CHALLENGES OF TEACHING SOCIAL STUDIES IN JUNIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN OREDO LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF EDO STATE.

Abstract

The study examined the challenges of effective teaching of Social Studies in junior secondary schools in Oredo LGA, Benin City. The purpose of the study was to determine the methods used in teaching Social Studies in junior secondary schools, the factors militating against the successful teaching of Social Studies and the ways of improving it. Three research questions were formulated. However, scope and delimitation of the study covers Social Studies teachers in public schools in Oredo

LGA, Edo State.

The research design used was field survey, the population for the study consisted of Social Studies teachers in the study area. A sample size of eighty six teachers was randomly drawn from the entire population of the study. The research instrument that was used to collect data was structured questionnaire which undergo face and content validation. Reliability of the instrument was established using Cronbach’s alpha technique. The reliability coefficient was expected found at .851.

Findings show that Social Studies teachers usually use lecture method of teaching, that most of the teachers teaching Social Studies are not trained Social Studies teachers rather they are teacher specialized on other subjects. It also reveals that lack of instructional material, inappropriate method of teaching, lack of resource centres in the school environment, lack of seminars and workshop for teachers are the major challenges of effective teaching of Social Studies. It was recommended that government should endeavour to provide the necessary instructional materials and conduct trainings and workshop for teachers at interval in order to improve the teaching of social studies and make it effective.