Assessing the Use of Pictorial Simulations in Teaching Social Studies in Chanchaga Local Government Primary Schools of Niger State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study assessed the effective use of instructional materials in the teaching of social studies. The Pre-test - Post-test Experimental - Control Group design was adopted for the purpose of data collection. One instrument, “Culture and Identity Test” (CIT) designed by the researcher and validated by seasoned educationist were use for data collection. Two hundred students randomly selected from four primary schools in Chanchaga Local Government Area of Niger State were used for the study. The pupils were assigned into two groups the experimental and control groups. The experimental group were taught with pictorial
simulations while the control group were taught without the use of pictorial simulations. Both groups were pre-tested before being taught the concept of ‘Culture and Identity’. A post-test was given to the two groups after four weeks of teaching. The test was appropriately scored. The data obtained were analyzed using group mean, standard deviation and t-Test Statistic to test the two study hypotheses. The findings showed that the use of pictorial simulations in teaching social studies greatly improved the performance of pupils in the subject. It was therefore recommended among others that, teachers should use pictorial simulations
in teaching pupils to make instruction effective.