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SOCIAL STUDIES TEACHERS SELF-EFFICACY AND ATTITUDES TOWARDS SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL CIVIC EDUCATION CURRICULUM

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SOCIAL STUDIES TEACHER’S SELF-EFFICACY AND ATTITUDES TOWARDS SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL CIVIC EDUCATION CURRICULUM

ABSTRACT

Nigeria is currently dealing with a slew of massive social issues. Cult activities, armed robbery, violence, examination misconduct, disobedience, and terrorist attacks are some of the social problems that appear to have resulted primarily from a loss of civic values. The perceived neglect of civic education for Nigerian youth over the years may have contributed to these social ills.

As a result, it appears that civic education, which must be handled by teachers who have positive self-efficacy beliefs and attitudes toward it, is now the obvious antidote required to save Nigerian youth from the scourge of these social problems. As a result, this study looked into Social Studies teachers’ self-efficacy and attitudes toward civic education as predictors of effective teaching of senior secondary school civic education curriculum in Oyo State, Nigeria.

The descriptive survey research method, which is “ex-post facto,” was used for the study. The study included 600 subjects who were chosen using a stratified simple random sampling technique. To guide the study, eight research questions and hypotheses were developed and tested at the.05 level of significance.

To collect relevant data, three self-designed instruments were used: the “Social Studies Teachers’ Attitude Towards Civic Education Curriculum Scale,” the “Social Studies Teachers’ Self-Efficacy of Civic Education Curriculum Scale,” and the “Civic Education Curriculum Scale.”

These were validated, with Cronbach Alpha values of.85 (SSTATCECS),.76 (SSTSECECS), and.83 (CECS) for reliability. For data analysis, simple percentages, Multiple Regression Analysis, Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient, Independent t-test, and One-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) were used.

The results show that self-efficacy and attitudes toward civic education among Social Studies teachers explained 20.3 percent of the total variance in the dependent variable (Adjusted R Square=.203). Furthermore, the two variables Social Studies teachers’ self-efficacy (=.356; p.05) and attitudes toward civic education (=.149; p.05) contributed differently and significantly to the dependent variable.

Furthermore, in Oyo State, Nigeria, there is a moderate, positive, and significant relationship between Social Studies teachers’ self-efficacy (r=.435; p.05), attitudes toward civic education (r=.337; p.05), and the teaching of senior secondary school civic education curriculum.

The findings also show a significant difference in the teaching of senior secondary school civic education curriculum based on the academic qualifications of Social Studies teachers (F-value=7.963; p.05), gender (t=6.479; df=598; p.05), and school category (t=-2.446; df=598; p.05).

To summarize, the two variables are quite relevant and significant in determining the effective teaching of senior secondary school civic education curriculum in Oyo State public and private senior secondary schools. It was thus suggested, among other things, that Social Studies teachers pay close attention to the two selected factors because they both made significant contributions to the teaching of civic education curriculum.

Furthermore, there is a need for Social Studies teachers in Oyo State senior secondary schools to improve their academic credentials through additional education. Finally, in order to achieve the goals of the civic education curriculum, Oyo State public senior secondary schools must be adequately funded, supervised, and staffed with professionally qualified Social Studies teachers.

 

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background to the Study

Education is a means of achieving a nation’s goals in Nigeria and around the world. Education can be thought of as the transmission of what is valuable from generation to generation. It is the various ways in which a society generates and applies knowledge to its members, including factual information and occupational skills, as well as cultural norms and values.

Education is also a life-long process that transforms an individual’s life from that of a helpless and dependent creature to that of a self-reliant, rational, and skilled individual who can positively contribute to the development of his society. It is the sum of all the means by which humans develop the necessary socially acceptable skills, attitudes, and values (Akinbote, 1988).

Globally, education is viewed as a life-changing activity that enables its recipients to make tangible contributions to the development of a society. The transformative potential of education has influenced the government’s adoption of various policies in its planning and delivery patterns.

In most developing countries, basic education has been implemented to ensure that educational services are available to as many people as possible who are willing and ready to consume them. The reason for this is to ensure that young people have access to skills and knowledge that will benefit both their personal development and the development of their societies.

The primary goal of government and non-governmental organizations in developing countries is nation building, and a nation cannot be built if the lives of its youth, the leaders of tomorrow, lack the values and characteristics of good and effective citizenship. As a result, in order to create a society characterized by unity, tolerance, honesty, cooperation, respect for human dignity, and patriotism, citizens must be instilled with the traits and values of effective citizenship.

Change is most often effected through the nation’s educational system, which includes various reform programs and curriculum development. It is a multifaceted agent for instilling appropriate values, norms, ideals, and skills in children.

It entails training and the acquisition of special skills, knowledge, attitudes, and values that are required for an individual to be responsible and to contribute his own quota to the growth of society. Education is regarded as a powerful tool for change and development.

According to Iyewarun (1989), education is a tool for raising and socializing young members so that they can become useful and active members of society. Cookey (1970) saw education as a means of instilling the right kind of values, such as self-reliance, responsibility, moral uprightness, and civic dispositions, for the betterment of the individual and society.

Nigeria is confronted with a slew of social issues of epic proportions. Cult activities, armed robbery, violence, indiscipline, examination misconduct, disobedience, terrorist attacks, and other unpatriotic practices are among these issues.

The sociopolitical and economic problems are primarily the result of a loss of civic values and unpatriotic tendencies among some Nigerian citizens. This is why one of the primary goals of Nigerian education should be to prepare students for effective citizenship. Civic education has the potential to instill in students the values, attitudes, and skills that will enable them to live patriotic and democratic lives while also contributing meaningfully to the nation’s progress.

For years, primary school students have been denied civic education, which has had a negative impact on their attitudes. As a result, it is not surprising to see some of today’s youths engaging in immoral, criminal, and anti-social behavior.

In light of this, the reintroduction of civic education into Nigerian schools, beginning with the foundation level, will aid in the development of desirable social norms and national ethics in citizens, as the primary school level is the

basic foundation for other stages of the educational system, and thus the pupils will grow up to become responsible adults. Falade (2008) previously stated that the early years (primary and secondary school levels) are critical for the development of civic values and characteristics.

According to Akindele (1994), the cohesive, socialist type of democracy and self-reliance that Nigerians desire will not fall from the sky while they sleep. Nobody will hand it to them as a gift; instead, Nigeria must commemorate a period of nationhood, a period of sustained democracy, with democratic freedoms and practices effectively institutionalized.

To do so, it is critical not to overlook the role of education as a vital tool in establishing democratic citizenship in the country. Political parties will not be able to achieve political emancipation. It can only be obtained through the people’s own political struggle and the proper type of education.

Civic education values, in effect, play important roles in producing responsible citizens, as well as in maintaining the country’s democracy and ensuring its survival for future generations.

Civic education has long been taught in Nigerian schools as part of Social Studies. Indeed, there is broad agreement among Social Studies educators that the core mission of Social Studies curriculum is to educate students for democratic citizenship (Ajitoni, 2007). Civic education has a proper place at all levels of education. According to Falade (2009), the secondary school years are critical in the development of civic roles and responsibilities.

Civic education, whenever and however it is implemented, prepares the people of a country, particularly the young, to carry out their responsibilities as responsible citizens. As a result, civic education is political education, or, as Falade (2008) defined it, “the cultivation of the virtues, knowledge, and skills required for political participation.”

Civic education ideals and values emerged about a century ago as a kind of panacea for solving problems confronting humanity (Banks, 2005). Many people believe that adopting or adapting the ideals and values inherent in this type of education could go a long way toward alleviating or resolving problems caused by humans’ inhumanity to other humans (Kazi, 2004; Mezieobi, 1993).

Perhaps in light of the foregoing, the Federal Republic of Nigeria (FRN) emphasized in the National Policy on Education (NPE) (2004) that the philosophy of education for the country should be geared toward equipping the learner to cultivate values of effective citizenship and civic responsibility.

According to the policy, the philosophy underlying all forms of instruction in schools should be measured in terms of roles in producing citizens with skills, competencies, moral values, and reasoned judgments to effectively live, interact, interrelate, and contribute positively to the Nigerian society’s economic, social, political, and cultural development. In some ways, this is all about civic education.

The desperate need for institutionalized civic education most likely prompted the Federal Government of Nigeria to carve out another subject from Social Studies and rename it “Civic Education.” Civic education becomes even more important when it is remembered that during the 1990s, there was unprecedented global dissemination of information about democracy theory and practice, as well as civic education for democracy (Banks, 2005).

Today, educators all over the world recognize that civic education entails teaching and learning the principles and practices of democratic governance and citizenship. Thus, the interconnected components of civic education – civic knowledge, civic virtue, and civic skills – are essential for individuals to acquire in a democracy.

According to Kazi (2004), it is a commitment to such civic education value-dimensions as cooperation, confidence, trustworthiness, integrity, consideration, hard work, interdependence, and loyalty that has contributed to the building and establishment of the world’s great nations and democracies.

Exam malpractices, sexual perversion, drug abuse, economic sabotage, corruption, robbery, kidnapping, HIV-AIDS, environmental pollution, cultism, prostitution, indiscipline, violence, and other social vices have plagued Nigeria over the years. In order to combat these vices, successive governments in the country have launched one program after another.

The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), the War Against Indiscipline and Corruption (WAIC), the National Orientation Agency (NOA), the Mass Mobilization for Self-Reliance, Social Justice, and Economic Recovery (MAMSER), and the Citizenship and Leadership Training Centre are examples of such programs (Man-O-War).

Citizenship education is incorporated into these various programs. However, it appears that people are not addressing societal problems appropriately, as the society continues to deteriorate or devolve into decadence rather than improve (Emilefo, 2001).

As a result, there is an urgent need to instill in students the national values of honesty, obedience, hard work, tolerance, national consciousness, and unity, as well as the spirit of patriotism, faith, and active participation in the democratic process, and to ensure that learners are morally and psychologically sound.

This informed the Federal government directive that schools should reintroduce civic education instruction (Jekayinfa, Mofoluwawo, &Oladiran, 2011). The need to reintroduce civic education at the foundation level of education in Nigeria arose as a result of the prevalence of indiscipline, dwindling national consciousness and patriotic zeal, a lack of social harmony in the absence of duty, disrespect for the rule of law,

civic strive, and moral decadency. This manifestation of negative trends in Nigerian society became evident in 1980, when civic education was removed from the school curriculum, and the country faced the threat of losing its much-cherished sense of nationhood, cultural identity, and hospitality spirit (Adeniran, 2009).

The preceding has played a significant role in the recent emergence and teaching of civic education in Nigerian schools. According to the National Orientation Agency (NOA) (2006), the main philosophy behind the teaching and learning of this curriculum area in schools is the production of effective citizens and the formation of a cohesive society that will support a notion of nation building, national development, and sustainability through classroom mediation of curriculum programs in the subject area.

The directive to make civic education a mandatory subject in senior secondary school came at a time when the Federal Government was reforming education. In December 2005, the National Council on Education (NCE) met in Ibadan and directed the National Education Research and Development Council (NERDC) to conduct a review of the existing curriculum for senior secondary school and re-align it to fit the educational reforms being implemented.

Between January 2007 and March 2008, NERDC convened a meeting of experts and organized several workshops to develop senior secondary school curricula that would ensure continuity and flow of themes, topics, and experiences from SSS1 to SSS3. This exercise resulted in the creation of the new curriculum in 2009. (NERDC 2009).

It is obvious that the development and progress of any nation is heavily dependent on the values, attitudes, and skills of its citizens; civic education is critical in the process of nation building because it helps to restore traditional values and virtues such as honesty, obedience, cooperation, self-reliance, integrity, discipline, courage, and the like that have been eroded in our society.

Through the teaching of civic education, which goes a long way toward promoting responsible citizenship, all forms of indiscipline and moral laxity can be corrected and drastically reduced to the bare minimum. Civic education appears to be the antidote needed to save Nigeria from the threat of lack of integrity, the threat of insecurity, and all manner of indiscipline plaguing the country.

Belief in one’s own efficacy is a critical personal resource for self-development and successful change adaptation. Self-efficacy works by influencing the domains of learning. Efficacy reveals whether people think optimistically or pessimistically, in ways that benefit or harm themselves.

It has an impact on people’s goals and aspirations, as well as their self-motivation and perseverance. According to Bandura (2001), people must believe that their actions can produce the desired results in order to persevere in the face of adversity. He goes on to say that whatever other factors serve as guides and motivators for performance, they are all based on the fundamental belief that one has the ability to affect change through one’s actions.

Ormord (2006) defined self-efficacy as the belief that one is capable of performing tasks in specific ways in order to achieve specific goals. In addition, Bandura (2001) stated that self-efficacy is one’s belief in one’s ability to succeed in specific situations.

Self-efficacy is a construct that deals with one’s perception of one’s ability to do what is required to achieve set goals in terms of knowing what to do and being emotionally capable of doing it (Pajares&Schunk, 2001). People’s expectations are shaped by their sense of self-efficacy, whether they expect positive or negative outcomes from their efforts. It also influences how environmental opportunities and constraints are perceived.

People with low self-efficacy are easily convinced of the futility of their efforts in the face of difficulties and give up trying, whereas those with high self-efficacy see obstacles as surmountable through self-development and perseverance, and they stay on track in the face of difficulties and remain resilient to adversity.

Self-efficacy influences the quality of one’s emotional life as well as one’s susceptibility to stress and depression. Finally, it influences people’s decisions at critical junctures (Pajares, 2002). Jink, Lorsbach, and Morey (2000) believe that increasing the difficulty and sequence of learning experiences will boost self-efficacy.

hey go on to say that encouraging students to collaborate and participate in small group activities will boost their self-efficacy. According to James, Sottile, Carter, and Murphy (2002), providing professional development to teachers increases self-efficacy.

Attitude is a psychological concept that refers to how a person thinks and feels about something. Allport (1999) defined attitude as the most important concept in social psychology, and research into it has remained central. He defines attitude as “a mental and neural state of readiness, organized through experience, exerting a directive and dynamic influence on the individual’s response to all objects and situations with which it is associated.”

According to Lovell (1994), “attitude is a strong preference for a particular type of object, institution, or idea.” Krech and Crutchfield (2000) defined attitude as a long-term organization of motivation, emotion, perceptual, and cognitive processes in relation to some aspect of an individual’s world.

Mukhejee (2002) also defined attitude as “one’s feelings, thoughts, and proclivity to behave in a particular way toward some aspects of one’s environment.” Individuals’ attitudes are best expressed when they make statements about their feelings or opinions about a specific object, issue, or thing.

Furthermore, Thomas and Znanreki (1991) defined attitude as an individual mental process that determines each person’s actual and potential response in the social world, whereas Schuman (1995) defined attitude as a single evaluation of an object.

When a person is interested in or has positive feelings about something, he or she behaves favorably toward that object. Attitude is one of the factors that may influence the acceptance of a new program. In order for a change to be accepted without much resistance, the recipient’s attitude toward the need for change must be positive.

Teachers are viewed as the most important change agents in the classroom or in government policy. The attitudes of social studies teachers are important factors that should be positive in the successful implementation of the new civic education in Nigeria.

The characteristics of the teacher are important predictors of student achievement (Okonkwo, 2000). According to Darling (2000), variables indicative of teachers’ competence are thought to have links to students’ achievement, including qualification, self-efficacy beliefs, and years of teaching experience.

Darling (2000) found that teachers improve year after year through in-service training, improving their knowledge, skills, and teaching techniques. Based on this context, the current study investigated the self-efficacy, attitudes toward civic education, and effective teaching of senior secondary school civic education curriculum in Oyo State, Nigeria.

 

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Bribery, corruption, kidnapping, assassination, indiscipline, violence, cultism, thuggery, neglect of civic duties and obligations, and unpleasant bomb blasts have all been on the rise in Nigeria in recent years.

Nduka (2004) observed that Nigerians have deplorable ethical attitudes in almost every aspect of life, such that students are no longer acquiring the knowledge and skills required to become good and effective citizens. Honesty, obedience, respect, loyalty, justice, fair play, and humility, to name a few, appear to be lost values and virtues.

The perceived neglect of civic education for Nigerian youth over the years may have contributed to these social ills. As a result, it appears that civic education, which requires teachers to have positive self-efficacy beliefs and attitudes toward it, is now the obvious antidote required to save Nigerian youth from the scourge of these social problems.

Could it also be that the teachers in charge of civic education in our secondary schools lack positive self-efficacy beliefs and attitudinal dispositions toward effective subject teaching? As a result, this study looked into Social Studies teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs and attitudes toward civic education as predictors of effective teaching of senior secondary school civic education curriculum in Oyo State, Nigeria.

 

RESEARCH PURPOSE

The overall goal of this study is to look into the self-efficacy of Social Studies teachers, their attitudes toward civic education, and the effective teaching of senior secondary school civic education curriculum in Oyo State, Nigeria.

The research is specifically designed to:

1. To examine the combined effects of Social Studies teachers’ self-efficacy and attitudes toward civic education on the teaching of senior secondary school civic education curriculum in Oyo State, Nigeria.

2. To investigate the individual effects of Social Studies teachers’ self-efficacy and attitudes toward civic education on the teaching of senior secondary school civic education curriculum in Oyo State, Nigeria.

3. To examine the relationship between Social Studies teachers’ self-efficacy and the teaching of senior secondary school civic education curriculum in Oyo State, Nigeria.

4. To determine the relationship between Social Studies teachers’ attitudes to civic education and the teaching of senior secondary school civic education curriculum in Oyo State, Nigeria.

5. To examine the difference in the teaching of senior secondary school civic education curriculum based on Social Studies teachers’ academic qualifications.

6. To examine the gender difference of Social Studies teachers in the teaching of senior secondary school civic education curriculum.

7. To find out the difference between experienced and less experienced Social Studies teachers in the teaching of senior secondary school civic education curriculum.

8. To explore the difference in the teaching of senior secondary school civic education curriculum in public and private schools.

 

Research Questions

The following research questions were raised and answered in this study in line with the specific purposes of the study.

1. What is the composite effect of Social Studies teachers’ self-efficacy and attitudes to civic education, when taken jointly, on the teaching of senior secondary school civic education curriculum in Oyo State, Nigeria?

2. What are the individual effects of Social Studies teachers’ self-efficacy and civic education attitudes on the teaching of senior secondary school civic education curriculum in Oyo State, Nigeria?

3. What is the relationship between the self-efficacy of Social Studies teachers and the teaching of senior secondary school civic education curriculum in Oyo State, Nigeria?

4. Is there a link between the attitudes of Social Studies teachers toward civic education and the teaching of senior secondary school civic education curriculum in Oyo State, Nigeria?

5. Does the teaching of senior secondary school civic education curriculum in Oyo State, Nigeria, differ based on the academic qualifications of Social Studies teachers?

6. Is there a difference in the teaching of senior secondary school civic education curriculum in Oyo State, Nigeria, between male and female Social Studies teachers?

7. Does the teaching of senior secondary school civic education curriculum by experienced and less experienced Social Studies teachers in Oyo State, Nigeria differ significantly?

8. Is there a difference in the senior secondary school civic education curriculum taught by Social Studies teachers in public and private schools in Oyo State, Nigeria?

 

RESERACH HYPOTHESIS

Based on the research questions, the following research hypotheses were developed. They were tested at a significance level of.05.

HO1:When taken together, there is no significant composite effect of Social Studies teachers’ self-efficacy and attitudes toward civic education on the teaching of senior secondary school civic education curriculum in Oyo State, Nigeria.

HO2: When taken individually, there are no significant relative effects of Social Studies teachers’ self-efficacy and attitudes toward civic education on the teaching of senior secondary school civic education curriculum in Oyo State, Nigeria.

HO3: In Oyo State, Nigeria, there is no significant relationship between Social Studies teachers’ self-efficacy and the teaching of senior secondary school civic education curriculum.

HO4:There is no significant relationship between social studies teachers’ attitudes toward civic education and the teaching of senior secondary school civic education curriculum in Oyo State, Nigeria.

Academic qualifications of Social Studies teachers make no difference in the teaching of senior secondary school civic education curriculum in Oyo State, Nigeria.

HO6:There is no significant difference in the teaching of senior secondary school civic education curriculum by male and female Social Studies teachers in Oyo State, Nigeria.

HO7: In Oyo State, Nigeria, there is no significant difference in the teaching of senior secondary school civic education curriculum by experienced and less experienced Social Studies teachers.

HO8: In Oyo State, Nigeria, there is no significant difference in the teaching of senior secondary school civic education curriculum by Social Studies teachers in public and private schools.

 

RESEARCH SCOPE

This study focuses on the self-efficacy and attitudes of Social Studies teachers toward senior secondary school civic education curriculum in Oyo State, Nigeria. Participants in this study were all Social Studies teachers at the Senior Secondary School level in Oyo State, both public and private. The study enlisted the help of Social Studies teachers from Oyo State’s three senatorial districts.

The study focuses on the self-efficacy of Social Studies teachers, their attitude and disposition toward the content, methods, instructional materials, and evaluation strategies of the civic education curriculum in senior secondary schools in Oyo State, Nigeria.

Furthermore, variables in the study include the gender, qualification, experience, and type of school. The study used three instruments: the “Social Studies Teachers’ Attitude toward Civic Education Curriculum Scale (SSTATCECS),” the “Social Studies Teachers’ Self-Efficacy of Civic Education Curriculum Scale (SSTSECECS),” and the “Civic Education Curriculum Scale (CECS).”

 

DEFINITION OF TERMS

The following terms are defined for the purposes of the study as they are used in the study.

Civic Education is defined in this study as an educational program that provides citizens with the knowledge, skills, and values required for the development of society. Civic education is concerned with assisting students in acquiring knowledge, attitudes, values, and fundamental skills that will enable them to become responsible and disciplined members of their societies.

Self-efficacy is defined in this study as an individual’s perception of his or her own abilities for organizing and successfully executing the courses of action required to achieve specified types of performance.

Personal teacher efficacy: This is an individual teacher’s belief in his or her ability to organize and execute the behaviors required to successfully complete his or her teaching.

Attitude: This is a person’s personal point of view or opinion about something. It is someone’s reaction, whether positive or negative, to a specific object, idea, or act. It refers to the teachers’ (positive or negative) attitude toward teaching the new civic education curriculum in Oyo State, Nigeria, in this study.

Areas of Specialization: The subjects in which teachers received their certification, such as Social Studies, History, Geography, Government, Political Science, Economics, and so on.

Gender: This refers to whether you are a male or female senior secondary school social studies teacher teaching civic education.

Qualified Teachers: In this study, qualified teachers are those who have the requisite-prescribed minimum general and professional qualifications/training in education, such as a bachelor’s degree. M.Ed., B.A.Ed.

Unqualified Teachers: These are educators who lack the required general and professional qualifications/training in education and social studies.

Experienced Teachers: These are teachers who have been teaching social studies in secondary schools for more than 5 years.

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