SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHIC DETERMINANTS OF SOCIAL STUDIES KNOWLEDGE AMONG STUDENTS OF UPPER BASIC SCHOOLS IN EBONYI STATE

This research work is carried out on socio-demographic determinants of social studies knowledge among students of upper basic schools in Ebonyi State. It is a descriptive survey research. Three research questions and three hypotheses guided the study. The population of this study comprised all 10, 298 Public Upper Basic II Students in the one hundred and eighty nine (189) Public Upper Basic Schools in the three Education Zones of Ebonyi State. The sample of this study was 515 Upper Basic II Students which represents 5% of the entire population in the area of the study. The instrument that was used for this study was entitled Social Studies Achievement Test (SSAT). The test has fifty two (52) multiple choice items with option A-D to obtain information from students. The questionnaire is made up part ‘A’ and part ‘B’, Part A is on the personal data of the respondents. Part B is on Test of Knowledge of Students in Social Studies. The fifty (50) item of instrument Social Studies Achievement Test (SSAT) was also used for data collection. It was validated by three experts, two of the experts were from Arts and Social Science Education Department (Social Studies Option) of the Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki, while one expert from Measurement and Evaluation Unit of Science Education Department The instrument reliability test was carried out using KudaRichardson 20 (K-20) statistics and a reliability coefficient of 0.91 were obtained. The researcher administered the instrument by issuing using Direct Delivery Technique (DDT) with the help of three research assistants, one from each Education Zones in the State. Data Analysis was done using Descriptive and Inferential Statistics. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions. Hypotheses 1, 3 and 4 were tested using t-test while hypotheses 2 and 5 were tested using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). All the hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. Decision Rule: 0- 24 very low, 25 – 49 low, 50 – 74 high, 75 – 100 very high. From the analysis, the following findings were made among others: The knowledge of students in Social Studies is not influence fully or affected by gender. The level of education of the parents influences or affects the knowledge of students in Social Studies. Based on the findings of this study, the researcher made the following recommendation: There should be a process of feed-back initiated for the Secondary schools in Ebonyi State, especially for students, teachers and parents at the Upper Basic level. This feed-back process shall be a medium whereby teachers and parents maintain regular contacts; sharing information concerning their students/wards. Parents should at all-time listen carefully and closely to their wards, not only to verbal communications but to nonverbal communications and to the emotions that may lie beneath what is said.

PENGARUH PERHATIAN ORANG TUA DAN KEMANDIRIAN BELAJAR TERHADAP PRESTASI BELAJAR IPS SISWA DI SDN 130 KARAMBUA DESA RINJANI KECAMATAN WOTU KABUPATEN LUWU TIMUR

ABSTRACK This study aims to determine (i) The Effect of Parents' Attention on Social Studies Student Achievement at SDN 130 Karambua. (ii) The Effect of Learning Independence on Social Studies Learning Achievement of Students at SDN 130 Karambua. (iii) Effects of Parental Attention and Learning Independence together on Social Studies Achievement of Students at SDN 130 Karambua, Rinjani Village, Wotu District. This type of research is expost facto. Data analysis used was a simple regression analysis technique for the first and second hypotheses and multiple regression analysis for the third hypothesis. Before analyzing the data, an analysis of the requirements for testing is carried out including: normality, homogeneity, independent t test and linearity test The results of this study are: (i) There is a positive and significant influence of Parents' Attention on Social Studies Student Achievement at SDN 130 Karambua, with rx1y = 0.516; r2x1y = 0.266; and tcount is greater than ttable, namely: 3.85> 1.701. (ii) There is a positive and significant influence of Learning Independence on Social Studies Achievement of Students in SDN 130 Karambua, with rx2y = 0.372; r2x2y = 0.138; and tcount is greater than ttable, namely: 2.119> 1.701. (iii) There is a positive and significant influence of Parental Attention and Learning Independence together on Social Studies Achievement of Students in SDN 130 Karambua, with Ry (1,2) = 0.631; R2y (1,2) = 0.398; and Fcount is greater than Ftable namely: 5.542> 3.35 at a significance level of 5%. The regression line equation Y = 0.615X1 + -0.252X2 + 51.198.

INVESTIGATING THE EFFECTS OF SELF-DIRECTED LEARNING AND COLLABORATIVE METHODS ON JUNIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS SOCIAL STUDIES LEARNING OUTCOMES IN OYO STATE, NIGERIA

Learner-centred methods of teaching are rarely used in most Nigerian classrooms. Pedagogic practices at the basic level of education encourage teacher-dominated methods that do not allow for students’ active participation and inculcation of behavioural changes that reflect the outcomes of learning Social studies. As a paradigm shift, the main effects of treatments (Self-directed learning, Collaborative task method and a combination of the two methods), gender and achievement motivation on the combined dependent variables of achievement in Social studies and critical thinking were investigated. Three hypotheses stated were tested at the 0.05 level of significance. A pre-test post-test non-randomised control group design was adopted in which treatments were crossed with two levels of achievement motivation and gender respectively. 223 males and 136 female students were randomly selected from 12 junior secondary schools in Oyo State. Three instruments: Academic Achievement Motivation Inventory (α = 0.83), Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory (α = 0.87) and Social Studies Achievement Test (r = 0.80) were used to collect data from the participants. Using Multivariate Analysis of Covariance (MANCOVA), Self-directed learning proved to be most significant in improving the learning of Social studies concepts, followed by a combination of Self-directed learning and Collaborative task methods while the Collaborative task method was the least effective. Gender and achievement motivation had significant effects on students’ achievement and not on critical thinking. The findings have implications for the teaching of Social studies in Nigeria. If the rationale of instruction is to enhance the acquisition of cognitive learning outcome with the teacher acting as a facilitator, then the Self-directed learning is most beneficial to students followed by a combination of Self-directed learning and Collaborative task method. When students are actively involved in the teaching-learning process, their academic achievement is more enhanced, especially when a conducive environment is provided. Key words: achievement motivation, collaborative task method, critical thinking, self-directed learning, social studies achievement.