Teacher-trainees’ sense of efficacy in students’ engagement, instructional practices and classroom management in social studies lessons

Abstract

Teacher efficacy has been linked to several personal and contextual variables, important teacher behaviours, and student outcomes. Researching on Colleges of Education final year teacher-trainees’ (mentees) sense of efficacy in students’ engagement, instructional practices, and classroom management in Social Studies lessons seems to be very essential as products from the teacher training colleges are supposed to teach the subject at the basic school level in Ghana. The research methods chosen for this study are; both qualitative and quantitative (mixed method). Purposive and convenience sampling techniques were used to select the colleges and the 150 final year teacher-trainees for the study. The study revealed that where final year teacher-trainees are responsible to conduct curriculum-based teaching in the Ghanaian Basic Schools, the orientation about what they believe in rather impact on what and how they go about their classroom activities; instructs, engage their students, and manage their social studies lessons. It is therefore suggested that participatory techniques such as role-play, simulation, discussion, debates, brainstorming, writing narratives, and other cooperative learning approaches should be used in the teaching and learning of Social Studies to help pupils become critical thinkers, tolerant and problem solvers since the subject was introduced solely to the right the wrong in society.