Graduate Social Studies Teachers’ Knowledge Base of the Curriculum Objectives at the Senior High Schools and the Domains They Emphasize on

Abstract

This study aimed to determine the graduate Social Studies teachers’ knowledge base of the curriculum objectives at the Senior High Schools and the domains they emphasize. This study employed a qualitative and interpretive methodology using the case study design. The population for the study included all the 15 graduate Social Studies teachers at the Senior High Schools in the Eastern Region of Ghana. Using the purposive sampling technique, the researchers selected ten (10) trained graduate Social Studies teachers out of the fifteen (15) teachers for the one-on-one interview. Qualitative data collection instruments were used in gathering data for the study. The data collection methods involved an interview guide comprising fifteen (15) semi-structured items for ten (10) graduate Social Studies teachers at the Senior High School level. Most of the graduate Social Studies teachers did not have in-depth knowledge about the objectives of teaching Social Studies in Ghanaian Senior High Schools. Even though most of the teachers touted their in-depth knowledge about the curriculum or instructional objectives of teaching the subject during the interview session, data from the observational sheet proved that as many as 7(70%) did not possess in- depth knowledge about the objectives of teaching the subject in Ghana. A few teachers demonstrated sufficient knowledge about the curriculum or instructional objectives of teaching Social Studies in Ghana. The results also showed that Social Studies teachers’ examination questions emphasize the cognitive domain even though almost all participants believed that Social Studies is citizenship education, with its focus being the affective domain. The analysis and the discussions accentuate that most of the graduate teachers engaged in the study demonstrated a very good knowledge of the curriculum or instructional objectives of teaching and learning Social Studies at the Senior High School level. From the foregoing, the researchers conclude that most participants have been trained to handle the subject. The analyses also highlight that the graduate teachers’ questions emphasized the cognitive domain of educational objectives. Graduate teachers should be encouraged to be familiar with the objectives of teaching and learning Social Studies. This is because the failure on the part of teachers to consider the curriculum or instructional objectives only militates against the successful implementation of the Social Studies curriculum in Ghana. This will go a long way to ensuring that graduate teachers familiarize themselves more with the subject's objectives for effective instruction and assessment in Social Studies