The Effects of Inservice Education on Teachers’ Knowledge of Junior Secondary School Social Studies Curriculum and Instruction in Delta State, Nigeria

Abstract

The provision of competent professionally trained social studies teachers in adequate numbers has been a major challenge in the successful implementation of the social studies curriculum in junior secondary schools in Nigeria. In-service training of social studies teachers while still on the job has been identified as a functional strategy to enhance the professional competence of these teachers. This study was designed to evaluate the impact of in-service education on the knowledge of teachers on objectives, contents and teaching strategies employed in social studies. Sixty NCE social studies teachers and 60 teachers who obtained B.Ed in social studies through in-service training were recruited for the study using multi-stage random sampling from 30 junior secondary schools in Ika North East and Ika South Local Government Areas of Delta State of Nigeria. A questionnaire-based survey strategy was employed to test the social studies teachers' knowledge on objectives, contents and teaching strategies. The reliability coefficient of the instrument was found to be 0.81 using Cronbach Alpha technique. Data was analyzed using t-test for independent samples. The results showed that B.Ed teachers have significantly higher knowledge on objectives and content of the social studies curriculum but there was no significant difference in the knowledge of NCE and B.Ed teachers on instructional strategies. It was recommended that in-service education programs in social studies should focus not only on enhancing teachers' knowledge on objectives and content but also emphasis should be laid on knowledge of different teaching strategies for the teaching/learning of social studies.