Assessment Of Teaching Methods Adopted By Social Studies Teachers In Junior Secondary Schools

INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
Social Studies is one of the subjects approved by the Federal Ministry of Education to be taught at all levels of education in Nigeria. The emergence of Social Studies in the Nigerian school curriculum was part of the responses to the problems in the society emanating from neglect of societal culture and values (Meziobi, 2012). The Board of Directors of National Council for the Social Studies -NCSS (2017) defined Social Studies as the integrated study of the social sciences and humanities to promote civic competence. In the same vein, Adaralegbe (2010) viewed Social Studies as the aggregate of experiences a student goes through having been exposed to a course explaining the problems men and women encounter in their environments.
The teaching of Social Studies is meant to provide coordinated, systematic study which draws upon such disciplines as anthropology,economics, geography, history, law philosophy, political science religion and sociology, as well as appropriate contents from the humanities, mathematics and natural sciences. The primary purpose of Social Studies is to help young people develop the ability to make informed and reasoned decisions for the problem as good citizens of a culturally diverse and democratic society in an inter- dependent world.
According to National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS)(2017), two main characteristics distinguish Social Studies as a field of study; it is designed to promote civic competence and it is integrative as it incorporates many fields of endeavour. Social Studies programmes help students construct a knowledge base and attitude drawn from academic disciplines in specialized ways of viewing reality. From the premises above, the objectives of Social Studies could be seen to be three -fold namely: To help learners acquire knowledge, skills and attitudes and values.
However for Social Studies to achieve its aims, there is need for a change in the teaching methods that have been in use for Social Studies education. This is important because Meziobi (2010) lamented that poor teaching methods have been one of the banes of Social Studies education in Nigeria. Most teachers of Social Studies adopt pedagogical skills that do not promote better understanding of the concept. Mbah (2018) equally argued that if teachers must be effective in their teachings and clear students’ confusion then there is need for the use of innovative teaching methods that will open student’s natural ways of learning. That is why Danjuma (2010) averred that some teaching methods are not ideal as they may not produce the desired result.
Experts in teaching and learning have advanced some innovative teaching methods which could enhance effective learning. These include multi-media, use of internet, problem solving strategies, cooperative groups, discrepant event strategy and the use of collaborative learning (Yusuf, 2014; Haruna, 2018,) Multi-media for example appeal to more than one sense organ at a time and can address a large audience simultaneously (Ema & Ajayi, 2008). These innovative teaching methods have been applauded for their capabilities in actively engaging learners during learning which promotes better understanding of the learned concepts….

CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
INTRODUCTION
Our focus in this chapter is to critically examine relevant literature that would assist in explaining the research problem and furthermore recognize the efforts of scholars who had previously contributed immensely to similar research. The chapter intends to deepen the understanding of the study and close the perceived gaps.
Precisely, the chapter will be considered in three sub-headings:

• Conceptual Framework
• Theoretical Framework
• Empirical framework

2.1 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
Overview Of Social Studies
Social studies refer to the subject matters processing, skills attitudes and activities that focuses on society and individuals as members of a social group….