CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the study
The overall goal of the Ministry of Education is to provide relevant and quality education
for all Ghanaians, including the disadvantaged, to enable them acquire skills which will
make them functionally literate and productive to facilitate poverty alleviation and
promote the rapid socio-economic growth of the country (Ministry of Education, 2012).
Preparing students for the 21st century cannot be accomplished without a strong and
sustaining emphasis on Social Studies (Ministry of Education 2012). Social Studies
provides cornerstone skills that are the key to opening doors for a more diverse,
competitive workforce and responsible citizenry. Students use critical thinking, selfassessment, reasoning, problem-solving, collaboration, research, and investigation to
make connections in new and innovative ways as they progress through Social Studies
education. These standards outline the knowledge and skills needed to help young people
develop the ability to make informed and reasoned decisions for the public good as
citizens of a culturally diverse, democratic society in an interdependent world (Shulman,
1986).

Ghanas education has gone through many reforms dating back to colonial times to date.
All these reforms aim at bringing constant improvements in its availability and relevance
of education to the citizenry. In achieving this, the Ministry of Education in Ghana has
since the early 1950s modified their entry requirements for admissions into the Teacher
Training Colleges. Time was when applicants entered Training Colleges from standard

seven, but this changed to entry after Senior Secondary School. Again, the duration of
training was also changed from one year to two years and to three years. These changes
in duration spent at the Training College help to ensure higher content knowledge before
and during training.

It is traditionally accepted that for any effective teaching, the teacher should have both
the content knowledge and the pedagogy. Teachers knowledge about the subject matter
to be learned or taught and that of content to be covered in the syllabus are very
important and when applied well will promote effective teaching and learning. A teacher
with deep pedagogical knowledge understands how students construct knowledge and
acquire skills and how they develop habits of mind and positive dispositions toward
learning. As such, pedagogical knowledge requires an understanding of cognitive, social,
and developmental theories of learning and how they apply to students in the classroom.
A thorough grounding in college-level subject matter and professional competence in
professional practice are necessary for good teaching.

Recent scholars have emphasized that meaningful learning is a product not of activity per
se, but of sense-making discourse aimed at developing conceptual understanding and the
links between theory and observable phenomena (Bereiter, 1994; Mortimer & Scotty,
2003). Thus, learning is not accomplished through teachers approach to teaching and
learning but rather how the teacher will integrate curriculum content to teachers own
professional content knowledge to diverse interests and abilities of learners. The teacher

is required to blend both the nature and the scope of the subject to achieve its purpose,
goals and objectives.

In Ghana, Social Studies seems to occupy a high profile in the Senior High School
curriculum and it is one of the core subjects to be studied at that level. Because of its
importance, the government of Ghana is committed to ensuring the provision of high
quality Social Studies teachers in our educational system through the Universities in the
country. Besides, Social Studies is compulsory at the Junior and Senior High Schools.
Personal experience and unverified information seem to point to the fact that most of our
graduates from the senior high schools display their inability in the needed behavioural
change which Social Studies seeks to address.

Consistently, negative citizenry

behaviours of all sorts are on the increase in the country and one begins to ask if the
subject Social Studies is actually achieving its purpose and goals. Social Studies was
introduced into Senior High Schools in Ghana and made compulsory in September 1996.
It is expected that the nation would have by this time realized some positive behavioural
traits among the products of the Senior High School. The question is why is it that the
subject is not achieving its intended goals and purpose. Do the teachers have any gap in
content?

It is a well known fact that teachers content knowledge will influence how teaching is
carried out in the classroom. This awareness prompted the researcher to conduct a study
into teachers content knowledge of Social Studies and its effects on the teaching of
Social Studies in Ghana. The effectiveness of teaching is highly enhanced by the

technique and content knowledge.

Integrating teachers content knowledge and

pedagogical content knowledge will produce a multifaceted and dynamic classroom

context.

Conceptual framework
The framework for this study is deduced from Shulmans formulation of pedagogical
content knowledge. The researcher has applied Shulmans theory by extending it to the
phenomenon of teachers integrating content into their pedagogy for effective teaching.

The conceptual framework builds on Shulmans (1987, 1986) descriptions of pedagogical

content knowledge (PCK) to describe how teachers content knowledge and pedagogical
content knowledge interact with one another to produce effective teaching. He claimed
that the emphases on teachers subject knowledge and pedagogy were being treated as
mutually exclusive domains in research concerned with these domains (1987). The
practical consequence of such exclusion was the production of teacher education
programmes in which a focus on either subject matter or pedagogy dominated. To address
this dichotomy, he proposed to consider the necessary relationship between the two by
introducing the notion of PCK.
This knowledge includes knowing what teaching approaches fit the content, and likewise,
knowing how elements of the content can be arranged for better teaching. This
knowledge is different from the knowledge of a disciplinary expert and also from the
general pedagogical knowledge shared by teachers across disciplines. PCK is concerned
with the representation and formulation of concepts, pedagogical techniques, and

knowledge of what makes concepts difficult or easy to learn, knowledge of students

prior knowledge and theories of epistemology. It also involves knowledge of teaching
strategies that incorporate appropriate conceptual representations, to address learner
difficulties and misconceptions and foster meaningful understanding. It also includes
knowledge of what the students bring to the learning situation, knowledge that might be
either facilitative or dysfunctional for the particular learning task at hand. This knowledge
of students includes their strategies, prior conceptions (both nave and instructionally
produced); misconceptions students are likely to have about a particular domain and
potential misapplications of prior knowledge. PCK exists at the intersection of content
and pedagogy. Thus, it does not refer to a simple consideration of both content and
pedagogy, but in isolation; but rather to an amalgam of content and pedagogy thus
enabling transformation of content into pedagogically powerful forms. PCK represents
the blending of content and pedagogy into an understanding of how particular aspects of
subject matter are organized, adapted, and represented for instruction.
Shulman argued that having knowledge of subject matter and general pedagogical
strategies, though necessary, were not sufficient for capturing the knowledge of good
teachers. To characterize the complex ways in which teachers think about how particular
content should be taught, he argued for pedagogical content knowledge as the content
knowledge that deals with the teaching process, including the ways of representing and
formulating the subject that make it comprehensible to others. If teachers were to be
successful they would have to confront both issues (of content and pedagogy)
simultaneously, by embodying the aspects of content most germane to its teachability
(Shulman, 1986:9). At the heart of PCK is the manner in which subject matter is

transformed for teaching. This occurs when the teacher interprets the subject matter,
finding different ways to represent it and make it accessible to learners.

Below is a diagram showing teachers content knowledge plus pedagogical knowledge

producing effective teaching outcomes, that is, when properly integrated.

Figure Effective
1.1: An Illustration
of the PCK Model
Teaching Outcome

Shulman in his PCK, is concerned with the representation and formulation of concepts,
pedagogical techniques, and knowledge of what makes concepts difficult or easy to learn,
knowledge of students prior knowledge and theories of epistemology but not how
teachers can integrate subject matter and curricula content knowledge with pedagogical
techniques to develop attitudes, values, skills and knowledge for citizenship education.
There is a relationship between teachers content knowledge and pedagogy which when

well integrated will help in achieving the purpose and goals Social Studies seeks to
achieve. That is, teachers content knowledge plus pedagogical content knowledge will
promote effective teaching.

1.2

Statement to the Problem

Since 1996, Social Studies was introduced into secondary schools in Ghana and was
made compulsory for all students. It is expected that by now the nation would have
realized some of the benefits of the purpose for which it was introduced in SHS. It is
expected that through the teaching of Social Studies, the nation should produce
responsible citizens who are well informed, reflective, concerned and participatory in the
development of the nation. This implies that most of the students that have passed
through the senior secondary system would have had their civic competencies developed
sufficiently enough to enable them participate actively in the nations development.

On the contrary, it is sad to note that despite the goals and purposes of Social Studies, the
expected outcomes in its learners after their contact with it in secondary schools appear
unachieved. Many people are putting up behaviours contrary to the goals and objectives
of the subject. In the researchers opinion, Ghanaians are becoming intolerant to national
issues, people are becoming more self- centred than thinking about their neighbours, and
people are showing apathy to national development. There is poor attitude to work and
above all people are more tribally centred neglecting the idea of Ghana as a nation. The
Ghanaian attitude to voting and election in general are matters of concern. These seem to
suggest that Social Studies is not being well taught in our schools. It is this identified gap

that has compelled the researcher to find out the content knowledge base of the teachers
in Social Studies in our secondary schools and its effects on the teaching of the subject.

1.3 Purpose of the Study

One will expect that sixteen years after the introduction of Social Studies in schools, the
youthful population in Ghana could have justified the purpose and objectives for which it
was brought into the curriculum of Ghana and made compulsory at the SHS and JHS
levels. Since the negative attitudes still persist one would like to find out the cause of
such a negative trend in our national development.

With the increased number of years in training, one expects that the teacher of the subject
would have been adequately exposed to both the content knowledge and the pedagogy.
The researcher therefore investigated whether the content knowledge of teachers is
appropriate and adequate and whether they are able to blend these in the process of
transmission of knowledge. This was to help establish why Ghanaians basic attitudes and
values about life are unable to transform the society.

According to Shulman (1997), teaching skills are related to the acquisition of knowledge,
while professional action is considered to be the application of such knowledge.
Consequently, the professional learning of teachers starts from concrete experience and
their subjective perceptions of practical situations. The transmission of general concepts
from theory and research is therefore of limited importance. Context-based experience

and reflection may indeed be important, but I still suggest that content knowledge among
teachers can make a difference in the level of learning.

1.4 Objectives of the Study

The objectives of the study are:

To find out how far Social Studies teachers at the SHS level understand the
content of what they are teaching.

To investigate how far Social Studies teachers are able to achieve the objectives of
the subject when teaching.

To examine how teachers content knowledge of Social Studies impacts on the

students.

1.5 Research Questions

The research questions that were used to guide this study are:

How far do Social Studies teachers understand the content they are teaching at the
Senior High School?

How far have teachers of Social Studies been able to achieve the objectives of the
subject they teach?

How do the contents of Social Studies taught impact on the students?

What is the general level of effectiveness of Social Studies teachers in the SHS?

1.6 Significance of the Study

Every subject has its own peculiarity and the essence for its study. By consensus, Social
Studies is citizenship education. This definition has given the teaching of Social Studies
peculiar scope, nature, purpose, goals and objectives which distinguish it from the other
subjects. The ultimate goal of Social Studies is to prepare students to have the needed
civic competencies. Social Studies teaching equips the learner to take certain decisions
for his/her survival.

In this study, the researcher attempted to establish the importance of content knowledge
and the relevance of professional training that a Social Studies teacher ought to get to
make him or her effective. Such findings could inform Colleges of Education and the
Universities on the need to modify their Social Studies curricula to suit what the Ministry
of Education expects at the SHS level. Shulman (1997) stated that teachers content
knowledge and pedagogical knowledge should interact with one another to produce
effective teaching. The practice in our Colleges of Education and the teaching
Universities where methods of teaching are taught by the Faculty of Education should be
stopped since it does not allow every subject area with its peculiarity to have its
repertoire of teaching so as to bring out its peculiarity. The study could also help Colleges
of Education and Universities which teach general methodology to restructure their
programmes to suit content methodology for effective teaching and learning. Teacher
Education could restructure contents of Social Studies to reflect its goal and objectives
for effective teaching. Again, teachers who teach Social Studies could know the relevance
of teachers content knowledge to the teaching of Social Studies. Social Studies

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Association could also use this study to improve upon its members contents knowledge to
teach to reflect the nature, scope, goal and objectives of the subject to develop civic
competencies of the learners.

1.7 Delimitation
In teaching Social Studies, the content knowledge of the teacher plays a vital role in
achieving the aims and goals of the subject. The researcher restricted herself to SekondiTakoradi Metropolis instead of covering all Social Studies teachers in at least five
Districts in the Western Region for wider coverage. The researcher limited the study to
one District because the researcher wanted to do both qualitative and quantitative work to
unveil the situation on the ground with regards to teachers content knowledge. The
researcher restricted herself to areas close by to cut down cost. This means that for a
more complete study on teachers content knowledge; other Districts need to be
researched into to help evaluate the performance of Social Studies in the Western region.

1.8 Organisation of the study

This study is organised into six chapters. Chapter one is the introduction to the study
which provides the background of the study, statement of the problem, purpose and
objectives, research questions, significance of the study, limitations and delimitations of
the study. Chapter two reviews related literature focusing on content of Social Studies,
the place of content in teaching, teaching effectiveness, Social Studies, attitudinal change
and the place of methods in teaching. Chapter three describes the methodology used for
the study. This includes the research design, population, sample techniques, procedures

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and instruments used to collect data as well as methods used to analyse the data collected.
Chapter four deals with the presentation of data collected. Chapter five is the discussion
on the findings of the research. Chapter six is the summary, conclusion, recommendations
and suggestion for further research.

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CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
2.0 Introduction
This chapter is a review of literature on the major themes in the study, namely; content of
Social Studies, the place of methods in teaching, and the place of content in teaching,
teaching effectiveness and Social Studies and attitudinal development.

2.1 Content of Social Studies

The content of a discipline is largely dictated by the acceptable definition prescribed by
its practitioners. Unfortunately, in the field of Social Studies the practitioners have held
different definitions and there are those who do not seem to see any link between the
definition and the content.
According to Shulman (1992), teachers need to master two types of knowledge: (a)
content, also known as "deep" knowledge of the subject itself, and (b) knowledge of the
curricular development. Content knowledge encompasses what Bruner (1960) called the
"structure of knowledge" namely: the theories, principles, and concepts of a particular
discipline. Especially important is content knowledge that deals with the teaching
process, including the most useful forms of representing and communicating content and
how students best learn the specific concepts and topics of a subject. "If beginning
teachers are to be successful, they must wrestle simultaneously with issues of
pedagogical content or knowledge as well as general pedagogy or generic teaching
principles" (Grossman, as cited in Ornstein, Thomas, & Lasley, 2000: 508). Shulman

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(1995) defined content knowledge as the knowledge about the subject, for example,
mathematics and its structure.
This implies that knowledge of Social Studies and knowledge of Social Studies
presentations are related to content knowledge, while knowledge of students and how
teaching is done is related to pedagogical content knowledge. Thus, what a teacher
perceives the subject to be and the methodology to make known what he/she perceived
will bring about a well presentation of the subject so that its philosophy, nature, goal and
objectives will be well integrated to produce learners whose civic competencies are well
developed. The perceived knowledge of the subject is what Shulman (1995) termed as its
subject matter and deep understanding of the subject matter is the foundation for
pedagogical content knowledge which enables the teacher to teach effectively so that
students become well informed to develop their civic competence.
Shulman (1995) was of the view that, for a teacher to be able to teach effectively, he/she
needs to understand the subject matter deeply so that he/she can relate one idea to
another, and address misconceptions in students. Teachers need to see how ideas connect
across fields of study and to everyday life. This kind of understanding provides a
foundation for pedagogical content knowledge that enables teachers to make ideas
accessible to others.
This means that a number of factors may influence the teaching of Social Studies but
teachers play an important role in the teaching process. The common belief in society is,
if a Social Studies teacher knows Social Studies very well, he or she is the best person to
teach Social Studies. But, what about knowing how to teach Social Studies?

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Fennema and Franke (1992) came out with components of Social Studies teachers
knowledge as;
1) Knowledge of Social Studies

Content knowledge

The nature of Social Studies

The mental organisation of teacher knowledge

2) Knowledge of Social Studies representations

3) Knowledge of students cognitions
4) Knowledge of teaching and decision-making

The first item is about having conceptual understanding of Social Studies. They argue
that if a teacher has a conceptual understanding of Social Studies, this influences
classroom instruction in a positive way. Therefore, it is important for teachers to possess
Social Studies knowledge. Teachers interrelated knowledge is very important as well as
procedural rules. They also emphasize the importance of knowledge of Social Studies
representations, because Social Studies is seen as a composition of a large set of highly
related disciplines.

Again, Fennema and Franke (1992) stated that if teachers do not know how to integrate
these disciplines into a form that enables learners to relate the Social Studies to what they
already know, they will not learn with understanding (p.19). This means that Social
Studies knowledge for teaching goes beyond that captured in the curriculum content of
Social Studies. For example, teachers of Social Studies do not only need to teach to test

15

but also need to know how to use pictures or diagrams to represent Social Studies
concepts and facts which provide students with information that will make them to be
concerned, reflective and participatory citizens who will help solve problems of the
individuals survival and that of the nation. Social Studies seeks to develop in learners
social understanding and civic efficacy which means the readiness and willingness to
assume citizenship responsibilities and to make informed and reasoned decisions for the
public good as citizens of a democratic society.

Knowledge of students cognitions is seen as one of the important components of teacher

knowledge, because, according to Fennema and Franke (1992), learning is based on what
happens in the classroom, and thus, not only what students do, but also the learning
environment is important for learning. The last component of teacher knowledge is
knowledge of teaching and decision making. Teachers beliefs, knowledge, judgments,
and thoughts have an effect on the decisions they make which influence their plans and
actions in the classroom.

An, Kulm and Wu (2004) pointed out that pedagogical content knowledge has three
components:
Knowledge of content
Knowledge of curriculum
Knowledge of teaching

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They are of the opinion that knowledge of content and curriculum knowledge are of great
importance to knowledge of teaching because teachers subject matter which is the
knowledge of content plus the content given in the syllabus will produce effective
teaching and learning. They were of the same view with Shulman (1992) and they accept
that content knowledge is the core component of pedagogical content knowledge. In
Social Studies, for example, its content deals with such distillate knowledge,
development of attitudes, values and skills that are essential in solving the problems of
the individuals survival in a given community. This means that what can rightly be called
Social Studies would centre on issues, questions and problems of the individuals survival
in the society and the development of positive mind and skills towards their solutions. To
be able to achieve this requires the teachers deep understanding about the subject and
his/her right approach to the teaching of the content as prescribed to him/her.

Grouws and Schultz (1996) summed up the argument when they stated that pedagogical
content knowledge includes, but is not limited to, useful representations, unifying ideas,
clarifying examples and counter examples, helpful analogies, important relationships, and
connections among ideas (p. 46). For example, Kizlik (2012), who for many years
perceived Social Studies as amalgamation of the social sciences, was teaching Social
Studies courses as history, civics and geography at the secondary level. From his
experience, he claimed he had reached some conclusions about what it takes to teach
these diverse subject areas effectively. Social Studies is rather broad set of subject-matter
courses, and for a teacher at the secondary level, it is highly unusual that he or she would
have mastery of more than two or three of them. Included in the Social Studies

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curriculum are such courses as economics, history, geography, civics or government and
anthropology. Political Science is usually reserved for the college level, but it appears as
a course in many high school curricula. Kizlik (2012) stated that much too often, Social
Studies courses are regarded as relatively unimportant subject matter, whether in
elementary school, middle school, or high school. This is a perception used by many
practitioners and it leads to diminished attention being paid to Social Studies as a serious
subject area, yet in the overall development of the intellect of students, no other subject
matter content holds as much promise.
Kizlik (2012) made his assertion by using citizenship education. He said if an intended
learning outcome of the Social Studies curriculum is good citizenship, then it is patently
clear that there is a disconnect between intentions and outcomes (p.43). This trend has
persisted, despite countless reforms in the curriculum, instructional techniques, and
programmes of studies and goals promulgated by such organizations as the National
Council for the Social Studies, and the virtual mountain of programmes and technology
solutions" touted as effective.

In the main, Social Studies is about understandings, not skills. Ostensibly, these
understandings will lead one to become just, compassionate, honest, and perhaps even
curious about not just questions of "what," but also questions of "how" and "why." Bob as
cited in Kizlik (2012) said that learning the content of the social studies is about creating
knowledge, not memorizing facts. Students certainly require factual information to
construct knowledge, but that is only the beginning. As opposed to the content of the

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"structured disciplines," the Social Studies is especially amenable to constructivist ideas

for teaching and learning. Constructivism has little value in learning skills such as those
found in mathematics, language arts, and certain content represented in the sciences
(Kizlik, 2012). For the Social Studies, it can be pure magic in the hands of competent
teachers.
Various schools of thought have emerged to give different definitions to the subject but
there has been a consensus that the definition of Social Studies is Citizenship Education.
Blege (2000) viewed citizenship education as the instructional preparation of the
younger generation towards making students good and effective persons in society
(p. 13). Bleges (2000) definition implies helping the up and coming members of the
society to acquire adequate knowledge, desirable attitudes, values and skills, to enable
them become useful citizens in the society in which they live. Obviously, the word
preparation used in Bleges (2000) definition means a systematic orientation of students
for readiness towards citizenship functions including active participation in every effort
designed to promote the progress of society. These may involve active participation in
communal life such as clean-up campaigns, voting in elections, etc.
Pecku (1994) viewed citizenship education as education which sharpens the civic
competencies of the individual. Civic competencies here have to do with the citizens
ability to perform duties expected of a citizen. These include showing concerns for
activities that help uplift the image of the society he/she finds himself or herself in.
Even though by consensus Social Studies is accepted as citizenship education in Ghana, it
must however be emphasized that there are still arguments about how this citizenship

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education must be carried out (Bekoe, 2006). From these arguments emerge two schools
of thought: one advocating for the integration of knowledge for solving problems of the
individuals survival (citizenship education) and the other amalgamation of the social
sciences to give students broader knowledge about what happens around him/her; an
opinion Quartey described as education for the citizenry (Quartey, 2003).
Citizenship education in sum is the preparation of citizens to participate actively in a
democratic society (Blege, 2000; Pecku, 1994). Blege (2001) and Odumah (2003) agreed
that the nature of Social Studies is problem-solving. In an attempt to give effect to this
position these authors explained that Social Studies deals with the contemporary
persistent problems of human survival. These problems, according to Blege (2001), are
those current and perplexing issues in our particular societies which when left
unattended for a long time poses a threat to the continued survival of people in that
society. This raises two major points about the nature of Social Studies. Firstly, Social
Studies deals with the problems of the here and the now. The here refers to the
problems of the particular society. For instance, Social Studies in Ghana should deal with
the problems that confront Ghana as a nation. This is because the problems of Ghana are
not essentially the same as those of Nigeria. Although, the two countries are developing
countries Ghana however faces distinct economic and social problems that Nigeria might
not be facing.
With the problems of the now, Social Studies as a subject is concerned with current
socio-economic and political issues or challenges that confront people in their society.
This is better expressed in the definition by Quartey (1985) that Social Studies equips

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man with the necessary tools to combat the problems of human survival in his/her
community. For instance, Ghana is currently faced with high rates of road accidents,
HIV/AIDS pandemic, deep seated political division, killings of people by loved ones and
the nations currency depreciating as against the foreign currency.
Secondly, the problems Social Studies seek to prepare individuals to be able to identify
and find solution to must be persistent and contemporary. The persistent and
contemporary problems are those re-current problems that continue to afflict society in
spite of the many attempts to deal with them in the past. Some of those problems, in
Ghana, that Social Studies must deal with are corruption, maintaining constitutional
order, ethnocentrism, road accidents, armed robbery and economic dependency
associated with tripling foreign debts among others.
Ultimately, Social Studies is, or at least should be, about helping students develop
positive values that will lead them to make good decisions, do the right thing, and be
decent, moral, caring, and involved citizens. Akinlaye (2003) also share the same view
that the competence in teaching Social Studies depends largely on sound understanding
of its philosophy and that how the subject is perceived plays an important role in the
determination of its goal and objectives.
Another writer like Quartey (2003) said that the philosophy of a subject is the main core
that links the content, teaching and assessment of that subject; appropriate teaching
techniques and assessment procedures depend to a large extent on what the subject stands
for. To achieve the intended objective of Social Studies therefore begins with a clear

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understanding of what the subject is about. Effective teaching of Social Studies requires
that its teachers hold perceptions that fall in line with what the subject is intended for.
This implies that, Social Studies knowledge for teaching goes beyond that captured in the
curriculum content of Social Studies and also pedagogy plus content knowledge will lead
to effective teaching of Social Studies which will at the end imbibe in students attitudes,
values, knowledge and skills for their survival in the society. For example, teachers of
Social Studies do not only need to teach to test but also need to know how to use pictures
or diagrams to represent Social Studies concepts and facts to students, provide students
with information that will make students to be concerned, reflective and participatory
citizens to help solve problems of mans survival and that of the nation. The Social
Studies curriculum builds four capacities in young people: disciplinary knowledge,
thinking skills, commitment to democratic values, and citizen participation and at the end
of each lesson, teachers must achieve that in their teaching.
The contents of Social Studies are drawn from several social sciences but not determined
by the discipline of any one of these. Social Studies is meant to cover the ground,
traditionally associated with History, Geography, Economics, Civics etc, if the teaching
of these subjects only imparts miscellaneous and unrelated information and does not
throw any light on it or provide insight into social conditions and problems or create the
desire to improve the existing state of things, their educative significance will be
negligible. The whole group of studies has, therefore, to be viewed as a compact whole,
whose object is to adjust the students to their social environment.

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Social Studies teaching must include material which is conducive to the development of a
well informed, intelligent person who is capable of comprehending properly the current
problems, is keen to accept responsibilities as a citizen for the welfare of all and has
developed insights, skills and moral qualities which are so essential and desirable in a
democratic society, this, Kizlik (2012), also said under his view on pedagogy.
This was exactly again what Shulman (1995: 40) was saying in his pedagogical content
knowledge that effective teaching includes, the ways of representing and formulating the
subject that make it comprehensible to others an understanding of what makes the
learning of specific topics easy or difficult; the conceptions and preconceptions that
students of different ages and backgrounds bring with them to the learning of those most
frequently taught topics and lessons and this portrays a teacher who possesses an indepth knowledge of how to represent the subject matter to learners.
Additionally, pedagogical content knowledge refers to the ability of the teacher to
transform content into forms that are pedagogically powerful and yet adaptive to the
variations in ability and background presented by the students (Shulman, 1987, cited in
An, Kulm and Wu, 2004).
Meaning, Social Studies content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge are
integrated parts of effective Social Studies instruction. In order to construct Social
Studies concepts in students mind, pedagogical knowledge as well as Social Studies
content knowledge is needed. The manner in which teachers relate their subject matter
(what they know about what they teach) to their pedagogical knowledge (what they know
about teaching) and how subject matter knowledge is a part of the process of pedagogical

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reasoning are seen as integrants of pedagogical content knowledge (Cochran, DeRuiter &
King, 1993).
Most researchers point out the importance of Social Studies content knowledge as well as
pedagogical knowledge. Despite this widespread interest and concern, what counts as
subject- matter knowledge for teaching and how it relates to student achievement has
remained inadequately specified in past research. A closer look at the educational
production function literature, for example, reveals that researchers working in this
tradition have typically measured teachers knowledge using proxy variables, such as
courses taken, degrees attained, or results of basic skills tests. This stands in sharp
contrast to another group of education scholars who have begun to conceptualize
teachers knowledge for teaching differently, arguing that teacher effects on student
achievement are driven by teachers ability to understand and use subject-matter
knowledge to carry out the tasks of teaching (Ball, 1990; Shulman, 1986; Wilson,
Shulman, & Richert, 1987).

Kahan, Cooper and Betheas (2003) review shared the same concern that student learn
more Social Studies if their teachers knew more Social Studies but content knowledge in
the subject area does not suffice for good teaching (p. 223). However, they also outlined
that the content of pedagogical content knowledge is content-specific and at the same
time goes beyond simple knowledge of Social Studies therefore a Social Studies teacher
may not posses it. Because teachers knowledge has not been adequately measured, the
existing educational production function research could be limited in terms of its
conclusions, not only regarding the magnitude of the effect of teachers knowledge on

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student learning but also regarding the kinds of teacher knowledge that matter most in
producing student learning. Teachers content knowledge and pedagogy knowledge
interact with one another to produce effective teaching.
2.2 THE PLACE OF CONTENT IN TEACHING
In recent years, teachers knowledge of the subject matter they teach has attracted
increasing attention from policymakers. Programmes such as Social Studies workshop for
SHS Social Studies teachers, English language workshop for SHS English teachers and
the National Science Foundations Math-Science Partnerships are all aimed at providing
content-focused professional development intended to improve teachers content
knowledge. The focus on subject-matter knowledge is evidence suggesting that teachers
have not made the necessary impact on their teaching and that they lack the essential
knowledge for teaching their field of area (e.g., Ball, 1990; Ma, 1999).

Despite this widespread interest and concern, what counts as subject matter knowledge
for teaching and how it relates to student achievement has remained inadequately
specified in past research. A literature read for example, reveals that researchers working
in this tradition have typically measured teachers knowledge using proxy variables, such
as courses taken, degrees attained, or results of basic skills tests. This stands in sharp
contrast to another group of education scholars who have begun to conceptualize
teachers knowledge for teaching differently, arguing that teacher effects on student
achievement are driven by teachers ability to understand and use subject-matter
knowledge to carry out the tasks of teaching (Ball, 1990; Shulman, 1986; Wilson,
Shulman, & Richert,1987).

25

The National Council for Social Studies said that, teaching Social Studies powerfully and
authentically begins with a deep knowledge and understanding of the subject and its
unique goals. Social Studies programs prepare students to identify, understand, and work
to solve the challenges facing our diverse nation in an increasingly interdependent world.
Education for citizenship should help students acquire and learn to use the skills,
knowledge, and attitudes that will prepare them to be competent and responsible citizens
throughout their lives. Competent and responsible citizens are informed and thoughtful,
participate in their communities, are involved politically, and exhibit moral and civic
virtues (NCSS, 2008).

Teacher education, competence, and practice is an important topic, but still there has, at
least in the Ghanaian context, been limited research on teachers competence as well as
performance when it comes to Social Studies as a school subject. Several studies have
been directed toward the content and evolution of the national curriculum of Social
Studies. Others have been concerned with Social Studies textbooks, while yet others have
done research on students attitudes toward and practicing of democratic values in the
school setting. To my knowledge, there has been an empirical research exploring the
priorities, perspectives, and teaching methods of Social Studies teachers. The conclusion
from these different studies is, of course, more nuanced than I am able to express in a few
lines, but a general tendency appears to be that Social Studies, in line with other school
subjects, has been subject to changing content and intentions based on general trends in
school policy. To Clausen, text books, on the other hand, are still limited in their ability to
express social and political themes from a non-traditional perspective (Clausen 2007), and
teachers are largely unable to depart from text-books and traditional teaching methods.

26

As expressed by Christophersen, et al (2003) a stronger emphasis on social science methods

in national curricula, has not changed the teaching practice of social science teachers.

They are still teaching Social Studies in a classical manner, applying traditional teaching
methods. When this is said, however, teaching and writing textbooks for Social Studies is
not a simple assignment, because there is more than one perspective on what the intention
and content of the subject should be.

According to Brhaug (2005), Social Studies is short of a specific didactical canon

defining the subject matters most important purpose, goal, content and teaching
methods. This makes the subject matter a vulnerable one, set out to cover topics and
themes that the school should be concerned with, but that do not fit into any of the other
established school subjects. Such a school subject becomes a difficult one to teach.
Altogether, Brhaug (2005) identifies at least three different perspectives on what should
be the content of Social Studies as a school subject.

Firstly, an important purpose is to legitimize the current structure of the society by

transferring democratic values, and teaching students about the established social and
political Institutions. From a political science perspective this is, of course, important to
maintain established structures, such as for example democracy and free speech (March
& Johan 1995). There are several ways to teach Social Studies to secure such intentions.
For example, one can render democracy as identical with our own political institutions,
one can avoid critical discussion of established institutions, or one can express social and
political institutions as solely subject to a national dimension (Brhaug 2005). Clausen

27

(2007) and Haavelsrud (1979) said that, for those studying Social Studies text-books, this
is exactly what they find. The socialization into certain values is strong, and some topics
are not at all treated in a critical manner. Empirical studies do, indeed, indicate that the
legitimizing/socialization purpose of Social Studies is heavily represented in textbooks as
well as in the daily teaching of Social Studies. There are, nevertheless, reasons to be
sceptical to this trend.

Also, Tnnesson (2003) expressed that, if something is expressed in one perspective,

without presenting the alternatives, this is highly unethical and contrary to scientific
ethics. The second perspective on Social Studies, introduced by Brhaug (2005) is to treat
Social Studies as a subject that should teach students important skills that may be useful
in their everyday life. This would involve for example how to vote and what welfare
rights you have, as well as critical thinking skills and methodological competence. In the
most recent national curriculum, this has become an important perspective, suggesting
that students should learn the appropriate skills to manage socially and politically.
However, there are many themes in Social Studies that do not fit into this perspective,
such as immigration, socialization, and international relations. In addition, many of those
studying trends in the national curriculum are sceptical towards the tendency to focus on
skills rather than knowledge (Skarpenes, 2007; Foros 2006). It appears plausible that
applying skills and methods becomes difficult without some background knowledge of
the society in which new knowledge is to be constructed.

28

The third perspective suggested by Brhaug (2005) is a more critical approach where the
goal of Social Studies teaching is that the students should become reflective upon their
own action, and the social and political system. Students should learn to understand that
political behaviour and institutions are not given, but subject to evaluation and change.
This requires knowledge of the social and political system, as well as the students
position within it. But it also requires political skills and the ability to cooperate with
other, as well as the methodological skills to independently evaluate information.

According to Habermas (1996) and Englund (2009), studies indicate that text-books have
tendencies to be moralistic and one-sided, and teachers appear unable to teach Social
Studies in critical manner. Teachers should be able to introduce topics and themes from
the national curriculum in various perspectives, even if these various perspectives are not
fully represented in the textbook. Central in this regard is the idea of the deliberative
democracy. This implies that a Social Studies text book does not make a teacher a good
teacher, also, it does not make the subject easier to be taught by any teacher of other
discipline as it is going on in some schools, again, the text book will not make a teacher
teach effectively to achieve the intended goals, purpose and objectives it seeks to achieve.
Englund (2009) also said that, students develop citizenship literacy as they have the
opportunity to expand their competence to understand and to deliberate upon plural ideas
and arguments: a communication which is about sharing as well as contesting different
ways of apprehending the world.

29

According to Ljunggren and st (2010), the teacher should, therefore, not only introduce
students to the various perspectives, but should open up for discussing these various
perspectives, and possible political controversies, in class. This involves going beyond
the dominant pattern of in-class communication where the teacher teaches and the
students listen. Meaning, Social Studies teachers should be better at making the Social
Studies school subject less abstract by introducing the students to Social Studies research
projects. This makes the student to be part of the lesson. Social and political behaviour
and structures are highly present in the students everyday life. To make this possible is to
engage students in social science research projects related to their own environment.
Student can, for example be asked to explore and discuss the practicing of democracy in
their own environment or in the local community; making Social Studies a practical as
well as theoretical subject. This does, however, require that the teachers themselves are
familiar with Social Studies research methods and strategies and can guide students in
their research projects. Content matters because skills are not enough. Skills are
necessary but they are only the beginning of learning. Without skills, one cannot acquire
knowledge. Knowledge builds on knowledge.

2.2.1

The Place of Method in Teaching Social Studies

To teach all students according to todays standards, teachers need to understand subject
matter deeply and flexibly so they can help students create useful cognitive maps, relate
one idea to another, and address misconceptions. Teachers need to see how ideas connect
across fields and to everyday life. This kind of understanding provides a foundation for

30

pedagogical content knowledge that enables teachers to make ideas accessible to others
(Shulman, 1987).
Shulman (1986) introduced the phrase pedagogical content knowledge and sparked a
whole new wave of scholarly articles on teachers' knowledge of their subject matter and
the importance of this knowledge for successful teaching. Especially important is content
knowledge that deals with the teaching process, including the most useful forms of
representing and communicating content and how students best learn the specific
concepts and topics of a subject. "If beginning teachers are to be successful, they must
wrestle simultaneously with issues of pedagogical content (or knowledge) as well as
general pedagogy (or generic teaching principles)" (Grossman, as cited in Ornstein,
Thomas, & Lasley, 2000, p. 508).
The NSTA Standards authors define a model of pedagogy familiar to teachers and teacher
educators. This model includes: actions and strategies of teaching, organization of
classroom

experiences,

providing

for

diverse

learner

needs,

evaluation

and

implementation of learner's prior notions, and transformation of ideas into understandable

pieces (National Science Teachers Association, 1998). These familiar notions were
clearly described in Borko and Putnam's (2000) review of literature on learning to teach.
The treatment in NSTA Standards look exclusively at literature related to science
teaching. The outcome of these standards is reflective of teaching standards found in The
National Science Education Standards (NSES) (1996).

31

The NSTA Standards (1998) suggested that teachers of science should be able to provide
all students the opportunity to learn from science instruction, to make sense out of
science and to want to do more science. This is in the spirit of the NSES, but no simple
task. This statement involves multiple pedagogical tasks including: addressing all
students' needs; planning activities that allow and encourage students to learn and reason
about problems; trying to make sense of the world; and instilling in students the desire to
learn more science (National Research Council, 1996).

Looking back at Shulmans (1992) Content and Pedagogy knowledge, there were some
important themes that overlapped in that document. The Content section expected that
teachers would be able to make connections and see relationships between concepts.
While the Pedagogy section sought to help students learn about societal problems.
Making connections requires an understanding of the problems faced man for his/her
survival. The Content section expects Social Studies teachers to learn and teach about the
process of developing attitudes, values, skills and knowledge, while the Pedagogy section
expects teachers to plan experiences for their students to be reflective, concerned,
responsible and participatory citizens. This presents the intersection in the learning how
to teach Social Studies using different approaches. Making similar connections relies on a
facile understanding of both the content students are learning and how students learn.
Lee Shulman (1987) developed the construct of "pedagogical content knowledge" (PCK)
in response to some of the problems of teaching and teacher education. Ironically, it is
only mentioned to explain that the content standard would be looking at the content
specific aspect of the subject. There is a connection between content knowledge and
32

pedagogical knowledge in Social Studies teaching, which is implicit in many research

made. Careful reading reveals connections in the two domains that cannot be neglected.
For example the pedagogy standard suggests that teachers know about organization of
classroom experiences. However to design such organization requires a deep
understanding of content. This was what Shulman (1987) was talking about when stating,
"The key to distinguishing the knowledge base of teaching lies at the intersection of
content and pedagogy" (pg. 15).

Based on Shulmans (1987) notion of pedagogical content knowledge, effective teachers

can possess an in-depth knowledge of how to represent the subject matter to learners
(Parker & Heywood, 2000). Shulman (1987) also stated that pedagogical content
knowledge must include the knowledge of learners and their characteristics, knowledge
of educational contexts, knowledge of educational ends, purposes and values, and their
philosophical and historical bases. Additionally, pedagogical content knowledge refers to
the ability of the teacher to transform content into forms that are pedagogically powerful
and yet adaptive to the variations in ability and background presented by the students
(Shulman, 1987, cited in An, Kulm and Wu, 2004). Social Studies is short of a specific
didactical canon defining the subject matters most important purpose, goal, content and
teaching methods.

2.3 EFFECTIVE TEACHING

Learning the basic skills necessary for you to become an effective educator can be
especially difficult for a first year teacher. Becoming an effective teacher takes practice

33

and time and special guidance from mentors. Effective teaching does not involve
presenting your exciting lessons or activities to the class, it is a craft learned over time.
Effective teaching is a teaching philosophy that can distinctly change given the situation.
For example, a classroom with five students is a much different situation than addressing
a class of forty students. Having the skills and abilities necessary to become an effective
teacher will allow you to craft your lessons and teaching style to accommodate any size
of class.
According to Foros (2006) the characteristics of effective teaching include; positive
expectations, enthusiasm, effective classroom manager / organization, ability to design
lessons and activities, and rapport with students. Effective teachers should have high
expectations for their entire class. Whether a student constantly makes hundreds on tests
or a fifty, each student should be given positive reinforcement in class. Effective teachers
should exhibit positive expectations to ensure each student believes he can excel.
Transmitting positive reinforcement by telling each student that they have high abilities
and are a capable learner will allow students to excel to their highest abilities. In addition,
setting positive expectations in the classroom will help students who do not have proper
motivation and support at home.
Effective teachers should always exhibit enthusiasm in the classroom. Enthusiasm will
allow your students to be interested in class discussions and classroom activities.
Effective teachers should speak in expressive ways, not a monotone style. In addition,
gestures with arms and constantly moving around the classroom will allow your students

34

to be interested in the classroom discussion. Effective teacher should also maintain eye
contact with their students at all times.
Educators need to have proper classroom management skills in order to be effective
teachers. Classroom management is not about disciplining your class; it deals with how to
effectively manage the classroom. Classroom management deals with how to take roll,
keep an effective grade book and how to discipline students. One of the most important
skills for an effective teacher to master is how to design and implement lessons in the
classroom. Designing lessons involves how to cater for the needed curriculum content
into discussions, activities and assignments. In addition, an effective teacher should also
be able to evaluate whether or not their students mastered the lesson.
An effective teacher should always establish rapport with their students. Establishing
interpersonal relationships with students is crucial to form a trusting bond with each
student. Effective teachers should be available outside of class to answer questions and
provide additional help to students. In addition, an effective teacher should show
tolerance to differing points of view during class.
There are not many who, when given an option, would choose to have a poor classroom
teacher rather than a good one. But just how important is the teacher to student
achievement and learning? Researchers are finding that the effect of good teaching is
substantial and lasting. Perhaps the most well known research on this question was
performed by William L. Sanders and June C. Rivers at the University of Tennessee. In
one study, they found that "groups of students with comparable abilities and initial
achievement levels may have vastly different academic outcomes as a result of the

35

sequence of teachers to which they are assigned" Sanders (1994). Three years of highly
effective teachers can boost student achievement by as much as 50 percentile points,
compared to having relatively ineffective teachers for three years. Sanders' (1994)
research examines "the improvement of students from the beginning of the school year to
the end" based on test scores, what is called the "value added" by teachers.
In fact, classroom teachers contribute more to student achievement than any other factor.
Specifically, Sanders' (1994) value-added research found that teacher effectiveness has a
greater impact than "race, poverty, [or] parent's education". In addition, Linda DarlingHammond (2000), from Stanford University, notes in a research review that differences
in teacher effectiveness are more important than "differences in class size". DarlingHammond's (2000), own analysis of data from the National Assessment of Educational
Progress found "that the effects of well-prepared teachers on student achievement can be
stronger than the influences of student background factors, such as poverty, language
background, and minority status" (2000). Finally, John Schacter from the Milken Family
Foundation and Yeow Meng Thum from UCLA found in a review of relevant studies that
"When compared to virtually every other school reform effort to date (e.g. class size
reduction, charter schools, vouchers, direct instruction, technology, etc.), students who
have effective teachers achieve the most" (2004). The quality of the teacher, then, is the
most important school-related factor and can be more powerful than many out-of-school
factors.

2.3.1

Characteristics of Effective Teachers

36

What the studies cited so far do not tell us, however, is what makes teachers effective.
More recent research has attempted to answer this question by pairing value-added
research methods with studies of teacher characteristics (Foros, 2006). Not surprisingly,
there is no universal agreement among researchers about which teacher qualities matter
the most. However, several research reviews have identified teacher qualities that seem to
make a difference:

Verbal ability: There is near universal agreement that the verbal skills of teachers
matter. In fact, Kate Walsh and Christopher Tracy of The National Council on
Teacher Quality assert that "two recent reviews of the research found that a
teacher's level of literacy as measured by vocabulary and other standardized tests
affects student achievement more than any other measurable teacher attribute."

Content knowledge: It is also commonly acknowledged that a secondary teacher

with a degree in math or science will "routinely get higher student performance
than teachers" that do not have a degree in those fields (Haycock, 1998).
However, some research notes that, while it is important for teachers to know the
material to be taught, the importance of knowing the subject will "grow smaller
beyond some minimal essential level" (Darling-Hammond, 2000).

Certification: The research on the importance of teacher certification to student

achievement is less clear. Linda Darling-Hammond's (2000) study found that
"teacher quality characteristics such as certification status and degree in the field
to be taught are very significantly and positively correlated with student
outcomes".

37

Experience: Most agree that a teacher with some experience is usually more
effective than someone new on the job. But most studies have found that teachers
become more effective during the first five years of their careers and then level
off until close to the end of their careers. Interestingly, however, DarlingHammond (2000), reports that "veteran teachers in settings that emphasize
continual learning and collaboration continue to improve their performance".
While Sanders (1994) agree that "some experience does have an impact on
student achievement" they also maintain that "experience has less of an impact on
student achievement than other measurable teacher attributes."

The four attributes discussed above are the most commonly studied because they are the
easiest to measure. Other teacher qualities may be as or more important, but are difficult
to measure on a large scale. For example, Sanders (1994) suggests that the qualities that
Teachers for America has found to be common among their most successful teachers
(academically successful in school and college, responsible, able to think critically,
motivated, respectful, and sharing the organization's goals) may be important contributors
to teacher effectiveness. Similarly, Linda Darling-Hammond (2000) identifies a "positive
relationship between student learning and teachers' 'flexibility', 'creativity', or
'adaptability' ...Successful teachers tend to be those who are able to use a range of
teaching strategies and who use a range of interaction styles, rather than a single rigid
approach". Such "soft" attributes are undoubtedly important, but they are difficult to
ascertain without observing or interviewing teachers directly.

2.3.2

Quality Teaching

38

The research on teacher characteristics and their effect on student achievement have been
useful in recent discussions about how to construct policies to encourage high quality
teachers to enter and remain in the profession. However, it is most likely that the positive
effects on student achievement attributed to good teachers are as much a result of quality
teaching as of teacher qualities. In other words, it is how teachers teach that makes the
most difference in student achievement. Like the personality traits mentioned above,
however, how teachers teach is more difficult to measure than how many years someone
has been a teacher. In fact, NCSS (2008) notes that "there are no comprehensive reviews
that neatly synthesize research on teaching practices". Rather than relying on research
reviews, then, this section summarizes a few studies that attempt to identify effective
teaching practices as measured by effects on student achievement.
The Teachers Curriculum Institute (TCI) (2004), sought to determine "whether highquality teaching was related to better outcomes for all children" using data from more
than 7,000 students and almost 400 teachers. To determine teacher quality, they relied on
classroom observations by a teacher's principal or assistant principal, using a set of
standards for teachers. The standards in the study dealt with teachers' content knowledge,
use of a variety of instructional methods, lesson planning, use of assessment data,
adaptively to student needs, persistence, and engaging "students cognitively in activities
and assignments ...congruent to instructional objectives." The researchers examined
student performance data in grades 4-6 in math and reading. After accounting for other
factors, such as "teacher experience and student pretest score, minority status, and freelunch status," TCI (2004) found that "better teaching appears to be related to better

39

learning outcomes." In other words, teachers who were rated highly according to the
standards produced better results for kids.

Schacter and Thum (2004) used a similar approach to measuring teacher practice and its
effect on student achievement in a study of more than 50 teachers at five Arizona
elementary schools. Schacter and Thum (2004) developed "12 teaching performance
standards and rubrics to assess teaching quality." Their standards were drawn from a
comprehensive review of research on "teacher behaviours, teaching models, teaching
strategies and teacher qualifications." The standards included such practices as:

Communicating learning objectives

Connecting learning to student experiences

Presenting new information important to a lesson logically

Efficient use of instructional time

Planning activities to support learning and student interaction

Asking a variety of types of questions

Communicating learning expectations clearly

Providing students regular feedback on their performance

Participants were evaluated on their use of those 12 practices during eight observations.
The results of their findings are clear: "teachers who implement effective teaching as
measured by our 12 teaching standards and performance rubrics produce students who
make considerable achievement gains."

40

As demonstrated by the two studies discussed above, measuring the effect of teacher
quality through an observation of classroom practice is a labour intensive process. One
way that researchers have dealt with this is by studying teachers who are already
identified as excellent through some other method.

The Teachers Curriculum Institute (2004) seeks to "advance the quality of teaching and
learning by developing professional standards for accomplished teaching, creating a
voluntary system to certify teachers who meet those standards and integrating certified
teachers into educational reform efforts". Teachers achieve board- certification based on
portfolios of student work and videos of the applicants teaching and also on their score on
a test of their subject-matter knowledge. They are evaluated on:

Their commitment to students and their learning, including their use of different
approaches for different students that are consistent with principles of cognitive
development

Their knowledge of the subjects they teach and how best to teach them

Their ability to manage student learning by establishing an appropriate

environment and using regular student assessments

Their ability to think about their teaching and to use what they learn to improve

Their ability to create learning communities that engage parents and others

So, are nationally board certified teachers the most effective? Teachers Curriculum
Institute (2004) set out to answer this question in 2004 by comparing the effectiveness of

41

board-certified teachers against teachers who had tried to become certified but did not
make it. They found that "teachers who are successful in their attempts to attain
certification are more effective than those who are unsuccessful applicants, providing
evidence that TCI (2004) is, in fact, identifying the more effective teachers of those they
actually evaluate." In addition, those who are or eventually become board-certified are
more effective than those who do not meet the selection criteria or who do not apply.
They concluded that students in the classrooms taught by board-certified teachers
outperformed students in classrooms with non-board certified teachers 100% of the time.
Thus, the qualities of effective teaching identified by the National Board appear to be
teaching practices that have a positive impact on student achievement.
Finally, the authors of the TCI (2004) research review on effective teaching offer five
"key themes ...that reflect key findings from the research" on teaching practices. The five
themes are:

Building on students' prior knowledge

Linking goals, assessment, and instruction

Teaching content and critical thinking

Developing language skills

Creating a culture of learning

Interestingly, each of these themes finds some support in one or more of the studies
summarized above. In other words, all of these teaching practices have been
demonstrated, to one degree or another, to have a positive effect on student achievement
as measured by student performance on standardized tests.
42

Conclusion
While these studies have identified important characteristics and practices of effective
teachers, teaching occurs in a complex environment. Many factors contribute to student
achievement, and while the quality of the teaching is the most important school factor in
student achievement, teaching quality itself is affected by contextual factors. For
example, Laczko, and Berliner (2001) both of the American Educational Research
Association, found that "fourth-grade students have higher achievement in mathematics
and reading when they attend schools characterized by higher levels of teacher
collaboration". It may be the case, then, that effective teachers will be even more
effective in a collaborative workplace (or less effective in a dysfunctional environment).
Finally, as many have noted before, standardized tests are not the only measure of student
learning or the effects of a good teacher. Standardized tests may not be the best measure
of critical thinking, writing, or creativity. Nor do they typically measure what may in fact
be the most important result of an excellent teacher, instilling a lifelong love of learning
in students. Inspiration, curiosity, an ability and desire to pursue knowledge: the best
teachers provide all of these to their students, and yet these effects are not measured on
the SAT. In the end, the importance of quality teaching in our classrooms may be beyond
measure.

2.4

SOCIAL STUDIES AND ATTITUDE DEVELOPMENT

According to Martorella (1994), an attitude can be defined as a positive or negative

evaluation of people, objects, event, activities, ideas, or just about anything in your
environment. An attitude is "the relatively stable over behaviour of a person which
43

affects his status." "Attitudes which are different to a group are thus social attitudes or
`values' in the Thomasonian sense (Martorella, 1994). The attitude is the status-fixing
behaviour. This differentiates it from habit and vegetative processes as such, and totally
ignores the hypothetical 'subjective states' which have formerly been emphasized.
Ferguson &Womack (1993) has defined attitude as "the totality of those states that lead to
or point toward some particular activity of the organism. The attitude is, therefore, the
dynamic element in human behaviour, the motive for activity." For Childolue (1996) an
attitude is "a susceptibility to certain kinds of stimuli and readiness to respond repeatedly
in a given waywhich are possible toward our world and the parts of it which impinge
upon us." Attitudes are judgments. They develop on the ABC model (affect, behaviour,
and cognition). The affective response is an emotional response that expresses an
individual's degree of preference for an entity. The behavioural intention is a verbal
indication or typical behavioural tendency of an individual. The cognitive response is a
cognitive evaluation of the entity that constitutes an individual's beliefs about the object.
Most attitudes are the result of either direct experience or observational learning from the
environment.

Unlike personality, attitudes are expected to change as a function of experience. Tesser

(1993) has argued that hereditary variables may affect attitudes - but believes that they
may do so indirectly. For example, consistency theories, which imply that we must be
consistent in our beliefs and values. The most famous example of such a theory is
Dissonance-reduction theory, associated with Childolue (1996), although there are others,
such as the balance theory.

44

Attitudes can be changed through persuasion and we should understand attitude change
as a response to communication. Experimental research into the factors that can affect the
persuasiveness of a message include:
1. Target Characteristics: These are characteristics that refer to the person who
receives and processes a message. One such trait is intelligence - it seems that
more intelligent people are less easily persuaded by one-sided messages. Another
variable that has been studied in this category is self-esteem. Although it is
sometimes thought that those higher in self-esteem are less easily persuaded, there
is some evidence that the relationship between self-esteem and persuasibility is
actually curvilinear, with people of moderate self-esteem being more easily
persuaded than both those of high and low self-esteem levels (Parker & Heywoods, 2000). The mind frame and mood of the target also play a role in this
process.
2. Source Characteristics: The major source characteristics are expertise,
trustworthiness and interpersonal attraction or attractiveness. The credibility of a
perceived message has been found to be a key variable here; if one reads a report
about health and believes it came from a professional medical journal, one may be
more easily persuaded than if one believes it is from a popular newspaper. Some
psychologists have debated whether this is a long-lasting effect. For example,
Holland and Weiss (1951) found that the effect of telling people that a message
came from a credible source disappeared after several weeks (the so-called
"sleeper effect"). Whether there is a sleeper effect is controversial. Perceived

45

wisdom is that if people are informed of the source of a message before hearing it,
there is less likelihood of a sleeper effect than if they are told a message and then
told its source.
3. Message Characteristics: The nature of the message plays a role in persuasion.
Sometimes presenting both sides of a story is useful to help change attitudes.
4. Cognitive Routes: A message can appeal to an individual's cognitive evaluation to
help change an attitude. In the central route to persuasion the individual is
presented with the data and motivated to evaluate the data and arrive at an attitude
changing conclusion. In the peripheral route to attitude change, the individual is
encouraged to not look at the content but at the source. This is commonly seen in
modern advertisements that feature celebrities. In some cases, physician, doctors
or experts are used. In other cases film stars are used for their attractiveness.

46

CHAPTER THREE
METHODOLOGY
Introduction
This chapter examines the methodology and procedures used to carry out the research.
The chapter concerns itself with the research design, population, sample and sampling
technique, instruments used in the study, the administration of the instruments, collection
of data and data analysis procedure. The aim of the researcher is to examine teachers
content knowledge of Social Studies and its effects on the teaching of the subject at the
Senior High School level.

3.1 RESEARCH DESIGN

The study was designed to examine the content knowledge of Social Studies teachers in
the Senior High Schools in the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis. This has become necessary
because, since the introduction of Social Studies in the SHS, there have been several
reviews of the curricula content presentation to teachers since the curricula contents were
not properly fused. It was more of an amalgamation of subject disciplines than integration
since the contents were from Geography, History, Economics, Government and the
Humanities. However, in all these attempts at making the subject more responsive to the
needs of the people in particular and the nation generally, little or no attention has been
paid to the actual content knowledge teachers possess for effective teaching and learning.
To fulfil this important need of examining what is taught in the Social Studies classroom,
the researcher sought respondents opinion on Social Studies, teachers characteristics and

47

content knowledge on Social Studies and this makes it a survey in design. It includes a
qualitative and quantitative aspect. Data collected was analysed in the form of tables and
words were used to explain it.
Avoke (2005) viewed descriptive survey as a design that portrays accurately the
characteristics of particular individuals, groups or situations. That is, survey provides a
quantitative or numeric description of trends, attitudes, or opinions of a population by
studying a sample of that population. Cohen and Manion (1994), said, the descriptive
survey was also found to be appropriate because it is concerned with conditions or
relationships that exist, practices that prevail, beliefs, points of views or attitudes that are
held, processes that are going on, efforts that are being felt or trends that are developing
(p.35). This is in line with the purpose of this study because it examined teachers content
knowledge of Social Studies and how it affects learning in the Social Studies classroom.
3.2

POPULATION

Social Studies teachers in the Senior High Schools in the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis
constituted the population for the study. Information from the Metro Education Service
indicates that there are twelve (12) public SHS in the Metropolis with sixty-nine (69)
Social Studies teachers. There are 595 public senior secondary schools in Ghana. Each of
these schools has at least three Social Studies teachers. The Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis
is made up of ninety-six public Junior High Schools and twelve Senior High Schools.
Each Junior High School has one (1) Social Studies teacher, so the ninety-six JHS have
ninety-six Social Studies teachers and sixty-nine Social Studies teachers in the Senior
High Schools. The total population of Social Studies teachers in the Metropolis are one
hundred and sixty-five (165).

48

The breakdown of the schools that formed the studys population is as follows:
Table 3.1: Social Studies Teachers in Senior Secondary Schools in the SekondiTakoradi Metropolis
Secondary schools

Number of Social Studies Teachers

Arch Bishop Potter Girls Senior High School

(A.P.S.S)

ST Johns Senior High School

Bompeh Secondary Technical Senior High School

(B.S.T.S.H.S)

Takoradi Senior High School (TADISCO)

Fijai Senior School

Diabene Senior High School

Ahantaman Senior High School (A.H.A.S.S)

Sekondi Senior High School (SECKO)

Ghana Secondary Technical Senior High School

(G.S.T.S)

Adiembra Senior High School

Methodist Senior High School (MESEC)

Takoradi Technical Institutes Senior High School

(TTI)

TOTAL

65

3.3

SAMPLE AND SAMPLING PROCEDURE

49

Teachers in public Senior High Schools in Ghana today are all university graduates. The
researcher limited herself to nine Senior High Schools in the Sekondi-Takoradi
Metropolis. The total teachers for the study were fifty-four (54). The secondary schools
are scattered in the regional capital and each of them can be identified in the community
in which they are situated, called circuits. For instance, in Adiembra we have Fijai Senior
High School, Adiembra Senior High School and Arcbishop Porter Senior High School.
Sekondi circuit is made up of St Johns Senior High School and Methodist Senior High
School. Again, Ketan circuit is made up of Ahantaman and Diabene Senior High School.
In Takoradi East is Ghana Secondary and Technical school. In Takoradi central is
Bompeh Secondary Technical School. In Effia-Tanokrom is Takoradi Technical Institute
which has currently turned into a Senior High School. In Anaji circuit is Takoradi Senior
High School, in Kojokrom and Essikado is Sekondi Senior High School.

The researcher randomly picked the nine out of the 12 Senior High Schools in the
Metropolis for the study, because, the population was dispersedly framed and the cost to
reach all was high. Cluster sampling technique was used for the researchers
convenience. Questionnaires for the study were administered in all the nine schools.
Convenience was therefore considered in the selection of the schools so that data
collected would be of some consistency and within the scheduled period of the study. All
teachers teaching Social Studies in all the nine public secondary schools selected were
used as sample for the study. In all, fifty-four (54) Social Studies teachers were used for
the study to respond to the questionnaire, two (2) of those who responded to the

50

questionnaire (i.e. two from four of the selected schools) were interviewed and observed
while they taught.

3.4

RESEARCH INSTRUMENTS

The main instruments used for the study were questionnaire, interview guide and
observation check list. The three instruments were used to enable the researcher
triangulate the information to test the consistency of the findings obtained from each of
the instruments used. Bekoe (2006) supported this view when he stated triangulation in
research is to test for consistency of findings obtained through different instruments. It
was therefore important that different instruments were used to validate the information
gathered.

The questionnaires were used to give the researcher an insight into the content knowledge
of teachers of Social Studies. Through the use of interviews, the study explored each
respondents understanding of Social Studies and what forms his\her bases for the content
he/she uses for the teaching and learning activities. According to Cohen and Manion
(1989), an interview entails a type of conversation which is initiated specifically by the
interviewer purposefully for obtaining relevant information and description, prediction or
explanation which cannot be obtained when the questionnaire is solely relied on for the
information. Observation checklists were also used to investigate the effect of teachers
content knowledge in Social Studies lessons. This is because observation brings the
investigator into contact with the phenomenon being studiedKumekpor, 2002, p.25.

51

3.4.1

Questionnaire

Questionnaires were used to reach all teachers of Social Studies to solicit their views on
what the subject is all about. A twenty 20 item questionnaire was prepared (see
appendix A). The questionnaire was divided into two parts, consisting of six items on
preliminary personal data and fourteen items on other research items. The personal data
made the researcher to have teachers characteristics as to the schools they teach, sex,
educational qualification, University attended, area of specialization and their experience
in teaching. This was to find out whether the teacher has been trained or untrained whilst
the other part was to find out whether teachers have knowledge of what constitute
knowledge of the subject. Teachers experience in the questionnaire was to find out
whether experience counts when it comes to subject matter. The research items mainly
sought to investigate teachers content knowledge in relation to their selection of content
to be taught.

These questionnaire items were developed first to examine teachers content knowledge
in Social Studies in the Senior High School. In order to ensure that the questionnaire
items were valid and reliable, the drafted questionnaire was trial-tested in three Senior
High Schools in the Western Region. The revised questionnaire was further improved
upon based on the suggestions of the researchers supervisor.

3.4.2

Interview

Interviews were used to enable the researcher to probe into some information provided on
the questionnaire. Interview provides the interviewer more flexibility and also certain

52

confidential information the interviewer might not have put in writing using the
questionnaire Kumekpor, 2002; Twumasi, 2001. To Kumekpor 2002, an interview
affords the interviewer the opportunity to explain the purpose of the investigation and can
explain more clearly just what information s/he wants. If the subject misinterprets the
question, the interviewer may follow it up with a clarifying question, Kumekpor, 2002
p.29. The interview guide (see appendix B) consisted of twelve 12 items which were
mostly closed-ended questions to ensure that respondents express themselves to give the
researcher detailed information for the study. Again, the interview was preferred because
it ensures that each of the respondents was basically asked the same questions so as to
facilitate the analysis of data obtained. The questionnaires were pre-coded. This gave a
clue to the persons who answered the questionnaire. Personal letters were used to select
teachers for the interview and the observation. This helped the researcher to pick teachers
who majored in Social Studies and those who did not do Social Studies. This was
anonymous because of research ethics. This helped the researcher to triangulate.

The interview guide was developed based on Social Studies teachers understanding of
the goals and objectives of the subject; content knowledge of Social Studies teachers in
teaching Social Studies. In order to ensure the validity the reliability, the items for the
interview were trial tested in two schools in the Western Region which did not form part
of the population. The revised interview guide was scrutinised by panel at the proposal
defence and was given to the researchers principal supervisor for another scrutiny and
advice for further improvement.

53

3.4.3

Observation

Observation was also used in this research, because observation brings the investigator
into contact with the phenomenon being studied Kumekpor, 2002, p.31. In this way,
observation becomes an effective means of reporting precisely what prevails about the
phenomenon under study with greater reliability. This technique afforded the researcher
the opportunity to see the teaching of Social Studies as done in schools in the study area.

An observation checklist was prepared (see appendix C) to cross check the questions
asked in the questionnaire on teachers competences in the subject. The checklist was
based on the objectives the teaching addresses, how the Social Studies teacher develops
the attitudes, values and skills of students, teachers efforts in drumming in the needed
attitude, how teachers make students conscious of the problems of mans survival, how
the teachers address and solve the problem and the relevance of the teaching activities
teachers make students to perform. Similarly, the observation guide went through the
same refining process as the questionnaire and the interview guide.

3.4.4 Justification of the Triangulation Method

The researcher used questionnaire, interview and observation to cross check the
responses given on the questionnaire for authenticity. The observation guide was used to
test the reliability of the responses given in the interview. To do this, personal coding was
done on the questionnaire to give clue to teachers who are Social Studies trained and
those who are not. This was anonymous because of research ethics. Two teachers, one
trained and one untrained were selected from each selected school for the interview and
observation. The essence of this was for triangulation.

54

Cohen, Manion and Morrison (2007) defined triangulation as the use of two or more
methods of data collection in the study of some aspect of human behaviour. They further
added that triangulation technique in the social sciences attempts to map out, or explain
more fully, the richness and complexity of human behaviour by studying it from more
than one stand point by making use of both quantitative and qualitative data. The
researcher acknowledged the fact that triangulation can assist in explaining teachers
content knowledge in Social Studies and its impact on the teaching of the subject.
Combining data from different methods will certainly increase the quality of the data. In
view of this Thomas and Nelson (1996), pointed out that triangulation is valuable because
of the increased quality control achieved by combining methods and data sources. The
complementary function of each of these data collection methods enriched the quality of
this study. Combining different sources and methods in the research process helped the
researcher to build on the strength of each type of data collection. This minimized the
weakness of any single approach (Nau, 1995). However, this is not to say triangulation is
the most perfect method of data collection in research. That is why Thomas and Nelson
(1996) cautioned that multiple methods may serve to magnify error. In view of this, the
researcher was cautious in using these three types of data collection instruments. This
caution was taken to reduce the error margin of the study as a result of using the three
methods.

3.5

DATA COLLECTION PROCEDURE

Administration of the research instruments began in November, 2011. The exercise begun
with visits to the selected schools to seek for permission for the administration of the

55

instruments. Introductory letters from the Head of the Department of Social Studies
Education, in the University of Education, Winneba were attached to the verbal
permission sought. A visit was made to each school selected with the introductory letter
seeking permission from respective heads of department to schedule an ideal time for the
administration of the instruments viz questionnaire, interview, and observation of Social
Studies lessons. Mostly, the heads of Social Studies department did not hesitate to help to
organize the teachers for the data collection exercise.

To attain objective scoring of items listed in the observation checklist and interview
guide, a recorder was used for validity and reliability. The researcher spent one week in
each school to enable her to reach all respondents and most importantly to afford them
enough time to administer the instruments. The process of administering the
questionnaire began with the identification of Social Studies teachers and briefing them
on the objective and significance of the study after which the questionnaires were
distributed to them. The teacher had one week to respond to the questionnaire and return
them to the researcher. The teachers gladly took the questionnaire and some even
immediately answered them and handed over to the researcher. Others returned the
completed questionnaire the next day.

One teacher from each selected school who had also completed and returned the
questionnaire was selected for the interview. Some teachers were unwilling to be
interviewed and therefore selection was based on teachers willingness. Teachers were
briefed on the essence of the exercise and were assured of confidentiality of the exercise

56

after which the interview was conducted and recorded on a tape recorder. The interviews
lasted between ten 10 to fifteen 15 minutes for each teacher.

Social Studies lessons were observed for three separate times depending on the selected
teachers schedule for the day of observation. The observation lasted for four weeks since
the researcher was able to visit three schools a week. Eight teachers were conveniently
selected from the twelve public Senior High Schools in the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis.
The students were first curious to know why the researcher was with them. However,
their curiosity had little significance since it was not related to what was to be observed.
Each teacher was observed on three different occasions to confirm or deny earlier
impression made in their previously observed lessons. Each of the lessons observed
lasted for eighty 80 to ninety (90) minutes due to the differences in the time allotted for
subject periods in the various schools.

3.6.1

Validity

Every good research must have some kind of validity and reliability so far as its data
collection instruments are concerned. The validity of the questionnaire instrument,
particularly the face validity, was ascertained through the discussion of the questionnaire
items with the research supervisor. This was done by checking the content to ensure that
it measures what it is supposed to measure. For validation of the interview discussions,
the tape recorded interaction was transcribed verbatim. With the observation checklist,
the items were cross checked with the responses given in the interview with the research

57

supervisor. This was done by checking the content to be sure it measures what it is
supposed to measure.

According to Opoku (2005), validity refers to the fact that the test items constituting a
questionnaire in survey research are measuring the construct that the test developer has
designed it to measure.

Burns (2000) also said that if the study and its findings make sense to participants then, it
must at least have some validity. In this research, validity was also addressed by
triangulating the findings from the three instruments used for the study. This was
necessary because of the value triangulation adds to the research work.
3.6.2 Reliability
The reliability of the questionnaire was ensured by pilot testing the questionnaire,
observation checklist and the interview guide. The pilot testing was done at Takoradi
Senior High School in the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis of the Western Region. The
students were selected because they had the same characteristics as respondents from the
study area. Pilot testing these enabled modification and clarification of questionnaire
items that appeared ambiguous to respondents.

Other materials that were found

unsuitable were dropped. With the experience from this pilot testing only Social Studies
teachers were selected as respondents for the actual data collection because of their
experience and their academic background. All these were geared towards improving the
reliability of the research. According to Bell (1993) reliability is the extent to which a test
or procedure produces similar results under constant conditions on all occasions. There

58

should be consistency of scores when the research instruments are administered multiple
times on different occasions.

3.7

METHOD OF DATA ANALYSIS

The researcher employed the combination of both qualitative and quantitative methods
for the data analysis. The data will be analysed by using tables and percentages. Words
were used to interpret the tables and percentages for easy understanding. The mixedmethod approach is a way to come up with creative alternatives to the study or a more
monolithic ways to conceive and implement ultimate findings of the study. It is likely that
the blending of two methodologies in a single research paradigm can produce alternatives
that will not be able to represent radical shifts in the short run. Integrating different
methods is likely to produce better results in terms of quality and scope. Adding
qualitative flesh to the quantitative bones is a good strategy to overcoming some of these
problems.
The responses were described and explained in the form of narratives. Sometimes
responses were quoted verbatim to authenticate claims made. The responses were
answers to open-ended questions. This was important for a particular reason. Koul,
(2000) quoted Patton (1982 p. 28) on this issue as expressing the view that responses
from open-ended questions in the form of direct quotations reveal level of emotions of
respondents, the way in which they have organized their world, their thought and
experiences about certain happenings, and their perceptions. Quantitative data were
tabulated, organized, analyzed and interpreted to draw sound conclusions and
generalizations.

59

CHAPTER FOUR
PRESENTATION OF DATA
4.0

Introduction

This chapter presents and discusses the data collected from respondents. The
triangulation method was adopted in the data collection process. The questionnaires, an
interview schedule and observation checklist were designed to collect data for the
following research questions:

How far do Social Studies teachers understand the content they are teaching at
the Senior High School?

How far have teachers of Social Studies been able to achieve the objectives of the
subject they teach?

How do the contents of Social Studies taught, impact on the students?

What is the general level of effectiveness of Social Studies teachers in the SHS?

The analysis of respondents bio-data has become necessary because the researcher was
trying to see whether teachers ability to teach the content well depends on qualification
and experience.

4.1

Demographic Characteristics of Respondents

In this, the researcher will present the schools of the Social Studies teachers, educational
qualification, university attended, area of specialization, and teaching experience in
teaching Social Studies.

60

Table 4.1: Name of Schools

School
TADISCO
SECKO
BOMPEH
ST JOHN'S
FIJAI
GSTS
ADIEMBRA
APSS
Total

Number of Teacher Respondents

9
5
10
6
11
7
6
0
54

Percent
16.7
9.3
18.5
11.1
20.4
13.0
11.1
0
100.0

Data in Table 4.1 show the respondents and the name of school in which they teach. The
table shows that 11 (20.4%) of the teachers teach at Fijai Senior High School, 10 (18.5%)
indicated they teach at Bompeh Senior High School, 9 (16.7%) were from Takoradi
Senior High School (TADISCO), while 5 (9.3%) of the teachers were from Sekondi
Senior High School (SECKO). So Fijai Senior High School has the highest number of
Social Studies teachers, followed by Bompeh and Tadisco.
Table 4.2: Sex of respondents
Sex

Frequency
33

Percentage
61.1

Female

21

38.9

Total

54

100

Male

Data in Table 4.2 shows that 33 (61.1%) of the respondents were male, while the
remaining 21 (38.9%) were females. This means that there were more male respondents
in the study than female.
61

Table 4.3: Educational qualification

Qualification
First Degree

Frequency
46

Percentage
85.2

Postgraduate Degree

14.8

Total

54

100

Table 4.3 shows that out of the 54 respondents sampled for the study, 46 representing
85.2% of them were degree holders, while the remaining 8 (14.8%) were holders of
postgraduate degrees. This means that majority of the respondents used for the study
were first degree holders.

Table 4.4: University Attended

UEW
University of Ghana
UCC
KNUST
Total

University Attended by
Respondents
25
5
23
1
54

Percent
46.3
9.3
42.6
1.9
100.0

Results in Table 4.4 indicate that 25 representing 46.3% of the respondents were products
from the University of Education, Winneba (UEW), 23 (42.6%) were graduates from the
University of Cape Coast, 5 (9.3%) were graduates from the University of Ghana, and 1
(1.9%) is from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.

Table 4.5: Area of specialization

62

Economics
History
Geography
Political Science
Social Studies
Total

Frequency
10
5
7
2
30
54

Percent
18.5
9.3
13.0
3.7
55.6
100.0

Table 4.5 shows that 30 (55.6%) of the respondents specialized in Social Studies, 10
(18.5%) specialized in economics, 7 (13%) specialized in geography, 5 (9.3%) history,
while 2 (3.7%) of the respondents specialized in political science. The result shows that
55.6% of the respondents sampled for the study specialized in Social Studies at the
University.

Table 4.6: Experience in teaching Social Studies

less than a year

1-5 years
6-10 years
Above 11 years
Total

Frequency
6
16
18
14
54

Percent
11.1
29.6
33.3
25.9
100.0

Data in Table 4.6 indicate that 18 (33.3%) of the respondents have been teaching Social
Studies between 6-10 years, 16 (29.6%) indicated 1-5 years, 14 (25.9%) indicated they
have been teaching Social Studies for more than 11 years, while 6 (11.1%) stated they
have been teaching Social Studies for less than a year.

4.2 Data Collected on Research Questions

63

In this section the main data collected in response to the research questions will be
presented to address the four research questions that guided the study. The questionnaire,
the one-on-one interview and observation checklist were presented side by side to address
each research question. The data from the questionnaire have been presented using
frequencies, percentages and tables. The interview session centred on soliciting in-depth
views of respondents on how far they understand the content they are teaching, how far
they are able to achieve the objectives of the subject they teach, how the content they
taught impact on the students, and why their teachings are not making the needed impact.
The themes that emerged from the interview were combined with the responses from the
questionnaire and the items of the observation checklist to address the research questions.
This authenticates the responses given by respondents in the questionnaire. The
observation checklist was used to test the reliability of the responses given in the
interview. This helped the researcher to do the triangulation.

Research Question One

How far do Social Studies teachers understand the content they are teaching at the
Senior High School?
This question sought to find out the understanding of Social Studies teachers regarding
the content of the subject they teach. Items 7, 8, 9, 10, 14, 15, 16, 17 and 19 on the
questionnaire (see appendix A) were used to solicit responses from the respondents on the
understanding of the Social Studies content. Questions 7, 9 and 10 of the observation
checklist (see appendix C) were the items used to find teachers understanding of what
constitute the content of Social Studies. Also, questions 2, 3, and 9 of the interview guide

64

were used to complement the questionnaire items as well as the observation checklist.
Below are the compiled views.
The table below shows items on teachers knowledge of Social Studies and how that
helps in achieving the goals and objectives of the subject. Respondents gave various
responses to the items.
Table 4.7: Teachers Content Knowledge
Statements
7. Social studies can be taught by teachers from any educational
background
8. The main focus of Social Studies teaching is making students to
acquire relevant facts
9. The problem stated in the Social Studies syllabus for SHS helps
in the selection of the right content to be taught in the subject
10. Teachers knowledge in social studies can enhance the teaching
of the subject
13. Teachers knowledge of social studies helps in achieving goals
and objectives of the subject
14 Social Studies is citizenship education
15. Social Studies is a combination of knowledge of Geography,
History, Economics and Government
16. Citizenship education enables one to understand the past, the
geography of the world and how we are governed
17. As soon as you see a Social Studies topic what comes to the
mind is the meaning of it
19. In teaching Social Studies, the teacher tries to address the
concept for the topic

A
10

U
6

D
38

36

13

42

53

54

47
46

4
2

3
6

30

12

12

29

16

41

10

13

Where A stands for Agreed, U = Undecided, D = Disagreed

Data in Table 4.7 show that all 54 (100%) of the Social Studies teachers sampled for the
study agreed that teachers knowledge of Social Studies helps in achieving goals and
objectives of the subject, 53 (98.1%) agreed that teachers knowledge in Social Studies
can enhance the teaching of the subject, 1 (1.9%) disagreed with the statement. Still on

65

teachers understanding about the content they teach, 47 (87%) of the teachers agreed that
Social Studies is a citizenship education, 4 (7.4%) were undecided, while 3 (5.5%)
disagreed with the statement; 46 (85.2%) agreed that Social Studies is a combination of
knowledge of Geography, History, Economics and Government, 2 (3.7%) were undecided
about the statement, while 6 (11.1%) disagreed with the statement. The result also shows
that 41 (75.9%) of the respondents agreed that in teaching Social Studies, the teacher tries
to address the concept for the topic, 10 (18.5%) were undecided, while 13 (24%) also
disagreed.
The interview questions that fall under research question one are as follows;
In teaching Social Studies, do you consciously develop attitude, values,
knowledge and skills in the students?
Which of these directs a Social Studies teacher in the teaching of
topics in the subject?
a) Nature of topic
b) the problems of mans survival in the country
c) the related content the topic addresses
Which of these will be the driving force when you are teaching the
topic Physical Environment in Social Studies?
a) The relief, climate and the drainage of the area
b) The climate and the geomorphology of the world
c) How the individual can utilize the physical environment for his benefits
d) How the physical environment dictates the activities of the individual.
The responses from the respondents during the interview revealed the following:
A respondent said the following:

66

1.

It is better to get someone who has a broad spectrum of the subject

(Social Studies). It will be very difficult for a science teacher to teach social
studies. It will be very difficult for most teachers who are more biased in
science to teach social studies. It will be better for someone who has a good
Arts background to teach social studies.

2.

Generally, yes, but what is very important is, normally, you know Social
Studies has a whole lot of areas, for example, economics, an aspect of
geography, it entails an aspect of environmental science, so I think that if a
teacher has a background knowledge, it will go a long way to build capabilities
and capacity in students

3.

With the problems, it helps us a lot. Although, it is a challenge, being a

teacher, it helps to strive to overcome those challenges in terms of research and
other things in order to teach the students very well.

9. Nature of topic
Another teacher also had this to say
1. Some topics are technical, for example, geography, teachers who have not gotten the
knowledge in Social Studies may not teach the subject effectively.
2. Not necessarily, because the issue is not only about the facts but the facts
acquired should be used in daily life situation.
3. It really helps you very much because when you read the problem and in your
absence or when you are not there and somebody comes who has no knowledge in
Social Studies, that person will have a background knowledge and it will enable
the person to look for the necessary materials to take over the subject.
9. The problems of mans survival in the country.

A teacher had this to say;

1. Yes and No, because for those who teach in their speciality that is Social Studies has
something in social aspect over human life. He further added that such a person can
teach other subjects but not into detailed as the one who has knowledge in the subject.

67

2. That is what is supposed to be, because it involves the human settlement and the
various topics relate very well in human existence, so I think it is in the right
direction.
3. Because the topics and the problems are set out, they help the teacher to go
straight to the problem without even digressing from the issue.
9 The problems of mans survival in the country
A colleague also had this to say;
1. It is impossible, I do not think so, because in my observation, Social Studies,
though any teacher with a social science background can teach, I think it is an
additional advantage to teach the subject, but then it needs more of the
understanding of what the subject matter is than applying any other thing in
teaching Social Studies.
2. No, because it is about attaining the knowledge but looking at the practical
aspect of it, I think this is the way Social Studies should be taught.
3. The problem stated in the syllabus needs to be garnished by you the teacher
because, sometimes it does not commensurate the content you are going to teach.
But then all the same, you can add up to what you have.
9. To me, all the three options are right to be considered when teaching the topics in
Social Studies.
This is what another teacher from other schools interviewed said:
1. No, because, looking at the subject you have to be trained. Although, people
from other subject background teach the subject, to me, the subject should be
taught by its specialists, that is, the trained personnel to teach it.
2. No, it is not only the presentation of facts. The subject needs to be imparted for
attitudinal change.
3. I present the subject in a practical way
9. The problems of the individuals survival in the country
Teacher B in the same school had this to say;

68

1. No, if we say it can be taught by teachers with any educational background, it

means we are not helping the subject. It means anybody can handle the subject
which is not true.
2. This is not the main focus of Social Studies because we are not just only
imparting the knowledge but we are inculcating the right attitude as well so that
they will be self disciplined in the society.
3. It helps a lot because knowing the problem at hand, when teaching I use the
problem as my introduction and with that, the background, it helps me to impart
the right knowledge to the children.
9. The related content the topic addresses.
Below is what went on in the classroom when the researcher visited the classroom to
observe teachers as they teach to find out whether responses those teachers gave during
the interview session were authentic. The items in the table falls under the research
question one.
Table 4.8 below are data collated from the evaluation of the teachers content knowledge
through the observation of their lessons.

Table 4.8: Observation of lessons

69

To what extent are the

following true of the Social
Studies teaching.
Facts used make the students

Very
great
extent
-

Great
extent

Moderately
true

Averagely
untrue

Not
true

conscious of the problems for

the individuals survival.

Did teachers content address

the stated problem?
Teachers knowledge in Social
Studies helped in achieving the
stated objectives.

The data in the table 4.8 show that out of the eight (8) teachers observed, 2 (25%)
moderately presented facts of Social Studies to make students conscious of the problems
for the individuals survival, 6 (75%) do not present facts to make students conscious of
the problems for the individuals survival. Also, 8 (100%) of the teachers observed lack
content knowledge of the subject although, they agreed that Social Studies is citizenship
education. The result also shows that 8 (100%) of the teachers observed were in no way
teaching for the attainment of the stated objectives of the subject.
Research Question 2: How far are teachers of Social Studies able to achieve the
objectives of the subject they teach?
Items 11, 12, 13, 18, and 20 of the questionnaire address the research question 2 above.
These try to find out whether Social Studies teachers make deliberate effort to develop
positive attitudes and skills in the students and they try to work for the achievement of the
goals and objectives to enable students to solve the problems of the individuals survival.

Table 4.9: Responses to questionnaire on objectives of the subject

Statements

Responses

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11.

The Social Studies teacher makes deliberate efforts to develop certain

A
49

12.

positive attitudes and values in students when teaching

Goals and objectives of Social Studies direct the whole process of

44

13.

teaching the subject

Teachers knowledge of Social Studies help in achieving goals and

54

18.

objectives of the subject

In teaching Social Studies the teacher tries to ensure he is helping the

49

36

20.

student to solve the problem of survival

Social Studies is best taught through the use of relevant life
experiences

U
2

D
3

Data in Table 4.9 indicate that all the 54 (100%) respondents agreed that teachers
knowledge of Social Studies help in achieving goals and objectives of the subject, 49
(90.7%) agreed that in teaching Social Studies the teacher tries to ensure that he/she is
helping the student to solve the problem of the individuals survival, 1 (1.9%) was
undecided, while 4 (7.4%) disagreed. The result also show that 49 (90.7%) respondents
agreed that the Social Studies teacher should make deliberate efforts to develop certain
positive attitudes and values in students when teaching, 2 (3.7%) were undecided and 3
(5.5%) disagreed, 44 (81.4%) respondents agreed that goals and objectives of Social
Studies direct the whole process of teaching the subject, 6 (11.1%) were undecided and
4 (7.4%) disagreed and 36 (66.6%) respondents agreed to the statement that Social
Studies is best taught through the use of relevant life experiences, 9 (16.6%) were
undecided and 9 (16.6%) disagreed.

The two interview questions below were designed to find out whether teachers of Social
Studies at the Senior High Schools in Ghana teach for the attainment of the objectives of
the subject.

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5. As Social Studies teacher, what is the importance of the goal and general aims of the
subject to you?
6. With the goal of the subject in mind, what do you think the subject seeks to inculcate in
learners?
The responses from the respondents during the interview were as presented below.
A respondent said in response to the interview questions above:
The main aim or if I should say the goal of Social Studies is to be able to get
background knowledge in all areas. Since Social Studies entails a lot of issues, it is
more or less a general perspective so to speak, so it will be very important for a
student to learn Social Studies to get knowledge in the other aspects of social
science.
With the goal in mind I made sure students broaden their horizon by learning the
other social science topics.
Another teacher also had this to say:
The goals and objectives of Social Studies enable me to really plan my lesson towards the
goals which help me to come out with the facts to make teaching very practical.

The goals enable the students to see the subjects as part of them and it enables
them to adjust to any situation they find themselves at any point in time because, it
enables the learners to see any other people as themselves and that prevents
conflict.

A teacher had this to say:

As I indicated earlier, you have your goals already set, so it directs you to what you
are supposed to teach. You drive straight to the goal when it comes to the physical
environment. You know these days the problem is sanitation; this is practical, so it
helps you to positively impact on the children.
72

With the goal in mind, I am able to impart whatever thing the student ought to
know.

The respondent also said:

Okay, it has numerous importance to the individual and the society as a whole in
that everything as human, apart from the inanimate object, you have to know the
subject is there to guide us to the way we see things in like our social perception
on how things are to be done, so Social Studies life goes beyond the acquiring of
knowledge.

A respondent also had this to say:

I do not know what to say about the goals and objectives of the subject and how it
helps me in my teaching

Another respondent said:

Knowing the goals and the objectives of the subject helps me to know what to
teach.

It inculcate in the learners the right attitude and values as a student so that it will
help them to solve personal problems and the society as well.

The observation items which fall under research question 2 are 1, 2, 3 and 4, sought to
find the extent to which Social Studies teachers have been able to achieve the objectives
of the subject they teach.

Table 4.10: Evaluation of lessons

To what extent are the
following true of the Social
Studies teaching.

Very
great
extent

Great
extent

73

Moderately Averagely Not

true
untrue
true

The overall objective of the

lesson was achieved.

Students attitudes were being developed by the teacher.

Students values were being
developed.
Students skills are being
developed by the teacher.

Data in the above table shows that none of the eight teachers observed teaching the
subject did their teaching for the attainment of the objective, 4 (50%) of the teachers
moderately taught towards achieving the objectives, 1 (12.5%) somehow tried to achieve
the objectives and 3 (37.5%) did not attempt to achieve the teaching objectives. Table 10
also shows that 2 (25%) of the teachers moderately developed students attitude, values
and skills in the teaching, 4 (50%) somehow did that, while 2 (25%) did not attempt to do
that.

Research Question 3: How do the contents of Social Studies taught impact on the
students?
This question sought to find out the contents of Social Studies as taught in the class and
how they impact on the students. Items 9 and 11 of the questionnaire were used to solicit
responses to research question 3. Also, questions 4, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13 of the
interview guide were used to complement the questionnaire items. Again questions 5, 6,
and 7 of the observation items were used to complement the interview conducted. Below
are the illustrations.

Table 4.11: Questionnaire responses to research question 3

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Statements
Problem stated in the Social Studies syllabus for SHS helps in

A
42

U
8

D
4

the selection of the right content to be taught in the subject

11. The Social Studies teacher makes deliberate efforts to develop

49

9.

certain positive attitudes and values in students when teaching

The data in table 4.11 indicate that, 42 (77.7%) respondents agreed that the problem
stated in the Social Studies syllabus for SHS help in the selection of the right content to
be taught in the subject, 8 (14.8%) were undecided and 4 (7.4%) disagreed; 49 (90.7%)
respondents agreed to the statement the Social Studies teacher makes deliberate efforts to
develop certain positive attitudes and values in students when teaching, 2 (3.7%) were
undecided and 3 (5.5%) disagreed.

The responses from the interview conducted revealed the following

Interview questions:
1. In what ways will your knowledge in Social Studies help you in your teaching?
7. In teaching Social Studies, do you consciously develop attitude, values, knowledge
and skills in the students?
9. Which of these directs a Social Studies teacher in the teaching of topics in the
subject?
a. Nature of topic
b. the problems of the individuals survival in the country
c. the related content the topic addresses

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10. Which of these will be the driving force when you are teaching the topic Physical
Environment in Social Studies?
a) The relief, climate and the drainage of the area
b) The climate and the geomorphology of the world
c) How the individual can utilise the physical environment for his benefit
d) How the physical dictates the activities of the individual

11. When teaching a Social Studies topic Science and Technology the teacher will be
concerned with
a) The meaning of Science and Technology
b) What constitutes Science and Technology?
c) How the study of Science can be applied in Technology?
d) The advantages of Science and Technology

12. When teaching Social Studies topic institution of marriage at SHS the teacher will
be concerned with
a) How to help people to solve the problem of selecting a future partner?
b) What constitutes the preparation that ought to be made before getting married?
c) Meaning of marriage
d) The types of marriages we have in Ghana.
13. In teaching Social Studies topic National Independence and Self reliance which of
these will be the driving force.
a) The meaning of the concept political independence and self reliance.

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b) The implication of attaining independence.

c) The political ambition of people.
d) The history of Ghanas colonial masters and how they gain independence.

This is what respondents said:

Actually, like I said, once Social Studies entails a broad spectrum, being a
teacher, if I am able to get the needed skills and knowledge, I think I will be able
to teach because there are some areas you have to do a lot of research and if you
are very naive and a novice, I think it will be a great challenge, but if you have a
broad spectrum in terms of knowledge, it will help you in other social issues. It
will help you to teach the subject very well.
The knowledge I have acquired in Social Studies helps me to relate all the issues
related to real life situations, in the sense that it makes you to relate the topic to
situations to the understanding of the children.

How the study of science can be applied in technology

What constitute the preparation that ought to be made before getting married?

The implication of attaining independence.

A respondent had this to say:

I did not do Social Studies nor did social science but my profession as a Rev.
minister relating to the people from all walks of life and then the liberal studies
that I did at the University also helps me to deal with problems in the society. My
knowledge and experiences as a minister and liberal studies helps me to teach
Social Studies. With experience I share what I have experienced with the students.

How the study of science can be applied in technology.

What constitute the preparation that ought to be made before getting married?

The meaning of the concept political independence and self reliance.

77

Another respondent said that:

My knowledge in Social Studies helps me to garnish my teaching.

Personally, all the three options go together.

Under the interview questions 7 and 8, this is what a respondent said:

Yes, once you have knowledge in Social Studies, it will help you to learn certain
skills, knowledge and other things. It also entails an aspect of values because a
curriculum or syllabus aspect of Social Studies helps the teacher to teach the
students certain skills and capabilities. For example, topics like self identity and
self consciousness. Although the teacher is nave in the area of knowledge of the
subject, will she/he not be able to build the capabilities of students.

How can the study of science be applied in technology?

How to help people to solve the problem of selecting a future partner?

The implication of attaining independence.

A respondent also had this to say:

What constitute science and technology?

What constitute the preparation that ought to be made before getting married?

The political ambition of people

A respondent from the same school also said that,

How can the study of science be applied in technology?

What constitute the preparation that ought to be made before getting married?

78

The implication of attaining independence

Yes, because looking at the concept you make sure of what the topic really
requires the students to get at the end of the lesson. I also make sure to prepare
my lesson delivery towards the achievement of the goals.

Respondents had this to say under questions 7 and 8 of the interview guide;

Exactly, because there are some things students are already having but whether
that is the right thing, you take advantage to educate them and that calls for
attitudinal change.

It is something that I keep hammering on or at times I use role play. I spend time
to argue sometimes and even ask them to vote. Sometimes the majority might be
wrong because of their preconceived ideas sometimes; I use that to change their
mind from that attitude.

I think yes, because in teaching, it garnishes that line, but then changing of
attitudes in students is difficult because of even how the student see the subject, so
it is an aspect of my teaching to change the behavioural aspects of the student.

I give them so many research works and upon their findings I indicate what is
relevant to the individual students and the impact to the society.

A respondent had this to say:

Through the topics we teach the students because one of the topics works on their
social values and at times in the course of teaching, students might misbehave so,
I have to teach them the right thing like attitude, skills and value
I consciously inculcate in student the right attitude, skills and values.

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Table 4.12: Evaluation on how Social Studies content are taught

To what extent are the
following true of the Social
Studies teaching.

Very great
extent

Great
extent

Moderately
true

Averagely
untrue

Not true

Students attitudes are being

developed by the teacher.

Students values are being

developed.
Students skills are being

developed.
Teacher makes repeated

efforts in encouraging in the

needed attitudes for
students.
The data in Table 4.12 indicate that, 2 (25%) of the Social Studies teachers moderately
made the attempt to teach to develop students attitudes, 4 (50%) averagely made the
attempt to deliberately teach to develop students attitudes and 2 (25%) did not attempt to
teach to develop students attitudes. It was also revealed that 2 (25%) of the Social
Studies teachers were able to develop students skills to a great extent, 1 (12.5%)
moderately did that, 3 (37.5%) averagely made the attempt, while 2 (25%) did not
attempt to teach to develop teachers skills.

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Research question 4: What is the general level of effectiveness of Social Studies

teachers in the SHS?
This question sought to find out whether Social Studies is making the necessary impact it
seeks to make on learners. Items 14 and 15 of the interview guide were used to solicit
responses to Research Question 4. Items 7 and 8 of the observation checklist were also
used to complement the interview items to address research question 4.
The responses derived from the interview conducted as presented below:
Respondents had this to say:

Somehow along the line I think it is making the necessary impact since it will go a
long way to be able to help students to develop the necessary skills and
knowledge to be able to build their future.

Well, Social Studies has become a driving force to shape some of these students in
terms of hygiene, in terms of preparation when they are picking their future
partners and other things.

Another respondent also said that:

Yes, because it enables the children to learn about citizenship education and with
the knowledge in all these areas. It will enable the child to be able to know his or
her rights in the society which helps the child to live and to organise him or
herself well when it comes to the problem that comes around the child.
Yes, because it enables the children to find their ways in life without any difficulty.
I have a problem because, it has been a long time but I believe that gradually we
shall get there because to change a preconceived idea is not easy to change.

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Again, a respondent said:

I think yes. It has achieved its purpose because, during class discussions in the
topics for example, as being treated in science and technology, they are able to
understand their science problems especially, in the science classes that am
handling and especially, why is Ghana not attaining her technological age
because of certain factors I will bring on board.
Originally, I will say that, because that borders on much of socialization because,
some people cultivate the habit before coming to school, it will be very difficult
because it takes some time for them to change.

Somehow

In some ways it is achieving and in another way it is not.

Yes it does

It helps the children to be patriotic citizen. It helps them to solve their own
problem and societal problems as well since in Social Studies we do not give any
value judgment. We base everything on judgment, so anything you have to do you
analyse the problem and to know what you are about to do before you give your
judgment.

Really, to others it has had a positive impact but to others too, nothing because
they see the subject as examination subject so they learn to pass exams not any
behavioural change.

Table 4.13: Impact of Social Studies at the SHS level

To what extent are the
following true of the Social
Studies teaching.
Teacher tries to address how to
solve the problem.
Student activities performed in
class were relevant to the topic
Teacher makes repeated efforts in
encouraging in the needed
attitude to students.
Facts used make the students
conscious of the problems for
mans survival.

Very
great
extent
-

Great
extent

Moderately
true

Averagely
untrue

82

Not
true

Teachers content address the

stated problem.

The data in Table 4.13, 8 (100%) of all the teachers observed did not attempt to address
the problem stated in the syllabus as they teach, 6 (75%) somehow gave activities to be
performed by students to reflect on the topic taught in class, 2 (25%) deliberately made
the effort to repeatedly encourage the needed attitude for students whilst 6 (75%) did not
make the effort to repeatedly encourage the needed attitude to students, 2 (25%) in a way
used facts in content to make students conscious of the problems for the individuals
survival during lesson presentation, 6 (75%) did not show any attempt to use facts to
make students conscious of the problems for the individuals survival and 8 (100%) did
not use their content knowledge to address the stated problem.

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CHAPTER FIVE
DISCUSSION OF THE FINDINDS
5.0 Introduction
In this section the main data are analysed. The analysis addresses the four research
questions that guided the study. Data derived from the questionnaire, the one-on-one
interview and observation checklist are analyzed side by side to address each research
question. The instruments centred on soliciting in-depth views of respondents on how far
they understand the content they are teaching, how far they are able to achieve the
objectives of the subject they teach, how the content they taught impact on the students,
and why their teachings are not making the needed impact. The findings that emerged
from the interview were combined with the responses of the questionnaire and the
observation checklist to address the research questions.

5.1
How far do Social Studies teachers understand the content they are teaching at the
Senior High School?

Despite the governments effort to focus on subject-matter knowledge of teachers by

organising seminars for teachers, it is evident that, teachers have not made the necessary
impact through their teaching and that they lack the essential knowledge for teaching
their in area of specialization.

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From the data collected, although all the respondents 54 (100%) agreed that teachers
content knowledge is important and that it enhances good teaching skills which enable
the subject to achieve the purpose it seeks to achieve in the questionnaire, it proved
contrary during the interview session, because responses given to the interview items 2, 3
and 9 show that teachers lack content knowledge about the subject. This was not different
when the observation was conducted in the classroom. One of the respondents response
to interview items 2, 3 and 9 were as follows:

No, because it is about attaining the knowledge but looking at the practical
aspect of it, I think this is the way Social Studies should be taught.
The problem stated in the syllabus needs to be garnished by you the teacher
because, sometimes it does not commensurate the content you are going to teach.
But then all the same, you can add up to what you have.
To me, all the three options are right to be considered when teaching the topics in
Social Studies.

This implies that knowledge of Social Studies and knowledge of Social Studies
representations are related to content knowledge, while knowledge of students and
knowledge of teaching are related to pedagogical content knowledge. It is surprising that
a graduate teacher who has been exposed to both the content and the pedagogy of Social
Studies and after many years of teaching the very subject does not possess mastery of the
content of the subject. Shulman (1992) is of the view that for a teacher to be able to teach
effectively, s/he needs to understand the subject matter deeply so that s/he can help
students create useful cognitive pictures, relate one idea to another, and address
misconceptions.

85

The definition of a subject directs its content. As seen from the findings from the
questionnaire, 87% of the respondents agreed that Social Studies is citizenship education.
The teaching and content of Social Studies should therefore be geared towards the
development of learners civic competencies. Findings from the observation schedule
show that teachers are merely presenting facts which do not develop the attitudes, values
and skills of students. Thus, in practice hardly are Social Studies teachers developing the
civic competencies of the learners. From the interview and the observation out of the
eight teachers observed 4 (50%) moderately made the attempt to present facts to make
students conscious of the problem stated in the syllabus. Since all the teachers have
degrees in Social Studies one wonders why this should occur. The CRDD curriculum in
Social Studies has a column for the problem. This implies that the teachers are not aware
of the essence of the stated problem. There seems to be misconceptions about what
citizenship education is and this cut across all the teachers from the various Universities
who responded. This gives room for teachers of Social Studies to see the subject as
amalgamation of the social sciences.
From the interview conducted all the 8 respondents agreed that, for the subject not to
suffer, experts who are trained in Social Studies should teach the subject as the accepted
definition given to it so that teachers will not still teach Social Studies in a classical
manner by applying traditional teaching methods but this was not so, even teachers who
were trainees of the University of Education have certain misconception about what the
subject is, although, they perceive it to be citizenship education. From the findings 30
(55%) of the respondents were undecided, that is, they do not understand citizenship
education. Only 12 (22.2%) disagreed to the statement that citizenship education enables

86

one to understand the past, the geography of the world and how we are governed,
meaning, the teacher does not know what citizenship education is. If all respondents
agreed on accepted definition of Social Studies as citizenship education, then it is out of
context for a teacher to say s/he is able to teach Social Studies because s/he has broader
spectrum of knowledge in social sciences. This is a quote from the interview granted to
him, In teaching Social Studies you need someone who has a broad spectrum of the
social sciences. Such teacher will still teach Social Studies as an amalgam of the social
sciences, Social Studies being broad go to the other disciplines to borrow ideas and
integrate it to solve problems of mans survival. This integration is done in a way that
each discipline is not seen in isolation but well fused to give the subject its unique nature
and scope.
Kizlik (2012) ,said that, much too often, Social Studies courses are regarded as relatively
unimportant subject matter, whether in elementary school, middle school, or high school.
This perception leads to diminished attention paid to Social Studies as a serious subject
area, yet in the overall development of the intellect of students, no other subject matter
content holds as much promise.
Kizlik (2012) believes that, Social Studies curriculum taught in our schools is a mile wide
and an inch deep. So much has to be "covered" in a year that there is literally no time to
go into much depth in anything. In many cases learning is judged to have taken place
because students correctly answer the requisite number of questions on multiple choice
tests. To think of such results as meaningful learning is an exercise in self-deception, but
it is done every day in thousands of classrooms. There is no reason for students to do

87

anything with such content once the test is over, and so it is quickly forgotten, only to be
"relearned" and "retested" later on. The researcher agrees that learning the content of
Social Studies is creating of knowledge, values, skills and attitudes but not just mere
presentation of facts.
Looking back at Shulmans (1992) Content and Pedagogy knowledge, there were some
important themes that overlapped in that document. The content section expected that
teachers would be able to make connections and see relationships between concepts.
While the Pedagogy section sought to help students learn about societal problems,
making connections requires an understanding of the problems facing human for their
survival. The content section expects Social Studies teachers to learn and teach about the
process of developing attitudes, values, skills and knowledge, while the Pedagogy section
expects teachers to plan experiences for their students to be reflective, concerned,
responsible and participatory citizens. From the findings, 36 (66.6%) of the respondents
agreed with the statement that, the main forms of Social Studies teaching is making
students acquire relevant fact. It is not just a mere fact or knowledge but a distilled
knowledge that will develop the students civic competency.
5.2 How far have teachers of Social Studies able to achieve the objectives of the
subject they teach?
A greater percentage (87%) of the respondents agreed that Social Studies is citizenship
education, so the nature, goal and objective should be dictated by the prescribed
definition. The goal of the subject is the ultimate purpose for teaching the subject. The
Curriculum Research Development Division (CRDD) breaks the broad goal of the

88

subject into systematic attainable objective called the general objectives which direct the
whole process of teaching the subject. Unfortunately, teachers do not know the goal and
objectives of the subject they are teaching. From the questionnaire administered, 44
(81.4%) of the respondents agreed that goals and objectives direct the whole process of
teaching the subject but different result showed up during the interview. This means that
teachers teaching Social Studies do not understand the goal and the general objectives of
the subject so they do not select facts which will address the attainment of the goal and
the general objectives. For example, a teacher who has taught Social Studies for eleven
years had this to say about the goal and objectives of the subject;
The main aim or if I should say the goal of Social Studies is to be able
to get a background knowledge in all areas, since Social Studies entails
a lots of issues, its more or less a general perspective so to speak, so it
will be very important for a student to learn Social Studies to get
knowledge in the other aspects of social science.
With the goal in mind I make sure students broaden their horizon by learning the other
social science topics.
The observation carried out in class did not show something different from the interview
conducted. During the class evaluation, 4 (50%) of the Social Studies teachers
moderately addressed their teaching to the objectives of the subject. This finding is in line
with Borhangs (2005) assertion that, the purpose, goal, content and teaching methods are
most important and these make the subject-matter a vulnerable one and that a proper
integration of these will make the subject achieve the intended goals, purpose and
objectives it seeks to achieve. Relating this to Ghana, it is expected that while in school
and even after leaving school, students should be well informed citizens and actively get

89

involved in the affairs of the nation with an understanding and appreciation of Ghanas
system of government and civic life (Akinlaye , 1997). This is exactly what the stated
goal and objectives of the subject in the syllabus seek to achieve. So a teacher who
perceives the subject as citizenship education but teaches the subject as amalgamation of
the social sciences will not be able to achieve the goal and objectives of the subject. That
is the reason why teachers teach the subject the way it is being taught in class, although
they profess to have content knowledge about the Social Studies. None of the teachers
observed was seen to have set any achievable instructional objectives. All 8 teachers
observed were mostly concerned about giving learners knowledge that were related to the
topics they were teaching. This is mere knowledge. This supports Akinlayes (2003) view
that the competence in teaching Social Studies depends largely on sound understanding
of its philosophy and that how the subject is perceived plays an important role in the
determination of its goal and objectives.

5.3 How do the contents of Social Studies taught impact on the students?
The questionnaires administered showed that, 42 (77.7%) of the respondents agreed that
the problem stated in the Social Studies syllabus helps in the selection of the right content
to teach the subject. The observations made, prove that teachers of the subject do not
understand what the problem stated in the syllabus means to the teaching of the subject.
They do not know that the stated problem should help them in the selection of the right
approach to solve the problem for the individuals survival. They could not link the
problem to the appropriate approach to the teaching of that particular content, so, they
neglect the problem stated to do their own thing during teaching. The question is how to

90

use the stated problem to effect change, impart values, skills and knowledge into students
to become concerned, reflective, well informed and participatory citizens was the
problem. None of the teachers observed tried to solve the problem let alone to
consciously effect change in students.
Looking at Shulmans (1992), Content and Pedagogy knowledge, there were some
important themes that overlapped in that document. The Content section expected that
teachers would be able to make connections and see relationships between concepts.
While the Pedagogy section sought to help students learn about societal problems.
Making connections requires an understanding of the problems faced by man for his/her
survival. The Content section expects Social Studies teachers to learn and teach about the
process of developing attitudes, values, skills and knowledge, while the Pedagogy section
expects teachers to plan experiences for their students to be reflective, concerned,
responsible and participatory citizens. This presents the intersection in the learning how
to teach Social Studies using different approaches. Making similar connections relies on a
facile understanding of both the content students are learning and how students learn.
With this, the Social Studies teacher after teaching should develop attitudes, values, skills
and knowledge so that learners will be reflective, concerned, responsible and
participatory citizens for the individuals survival. The data from the questionnaire shows
that 49 (90.7%) of the respondents deliberately effect possible attitudes and values in
students when teaching Social Studies. This unfortunately does not reflect teachers
teaching because they do not know the goals and objectives of the subject. This is as a
result of wrong misconception of citizenship education or they are confused with

91

citizenship education and education of the citizenry. For example, a teacher said this
during the interview section; through the topics we teach the students. Topics that work
on their social values are at times used to inculcate the right thing like attitude, skills and
values.
I consciously inculcate in student the right attitude, skills and values.
According to Martorella, (1994), an attitude can be defined as a positive or negative
evaluation of people, objects, event, activities, ideas, or just about anything in your
environment. This implies that wrong teaching of Social Studies coupled with bad
environment can develop a negative attitude in students. In effect, a wrong conception
about the subject will not develop positive attitudes in learners.
The researcher totally agrees with Martorella (1994) who said that attitudes are
judgments. They develop on the affective, behavioural intention and the cognitive
evaluation of the entity that constitutes an individuals beliefs about the object. Most
attitudes are the results of either direct experience or observational learning from the
environment. This means the persuasive and the communication ways that a teacher can
use to change attitudes are missing in their effort of changing attitudes when we consider
the above statements.
The 49 (90.7%) respondents who agreed on the statement that, the Social Studies teacher
makes deliberate efforts to develop certain positive attitudes and values in students when
teaching and 36 (66.6%) who agreed that Social Studies is best taught through the use of
relevant life experiences both in the questionnaire, showed a different thing when the

92

researcher interviewed the sampled teachers and observed them in class. As seen from the
findings from the interview that teachers deliberately effect change in attitudes, value and
skills, things were different during the observation session. From the observation, only 2
(25%) of the teachers moderately made the attempt to deliberately developed learners
attitudes, skills and values by repeatedly encouraging the needed attitude for students.
This means that teachers presenting mere facts to learners will not make any positive
impact.

The National Council for the Social Studies said that, teaching Social Studies powerfully
and authentically begins with a deep knowledge and understanding of the subject and its
unique goals. Social Studies content prepare students to identify, understand, and work to
solve the challenges facing our nation in an increasingly interdependent world. Social
Studies as citizenship education should help students acquire and learn to use the skills,
knowledge, and attitudes that will prepare them to be competent and responsible citizens
throughout their lives. Competent and responsible citizens are informed and thoughtful,
participate in their communities, are involved politically, and exhibit moral and civic
virtues.

5.4 What is the general level of effectiveness of Social Studies teachers in the SHS?
The findings from the observation revealed that only 2 (25%) of the teachers teaching
mentioned wrong attitudes casually to students when they were teaching the topic the
need for the individual to serve. All the others were only presenting facts to students to
copy. The deliberate change in attitudes was not seen. In certain times, the researcher

93

expected the teacher to call the student to share what s/he has learnt during the teaching
period with friends but that was not seen. It was also revealed in another class where the
teacher was teaching conflicts and conflicts resolution that did not give the student the
opportunity to contribute to the lesson when teaching. This means that, the application of
the content and facts were not presented in the lesson. This is in line with Ljunggren and
st (2010) saying that, effective teaching does not involve presenting your exciting
lessons or activities to the class, it is a craft learned over time. They added that, effective
teaching is a teaching philosophy that can distinctly change given the situation. For
example, a classroom with five students is a much different situation than addressing a
class of forty students. Having the skills and abilities necessary to become an effective
teacher will allow you to craft your lessons and teaching style to accommodate any size
of class. They are talking about class size, but the researcher is of the view that class size
should not prevent teachers to do the right thing.
According to the Teachers Curriculum Institution (2004), most researchers agree that a
teacher with some experience is usually more effective than someone new on the job. But
most studies have found that teachers become more effective during the first five years of
their careers and then level off until close to the end of their careers. This to a large extent
can be true but on the contrary it did not show in the research conducted. Interestingly,
however, Darling-Hammond (2000) reported that "veteran teachers in settings that
emphasize continual learning and collaboration continue to improve their performance".
While TCI (2004) agree that "some experience does have an impact on student
achievement" they also maintain that "experience has less of an impact on student
achievement than other measurable teacher attributes."

94

5.5 Limitations
This study concerns itself with teachers content knowledge and its effects on the
teaching of Social Studies at the Senior High School level in the Sekondi-Takoradi
Metropolis. The metropolis has twelve (12) public Senior High Schools with each school
having at least four (4) Social Studies teachers and a maximum of eight. The accessible
population used for this study was fifty-four (54) Social Studies teachers. Noting that
there are about 600 public Senior High Schools in Ghana, the study cannot capture the
intentions and actions of most of the Social Studies teachers in Ghana. But since in
Ghana, it is only the University of Cape Coast and the University of Education, Winneba
that produce most Social Studies teachers, one expects that their practices will be a
reflection of what is taught in these two universities.

Again, during the interview session, some respondents were reluctant to answer some of
the questions and some of them were under the pretence that their competences were
being tested, so there was lack of co-operation from them. Some were even saying the
questions should have been given to them to study and make reference to their school
notes. Due to this, the anticipated interviewed persons became smaller. This made the
researcher to observe the lessons of the teachers two times at different times to get the
result the researcher was looking for.

95

CHAPTER SIX
SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
In this chapter, the researcher will present the summary of the study, conclusions,
recommendation as well as suggestions for further research.
6.0

Summary

The main objective of this study was to investigate how far Social Studies teachers at the
Senior High Schools understand the content they are teaching, how they have been able
to achieve the objectives of the subject and how this impacts on the students. The study
area was the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis of the Western Region of Ghana. To achieve
these objectives, the researcher used three instruments, namely, the questionnaire,
interview guide and observation checklist. In all, 54 teachers responded to a questionnaire
and 8 teachers were both interviewed and observed. Four (4) research questions were
formulated to serve as a guide to the study, namely: how far do Social Studies teachers
understand the content they are teaching at the SHS?, how far have teachers of Social
Studies been able to achieve the objectives of the subject they teach?, how do the content
of Social Studies taught impact on the students?, why are Social Studies teachers in the
SHS not making the needed impact? Through convenience sampling, secondary schools
were selected. Random sampling was used in selecting four (4) schools for the study and
two (2) teachers from each of the four selected schools for interview and observation.
Data collected from the questionnaire and observation guide were analyzed using
percentages and frequency tables. The data collected from the interview were triangulated
to establish the truthfulness of the findings.

96

From the questionnaire it is clear that all the 47 respondents accept that Social Studies is
citizenship education. However, the interview and observation revealed that they did not
understand what citizenship education means. Thus 55.6% of the respondents viewed
citizenship education as education for the citizen. There was also evidence of teachers
not knowing the goals and objectives of the subject and what the problem stated in the
syllabus stands for. The study further revealed that though experience and certification
matter in students achievement, but under this research, the revelation was that it has no
correlation because bad things taught many years can produce more bad students than
good ones. Another revelation from the study relating to relevant content selected for
Social Studies instruction was that teachers could not connect specific objectives to the
general objectives.

6.2 Conclusions
Based on the findings it can be concluded that many teachers in the Sekondi-Takoradi
Metropolis do lack content knowledge in Social Studies. This made them not able to
understand the essence of the problem in the syllabus. They therefore did not select facts
which will develop the civic competences of the learners. Again many Social Studies
teachers do not know what the general objectives of the subject are. They therefore do not
select facts which address the attainment of these goals and objectives. Again, achieving
good WASSCE results give teachers some fame and reward and so teachers are poised to
achieve these rewards rather than developing the learners attitudes, values, skills and
giving them knowledge which will benefit the society and the nation at large.

97

6.4 Recommendations
Based on the outcome of the study, the following recommendations have been made:

Since content knowledge is vital to good teaching, there should be courses on

Social Studies content so as to develop teachers knowledge about the subject to
enhance effective teaching.

The goal and objectives direct the content to be taught. Therefore, authors of
Social Studies should be advised to keep the goal and objectives of the subject in
mind so as to guide them in their write ups and teaching.

Questions in Social Studies should emphasise on how to address the problems of

human survival. WAEC style of setting questions should be such that students will
apply what they have acquired in class rather than reproducing what is in the
textbooks.

There should be periodic seminars for Social Studies teachers to refresh the minds
of those who have been outside the university for a long time so that they will be
abreast with new information about the subject.

Colleges of Education should restructure their programmes to suit content

methodology of Social Studies for effective teaching and learning.

Social Studies Association should organised in-service training for newly trained
graduates from the Universities and Colleges on the content of Social Studies to
enhance effective teaching.

98

6.5 Suggestions for Further Research.

The current study was limited in scope. This is because the study covered only the
Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis of the Western Region of Ghana. A replication of this study
could be conducted in other Metropolitan areas of the country to find out what the
situation is.

It is also suggested that studies should be conducted in the study area to find out the
views of teachers on the teachers content knowledge in Social Studies and its effect in
the teaching of the subject at the Senior High Schools. Further studies may also be
necessary to find out whether there is a correlation between teachers content knowledge
and students achievement.

99

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APPENDIX A
QUESTIONNAIRE
Please answer the following questions by either ticking the appropriate answer or proving
the answer where needed.
1. Name of
school: ..................................................................................................................
2. Sex: male
[ ]
Female
[ ]
3. Educational qualification
Diploma
[ ]
Degree
[ ]
Post graduate
[ ]
4. University attended
University of Education, Winneba
[ ]
University of Ghana
[ ]
University of Cape Coast
[ ]
University of Development Studies
[ ]
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology
[ ]
Other Universities (please
specify)..........................................................................................
5. Area of specialization
Economics
[ ]
History
[ ]
Geography
[ ]
Political science
[ ]
Social science
[ ]
Other (specified)
[ ]

6. Experience in teaching social studies

Less than a year
[ ]
1-5years
[ ]
6-10years
[ ]
Above 11years
[ ]
Below is a list of statement about social studies. Read carefully and select which
statement best describes your understanding of Social Studies, Tick () in the appropriate
column.
Note that the ratings are as follows:
A = Agree
U = Undecided
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D = Disagree
Teacher content knowledge
A
7
Social studies can be taught by teachers from any
educational background
8
The main focus of social studies teaching is making
students to acquire relevant facts
9
The problem stated in the social studies syllabus for SSS
helps in the selection of the right content to be taught in the
subject
10 Teachers knowledge in social studies can enhance the
teaching of the subject
11 The social studies teacher makes deliberate efforts to
develop certain positive attitudes and values in students
when teaching
12 Goals and objectives of social studies direct the whole
process of teaching the subject
13 Teachers knowledge of social studies help in achieving
goals and objectives of the subject
14 Social studies in citizenship education
15 Social studies is a combination of knowledge from
Geography, History, Economics and Government
16 Citizenship education enables one to understand the past,
the geography of the world and how we are governed
17 As soon as you see a social studies topic what comes to
mind is the meaning of it
18 In teaching social studies the teacher tries ensure he is
helping the student to solve the problem of survival
19 In teaching social studies, the teacher tries to address the
concept for the topic
20 Social studies is best taught through the use of relevant life
experiences

APPENDIX B
INTERVIEW GUIDE
Male [ ]
1.
2.
3.
4.

Female [ ]

Can social studies be taught by teachers from any educational background?

Is making students to acquire relevant facts the main focus of social studies?
How the problem stated in the syllabus does helps you in teaching the subjects?
In what way will your knowledge in social studies help you in your teaching?

Social studies teachers understanding of the goals and objectives of the subject.
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5. As Social Studies teacher, what is the importance of the goal and general aims of
the subject to you?
6. With the goal of the subject in mind, what do you think the subject seeks to
inculcate in learners?
7. In teaching social studies, do you consciously develop attitude, values, knowledge
and skills in students?
8. How?
Content knowledge of social studies teachers in teaching social studies.
9. Which of these directs a social studies teacher in the teaching of topics in the
subject?
d) Nature of topic
e) The problems mans survival in the country
f) The related content the
10. Which of these will be the driving force when you are teaching the topic Physical
Environment in Social Studies?
e) The relief, climate and the drainage of the area
f) The climate and the geomorphology of the world
g) Man/woman can utilize the physical environment for his benefits
h) How the physical dictates the activities of man/woman
11. When teaching a social studies topic Science and Technology the teacher will be
concerned with
a)
b)
c)
d)

The meaning of science and technology

What constitute science and technology
How the study of science can be applied in technology
The advantage science and technology

12. When teaching a social studies topic institution of marriage at SHS the teacher will
be concerned with
a.
b.
c.
d.

How to help people to solve the problem of selecting a future partner

What constitutes the preparation that ought to be made before getting married
Meaning of marriage
The types of marriages we have in Ghana

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13. In teaching social studies topic National Independence and Self reliance which of
these will be the driving force.
a.
b.
c.
d.

The meaning of the concept political independent and self reliance.

The implication of attaining independence
The political ambition of people
The history of Ghanas colonial masters and how they gain independent

14. Do you think Social studies is achieving the purpose it seeks to attain?
15. What can you say about the impact of the subject on learners?

APPENDIX C
OBSERVATION CHECK LIST
To what extent are the following
true of the social studies teaching

Very
great
extent

Great
extent

The overall objective the teaching

addresses was achieved
Students attitudes are being
developed by the teacher
Students values were being
developed
Students skills are being
developed
Teacher tries to address how to
solve the problem
Students activities performed in
class were relevant to the topic
Teacher makes repeated effort in
encouraging the needed attitude to
students
Facts used make the students
conscious of the problem for mans
survival
Teachers content addressed the
stated problem
Teachers knowledge in social

109

Moderately Averagely Not

true
untrue
true

studies helped in achieving the

stated objective

110