STUDENTS’ AND LECTURERS’ PERSPECTIVES ON IMPROVING CITIZENSHIP EDUCATION THROUGH SOCIAL STUDIES (A CASE STUDY PEKI COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, GHANA)
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 The Study’s Background
Citizenship education is critical because every society requires people to contribute successfully, in a variety of ways, to the future health and well-being of communities and the environment on a local, national, and global scale. Fostering active and responsible people helps to build a healthy and dynamic culture of democratic engagement. Furthermore, when people are actively involved in defining policies and procedures, they are more likely to grasp the reasons behind them and hence sincerely subscribe to them.
Despite the widely agreed purpose of Social Studies being citizenship education, the shape it takes varies by society. In an authoritarian country, for example, civic education takes the form of brainwashing. Citizenship education, according to Patrick (1980), is the instillation of political attitudes and roles, as well as the veneration of national heroes. In a democratic society, this may not be acceptable.
As a result, perceptions of a good citizen range from the quiet, conforming member of the local community and nation to the well-informed, engaged individual who criticizes constructively. Though Social Studies has become an important element of the Ghanaian curriculum with the ultimate goal of citizenship education, it appears that the benefits are not being realized.
The situation looks to be similar to that reported by Patrick (1980). He believed that in general, citizenship education suffered from neglect and regular treatment. He went on to say that the connection between education and citizenship studies is not as secure as it should be in school curricula.
An examination of indigenous Ghanaian society reveals that in Ghana, when groups were small and self-sufficient, the educational system was informal and non-literate. Citizenship education, on the other hand, was quite significant. McWilliam and Kwamena-Poh (1975) claim that Ghanaian communities prepared their members for civic education through an informal educational system.
The obligation for education fell not only on the parent and mother, but also on the blood relatives. Everyone in the town was involved in the training since a good citizen was a benefit to the community. The instruction aimed to instill good character and wellness among the community’s young people. It also aimed to teach children about their history, beliefs, and culture so that they could operate properly in society.
From the debates thus far, it is clear that civic education, or the training of individuals to operate properly in society, is not a new notion and has been a feature of human society since the ancient Greek period 3000BC (Pecku,1994). To that end, social studies were integrated into the Ghanaian curriculum.
With the introduction of the Junior Secondary School model in 1987, which made Social Studies a compulsory subject, social studies as a topic to promote citizenship education became well-established in the Ghanaian education system. In terms of definitions, different experts on the subject have defined Social Studies in various ways.
According to Banks (1990), it is that part of the elementary and secondary school curriculum that is primarily responsible for assisting students in developing the information, abilities, attitudes, and values required to participate in the civic life of their local communities, nation, and world. He went on to say that while the other curriculum areas assist students get some abilities in a democratic society, Social Studies is the only one that includes civic competencies and skills as one of its aims.
1.2 Problem description
The learning possibilities supplied in schools contribute significantly to the process of educating for active and responsible citizenship. At the same time, formal education’s contributions must be viewed alongside and in connection with other factors.
These include parental influence, media exposure, and possibilities for community-based learning. In general, the citizenship that formal education should attempt to build and foster must be intelligent and responsible, anchored in and indicative of a respectful and caring attitude toward people, human society in general, the natural world, and the environment. It should also be active, in the sense that people should be able to act and participate in numerous communities wherever it appears desirable or acceptable to them.
This perspective on citizenship has significant consequences for schools and early education centers. Approaches to all areas of citizenship education in the classroom or in the larger life of the school or community should be informed by the understanding that citizenship is best learned through experience and engagement with others. In short, becoming an engaged citizen is the best way to learn about citizenship.
Citizenship education is thus incorporated into the curriculum, but its impact is not visible in the behavior, attitudes, and actions of six students. For example, the media frequently reports an increase in student unrest, an increase in examination malpractices, an increase in occultism in schools, and student theft and usage of hard narcotics. All of this indicates a lack of citizenship education, which is intended to assist pupils in actively and responsibly participating in civic activities and making them acceptable in society.
Could it be that teachers and pupils do not completely comprehend the concept of citizenship? Do teachers and students comprehend the importance of citizenship education? Do teachers and students comprehend the aim of Social Studies as a school subject? These questions highlight the need to learn about tutors’ and students’ perspectives on how the teaching and learning of Social Studies might help achieve the goal of encouraging citizenship education.
1.3 Study Objective
The primary goal of this research is to investigate students’ and lecturers’ attitudes regarding boosting citizenship education through social studies. The study specifically intends to:
To determine whether students comprehend the concept of civic education.
To find out if teachers teach Social Studies and what it is intended to do as a school subject.
iii. To ascertain tutors’ and students’ perspectives on how the teaching and learning of Social Studies might contribute to the goal of strengthening citizenship education.
1.4 Research Issue
Do students and tutors at educational colleges understand citizenship?
Do education students and tutors comprehend citizenship education?
iii. How do students and tutors at educational colleges comprehend Social Studies?
In what ways do students and instructors in educational colleges believe that teaching and learning Social Studies may build decent citizens?
1.5 Research Proposal
HO1: Social Studies education cannot be developed by teaching and learning.
H1: Education and Learning Social Studies can help to build decent citizens.
1.6 Importance of the research
The study’s findings will be useful to policymakers, administrators, and education planners who seek to understand the significance of Social Studies in the Ghanaian school curriculum. This is due to the fact that the study’s findings will represent the perspectives of both tutors and students on what Social Studies should do to advance its purpose of citizenship education.
Furthermore, tutors’ participation in the study would prompt them to consider identifying and clarifying their understanding of the major purpose of Social Studies, which would aid in determining strategies to improve the subject’s teaching in their college. Finally, the study’s findings will be useful as reference material for students and other researchers who intend to pursue research in a related topic.
1.7 The study’s scope
The scope of this study is limited to students’ and lecturers’ viewpoints on boosting citizenship education through social studies. The study, however, is restricted to Peki College of Education in Ghana.
1.8 Study Restrictions
Several issues offered a constraint to the researchers during this study. This includes not having enough time to visit all of the colleges of education where social studies is taught. As a result, the researcher resorted to using one college of education, Peki College Of Education in Ghana.
Due to financial constraints, not all division staff could be reached due to the enormous expenses required in arranging arrangements to meet a big sample within the Peki college of education in Ghana.
Furthermore, a study of this sort should have included all of Ghana’s educational institutions in order to generalize the entire community. However, due to accessibility issues, the researchers focused on only one college in the Eastern Region.
1.9 Terms Definition
Social Studies is a synthesis of knowledge, skills, and procedures. It is a subject that “provides powerful humanities and social science learning to assist pupils learn to be competent problem solvers and sensible decision-makers.”
Citizenship education provides people with the knowledge and skills they need to comprehend, challenge, and engage with democratic society, including politics, the media, civil society, the economy, and the law.
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STUDENTS’ AND LECTURERS’ PERSPECTIVES ON IMPROVING CITIZENSHIP EDUCATION THROUGH SOCIAL STUDIES (A CASE STUDY PEKI COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, GHANA)