Value education through social studies a case study of junior high school teacher practices in the Adentan Municipality

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to provide empirical evidence about value education through Social Studies. The study used a 38-item questionnaires to investigate value education through Social Studies. All the Social Studies teachers teaching in the public Junior High School in Adanta Municipality were used in the study due to their size. 21 out of the total of 26 teachers responded to the questionnaires administered. The study focused on exploring the techniques Social Studies teachers employ in value education, examining the moral values inculcated through Social Studies and analysing teacher practices that promote the inculcation of moral values in students. The results of the study revealed that a greater percentage of the teachers use the discussion technique, the lecture technique and the games technique to teach Social Studies or inculcate moral values into students. The study outcome also showed that role play teaching technique and storytelling technique are used rarely by Social Studies teachers to inculcated through Social Studies included respect/politeness, responsibility, justice and fairness, caring and kindness, civic duty and citizenship. The result of the study showed that the moral value of trustworthiness/honesty is not inculcated through Social Studies. The study again unearthed the fact that teacher practices like setting good examples for students to follow promotes moral values in students. But teachers disagreed that inconsistent behaviour or practices of teachers may promote unlearning of the very values they strive for students to learn. The study revealed that teachers heavily depended on the discussion and lecture technique to inculcate moral values in students. It therefore is recommended that resources should be made available to enable teachers employ other teaching techniques like the role play teaching technique and the story telling teaching techniques to help inculcate moral values in students.it is therefore also recommended that Ghana Education Service (GES) in consultation with curriculum planners should consider including moral values such as trustworthiness and honesty in the Junior High School Social Studies Syllabus to help Social Studies teachers inculcate such equally important moral values in students.