IMPORTANCE OF USING AUDIO-VISUAL MATERIALS IN THE TEACHING AND LEARNING OF CHRISTIAN RELIGIOUS STUDIES IN JUNIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title Page – – – – – – – – i
Approval Page – – – – – – – – ii
Dedication – – – – – – – – – iii
Acknowledgement – – – – – – – – iv
Table of Contents – – – – – – – – v
Abstract – – – – – – – – – vii

CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1. Background to the Study – – – — – – – 1
1.2. Statement of the Problems – – – — – – 6
1.3. Purpose of the Study – – – — – – – – 7
1.4. Research Questions – – – — – – – 7
1.5. Significance of the Study – – – — – – 8
1.6. Scope of the Study – – – — – – – 9

CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
CHAPTER THREE
METHOD AND PROCEDURE
3.1 Introduction- – – – – – – – – 26
3.2 Research Design – – – – – – – – 26
3.3 Population of the Study – – – – – – – 27
3.3.1 Population Sample – – – – – – – – 27
3.3.2 Sampling Technique – – – – – – – 27
3.4 Instrument for Data Collection – – – – – – 28
3.4.1 Validity and Reliability of the Instrument- – – – – 28
3.4.2 Description and development of instrument – – – – 28
3.5. Procedure for data collection- – – – – – – 29
3.6. Method of data analysis – – – – – – – 29
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA PRESENTATION NA ANALYSIS
4.1 Data Presentation Analysis – – – – – – – 31
4.2 Test of Hypothesis – – – – – – – 37
4.3 Discussion of Results – – – – – – – 42

CHAPTER FIVE
CONCLUSION, RECOMMENDATION AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDIES
5.1 Conclusion – – – – – – – – – 44
5.2 Recommendations – – – – – – – 45 –
5.3 Limitation of the Study – – – – – – – 45
5.4 Suggestions for Further Research – – – – – – 46
References – – – – – – – – 46
Appendices – – – – – – – – 48

Abstract
This project was carried in order to investigate into the effect of audio-visual materials on the performance of students in Christian Religious Studies (CRS) in Pankshin Local Government Area of Plateau State. The experimental research design was used. The population of the study consisted of all the SS 2 students in Pankshin. The sample of the study consisted of 50 students from Trinity Missionary College, Pankshin. The groups were divided into two groups (experimental and control). The experimental group was taught CRS using audio-visual aid while the control group was taught without it. Those in the experimental group performed better than those in the control group. The findings revealed that those that were taught with audio-visual aids performed better than those who were not taught with audio-visual aids. Therefore, the study recommended that CRS teachers should be familiar with the use of audio-visual aids in teaching so that they can start using it, conferences, seminars and workshops should be organized periodically by governments and other relevant professionals like Nigeria Union of Teachers to educate CRS teachers on the use of audio-visual aids in teaching and learning, State Ministry of Education and even Local Education zone can organize a CRS teachers’ day talk or seminar to expose the teachers on the use of audio-visual aids in teaching, curriculum planners should include the use of audio-visual aids in teaching CRS since it has enhanced students’ achievement in the subject.

CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.4. Background to the Study
The high level of moral decadence and insurgencies in Nigerian nation is an indication that there is poor religious teaching in secondary school system. Christian religious studies (CRS) as one of the religious subjects taught in secondary school in Nigerian takes a central position in ensuring moral and spiritual well being of individuals in the society. The key roles of CRS in equipping the individuals and ensuring high level of morality is made clear in the objectives of CRS at the senior secondary level which include; to provide more opportunities for Nigerian youths to learn more about God and thereby develop their faith in God; to enable the youths to accept Christ as their savior; to help the youths develop Christian attitude and moral values (such as humility, respect, love, and justice, etc); to instill in the youth the spirit of tolerance , reconciliation ,peaceful co existence and non-violence as well as to develop and foster in the youth the spirit of respect for all people and human life (Universal Basic Education Curriculum (UBA), 2013).
Without effective religious studies Nigerian nation will likely to end up in conflict, religious crisis, insurgencies and social unrest among other things. This is because religious control human actions in both social, political, economical and otherwise (Eluu, 2009). The teaching of CRS dates back to the 19th century with the pioneers of Nigerian education (Banjo, 2003). During the missionary administration because of the moral values it teaches the people. Following the government takeover of schools, Nigerian, secondary school curriculum was reviewed and more emphasis was placed on the studies of science and technological subjects.
This shift affected the study and interest of students in CRS in school system leading to poor enrollment in CRS. Gbenda (2004) stresses that student’s enrollment and interest in CRS could as well be as of result of inadequate provision of teaching aids, fewer professional teachers and lack of incentives among other things. Njoku (2009) equally adduced that poor enrollment of student in CRS could be attributed to teacher’s instructional delivery system and teachers’ personality. CRS is taught in all the senior secondary schools in Nigerian as an elective subject. The elective nature of the subject in senior secondary schools in Nigeria equally reduced the number of students that register for the subject in West African examination council (WAEC) and national examination council (NECO) as well as other internal examination. CRS is a subject that bases its teaching on the life and teaching of Jesus Christ (Ugwu, 2001) as a\ teaching subject, it is not only geared towards converting people to Christianity, but is necessary for value formation, orientation and reorientation of value system as well as spiritual upliftment of the student. Ali and Akubue in Njoku (2009) observed that, CRS is a subject which aims at developing and fostering in the lives of the students Christian attitudes and values such as respect to life, obedience to constitutional authority, responsible self, selfless series to God and humanity. To them, CRS is seen as an academic discipline that is designed to provide the leaner with moral and spiritual transformation. This shows that CRS is the study of Christian lifestyles such as love, caring, patience, faith, forgiveness and hope in God as well as good relationship among men. Obanya in Njoku (2004) maintained that CRS like every other subjects has five features. These features are; a set of rational theoretical formulation, inherent capacity for growth, applicable solution to human problems, organized Body of the knowledge and a degree of uniformity with other area of academic activities. In the context of this study, CRS is defined as a social science subject that teaches students good moral behaviour, fearing of God, knowledge and skills that will make them to contribute their quota in socio-economic and moral development in senior secondary schools. The inclusion of sound religions and moral values in the life of students invariably could help in the development of spiritual and moral sound being of the students. These important values attached to the study of CRS in schools cannot be achieved if teachers do not utilized effective teaching method that appeals to all the senses of students in leaning situations.
Teaching method as noted by Agwu (2005) refers to the overall plan for the orderly presentation of content of learning materials. Usually a method is driven by a philosophy or an assumption about how students learn in school. Teaching method is therefore, a general process the teacher adopts in presenting his lesson to the students, such that students learn such as assigning roles to individual students in the classroom. The important index in the teaching and learning process is that the students learn at the end of teaching (Aguokogbuo, 2005). Hence, the use of good teaching method in teaching of CRS plays an important role in harmonizing classroom instruction. Nevertheless, it has been noted with dismay that even a subject as important as CRS is taught using the traditional lecture method (talk and chalk) (Asogwa & Echemazu, 2011). This old method, conventional as it is, appears to have reduced students’ interest and enrollment in the subject each year for both WAEC and NECO. For instance, Abdulhamid (2010) found that lecture method used by teachers have made many student lost their interest in classroom of learning and consequently may reduce students enrollment in some subject areas. He added that the use of lecture method set the teacher as the only active participant in the class while the students are complete observers or admirers through the lesson.
The theory of constructivism sees learning as the active participation in various activities within and outside the classroom. Therefore, inability of teachers to use methods that encourages students’ active participation could lead students to laziness, role memorization which even actually kills students’ interest and attitudes towards the learning of CRS. The theory of multiple intelligences holds the view that human being has fine separate intelligences (visual/spatial, verbal and logical, body/kinetic, musical, inter-personal intelligences). Therefore, if educators teach their students using methods that utilizes these intelligences in learning would promote students’ interest in learning process. Asogwa and Echemazu (2011) opines that most teachers rely on lecture method because of their experiences as most of them still regarded the way they were taught in their own days as the best way to teach in this modern times.
Organizing for effective teaching of Christian Religious studies is centered on certain factors such as “what to teach”, “when to teach” and “how to teach”. The teacher does not only teach the most relevant, meaningful and useful materials for specific students, he must also recognized and adopted a good and well-researched method of teaching that guarantees better understanding and also stimulates and motivate students’ achievement (Abdukamid, 2010).
Academic achievement is the degree or level of success attained at the end of an academic endeavour (Omebe, 2005). The yardstick for measuring one’s level of academic achievement is by assessing the academic performance of the individual through test and observation. He further explained that academic achievement has three dimensions such as high, average and low academic achievement. Academic achievement helps in proper evaluation of students and identification of their strength and weakness. However, in the context of this study, academic achievement is the relative change in behaviour of students as a result of effective teaching and learning of CRS in secondary schools.
The issue of high or low academic achievement of secondary school students in CRS has been attributed to some factors such as the school environment, peer influence, the family dynamics, etc (Ekeh and Njoku, 2013). But, of all these factors, the researcher feels that constructivist method of teaching play key role in relation to students’ academic achievement in CRS.
The visual materials support them in that matter, as they serve as metal scaffolds for the students (Carney and Levin, 2002) and help teachers to correlate and coordinate accurate concepts making the learning more concrete (Mannan 2005, p.108). This support also allows the teacher to skip excessive explanations and translations and help them to save time (Brinton,2001).
It is important to mention that visual materials can create a harmony between the students and the instructional methodology and materials used, as Oxford (2001) points out. In our classrooms we will have to face a wide variety of learning styles, such as visual learners, who can benefit largely of the visual aids, as they feel confused when following oral instructions and conversations. But they are not the only kind of learners helped by visual aids, ‘kinesthetic and tactile learners enjoy working with tangible objects, collages and flashcards too’ (Oxford, 2001, p 105). If the students feel comfortable with the materials and the methodology, they are expected to perform well, feel confident and experience low anxiety (Oxford, 2001). Therefore, students are expected to be more participative and feel more motivated.
It is in the light of the above discussion that the researchers have set out to discover the effect of using audio-visual materials in the teaching and learning of Christian Religious Studies in Pankshin Local Government Area of Plateau State.
1.5. Statement of the Problems
The importance of CRS in the present social, political and religious crisis in Nigeria cannot be over emphasized. Nevertheless, the trend of poor academic achievement among students’ over the years seems to be on the increase. It may be due to teachers’ use of lecture method of teaching which has been the prevalent mode of lesson presentation in secondary schools in Nigeria This method is teacher-centered and does not inspire and motivate students’ interest towards the learning of the subject in senior secondary schools. The students may end up therefore having low interest which could lead to poor achievement in CRS in schools. There appears, to be no available empirical study on the effect of audio-visual method on students’ academic achievement and interest in CRS in Senior Secondary Schools in Pankshin LGA.
Therefore, the problem of this study posed as questions are “what are the effects of using audio-vial materials on students’ academic achievement and interest in Pankshin LGA?
1.6. Purpose of the Study
The general purpose of this study is to determine the effect of audio-visual materials on the student interest and academic achievement in Christian Religious Studies in senior secondary schools in Pankshin LGA. Specifically, the study was designed to;
1. determine the effect of audio-visual materials on students interest in CRS
2. determine the effect of audio-visual materials on students’ academic achievement in CRS.
3. compare the mean score of students taught with audio-visual aid and those taught without it.
1.4. Research Questions
In order for the researchers to have a sense of guide, the following research questions have been formulated:
a. What are the effects of using audio-visual materials on students’ interest in CRS?
b. What are the effects of audio-visual materials on students’ academic achievement in CRS?
c. what is the difference in the mean scores of students taught with audio-visual aid and those taught without it?

1.5. Significance of the Study
The study would be beneficial to students, teachers, religious instructors, curriculum planners, educational administrators, researchers and textbook authors.
To students, the study would help to improve their understanding of CRS and thus adjust properly in the society through active participation in the classroom leaning which stimulate their interest and change the negative perceptions they already have in learning CRS and this invariably help them to develop the affective domain of knowledge in secondary schools. They would equally perform better in internal and external examinations without depending on examination malpractice which have been the problem in the educational sectors. This is because the student stands a chance of becoming masters on their own through visual contact with what they are taught in the classroom.
The findings of the study would help teachers to have an insight into the meaning, application and problems of using audio-visual materials in teaching and thus change their method when the need arises for proper students’ achievement and interest in CRS in secondary schools. The relevance of effective method in the implementation of Christian religious studies in secondary school would be made known to teachers as they are the chief implementer of planned curriculum of schools. This could be done by teachers observing the Students’ performance after using the audio-visual in the teaching and learning of CRS in secondary schools.
Religious instructors and bodies are not left out as they would understand the best way to educate children in the principles and practice of Christianity which invariably will promote peace and harmony as well as co-existence in the Nigerian society. Curriculum planners or designers would be made to understand curriculum problems that affect the use of effective teaching resources like audio-visual aid in the implementation of CRS curriculum in secondary schools especially in Pankshin LGA.
The findings of the study would expose the educational administrators to the importance of conducive environment in teaching and learning and thereby put these environmental conditions such as classroom building, learning materials, quality library etc, in order for proper implementation of Christian Religious Studies curriculum.
The findings of the study as well as the concepts, theories and methods would be reference materials for researchers especially those that specialize in Christian Religious Studies. Finally, the textbook authors on education would benefit from the study by updating their knowledge on the techniques and besides disseminate the findings through textbooks they publish.
The larger society would equally benefit from this study. This is because, the effective teaching and learning of CRS will bring desirable change in behaviour of students and this invariably would help to reduce high level of religious intolerance, hatred, killing, conflict, terrorism, militancy, and other insurgences that is ravaging Nigerian society.
1.6. Scope of the Study
This study investigate the effect of using audio-visual materials in the teaching and learning of CRS. The study covers some selected secondary schools in Pankshin Local Government Area of Plateau State. However, despite that the study is limited to Pankshin LGA, the findings, can be generic: it can be generalized to other parts of the country as well.