Senior high school teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge and the instructional methods or techniques they use in the teaching and learning of social studies in the Kumasi Metropolis

Abstract

This study assessed senior high school Social Studies teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge and the instructional methods or techniques they employed in the teaching and learning the subject in the Kumasi Metropolis. The research design used for the study was a case study and the researcher gathered data from primary sources. The sample size for the study was twelve Social Studies teachers who were selected from the 18 senior high schools in the Kumasi Metropolis, using the purposive and saturation sampling techniques. The instruments used for data collection were an interview guide and an observation checklist. Data from observations were triangulated with interviews. Non-probability sampling methods, that is, saturation and purposive sampling techniques, were used to select the schools and participants for the study. The outcome of the study was that teachers perceived Social Studies as citizenship education. In addition, the study revealed that teachers did not employ the appropriate teaching techniques in the classroom. The study recommended that the Ministry of Education in collaboration with the Ghana Education Service must make a policy to allow only professionals or trained Social Studies teachers to teach the subject to ensure its effective teaching and learning. Also, the Ghana Education Service in collaboration with the heads of schools makes it a policy to provide in-service training for all Social Studies teachers.