Social Studies Achievement Research Articles

Teachers’ Personality Traits and Pupils’ Learning Outcomes in Social Studies at Lower Primary Schools in Southwestern Nigeria

This study examined the personality traits of primary school teachers in South western Nigeria; and investigated the learning outcomes of primary school pupils in Social Studies. The study adopted cross-sectional descriptive survey design. The population for the study comprised pupils, head teachers and teachers of Early Childhood Education centres in South-western Nigeria. A total of 1,920 primary three pupils, 80 head teachers and 240 teachers constituted the sample size which were selected using multi-stage sampling technique. Four states were selected from the six Southwestern states using simple random sampling procedure. In each of the selected states, two out of the three Senatorial Districts were selected using simple random sampling. Also, in each Senatorial District, two Local Government Areas (LGAs) were selected using simple random sampling making a total of 16 LGAs.Three instruments were used to collect data for the study: Social Studies Achievement Retrieval Checklist (SSARC), Social Attributes Checklist (SAC) and The Big Five Personality Inventory (BFPI).Data collected were analysed using frequency counts and simple percentages. The results showed that primary school teachers exhibited the following personality traits: agreeableness (44.6%), openness to experience (30%) and conscientiousness (13.3%). The results of cognitive learning outcomes of pupils in Social Studies also showed that (45.5%) of the pupils performed below group average level while (39.5%) and (15%) respectively performed at average and above average level of performance. Whereas, (64.2%), (27.1%) and (8.7%) of the pupils respectively exhibited high, moderate and low level in affective learning outcomes measured by social behaviour competence. The study concluded that teachers' personality traits are requirements for effective teaching-learning as well as excellent learning outcomes.

Maximizing Learning and Engaging Students in Elementary Social Studies

Social studies has historically been marginalized in elementary school classrooms, with little instructional time devoted to the subject (Houser, 1995; VanFossen, 2005). Pressed for time, teachers frequently turn to teacher-directed methods that promote passive learning and perpetuate the perception that social studies is a boring and irrelevant subject in the lives of students (Zaho & Hoge, 2005). If social studies instruction is to be meaningful, teachers must utilize active learning strategies that encourage social interaction and discourse. Brain-based learning strategies connect pedagogy with cognitive neuroscience, allowing students to “learn more quickly, retain and recall more, and enjoy learning” (Kagan, 2016, p. vii). In this study, a pre-service teacher describes her inquiry into brain-friendly teaching strategies and their impact on fifth-grade students’ interest, engagement, and achievement in social studies.

Sosyal Bilgiler Dersinde Animasyon İçeren ve İçermeyen 5E Modeli’nin Öğrencilerin Başarı ve Tutumuna Etkisi

This study examined the effect of 5E learning model with and without animations on students’ achievement and attitudes in fourth grade Social Studies through quasi-experimental design. The participants were 49 fourth grade students from a primary school in Kocaeli, Turkey. The students came from three classrooms, two of which were experiment and the third was the control group. In the first experiment group, instruction was carried out in accordance with the 5E learning model for five weeks. In the second experiment group, in addition to the 5E model, animations were used; and in control group, program based instruction was implemented. As data collection tools, Social Studies achievement test, attitude scale and animation opinion scale were used. Analyses were conducted using nonparametric Kruskal Wallis and Wilcoxon test in SPSS 18. The results showed that in terms of Social Studies achievement, all three groups significantly improved from pre-test to post-test; however, there were not any significant differences among the three groups’ post-test scores. In terms of attitudes towards Social Studies, the two experiment groups showed significant improvement from pre-test to post-test; however, there was no significant difference between control group’s pre-test and post-test scores. Students in the 2. experiment group who took the animation opinion scale have expressed that animations are informative, encouraging and satisfying.

Multimedia use and learning styles on learning achievement in social studies

The research aimed to find out the effect of the use of multimedia and the students learning styles on the students' achievement in social studies. The data were collected through surveys conducted at SMP Negeri 13 Mataram (public junior high school) for three months. The research involved 108 participants, systematically selected from the target population of 240 students. The data were collected through learning achievement test and then statistically analyzed using ANOVA. Research reveals that the use of multimedia effectively improved students' learning achievement in both visual and auditory learning styles. On the other hand, the use of conventional media did not show any significant effect on the students' achievement in both visual and auditory learning styles. The research findings suggest the teachers pay more attention to the use of multimedia in their classroom and take into account the students' learning styles.

Family Climate and Peer Pressure as Correlate of Students’ Academic Achievement in Social Studies in Ebonyi State, Nigeria

Family Climate and Peer Pressure as Correlate of Students’ Academic Achievement in Social Studies in Ebonyi State, Nigeria

Teacher-related factors as correlates of pupils’ achievement in Social Studies in Southwestern Nigeria

Introducción. El profesorado juega un papel significativo en el desarrollo intelectual del alumnado a través de los procesos de evaluación y de los estilos educativos que mejoran el rendimiento. Este estudio investiga el efecto de algunos factores relacionados con el profesorado tales como, el nivel de concienciación hacia la metodología de evaluación, el estilo evaluativo y las características personales (cualificación, experiencias, estilo educativo) sobre el rendimiento del alumnado de escuelas primarias en la asignatura de Estudios Sociales.Método. El estudio sigue un diseño correlacional. La técnica de muestreo estratificado es utilizada en la selección de la muestra de tres estados de los seis existentes que constituyen la zona sudoeste de Nigeria. Tres instrumentos se utilizan en el estudio. Las cuestiones de investigación emanan de la naturaleza del estudio y se analizan utilizando medidas tales como la media, la desviación estándar, y análisis de regresión múltipleResultados. Los resultados señalan que el profesorado de Estudios Sociales se identifica con estilos de autoridad formal y de facilitación. Existe una relación significativa entre los factores relativos al profesorado y el rendimiento del alumnado. Sólo dos Predictores tienen efectos significativos en el rendimiento del alumnado de Estudios Sociales.Discusión y conclusiones. Basados en los resultados anteriores, los estilos de enseñanza y evaluación del profesorado resultan cruciales en la asignatura de Estudios Sociales. Talles y seminarios para el profesorado deberían organizarse y trabajar los estilos educativos.

Effects of cooperative learning and problem-solving strategies on Junior Secondary School Students' Achievement in Social Studies

Introducción. Sin ninguna duda, la disciplina de Estudios Sociales se incluyó en el currículum escolar de Nigeria poco después de la independencia, dando los primeros pasos en 1963. Una disciplina de tal naturaleza apareció por el afán de tener un curso que pudiera ayudar a la comprensión y búsqueda de soluciones para los problemas de confrontación en una sociedad que necesitaba incrementar la calidad de la enseñanza para los estudiantes. Así pues, es necesario aunar técnicas y estrategias para transmitir los contenidos de la misma. El artículo investiga los efectos que tres estilos de docencia (aprendizaje cooperativo, resolución de problemas y enseñanza convencional) tienen sobre el rendimiento de estudiantes de educación secundaria en dicha disciplina.Método. El diseño de la investigación se corresponde con un diseño pretest-postest con grupos no equivalentes de carácter cuasi-experimental. Participaron 150 estudiantes (80 hombres y 70 mujeres) que forman parte de una muestra estratificada correspondiente a tres centros de Osun State, Nigeria. Además, y basado en el diseño, los estilos de docencia fueron cruzados con el género.Resultados. Los resultados muestras que los estudiantes expuestos a estrategias de aprendizaje cooperativo tenían mejores rendimientos que los compañeros de otros grupos. Los resultados también indican el efecto de las estrategias de docencia en función del género de los estudiantes.Discusión y Conclusiones. Los resultados del estudio son significativos y relevantes. Estos resultados han tenido implicaciones en la planificación curricular, la formación del profesorado, cursos de formación continua y práctica en el aula.

EFFECT OF WEB BASED INSTRUCTIONS ON ACHIEVEMENT IN SOCIAL STUDIES

The purpose of the study was to study the Effect of Web based instructions on achievement in Social Studies. The sample consisted of 100 students from Grade 8th of schools affiliated to C.B.S.E of Ferozepur and were randomly split into two groups-control (taught by traditional method) and experimental (taught by Web based instruction) groups. Firstly pre-test was administered on both the groups; then the students in the control group were taught by conventional method while experimental group was taught by Web based instructions. Then post-test was administrated on both the groups. The Statistical techniques were then employed to data collected and analysis and interpretation of the data was done. The result of the study implied that there exists significant difference in achievement in Social Studies based on Web based instructions and conventional method. The study also revealed that there exist significant gender differences in achievement in Social Studies with Web based instructions.

Effects of Creative Drama Method on Students’ Attitude towards Social Studies, Academic Achievement and Retention in Turkey

<p style="text-align:justify">The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of creative drama as a teaching method on academic achievement and retention in social studies, students’ attitude towards social studies of 4th grade. The research is designed according to quasi-experimental model. The research was conducted with 4th year students in a public school in Adana in Turkey. There are 42 students in experimental group and 39 in control group. Creative drama activities were used to develop social studies achievement and attitude of students as a treatment for the experimental group. The treatment consisted of 15 hours, 40 minutes sessions that equal a class hour in school and 3 hours a week. Control groups had been taught by classroom teachers as the way they do traditionally. Data collection tools are “Attitude Towards Social Studies Scale” developed by Gencel “Achievement Test” developed by the researchers. Data were processed by using covariance analysis. Findings indicated that creative drama method has a significant effect on social studies achievement and students’ attitude towards social studies but not a significant effect on retention of social studies knowledge.</p>

社会科学教育としての社会科の成立理由 : 社会科学力観の再検討( 社会科の本質を問う-学力像の再構築-)

社会科学教育としての社会科の成立理由 : 社会科学力観の再検討( 社会科の本質を問う-学力像の再構築-)

The Impact of Educational Games-Based iPad Applications on the Development of Social Studies Achievement and Learning Retention among Sixth Grade Students in Jeddah

The present study aims to evaluate the impact of educational games-based iPad applications on the development ofsocial studies achievement and learning retention. Sample consisted of (48) sixth grade primary students in Jeddah.The author adopted Quasi-experimental design of the experimental and control groups. She also provided the teachera guidebook that explains teaching method using educational games-based iPad applications. Pre-post achievementtest was applied to both groups. Delayed achievement test, which evaluates learning retention, was applied fourweeks after post-test. The study showed the impact of educational games-based iPad applications on achievementand learning retention with statistically significant differences in scores means of both groups' participants in posttestand delayed test in favor of the experimental group. She recommended using iPad educational applications,which she prepared, in teaching.

THE IMPLEMENTATION OF INQUIRY METHOD TO INCREASE STUDENTS’ PARTICIPATION AND ACHIEVEMENT IN LEARNING SOCIAL STUDIES

This research was conducted to increase students’ participation and achievement in learning Social Studies of grade 4 by implementing inquiry method in SD Negeri Kenteng 1 Kecamatan Susukan Kabupaten Semarang semester II year 2016/2017. This research was based on Kemmis and Taggart classroom action research model. The subject of this study were 17 students. The indicator of success of this study was that 80% of the students achieve equal or more than the passing grade (70). It was shown that the implementation of inquiry method is able to increase students’ participation and achievement. The ratio of participation from phase 1 to phase 2 increased from 64.70% to 88.23%. On the other side, students’ achievement in phase 1 was that 70.50% of the students reached the minimum passing grade with the mean value of 88.90. On the second phase, 100% of the students were able to pass the minimum passing grade, and the mean value of the class increase to 93.80. From those result, it can be stated that inquiry method was able to increase students’ participation and achievement in learning Social Studies for grade 4 students of SD Negeri Kenteng 1 Kecamatan Susukan Kabupaten Semarang.

Effects of using Concept Mapping in Teaching on the Achievement of Social Studies Students

This study investigated the effects of concept mapping on students’ achievement in Social Studies. The study area was Abakaliki Education Zone, Ebonyi State, Nigeria. The design of study was quasi-experimental. The sample size was three hundred and twenty (320) JSS II (Upper Basic 8) students from four different schools randomly selected from the zone. Two schools served as control groups and were taught using conventional teaching method. The other two schools served as experimental group and were taught using the concept mapping teaching method. Data were collected using a set of Social Studies Achievement Test (SSAT). Test scores were analyzed for any statistical significant difference. Result showed that concept mapping method had no effect in the mean achievement scores of students taught social studies. Also no significant difference in mean achievement scores of students in control and experimental groups was observed. However an improvement was evident in the gain score of all the experimental schools over the control schools.

Validity of two general outcome measures of science and social studies achievement

The present research expanded validity findings for a structured formative assessment measure of content learning that was administered online and known as critical content monitoring. The study also evaluated the potential for additional measures, including sentence verification technique and written retell, to explain variance in student achievement in science and social studies classrooms. Participants were fifth-grade students (N=51) enrolled in a public primary school in the southeastern U.S. Three predictor variables (i.e. critical content monitoring, sentence verification technique and written retell) were correlated with content test scores from the nationally representative standardized achievement test (i.e. Stanford Achievement Test-Tenth Edition abbreviated online form) and a statewide accountability test. Pearson correlations for critical content monitoring and the Stanford tests across science (r=.55) and social studies (r=.63) were moderately strong and similar in magnitude with other reported correlations for academic language measures in the literature. Correlations for critical content monitoring were descriptively larger than those between the standardized tests and sentence verification technique and written retell. Commonality analyses indicated that both critical content monitoring and sentence verification technique added unique variance to explanatory models. Limitations and implications were discussed.

The Impact of Inclusive STEM High Schools on Student Achievement

This study is one of the first to estimate the impact of “inclusive“ science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) high schools using student-level data. We use multiple statistical strategies to estimate the effect on student achievement from 2 years of attendance at six such high schools in Ohio. The results indicate that two schools had positive effects on science achievement that appear to come at the expense of achievement in social studies. The other schools had negligible or, often, negative effects across both STEM and, particularly, non-STEM subjects. These results are consistent with studies indicating that inclusive STEM schools typically focus on problem-based, personalized learning rather than science and mathematics content. The analysis also reveals the importance of accounting for students’ prior test scores in science, in addition to math and reading, when estimating models that use only 1 year of prior test score data—something that existing studies fail to do.

Home Variables as Predictor of Students’ Achievements in Social Studies in Junior Secondary Schools in Osun State, Nigeria

<p>The study investigated the relationship between home variables and students’ achievement in Social Studies. This is with a view of enhancing students’ better performance in Social Studies. The study employed the survey research design. The population consisted of the Junior Secondary School Students in Osun State. Stratified sampling technique was employed in selecting 500 students in five purposively selected local governments in Osun State. Two instruments titled “Home Variables Questionnaire” (HVQ) and “Social Studies Achievement Test” (SSAT) were constructed by the researcher to elicit information from the subjects. The two instruments yielded 0.71 and 0.84 respectively using Cronbach alpha. Seven out of the nine variables were found to be significant predictors of students’ achievement in Social Studies; (Sex β = 1.98; t = 4.93; p<0.05, age β=-1.16, t=-3.42; p<0.05, ethnic group β=0.51; t=-6.95; p<0.05, religion β=-2.86, t=-6.95; <0.05 parent living pattern β=-2.66; t=-2.92 p<0.05, number of fathers’ wives β=5.25; t=4.21; p<0.05, mother’s position among wives β=-3.39; t=-4.718; p<0.05) whereas the two other variables were not predictors of students’ achievement (mother’s no of children β=0.19; t=1.78; p>0.05, and position in the family β=0.01, t=0.010, p>0.05). Also, there was significant difference in male and female students’ achievement in Social Studies (t=9.991, p <0.05). Furthermore, there was a significant relationship between home facilities and students’ achievement in Social Students (r=0.180; p<0.05) whereas there was no significant relationship between birth order and students’ achievement (r=0.050, p>0.05). The study recommended among others that government should provide schools with adequate infrastructures and facilities that will enhance effective learning environment.</p>

Effects of Instructional Materials on Secondary Schools Students’ Academic Achievement in Social Studies in Ekiti State, Nigeria

The aim of this paper is to highlight the contribution of instructional materials to the academic achievement ofsecondary school students in Social Studies in Ekiti State. The population for the study comprised of all JuniorSecondary School Class II students from among which 180 were sampled. The instrument for the study is a 30multiple-choice self- designed Social Studies Achievement Test (SSAT).The instrument was validated by specialistsin Social Studies Test and Measurement and Educational Management. Test-re-test method and estimation ofinternal consistency was used to ascertain the reliability. The reliability co-efficients of 0.73 and 0.75 were obtainedrespectively. The study generated four hypotheses that were tested at the significance level of 0.05. ANOVA andANCOVA statistical tools were used to analyse the data collected. The study found that there was a significantdifference in the pre-test and post-test of students in the experimental group. The study also found that gender effectwas not statistically significant in social studies. The study concluded that students who were taught withinstructional materials performed better than those taught without. The study therefore recommended that teachers ofSocial Studies should employ the use of essential instructional materials for their teaching and also improvise whereand when the materials are not available. It therefore becomes imperative to have concerted efforts among parents,school and the government to make available important and necessary instructional materials to teachers of SocialStudies for enhanced teaching and consequents improved achievement of students in the subject.

The Benchmarking Capacity of a General Outcome Measure of Academic Language in Science and Social Studies

The amount of research evaluating the technical merits of general outcome measures of science and social studies achievement is growing. This study targeted criterion validity for critical content monitoring. Questions addressed the concurrent criterion validity of alternate presentation formats of critical content monitoring and the measure’s predictive validity. Participants were fifth-grade students ( N = 51) who completed five different forms of critical content monitoring probes as well as oral reading fluency and maze probes over three benchmarking periods. Criterion measures were the science and social studies subtests of the online abbreviated Stanford Achievement Test–10th edition. Concurrent correlation magnitudes for critical content monitoring ranged from .47 to .60. Predictive correlations for fall and winter ranged from .23 to .64. In three of four cases, commonality analyses findings favored critical content monitoring over oral reading fluency and maze as benchmarking choices. Study limitations and benchmark assessment framework implications are discussed.

Effects of Concept Mapping and Brainstorming Instructional Strategies on Junior Secondary School Students’ Achievement in Social Studies in Mubi Educational Zone, Nigeria

Effects of Concept Mapping and Brainstorming Instructional Strategies on Junior Secondary School Students’ Achievement in Social Studies in Mubi Educational Zone, Nigeria

Free to Choose: Can School Choice Reduce Student Achievement?

A central argument for school choice is that parents can choose schools wisely. This principle may underlie why lottery-based school evaluations have almost always reported positive or zero achievement effects. This paper reports on a striking counterexample to these results. We use randomized lotteries to evaluate the Louisiana Scholarship Program, a voucher plan that provides public funds for disadvantaged students to attend private schools. LSP participation lowers math scores by 0.4 standard deviations and also reduces achievement in reading, science, and social studies. These effects may be due in part to selection of low-quality private schools into the program. (JEL H75, I21, I22, I28)