Tuesday, 15 March 2016

EFFECT OF MONTESSORI EDUCATIONAL STRATEGY ON THE ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT OF PRIMARY SCHOOL PUPILS IN CIVIC EDUCATION


EFFECT OF MONTESSORI EDUCATIONAL STRATEGY ON THE ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT OF PRIMARY SCHOOL PUPILS IN CIVIC EDUCATION 

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION


1.1       Background of the Study

Civic education remains an important means of teaching the populace about individual rights and what duties and responsibilities the governed and leaders should do. The re-introduction of Civic Education as a subject to be taught in primary and secondary schools in Nigeria is expected to further deepen democratic culture and encourage qualitative participation of the average Nigerian in the governance process. Teachers are very crucial to the success of this bold initiative. Theirs is to inculcate the right kind of values through effective teaching of civic education.

Teachers, irrespective of what subject they teach, are a great asset to any nation. By virtue of their profession and their selfless commitment and dedication to duty since the beginning of time, they belong to a special class and should therefore be acknowledged and appreciated. Since the implementation of any educational curriculum cannot be achieved without qualified teachers, the success of the civic education curriculum poses a challenge to the social studies teachers because, there are no qualified civic education teachers on ground, and the curriculum contents of the two subjects are similar.

According to Adenipekun (2010), the new Senior Secondary School Education Curriculum (SSEC) that contains civic education and whose implementation commenced from September 2011 has thrown up a big challenge to teacher educators in the nation’s Colleges of Education, Polytechnics and Universities as they have to review their teacher preparation programmes in the context of knowledge of subject matter, teaching skills and competencies. The necessity of re-introducing civic education in the Nigerian primary and secondary schools has become very obvious because of dwindling national consciousness, social harmony and patriotic zeal. Since the 1980s, it became evident that the lack of civic education and patriotic orientation had led to disorientation in schools and the larger society. The consequences were being felt at all strata of our society. The prevalence of trend of corruption, indiscipline, disrespect for both elders and the rule of law, indifference to duty are some of the manifestations of negative trends in the Nigerian society are clear examples. Events of the recent past have indicated that Nigeria is facing the threat of losing its much cherished sense of nationhood, cultural identity and indeed, hospitable spirit (Adeniran, 2010).

There is therefore need for urgent value re-orientation because of their far reaching impact on national development. To do these, the school has a great role to play. That was probably, why the Political Bureau set up by the Babangida administration recommended, in March 1987, the establishment of a Directorate for Social Mobilization (MAMSER) which eventually transformed into the National Orientation Agency (NOA). The 2009 botched bombing of a US airliner by a young Nigerian is a challenge to the nation particularly in this regard. The incidence has among other issues thrown up the question of our national value system.  Who could think that a Nigerian would want to embark on suicide mission? The introduction of Civic Education as a compulsory subject according to Sam Egwu, the former Minister of Education is part of President Umaru Yar’Adua’s 7-point reform agenda geared towards the enhancement of the human capital development.

The introduction of the subject is designed to refocus, re-invigorate and reposition our great country to further realize her full potentials as envisioned by our founding fathers. Specifically, civic education seeks to expose our pupils and students to the tenets and rudiments of citizenship education. It is envisioned that the teaching of the subject in our schools will lay a strong foundation for effective citizenship education and public participation in governance and other ethical issues that affect our lives.

As a subject, Civic Education helps people to deal with the world around them in a more capable and confident way. It covers a wide range of issues, topics and legislation that impact on people’s lives and daily living at all time and these are areas that are covered under Civic Education. The subject teaches young people how to get the best out of their world. It teaches them to stand up for their rights and opinions and how to help other people to do so. It teaches tolerance of opposing viewpoints and that there is no such thing as “the right answer”. It teaches them to recognise their responsibilities to the government, other individuals and the environment. It covers areas of life like voting, taxes, the justice system, prisons, other peoples and their cultures, international relations etc.

(Azebamwan, 2010).

The main justification for teaching Civic Education according to Azebamwan (2010) derives from the very nature of our nascent and fledging democracy. Democracies need active, informed and responsible citizens. Citizens who are willing and able to take responsibility for themselves and their communities and contribute to the political process. These capabilities may not develop unaided or without active stimulation. They have to be learned. While a certain amount of citizenship may be picked up through ordinary experience in the home or at work, it can never in itself be sufficient to equip citizens for the sort of active role required of them in today’s complex and diverse society. Azebamwan (2010).

Civic Education has been widely conceived as a type of education that aids effective democratic process (Mehlinger 1977, Ganuju, 2011 and Wahab 2011).  Collaborating with this view, Oyesiku, (2010) described Civic Education as a school subject that prepares people, especially the youths, to carry out their roles as citizens.  In the same vein the National Orientation Agency (NOA 2006) was of the view that, the main philosophy behind the teaching and learning of Civic education Curriculum in Nigerian schools is the production of effective citizens and of forging a cohesive society that will support nation building by a way of classroom mediation of curriculum programmes.

Generally, Civic Education has been viewed by many academics as a course of study that is geared towards producing responsible and law abiding citizens (Ukegbu, Mezieobi, Ajileye, Abdulrahaman and Anyaoha 2009 and Ogundare, 2011),   For instance, Ukegbu et al (2009) outlined objectives of Civic Education to include:

i.                     Developing and transforming the Nigeria youths into effective and responsible citizens by making them law-abiding.
ii.                    Creating awareness of one’s rights, duties and obligations as citizens of this great nation and also to appreciate the rights of other citizens, and
iii.                  Helping the young people to acquire a sense of loyalty, honesty, discipline, courage, dedication, respect, patriotism, hard work….  It inculcates in students, the spirit of nationalism and desirable habits, values and attitudes.
It is pertinent to note that certain facilities (human and non-human or infrastructural) as well as funding must be seriously taken into consideration if the stated objectives must be accomplished.   Human facility refers to quality man-power or teachers who are last curriculum implementers. Teachers as the last curriculum implementer are expected to effectively utilize teaching methods/techniques as this determines the extent of achieving instructional objective(s). A teaching technique according to Mezieobi, Fubara and Mezieobi (2008), “is a specific way or aspect of a given method of teaching…which is chosen, organized and applied in a method by a teacher in his teaching interaction”. The pertinent question one may ask is; to what extent does civic education teachers utilize instructional methods/techniques? Ganiyu (2011) was of the opinion that old method of teaching (traditional methods) were still in vogue among teachers in our school system. The issue of non-human facilities are of crucial importance for effective teaching. Non-human facilities are those infrastructural and instructional facilities needed for effective implementation of educational programmes.   Onifade (2009) lamented on the problems of poor funding of education can cause in the provision of educational facilities.  With the envisaged problems in our school system one wonders how the objective of Civic Education could be achieved.  It is on this basis that the researcher aimed at carrying out a research on the issues and challenges of teaching and learning of Civic Education at the Senior Basic Education level.

According to the National Institute of Public Education (Balogh, Miklós, Gábor, Anna, Judit, Mária, Zoltán, Péter, Júlia, & Irén, 2003) in Hungary, connecting the teaching and learning processes are not a traditional practice. Teaching is generally characterized by the teacher giving lectures, explaining material, and demonstrating experiments as the students take a passive role by listening, taking notes, and learning the content of subject areas. Because of the change in Hungarian government and the move towards different approaches to teaching, teachers must assume a new role. Today, teachers must be leaders of discussions and facilitators of debates. They must provide an atmosphere of openness, trust, and honesty. The Public Education Act of 1993 emphasized the importance of establishing classrooms in which students developed critical thinking and problem solving skills so that they will be able to make informed decisions in the future.

In the United States, the national standards outline specifically what students within the nation should know and be able to do at certain grade levels. These standards often indicate the type of methodology that should be used in teaching these standards. Integrated into these standards for P-12 students is the skills development of critical thinking and problem solving. Teacher training institutions are responsible for providing instruction and practice in these instructional techniques to preservice teachers.

The goal is for each generation to maintain democratic values in order to encourage civic engagement and social responsibility. The desired outcome is for the United States to improve measures of competitive advantage in relation to other countries, as well as to improve achievement and close the achievement gaps. Objectives of this reform aim to improve parent and student engagement, in addition to increasing collaborative and service learning opportunities.

This works to empower individuals in order to foster positive, social change within the realm of academia. According to Kanter (2012), these actions should ultimately generate informed citizens who would strengthen our democracy in terms of transparency, justice, fair representation and equity by increasing diversity, participation and collaboration (Kanter, 2012).

According to Kanter (2012), the United States is experiencing a “civic recession”. In response, the Obama Administration is implementing policies that support education reform across the nation at all levels of academia, which includes creating common core standards that work towards education reform and increasing accessibility to educational opportunities. This is an attempt to improve human capital in order to ensure “our social, civic and economic prosperity,” (Kanter, 2012). The Department of Education is working to redefine civic learning and democratic engagement nationally by promoting service learning and cross-sector partnerships.

Montessori education may be defined by student-centered, integrative, project-based instruction that focuses on the accumulation of valuable knowledge and skills through hands-on activities and student-led discovery (NAMTA, 2013). This form of education is designed to foster collaboration, critical thinking skills, innovation, social development and self-awareness by emphasizing community, diversity and contextual learning (NAMTA, 2013). This study focuses on Montessori education specifically because Montessori methods, in general, align with methods of civic education. Montessori education focuses on independence, family involvement and community engagement, which parallel the three “pathways to participation” as defined by Andolina, Jenkins, Keeter & Zukin (2003).

The first objective is to demonstrate how Montessori education fosters civic engagement by highlighting the parallels of Montessori methods and outcomes to the three voices of civic engagement as defined by Andolina et al. (2002). It can be inferred that a positive relationship exists between education and civic engagement. This relationship is strengthened when teachers encourage participation and open discussion, as well as when service-learning opportunities are available and involvement with organizations is facilitated (Andolina et al., 2002).

In lieu of this background, this study intends to investigate the effect of Montessori educational strategy on the academic achievement of primary school pupils in civic education.

1.2       Statement of the Problem

Civic Education was re-introduced into Nigerian schools recently. It was ascertained to become a compulsory subject to students up to the Senior Secondary School level. The importance is as in result of the need to check moral decadence of Nigerian citizens especially the youths and the encouragement of ideal behaviours which will give honours to Nigerians in home and abroad. The need for these requirements is evident since it would be an impetus to national growth and development of the country in all ramifications. Towards this assertion, there is need for searching for noble means of inculcating knowledge to students in this area.

Hence, this study therefore intends to find answers to the effect of Montessori educational strategy on the academic achievement of primary school pupils in civic education.

1.3       Research Questions

1.      What are the achievement of pupils taught with Montessori educational strategies and those taught with conventional educational strategies?

2.      What are the differences between boys and girls taught with Montessori and boys and girls taught with conventional strategies in civic education?

1.4       Research Hypotheses

H01:      there is no significant difference between the achievement of pupils taught with Montessori educational strategy and those taught with conventional strategies in civic education.

H02:      there is no significant difference between boys and girls taught with Montessori educational strategy and boys and girls taught with conventional strategies in civic education.

1.5       Purpose of the Study

The objective of this study is to find out;

-          The effect of Montessori educational strategy on academic achievement of pupils in civic education

-          Whether gender will play a role in identifying the effect of Montessori strategy on academic achievement of pupils in civic education

1.6       Significance of the Study

This study is significant as it will contribute to the body of knowledge on how effectively Civic Education could be taught at the lower primary school level. It will also explain the controversy surrounding the doubts in academic performances differences between male and female pupils. The study when completed would serve as a research material for further studies in this field.

1.7       Scope of the Study

This study would cover the effect of Montessori educational strategy on the academic achievement of primary school pupils in civic education in Ijebu-Ode local government area of Ogun State.

1.8       Definition of Terms

Montessori strategy: Montessori strategy of teaching aims for the fullest possible development of the whole child, ultimately preparing him for life's many rich experiences.
Academic achievement of pupils: the score pupils obtained in a standardized teacher made test on civic education.

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