TABLE
OF CONTENTS
Title Page ……………………………………………………………………………………………… i
Approval Page ………………………………………………………………………………………. ii
Certification………………………………………………………………………………………….. iii
Dedication ……………………………………………………………………………….. iv
Acknowledgments ……………………………………………………………………………….. v
Table of Contents ……………………………………………………………………………….. vii
List of Table …………………………………………………………………………………………. ix
List Figure ……………………………………………………………………………………………. x
Abstract ……………………………………………………………………………………………….. xi
CHAPTER
ONE: Introduction
Background of the Study…………………………………………………………………………. 1
Statement of the Problem………………………………………………………………………… 19
Purpose of the Study………………………………………………………………………………. 20
Research Questions ……………………………………………………………………………….. 21
Hypotheses……………………………………………………………………………………………. 21
Significance of the Study………………………………………………………………………… 22
Scope of the Study…………………………………………………………………………………. 23
CHAPTER TWO: Review of Literature
Conceptual
Framework…………………………………………………………………………. 25
Primary School Children…………………………………………………………………………. 25
Primary School Curriculum……………………………………………………………………… 28
Teaching Social Studies…………………………………………………………………………… 31
Social
Issues………………………………………………………………………………………….. 32
Conventional Method of Teaching……………………………………………………………. 48
Drama …………………………………………………………………………………………………. 51
Information
Acquisition………………………………………………………………………….. 55
Attitude
……………………………………………………………………………………………….. 57
Gender…………………………………………………………………………………………………. 60
Theoretical Framework………………………………………………………………………….. 65
Social Learning Theory…………………………………………………………………………… 65
Communication Theory…………………………………………………………………………… 67
Review of Related Empirical Studies…………………………………………… 68
Summary of Literature Review…………………………………………………………………. 86
CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHOD
Design of the Study ……………………………………………………………………………….. 88
Area of the Study…………………………………………………………………………………… 89
Population of the Study…………………………………………………………………………… 89
Sample and Sampling Technique………………………………………………………………. 90
Instrument for Data Collection…………………………………………………………………. 91
Validation of the Instrument…………………………………………………………………….. 92
Reliability of the Instrument ……………………………………………………………………. 92
Experimental Procedure………………………………………………………………………….. 93
Method of Data Analysis…………………………………………………………………………. 95
CHAPTER
FOUR: RESULTS
Summary of Findings………………………………………………………………………………
106
CHAPTER FIVE:
DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS, RECOMMENDATIONS
AND CONCLUSION
Discussion of Findings……………………………………………………………………………. 108
Implications of the Study ……………………………………………………………………….. 113
Recommendations………………………………………………………………………………….. 114
Limitations of the Study………………………………………………………………………….. 115
Suggestions for Further Study…………………………………………………………………… 115
Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………………. 115
References………………………………………………………………………. 117
Appendix A-Drama and Lesson Plan for Control and Experimental Groups… ……………. ……………. ……………. …. 132
Appendix B-Attitudinal and Achievement Test Questions…….164
Appendix C-Marking Guide…………………………………………………………………….. 171
Appendix D-Training Schedule………………………………………………………………… 172
Appendix E-Output of Data
Analysis………………………………………………………… 173
Appendix F – Table of Specification (Test Blue Print)………………… 180
Appendix G-Reliability Test…………………………………………………………………….. 181
Appendix H-Validated Copies of the Instruments…………………………. 186
Appendix I-Picture of the Drama……………………………………………………………… 196
Appendix J – No of Grade Five
Pupils in Public Primary Schools in Nsukka Central ………………………………………………… 200
LIST OF TABLES
- Mean and Standard Deviation of Pretest and Posttest
- Achievement Scores of Pupils Taught
Using
Drama method and those Taught Using Conventional Method……. 96
- Mean
and Standard Deviation of Pretest and Posttest
Pupils
Attitude to social issues …………………………………………………………. 97
- Mean and Standard Deviation of Pretest
and Posttest Achievement
Scores
of Pupils to social issues based on gender ………………………………… 98
- Mean
and Standard Deviation of Pretest and Posttest Scores
Pupils’
attitude to social issues. Based on gender ……………………………….. 99
- Mean and Standard Deviation of Pretest
and Posttest Scores
of
Interaction Effect of Teaching Method and Gender on Pupils’
achievement
on social issues …………………………………………………………….. 100
- Mean
and Standard deviation of pretest and posttest scores of
interaction
effect of teaching method and gender on primary
school
pupils’ attitude to social issues………………………………………………… 101
- Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) of
Pupils’ Information
Acquisition
in Social Issues……………………………………………………………….
102
- Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) of
Pupils’
Attitude
on Social Issues………………………………………………………………….. 103
LIST
OF FIGURES
1. Diagrammatic Presentation of the Conceptual Framework………… 64
2. Channel of Communication……………………………………………………………. 67
Abstract
The
purpose of this study was to examine the effect of drama method of teaching on
pupils’ information acquisition on and attitude to social issues in Nsukka.
Five research questions and ten null hypotheses were formulated to guide the
study. The study adopted a quasi-experiment research design. Four primary
schools in Nsukka central local government authority, comprising of two private
primary schools and two public primary schools were purposively selected for
the study. The population of the study was 10,798 primary schools pupils. The
sample for the study was 169 pupils in the intact classes used for the study.
The instrument used for data collection were; an achievement test on
information acquisition on social issues and an attitude scale developed by the
researcher. The instrument had the background information of the primary
schools pupils, the attitude and achievement test questions were based on these
social issues namely; HIV/AIDS, examination malpractice, drug abuse, bullying,
cultism and early pregnancy. A pre-test and post-test were conducted. Two
lesson plans were developed by the researcher for both the control and experimental
groups. The instruments were validated by experts in the faculty of education
and later trial tested in order to test their reliability. Kuder Richardson
formula 20 (KR20) was used to test the reliability coefficient of
the achievement test and the index was 0.67 while Cronbach’s Alpha was used to
measure the internal consistency of the attitude scale and the overall
reliability coefficient was 0.85. Mean scores and standard deviation were used
to answer the research questions while Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was used
to test the null hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The results of the
study revealed that pupils taught social issues using drama method of teaching
performed better (20.25 ± 2.29) than pupils taught using conventional method
(14.58 ± 3.50). Result also revealed that there was an improvement in pupils’
attitude (80.45 ± 11.38) to social issues when taught using drama method of
teaching. The result of the hypotheses showed that there was a significant
difference in the mean achievement score of pupils taught social issues using
drama method of teaching and those taught using conventional method with those
taught using drama method having a higher mean gain. There was a significant
difference between the attitude mean score of pupils taught using drama and
those taught using conventional method with those taught using drama method
having a higher mean score in the post-test. However, there was no significant
difference in the mean information acquisition of male and female pupils on
social issues. Although there was an improvement in the achievement of male and
female pupils when taught using drama and conventional methods, gender did not
show any significant difference. It was recommended among other things that
drama method of teaching should be adopted by social studies teachers in
teaching social issues.
CHAPTER
ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background
of the Study
Primary school children are taken to be those who
study in classes one to six, with upper primary being classes four to six, and
lower primary classes one to three. Primary school is where children receive
the first stage of formal education. It
is the bedrock for all educational programmes of a nation. At the formative
years it is very important to build a child’s confidence and desire to learn
and expose him/her to different aspects of learning for the child to have a
well-balanced primary education. According to Durosaro (n.d), primary education
in Nigeria refers to the education which children receive from the age of 5
years to 12 years plus. It is the foundation level of the educational system
which runs for six years, and it is aimed at developing basic literacy,
numeracy, communication skills and transmission of culture of the people to
younger generations. Children learn from what they see and observe. They
retrieve from their memories faster what they have witnessed, just as a Chinese
proverb says “What I see, I remember, what I hear, l forget, what l do, l
understand”.
This is why Ranganathan (2000:232) acknowledges
that:
standards have
to improve, education has to be made more meaningful, and the fundamental objectives
of primary education focusing on the child’s all round development have to be
achieved. All this is not possible unless the educational planners,
administrators and teachers understand the needs and characteristics of their
primary school children in the context of their growth and needs.
According
to Johnson (2002), the primary school children are at a critical stage because
they are the most vulnerable set of learners in all the three tiers of
education in any country. This is why there is the need to inculcate in them
the four pillars on which education should be founded. These, according to the
UNESCO Education Report (2002), are:
- learning how to know (transmission of knowledge and knowledge of
the World around us);
- learning how to act (skills acquisition), that
is, putting their knowledge into practice while developing their abilities to
communicate, to work with others and to solve conflicts;
- learning how to live together (communicative
skills), that is, learning how to empathize, how to overcome prejudices and how
to communicate their thought and feelings to others, form respect and
understanding towards other ways of thinking and living; and
- learning how to be (emotional
education), developing in them all potentials as individuals and as members of
a family and of a community.
One striking characteristic of primary school
children, which is common, is that they are good imitators. They imitate what
adults/teachers do, this is because they have absolute trust and confidence in
them such that they consider whatever they do as worthy of emulatiation. Another characteristic of children, also
observed by the researcher, is that they enjoy playing around even while in the
classroom. This requires the incorporation of educational activities, like
drama, games, role playing in order to help develop the children’s physical, intellectual,
social and mental abilities. This is why Hughes (2010) states that the major
development at this level is that the child’s thinking are becoming more
orderly, more structured, and more logical. Therefore, the school-age child at
play, which is 5 years to 12 years plus, will be more realistic and more
role-oriented than was the pre-school age. Play will thus reflect a developing
need for order. He noted that the school-age child is more socially involved
with age-mates than ever before, and the peer group provides support that
formerly was offered only within the family. Acceptance by one’s peers is of
great importance to children in this age group, and their play reflects a
sometimes overwhelming need to belong. As children enjoy working in groups, this
enables them to learn the important aspects in the process of socialization,
such as;: learning to meet the rules of the group, learning to accept
responsibilities, and learning to compete with others. This is to show that a
learning strategy has to be designed to enable children as to work in group.
Hughes (2010) also observed that personality development is a major challenge
to the emerging self-concepts of school-age children, is to demonstrate to
themselves and others that they are competent, that they have talents, skills
and abilities that they can be proud of. In their play, there is a reflection
of this need for industry.
Specifically, upper primary pupils are in the stage
of pre-adolescence, sometimes referred to as late childhood. The
pre-adolescence is a stage of human development following early childhood and
prior to adolescence. It is a time of dramatic change for children. The changes
it brings span the range of developmental area including emotional,
intellectual, and physiological and social. It generally ends with the
beginning of puberty, but may also be defined with the start of teenage years.
Pre-adolescence can bring its own challenges and anxieties, and unlike most of
the preceding phases, crucial elements of pre-adolescence are starkly different
for boys and girls. This stage with the help of media exposes them to popular
culture which allows them to have interest on internet trends, television shows
and movies, fashions, technologies and music.
It is very important to understand these needs in
order to help them grow normally and happily as members of the society. Failure
to understand their needs will lead to misinterpretation of their behavior. It
will also lead to using wrong and inappropriate methods in dealing with
children. These needs are diverse and emanate from physical and psychological
makeup. Mgbodile (2000) acknowledged children’s needs to be: need for love,
attention and recognition; need for independence; and need for exploration,
participation and activities. Ranganathan (2000) identified three categories of
children’s needs to be: physiological needs that spring primarily out of
structural and dynamic bodily characteristics; social or status needs which
relate to the relationship with significant others in the society; ego or
integrative needs which refer to the requirement experiences through which the
child will learn and realize his identity and role in life in order to develop
a positive self image that would make him or her to cope with social problems.
Among the major purposes of education is to transmit the culture of a people,
to initiate the young into their way of life, and to mould character for the
wellbeing of their immediate and entire community (Daramola and Daramola,
2012). For this reason, social studies is recognized as a core subject in the
primary school curriculum.
The introduction of social studies into the Nigerian
school system, according to Jekayinfa (2005),
was based on certain philosophical considerations, one of them being to
address social issues and human problem in their interrelatedness. Social studies is an integrated programme that helps
to uphold the “inculcation of national consciousness and national unity; the
inculcation of the right type of values and attitudes for the survival of the
individual and the Nigerian society” (National Policy on Education, 2004). It
is a subject which is expected to help in the promotion of consciousness and
knowledge of and pride in the child’s local culture as well as an understanding
of other cultures both within and outside their national boundary (Makinde,
1999). Social studies aim at alerting the child to the problems of bribery,
corruption, nepotism and other allied evils that have become prevalent in
Nigerian society. As Fourie (1994) sees it, social studies provide a guide
against social vices such as cultism, examination malpractice, indecent
dressing, HIV/AIDS, alcoholism, prostitution, armed robbery and direct young
people to achieving their mission as students, especially nowadays when the
university offers a veritable breeding ground for armed robbers through cult
groups. According to Makinde (1999),
social studies should assist the child in developing a patriotic attitude
towards the welfare, fundamental human rights and development of the community
and that of the country to sustainable national development. The most important
thing is how to curb these negative issues to bring about a change in the society
and help children embrace a positive attitude to life.
Social issues (also called social
problems) are matters which directly or indirectly affect a person or many
members of a society and are considered to be problems, controversies related
to moral values, or both. It is also important to know that social problems
within a society affect its interaction with other societies, which may lead to
global problems or issues of general concern. The very nature of social problem
suggests that society itself is a problem. No country has perfected a society
where all are happy and where no problem exist.
A social problem, according to Ottong and Bassey
(2011), is a problem whose causes and solutions lie outside the individual’s
immediate environment. Etuk (2002) defines social problem as a social condition
that negatively affect the lives and proper social functioning of a significant
number of people in the society. Lauer and Lauer (2007:45) maintain that:
a social problem
is a condition or patterns of behaviour and is defined as incompatible with the
desired quality of life; is caused, facilitated, or prolonged by factors that
operate at multiple levels of social life; involves intergroup conflicts; and
requires social action to be resolved.
There are many social issues but this study will
focus more on issues that beset the lives of the future generation, especially
in primary schools in Nsukka Local Government Education Authority. The
researcher, before choosing these social issues for this study, tried to
investigate from teachers through verbal interactions in both public and
private schools on how social issues affect the lives of pupils in primary
schools in Nsukka Central Local Government Education Authority. It was gathered
from them that social problems are prevalent in these schools. The children are
involved in bullying, examination malpractice, cultism, early pregnancy, and
drug abuse. For instance, in Aguachara
Primary School where a teacher reported that a girl in primary one on 10th
May, 2013, slapped a girl in primary two and the girl became blind immediately.
Similarly, a teacher from Nru Community Primary School reported a case of early
pregnancy, where a pupil in primary five who was living with her senior sister,
got impregnated and was expelled from school. Children who display serious
social problems in one of these areas raised by the researcher may likely
develop problems in the other areas, too. Studies on delinquency, smoking, drug
abuse and sexual behaviour in different countries indicate that they are
strongly correlated with each other, and these may be associated with academic
failure and school dropout. It is
particularly important to prevent the development of social vices in the
nation’s future leaders. This espoused the early intervention to reduce these
risk factors which may prevent a whole range of problems. Different studies
present young people as the largest in the country’s history. Medilexicon International,
(2014) defines AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired
immunodeficiency syndrome) as a disease caused by a virus called HIV (Human
Immunodeficiency virus). The illness attacks the immune system, making people
much more vulnerable to infection and diseases. This susceptibility worsens as
the disease progress. HIV can be transmitted in many ways, such as virginal,
oral sex, and sex, blood transfusion, and contaminated hypodermic needles.
There is general consensus that basic education
forms the core foundation of a literate and progressive society. Unfortunately
HIV/AIDS epidemic threatens to exacerbate the already tenuous challenges facing
basic education in Nigeria through factors that influence both supply and
demand for education. Studies have it that the highest rate of HIV infection is
constantly recorded among this group under discourse. As Nigerian adolescents
begin to engage in unprotected sexual relations at a much earlier age than in
the past, cases of HIV/AIDS infection are being reported among pre-teenage
youths in schools. The increased drop out of children affected by HIV/AIDS
negatively affects overall pupils enrollment, especially for girls. The most of
the HIV/AIDS activities carried out by different centres to the utter exclusion
of the rural areas, where a great majo
