Integrating the teaching of social studies with science in the colleges of education in the central region of Ghana

Abstract

The study sought the possibility of integrating Social Studies with Science in Colleges of Education in Ghana. Many educators have perceived the necessity for a paradigm shift toward interdisciplinary teaching. As mentioned by Campbell and Henning (2010), knowledge today is becoming more interdisciplinary and integrated, which calls for interdisciplinary and integrated learning in public schools. The main purpose of the study was to explore the integrated curriculum approach to the teaching of Social Studies and Science in the Colleges of Education in the Central region. The study employed the descriptive survey, which is non-experimental. The targeted population for the study was all Social Studies and Science educators in the Colleges of Education in the Central Region. The College tutors were 30 in all distributed as such; Foso College of Education 10, Ola College of Education 11 and Komenda College of Education 9 respectively. The researcher decided to use the entire 30 tutor population of Social Studies and Science from within the three Colleges of Education in the Central Region because the number was not too large to take a sample of it; hence census approach was applied here. Four different instruments namely, questionnaire, interview schedules, test items as well as observational lessons were used for data collection and the result from the study indicated that there is positive strong relationship between Social Studies and Science teachers‟ perception about integrated curriculum in teaching Social Studies with Science. The study recommended that for effective interdisciplinary study of any kind there must be strategies that ought to drive home the desired outcome. And such strategies must endeavour to place the student at the center of the learning process.