PERSPECTIVES OF STUDENTS AND LECTURERS TOWARDS STIMULATING CITIZENSHIP EDUCATION THROUGH SOCIAL STUDIES (A CASE STUDY PEKI COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, GHANA)

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background Of The Study

Citizenship education is critical because every society requires people to contribute effectively, 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 citizens helps to build a healthy and vibrant culture of democratic participation. Furthermore, when people are actively involved in determining policies and procedures, they are more likely to understand the reasons for them and thus genuinely subscribe to them. Regardless of the widely accepted goal of Social Studies as a citizenship education, the form it takes may vary from society to society. In an authoritarian society, for example, citizenship education takes the form of indoctrination. Patrick (1980) saw citizenship education as important. as an inculcation of political attitudes and roles, and the glorification of national heroes. In a democratic society, this may not be acceptable. As a result, perceptions of a good citizen range from the passive, compliant member of the local community and nation to the well-informed, active individual who criticizes constructively. Though Social Studies has become an important part of the Ghanaian curriculum with the ultimate goal of citizenship education, it appears that the benefits are not being felt. The situation appears to be similar to that described by Patrick (1980). He believed that in general, citizenship education suffers from neglect and routine treatment. He went on to say that the connection between education and citizenship studies is not as secure in school curricula as it should be. It ought to be. An examination of indigenous Ghanaian society reveals that in Ghana, when communities were small and self-sufficient, the educational system was informal and non-literate. Citizenship education, on the other hand, was very prominent. McWilliam and Kwamena-Poh (1975) claim that Ghanaian communities prepared their members for citizenship education through an informal educational system. The responsibility for education fell not only on the father and mother, but also on the blood relatives. In fact, because a good citizen was an asset to the community, everyone in the community participated in the training. The training aimed to instill good character and health in the community’s young people. It also aimed to teach them about their history, beliefs, and culture.

Allow them to function effectively in society. From the discussions thus far, it is clear that citizenship education, or the training of individuals to function effectively in society, is not a new concept and has been a part of human society since the ancient Greek period 3000BC (Pecku,1994). To that end, social studies were introduced into the Ghanaian curriculum.

With the introduction of the Junior Secondary School concept in 1987, which made Social Studies a compulsory subject, social studies as a subject to promote citizenship education became well grounded in the Ghanaian education system. In terms of definitions, different scholars in the subject have defined Social Studies in various ways. According to Banks (1990), it is that portion of

the elementary and secondary school curriculum is responsible for assisting students in developing the knowledge, skills, 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 help students gain some skills in a democratic society, Social Studies is the only one that has civic competencies and skills as one of its goals.

1.2 Problem description

The learning opportunities provided in schools contribute significantly to the process of educating for active and responsible citizenship. Simultaneously, the contributions of formal education must be seen alongside and in interaction with other factors. influences. These include parental influence, media exposure, and opportunities for community-based learning. Broadly speaking, formal education should seek to promote and foster citizenship that is thoughtful and responsible, rooted in and expressive of a respectful and caring disposition 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 various communities wherever they see fit. This perspective on citizenship has significant implications for schools and early education centers. Approaches to all aspects of citizenship education in the classroom, as well as in the wider life of the school or community, should be informed by the understanding that experience and interaction with others are the best ways to learn about citizenship. In short, being an active 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 use of hard drugs. All of this indicates a lack of citizenship education, which is intended to assist students in actively and responsibly participating in civic activities and making them acceptable in society. Is it possible that teachers and students do not fully comprehend what

What exactly is citizenship? Do teachers and students understand the importance of citizenship education? Do teachers and students understand the purpose 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 can help achieve the goal of promoting citizenship education.

1.3 Study Objective

The primary goal of this research is to investigate students’ and lecturers’ attitudes toward stimulating citizenship education through social studies. The study specifically seeks:

i. Determine whether students understand the concept of citizen education.

ii. To investigate whether teachers teach Social Studies and what it is intended to do as a school subject.

iii. To

Discover tutors’ and students’ perspectives on how the teaching and learning of Social Studies can contribute to the goal of promoting citizenship education.

1.4 Research Issue

i. Do students and tutors in educational colleges understand citizenship?

ii. Do students and tutors in education colleges understand citizenship education?

iii. How do students and tutors in educational colleges understand Social Studies?

iv. How do students and tutors in education colleges believe that teaching and learning Social Studies can help them become good citizens?

1.5 Research Proposal

HO1: Social Studies education cannot be developed through teaching and learning.

H1: Social Studies education can be developed through teaching and learning.

1.6 Importance of the research 1.7 The study’s findings will be useful to policymakers, administrators, and education planners who want to understand the significance of Social Studies in the Ghanaian school curriculum. This is due to the fact that the study’s findings will reflect the perspectives of both tutors and students on what Social Studies should do to promote its goal of citizenship education. Furthermore, tutors’ participation in the study would prompt them to consider identifying and clarifying their understanding of the major goal of Social Studies, which would aid in determining ways to improve the subject’s teaching in their colleges. Finally, the study’s findings will be useful as reference material for students and other scholars.

who want to do research in a related field.

1.7 The study’s scope

The scope of this study is limited to students’ and lecturers’ perspectives on stimulating citizenship education through social studies. The study, however, is restricted to Peki College of Education in Ghana.

1.8 Study Restrictions

Several factors posed a constraint to the researchers during the course of 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 personnel could be reached due to the enormous expenses involved in making arrangements to meet a large group.

In Ghana, a sample was taken from the Peki College of Education. Furthermore, a study of this nature should have included all of Ghana’s educational institutions in order to allow for generalization to 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 an integration of knowledge, skills, and processes. It is a subject that “provides powerful learning in the humanities and social sciences to assist children in learning to be good problem solvers and wise decision makers.”

Citizenship Education: Citizenship education provides people with the knowledge and skills they need to understand, challenge, and participate in democratic society, including politics, the media, civil society, the economy, and the environment.

 

 

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