Social studies and history curriculum assessment in colleges of education in Ghana: Reflective practices of teacher educators

Figures & data

Figure 1. Social Studies teacher educators’ knowledge and competence in the usage of curriculum material in colleges of education in Ghana.

Source: Field data (2017).

Table 1. Displays the socio-demographic data of the participants for the study

Variable	Variable category	F	%	M	SD
Sex	Male	30	79	4.28	.447
	Female	8	21	4.03	.619
Age (in yrs.)
	25–34	2	5	4.12	.530
	35–44	22	58	4.19	.545
	45–54	10	26	4.25	.425
	55–60	4	11	4.38	.433
Educational qualification	B.Ed/B.A./BSc Social Studies	2	5	3.67	.722
	M.Ed/M.A./MSc Social Studies	3	8	4.42	.000
	M.Ed/M.A./MSc Social Science	1	2.6	4.50	.144
	M.Ed/M.A./MSc Sociology	3	8	4.12	.530
	M.Ed/M.A./MSc Economics	1	2.6	4.50	.000
	M.Ed/M.A./MSc History	1	2.6	4.75	.000
	M.Ed/M.A./MSc Geography	1	2.6	3.75	.000
	MPhil Social Studies	25	66	4.00	.000
	PhD Social Studies	1	2.6	4.26	.000
Response on whether respondent studied Social Studies as a major course Social Studies/Science course in which tutor was trained to teach Number of years teaching	Yes No History Geography Civics Economics All 1–3	35 3 9 14 1 11 3 1	92 8 24 37 3 29 8 3	4.33 4.21 4.06 4.00 2.91 3.95 3.35 4.11	.144 .508 .592 .279 .000 .523 .090 .606
Social Studies	4–6	0	0	.000	.000
	7–10	6	16	4.62	.345
	11–15	20	53	4. 50	.000
	16–20	11	29	4.15	.417

Source: Field data (2017).

Key: F =Frequency; %=Percentage; M =Mean; SD=Standard Deviation

Table 2. Knowledge of curriculum material for colleges of education in Ghana by social studies teacher educators

Statement	Response
	A	I	D
The Social Studies Curriculum of CoEs is an amalgamation of Social sciences	29(76)	2(5)	7(18)
I know enough about interdisciplinary social studies	28(68)	0(0)	10(26)
I’ve attended sufficient topic classes to serve as a social studies instructor in CoEs	29(76)	0(0)	9(24)
I am sufficiently aware of any challenges or misunderstandings that students can encounter when studying social studies in colleges of education	14(37)	4(11)	20(53)
I am well-versed in the procedures, methods, and practices used in teaching and learning. Social Studies	32(84)	0(0)	6(16)

Source: Field data (2017).

Key: n =sample; A =Agree; D =Disagree; I =Indifferent.

Note: The numbers or figures in parentheses are in percentages.

Table

Statement	Response
	5	4	3	2	1
7. The Social Studies Curriculum of CoEs is an amalgamation of Social sciences
8. I have sufficient knowledge of integrated Social Studies
9. I have taken enough content courses to be an effective Social Studies teacher educator in CoEs
10. I have sufficient knowledge of possible difficulties or misconceptions that students might have in Social Studies in Colleges of Education
11. I have in-depth knowledge about the processes and practices/methods of teaching & learning Social Studies

Table

Statement	Response
	5	4	3	2	1
12. Knowledge and competence in the usage of History curriculum materials
13. Knowledge and competence in the usage of sociology curriculum materials
14. Knowledge and competence in the usage of civics & citizenship curriculum materials
15. Knowledge and competence in the usage of anthropology curriculum materials
16. Knowledge and competence in the usage of Geography curriculum materials
17. Knowledge and competence in the usage of economics curriculum materials
18. Knowledge and competence in the usage of government curriculum materials
19. Knowledge and competence in the usage of integrated Social Studies Curriculum materials

Table

Question To what extent do you use the following teaching techniques, strategies or approaches?	Response
	5	4	3	2	1
36. Lecture
37. Brainstorming
38. Discussion
39. Question and answer
40. Fieldtrip/out of-door activities
41. Dramatisation
42. Role play
43. Demonstration
44. Resource person
45. Concept mapping
46. Problem solving
47. Cooperative learning
48. Pre-reading Activity for Concept Enhancement (PACE)