Teachers And Pupils’ Perceptions Of Teaching Citizenship Education In Basic Schools In Tema Metropolis, Ghana

Abstract

The study examined teachers’ and pupils’ perceptions of teaching citizenship education in the basic schools in Tema Metropolis in Ghana. The study adopted a concurrent embedded design under a mixed methods approach. The target population for the study encompassed all 59 Social Studies teachers, 4740 public school pupils and 3490 private school pupils. The sample size for the study was 128. Simple random sampling techniques and purposive sampling techniques were used to select the participants for the study. Simple random sampling was used to select the junior high schools and the pupils in JHS2 for the study. The Social Studies teachers were purposively selected for the study. Interviews were conducted with all the selected 8 Social Studies teachers from the four junior high schools (public and private) in Tema Metropolis. Descriptive statistics (percentage counts, means, and standard deviation) were used to analyse data for research questions one, two, three, and four. Inferential statistics (Independent samples t-test) was used to analyse the research hypotheses. It was found that Citizenship Education is essential to the curriculum since it encourages pupils to learn their roles, such as to become active members, well-informed and responsible citizens capable of making positive contributions to their communities and worldwide. Teaching pupils about their duties and responsibilities in society helps them develop a sense of civic responsibility, an awareness of the democratic process, and respect for diversity. The findings of this study can also help inform educational policies and practices to enhance the effectiveness of teaching Citizenship Education. It is recommended that the GES, the schools, and other stakeholders, including teachers, help pupils be better equipped with basic skills regarding respect, honesty, and integrity to become responsible citizens actively involved in their activities in communities and be devoted to contributing to society