This study adopted cross-sectional and descriptive designs to examine Social Studies students and teachers’ attitudes towards the teaching and learning of Social Studies in the Senior High Schools (SHSs) in the Nanumba North District of the Northern Region of Ghana. A sample size of 46 SHS students and 10 Social Studies teachers were selected using a simple random sampling technique for the study. From the perspectives of the study participants, the study assessed their attitudes, the causes of the nature of their attitudes as well as the intervention measures for improving their attitudes towards the subject. Questionnaire and Focus Group Discussion (FGD) were the instruments used for data collection. The study revealed that unlike the teachers, the students had a negative attitude towards the subject. While students perceived Social Studies subject as one that is boring and irrelevant to their future career among others causes, the teachers, on the other hand, perceived Social Studies subject as one that can make students good citizens in future. The students, therefore, proposed that Social Studies teachers should adopt teaching methodologies that are learner-centred, interactive and practicable for improving students’ attitudes towards the subject. From the teachers’ viewpoint, Ghana Education Service (GES) should organize programmes to sensitize students on the roles that Social Studies can play in their lives. They further suggested that GES should organize national competitions on Social Studies as well as institute policies that bind teachers to adopt instructional methods that are learner-centred as a way of forcing Social Studies teachers to adopt instructional pedagogies that will involve the students during Social Studies lessons.
Cite this paper
Emmideme, G. N. (2023). Senior High Students and Teachers’ Attitudes towards Social Studies Subject: The Case of Nanumba North District of Northern Region, Ghana. Open Access Library Journal, 10, e634. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/oalib.1110634.
Kankam, B. and Kwenin, L.A. (2009) Achieving Citizenship Education in Schools: Re-Focusing Social Studies Education in Ghana. Ontario Journal of Africa Educational Research, 2, 1-18.
Crano, W.D. and Prislin, R. (2006) Attitudes and Persuasion. Annual Review of Psychology, 57, 345-374. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.57.102904.190034
Meyer, J.P., Stanley, D.J., Herscovitch, L., and Topolnytsky, L. (2002) Affective, Continuance, and Normative Commitment to the Organization: A Meta-analysis of Antecedents, Correlates, and Consequences. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 61, 20-52. https://doi.org/10.1006/jvbe.2001.1842
Mensah, R.O. (2020) The Attitude of Students towards the Learning of Social Studies and Their Performance: The Case of Accra Metropolitan Assembly in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. The International Journal of Humanities & Social Studies, 8. https://doi.org/10.24940/theijhss/2020/v8/i2/HS2002-072
Edling, S., Sharp, H., Löfström, J. and Ammert, N. (2020) The Good Citizen: Revisiting Moral Motivations for Introducing Historical Consciousness in History Education Drawing on the Writings of Gadamer. Citizenship, Social and Economics Education, 19, 133-150. https://doi.org/10.1177/2047173420936622
Farooq, M.S., Chaudhry, A.H., Shafiq, M. and Berhanu, G. (2011) Factors Affecting Students’ Quality of Academic Performance: A Case of Secondary School Level. Journal of Quality and Technology Management, 7, 1-14
Adane, L.O. (2013) Factors Affecting Low Academic Achievement of Pupils in Kemp Methodist Junior High School in Aburi, Eastern Region. University of Ghana, Legon.
Segkulu, L. (2022) Factors Affecting Students’ Academic Performance in Social Studies Subject—The Case of Selected Senior High Schools in Sangnarigu District and Tamale Metropolis of Northern Ghana. Asian Journal of Education and Social Studies, 34, 57-65. https://doi.org/10.9734/ajess/2022/v34i2748
Krejcie, R.V. and Morgan, D.W. (1970) Determining Sample Size for Research Activities. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 30, 607-610.
https://doi.org/10.1177/001316447003000308
National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) (2013) The College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies State Standards: Guidance for Enhancing the Rigor of K-12 Civics, Economics, Geography, and History. NCSS, Silver Spring.
Avery, P.G., Levy, S.A. and Simmons, A.M. (2013) Deliberating Controversial Public Issues as Part of Civic Education. The Social Studies, 104, 105-114.
https://doi.org/10.1080/00377996.2012.691571
Brett, P., Mompoint-Gaillard, P., Salema, M.H. and Keating-Chetwynd, S. (2009) How All Teachers Can Support Citizenship and Human Rights Education: A Framework for the Development of Competences. Council of Europe Publishing, Strasbourg.
Dundar, S. and Rapoport, A. (2014) Elementary Students’ Attitudes toward Social Studies, Math, and Science: An Analysis with the Emphasis on Social Studies. The Councilor: A Journal of the Social Studies, 75, Article 5.
Lucy, S., Emmideme, G. and Sylvester, A. (2022) Social Studies Student-Teachers’ Preparation for Effective Use of Teaching and Learning Materials: The Case of Northern Colleges of Education in Ghana. Open Journal of Social Sciences, 10, 379-395. https://doi.org/10.4236/jss.2022.106027
Rinaldi, C. (2001) Reggio Emilia: The Image of the Child and the Child’s Environment as a Fundamental Principle. In: Gandini, L. and Edwards, C., Eds., Bambini: The Italian Approach to Infant Toddler Care, Teachers College Press, New York, 49-54.
Yavuz, S., and Güzel, ü. (2020) Evaluation of Teachers’ Perception of Effective Communication Skills According to Gender. African Educational Research Journal, 8, 134-138. https://doi.org/10.30918/AERJ.82.20.010
Fernández, C., Massey, G.C. and Dornbusch, S.M. (1976) High School Students’ Perceptions of Social Studies. The Social Studies, 67, 51-57.
https://doi.org/10.1080/00220973.1943.11019455
Chapin, J.R. (2006) Do Elementary School Students and Their Teachers Really Dislike Social Studies? The Social Studies, 97, 187-188.
https://doi.org/10.3200/TSSS.97.5.187-188
Chiodo, J. and Byford, J. (2004) Do They Really Dislike Social Studies? A Study of Middle School and High School Students. The Journal of Social Studies, 28, 16-26.
Harter, J.K., Schmidt, F.L., Asplund, J.W., Killham, E.A and Agrawal, S. (2010) Causal Impact of Employee Work Perceptions on the Bottom Line of Organizations. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 5, 378-389.
https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691610374589
Martocchio, J.J. and Harrison, D.A. (1993) To Be There or Not to Be There? Questions, Theories, and Methods in Absence Research. Research in Personnel and Human Resources Management, 11, 259-329.
Herzberg, F., Mausner, B. and Snyderman, B.B. (1959) The Motivation to Work. Nurse Manager’s Recognition Behavior with Staff Nurses in Japan-Based on Semi-Structured Interviews. 2nd Edition, John Wiley & Sons Inc., New York, 20, 141-147.
Mager, R. (1968) Developing Attitudes toward Instruction. Fearon Press, Palo Alto.
McGowan, T.M., Sutton, A.M. and Smith, P.G. (1990) Instructional Elements Influencing Elementary Students’ Attitudes toward Social Studies. Theory and Research in Social Education, 18, 260-262.
Haladyna, T., Shaughnessy, J. and Redsun, A. (1982) Relations of Student, Teacher, and Learning Environment Variables to Attitudes toward Social Studies. Journal of Social Studies Research, 6, 36-44.
Segkulu, L. (2023) Community Resources in Social Studies Education: The Case of Tamale College of Education, Northern Region of Ghana. Asian Journal of Education and Social Studies, 42, 1-9. https://doi.org/10.9734/ajess/2023/v42i4920
