EFFECTS OF USING LITERATURE APPROACH TO TEACH HISTORY IN SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN PANKSHIN LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title Page – – – – – – – – – i
Declaration – – – – – – – – – ii
Approval Page – – – – – – – – – iii
Dedication – – – – – – – – – iv
Acknowledgement – – – – – – – v
Table of Contents – – – – – – – vi
Abstract – – – – – – – – – viii

CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1. Background to the Study – – – – – – 1
1.2. Statement of the Problem – – – – – – 2
1.3. Purpose of Study – – – – – – – 3
1.4. Research Questions – – – – – – – 4
1.5. Significance of the Study – – – – – – 4
1.6. Scope and Delimitation of the Study – – – – 5

CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.0 Preamble – – – – – – – – – 34
3.1 Research Design – – – – – – – 34
3.2. Population and Sample – – – – – – – 35
3.2.1 Population of the Study – – – – – – 35
3.2 Sample and Sampling Technique – – – – – 35
3.4 Instrument for Data Collection – – – – – – 35
3.4.1 Description of the Instrument – – – – – – 36
3.4.1 Validity of the Instrument – – – – – – 36
3.4.2 Reliability of the Instrument – – – – – – 37
3.5 Procedure for Data Collection – – – – – – 37
3.6 Method of Data Analysis – – – – – – 38

CHAPTER FOUR
PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA
4.0. Preamble – – – – – – – – 39
4.1. Presentation of Students’ Results – – – – – 39
4.4 Discussion of Findings – – – – – – – 48

CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSION, RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDIES
5.0 Preamble – – – – – – – – – 50
5.1 Summary of Findings – – – – – – – 50
5.2 Conclusion – – – – – – – – 51
5.3 Recommendations – – – – – – – 51
5.4 Limitations of the Study – – – – – – – 52
5.5 Suggestions for Further Studies – – – – – 52
References – – – – – – – – 54
Appendix – – – – – – – – 57

Abstract

This project was carried out to determine the effects of using literature approach to teach history in senior secondary schools in Pankshin Local Government Area with specific attention Chinua Achebe’s There Was a Country. The research employed the experimental design. The population of this study consisted of all SS 2 students offering History in the study area. The sample size for the study was 100 students from two selected schools; 50 students from GSS Bet and 50 from Lankuk Memorial College. A pretest and posttest were given to the two groups – control and experimental. The data collected were analysed using mean score and standard deviation. The findings of the study indicated that students taught history using literature approach performed better than when they were not exposed to it. There was a significant difference in the mean achievement scores of students taught history using literature and those who are not exposed to the approach; the experimental group got a total mean score of 19.8 while the control group got a total mean score of 16.64. Literature approach is therefore more effective because it aids the students to reason better while learning. In conclusion, the following recommendations were made: history teachers should adopt the literature approach in teaching and learning of history as a subject, the use of literature approach should be made an integral part of teacher education programme in the teacher training college and colleges of education, so that those teachers in training would be exposed to the approach, history curriculum planners should fashion curriculum to incorporate the literature approach in the senior secondary school syllabus. 

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.7. Background to the Study
The place of a qualitative education to salvage the growing socio-economic challenges in the country has received a lot of attention over the years as education experts continue to brainstorm the contributions of education to the problems bedevelling the Nigerian society. This is not unconnected to the fact that the problems that have become the lot of Nigerian body polity has both direct and indirect links to the education system in the country (Muraino & Ugwumaba 2014).
Going back to history, according to Grant and Gradwell (2009) one will discover that the earlier days of education in the country when the missionaries such as Roman Catholic Missions were in charge of education in the country, and even this education was based more on reading, writing and arithmetic. The education was comparatively better than what is obtained now. This is the advancements in the methods and technology in education. The education we have in the country has continued to deteriorate ever since.
Taking a closer look at the problems in the country, especially those that are not directly related to education, one cannot help but feel that if only the perpetrators of these problems knew better, perhaps, some of the problems would have been avoided (Yilmaz, 2008). For instance, the clamouring for an independent state of Biafra that has over the years heated the Nigerian polity is one that has left observers, especially those who witnessed the dark days of the Nigerian civil war, suggested that it is both misguided and ignorant. Consequently, the different groups that are fighting for the creation of the state of Biafra have been advised in very strong terms to go back to their history books to get themselves acquainted with the material, emotional and psychological cost of prosecuting a “war of independence”. It is a virtue that will yield no good but misery just as it happened in the late 1960s and early 1970s (Owoyemi & Adesoji, 2012).
However, one can rightly ask, do these youths have any such history books, that they can go back to? If the teaching of history, had not been left to go down the drain, it would have adequately taken care of educating youths to know the dangers of the things they are doing today. This would have also mitigated the spread of hate speech and the rising religious tensions in the country. The claim here is that the teaching of Nigerian history to young Nigerians would have an enduring influence on the interpersonal and interethnic relationship in the country.
Therefore, everything that can be used to propagate Nigerian history must be used to equip the Nigerian child with a proper knowledge of the Nigerian state, namely, where are we coming from as a country? Where are we now? Where we are going to. Even such question as “how can we get there” can be addressed through an objective analysis of our history.
It is against this background that this study hopes to investigate the effects and possibility of using literature to teach aspects of Nigerian history to the younger generations. Chinua Achebe’s There Was a Country serves the Purpose of a reference text.
1.8. Statement of the Problem
It has often been said that the knowledge of a people’s history is quite beneficial in that it affords such a people the knowledge of their past which in turn facilitates their understanding of the present, thus helping them project the future and plan as well. Unfortunately, the teaching of history, especially in Nigerian secondary schools is fast going into extinction. The subject is no longer being taught in most of these schools. Even those that do, are likely to not continue with it for long.
In order to view the problem better, it is perhaps wise to see it in the light of like reoccurrences. This becomes even scarier when one considers the ethno-religious tension in the country today. This is happening even when the civil war veterans are still alive and are crying caution, insisting that the experiences of such wars are horrible on both sides of the dividers. It is best imagined what the situation would be in say fifty(50) years from now when we would have lost this wise counsel from the perpetrators of the war itself.
We are therefore, faced with a urgent need to document properly, the exciting and even horrible history that is the story of Nigerians and ensure that this history is being taught to the younger generation by all means possible. This way, one can have a stronger hope in the continued corporate existence of the Nigerian state.
1.9. Purpose of the Study
The main purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of using literature approach to teach history in senior secondary schools in Pankshin Local Government Area with specific attention Chinua Achebe’s There Was a Country.
Other specific objectives include:
a. To determine the performance of students taught history using literature approach.
b. To compare the performance of students taught history using literature approach and those taught history without it.
c. To point out the elements of history as portrayed in Achebe’s There was a Country.
1.10. Research Questions
In order for the research to have a sense of guide, the researcher has postulated the following research questions which will be answered by the end of the research:
a. What is the performance of students taught history using literature approach?
b. What is the differences in the performance of students taught history using literature approach and those taught history without it?
c. What are the elements of history as portrayed in Achebe’s There was a Country?
1.11. Significance of the Study
The study is of profound significance as it is sure to benefit all stakeholders in the area of language and history education.
Firstly, it will benefit the students in that knowledge of the issues discussed will greatly improve and those in the secondary schools will be a step closer to the learning of history and all its attendant gains.
Secondly, the teacher of both literature and history will be particularly pleased to have the findings of the research at their disposal as the recommendations too will help improve their service delivery.
Education planners and curriculum developers too will find the study resourceful as it will increase the amount of data at their disposal which will in them facilitate their work for a more qualitative curriculum especially in the areas of literature and history.
Furthermore, members of the academia will find the discussions on the concepts of the research particularly interesting. Furthermore, this academic discourse will serve the purpose of research materials for other researchers who will undergo a research in this area.
1.12. Scope and Delimitation of the Study
This study is an investigation into the effects of using literature to teach aspects of Nigerian history to the younger generations using the aspect Chinua Achebe’s There was a Country. The study is limited to some selected secondary schools in Pankshin Local Government Area of Plateau State. Despite the fact that the study is carried out in few schools in Pankshin LGA, its findings will be generic – it can be generalized to other parts of the country as well.