Citizenship Education in Colleges of Education in Ghana: A Preliminary Study into Social Studies Tutors‟ and Trainees‟ Understanding

Abstract

Abstract. The study examined the perceived views of tutors and student trainees of Social Studies within the Colleges of Education within the context of Ghana with regard to the meaning and teaching methods that are most appropriate to teach citizenship education. The research drew upon social capital, ecological, and cognitive psychological theories to generate the conceptual framework for analysing the quantitative and qualitative data. The views of 36 tutors of social studies from eight colleges of education were surveyed through the multi-stage sampling technique, and eight respondents were interviewed to further understand the groups‟ perception of citizenship education. The major findings were: (i) tutors generally agreed on the components of citizenship education, (ii) tutors generally agreed on the characteristics of a good citizen. (iii) There was general agreement between the tutors and trainees that various classroom activities were important in the teaching of citizenship education and were being taught effectively. There were some differences between the groups on certain specific teaching methods and the effectiveness of the teaching of those activities. It was recommended that a policy be put in place for social studies teachers to have a regular in-service training on current issues in citizenship education. And that citizenship education should be introduced as a programme on its own in schools, colleges and universities and examined externally.