. Thus, the following research questions can be drawn from the statement of the problem presented above:

1. Do Social Studies students of Colleges of Education in Kaduna State record high academic performance in the subject?

2. Does students’ perception of the Social Studies Curriculum influence their academic performance in the subject in Colleges of Education in Kaduna State?

3. Does students’ perception of relevance of Social Studies education affect their academic performance in the subject in Colleges of Education in Kaduna State?

4. Does students’ perception of public attitude towards Social Studies have impact on their academic performance in the subject in Colleges of Education in Kaduna State?

5. Does students’ general perception of Social Studies influence their academic performance in the subject in Colleges of Education in Kaduna State?

1.5 RESEARCH HYPOTHESES

The following hypotheses are formulated for test:

1. There is no significant relationship between students’ perception of the Social Studies curriculum and their academic performance in the subject in Colleges of Education in Kaduna State.

2. There is no significant relationship between students’ perception of relevance of Social Studies and their academic performance in the subject in Colleges of Education in Kaduna State.

3. There is no significant relationship between students’ perception of public attitude towards Social Studies and their academic performance in the subject in Colleges of Education in Kaduna State.

4. There is no significant relationship between students’ general perception of Social Studies and their academic performance in the subject in Colleges of Education in Kaduna State.

1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This study is justified by the increasing need for Social Studies education in Nigeria in view of her escalating societal problems, including tribalism, ethnicism, religious intolerance, corruption, prostitution, crime and delinquency, and a host of other societal ills. It could be argued that of all the subjects studied in the Nigerian school system Social Studies is the most (if not the only) appropriate for addressing Nigeria's societal problems educationally and comprehensively (Okam, 1998). Social Studies is a discipline that emerged as a panacea for societal problems (Aina et al, 1982). It is a flexible field of study with adaptive capacity and conceptual amplitude to match with the dynamic and elastic nature of societal conditions. As such, for the purpose of developing the discipline of Social Studies as an educational panacea for Nigeria's societal problems - viz: indiscipline, disunity, crime, corruption, ethnic and religious conflicts, and a host of other vices - the need to clarify misconceptions about Social Studies education among Nigerian students cannot be over-emphasized.

It is instructive to note that Social Studies was one of those courses discarded from the Ahmadu Bello University in 1996 by the then military administrator of that university, Major-General Mamman Kontagora, apparently on the advice of some top academics within that university. All this raises the presumption that the discipline of Social Studies is still a victim of ignorance and misconception even in the highest circles of the Nigerian academia.

In view of all the foregoing, this study is as imperative as the growing need for the discipline of Social Studies itself in the Nigerian school system.

1.7 SCOPE AND DELIMITATION

This study is delimited to the Social Studies students of the Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE) at the Federal College of Education (FCEZ) in Zaria and the Kaduna State College of Education in Gidan Waya, Kaduna State. The researcher could not go beyond these two colleges because, virtually, they are the only standard colleges of education in Kaduna State. Furthermore, the NCE level was selected for this study because of its unique position in the pursuit of the objectives of Social Studies education in Nigeria. Students of the NCE programme are mainly trained for teaching at the primary level of education in the country. It is said that ‘first impression lasts longest’. As such, in view of the fact that the NCE products are

responsible for giving pupils at the primary school level their first impressions about Social Studies, there is no-gainsaying that the views and feelings being held about Social Studies by the NCE students could have a far-reaching bearing in determining the future of Social Studies in the Nigerian educational system.

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