ASSESSMENT OF NIGERIA CERTIFICATE IN EDUCATION (NCE) TEACHERS’ PERFORMANCE IN THE ATTAINMENT OF SOCIAL STUDIES CURRICULUM OBJECTIVES

ASSESSMENT OF NIGERIA CERTIFICATE IN EDUCATION (NCE) TEACHERS’ PERFORMANCE IN THE ATTAINMENT OF SOCIAL STUDIES CURRICULUM OBJECTIVES
 
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Kogi state College of Education Ankpa was established in July 1981 as an Advanced Teachers’ College by the edict BNS No 20 Vol. 9 of 29th November 1984. It was established with the aim of providing teacher training in Arts, Languages, Education, Sciences, Social Sciences, Vocational and Technical subjects which could lead to the award of the Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE).
NCE is a post-secondary training  that is to train teachers for primary and junior secondary schools (basic education). The NCE represents a classic design of teacher education in Nigeria. It is obtained after a three-year post-secondary school teacher education  in a College of Education (COE). However, it has become the minimum qualification for primary school teaching as of 1998. Some of the colleges also offer NCE pre-primary courses in order to produce teachers for the pre-primary level of Education. At present, there are 83 of such institutions running the NCE  in Nigeria, including some Polytechnics, enrolling about 400,000 and graduating about 60,000 students yearly. (Ajeyalemi, 2009).The National Commission for Colleges of Education is the regulatory body for NCE s in the Colleges of Education and it has the Benchmark Minimum Academic Standards (BMAS) for teacher Education s.
Social studies is the science of the earth surface and its inhabitants, Walker (2000). It is a science in the sense that it is systematically studied and organized. It has the order of acquiring knowledge, it has a definite method through which the knowledge is extended and the fact can be tested. KerkPatric (2010) sees Social studies as science that deals with spatial distribution of all phenomena on the earth surface; describes the surface of the earth and its inhabitants. Oformata (2008) opines that Social studies is the study of the earth surface as the home of man or more precisely a science of spatial relationship which focus attention mainly on the interaction between man and his environment. He further pointed out that Social studies literally mean description of the earth, because Social studies is really a field of study that places man in a better position to understand the world where he lives (environment) and how best to harness it for his sustainability.
            NCE Social studies  is one of the s whose implementation is as old as the college. According to the incumbent Head of Department, Mr. Atanu, F. H. in an oral interview in 2010, the  started with two (2) academic staff and 24 students and it was among the 14 subject combinations and 11 academic departments when lectures began in the college in November 1981 (NCCE, 1996). Social studies was one of the s granted approval during the Affiliation inspection carried out in March 1983 by the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria. An important implication of this affiliation status of the college was that the NCE Social studies examination papers of the college were moderated and standardized with those of other college with similar affiliation relationship with the Ahmadu Bello University Zaria. The moderation also included the provision and vetting of marking schemes and marked scripts by Ahmadu Bello University. Indeed the syllabus for the Social studies  as well as the certification of graduates of the  was undertaken by the Ahmadu Bello University Zaria This affiliation relationship conferred professional recognition to the  and acceptability of the graduates by other universities for purposes of admission into higher education. All of these were done to empower the college to perform its functional role of producing professional teachers with greater confidence. However, by the 1993/94 academic session, at the instance of the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) the College of Education, Ankpa became de-affiliated form Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria and started to operate autonomously the Minimum Standards prescribed by the NCCE.
            Social studies as a subject was among the pioneer courses (s) in the school of Arts and Social Sciences. For placement of students, it had the following combination; Social studies/Social Studies, Social studies/Biology, Social studies/History, Social studies/English, Social studies/Political Science, Social studies/Economics and Social studies/Mathematics in the college.
            Social studies draws from across the physical, cultural, economic and political spheres to illuminate key issues for the present and the future explored at all scales from the personal to the local and the global. Through social studies, people learn to appreciate the diversity of landscapes, peoples, and cultures. Social studies is therefore a vital subject resource for the 21st century global citizens, enabling individuals to face questions of what it means to live sustainably in an independent world. Social studies helps scholars and researchers to investigate and to think critically and creatively about the complexities of places, and the different views and feelings relating to places. Social studies is studied through enquiry; Fieldwork and outdoor education are essentials to social studies too. The subject helps develop significant elements of the skills framework with strong emphasis on utilizing maps, visual images as well as new technologies including Geographical Information System (GIS). These transferable geographical skills help to equip geographers for lifelong learning as responsible citizens.
            Historically, at the inception of formal education in Nigeria, Social studies was a popular subject in schools and colleges. According to Okpo (1980), many students found social studies challenging as a bridge between the arts and the sciences. This popularity of Social studies at the university level and rapid production of high quality social studies graduates led to the formation of Nigerian Geographical Association (NGA) in 1957. In spite of this attractive development, social studies was almost being phased out of the Nigerian Education system. Willmer (1966) revealed that in Nigeria, the number of social studies students fell to less than five in a school and social studies was removed from the timetable for economic reasons. The same was the case in the United States of America from the 1960s to 1980s when social studies replaced social studies in many schools (Okpala 1990).It is therefore important that geographers, periodically evaluate the status of the subject in order to work out plans for its survival. Okpala (1990), pointed out that the position of the subject was strengthened as it becomes a core subject (though optional), in the group with literature in English, and History in the secondary school curriculum. According to her, the current 6-3-3-4 educational system, which started in 1976 and reached senior secondary level in 1985 favours Social studies. With the operation of the two tier Secondary system in 1992, Social studies became exclusively a senior secondary subject while social studies became compulsory at the junior secondary level.
            NCE Social studies  aim at producing teachers who will guide students in studying the earth including the activities of man. The study involves descriptive, interpretative and analytical techniques of looking at geographical phenomena. Modern social studies, whether physical, human or regional is increasingly becoming significant in the planning and management of land and its resources upon which man depends. The overall philosophy of NCE Social studies  as contained in the NCCE Minimum Standards (2009) 4th edition is to create an opportunity for prospective modern social studies students teachers to:        
i.              studying the earth and activities of man.
ii.            Develop practical skills and methodologies of understanding geographical features, phenomena
iii.          Search for explanations in social studies, such as why certain process behave the way they do.
iv.           Develop skills to import geographical knowledge or information with a view to inculcating better perceptions of social studies and at the same time promote the learning and teaching of the discipline.
v.             Undertake I and IV above along national aspiration and goals as may be enshrined in the national policy on education.
Since inception, the Department of Social studies, Kogi State College of Education, Ankpa, has graduated twenty seven (27) sets of students but the  has never been internally evaluated, reviewed or assessed except accreditations by NCCE for administrative purposes to see how the department has been keeping closely to its stated mandate in the production of competent and capable Social studies teachers. To ensure quality of the process and products, the National Commission for Colleges of Education Minimum Standards for training teachers in its (4th edition of 2009), prescribed the following benchmarks.
a)         Admission requirements both specific and general
b)         i) Physical facilities such as: Lecture room, laboratory, staff offices, books in the library, geographical garden (weather station) with standard equipments. Others include materials like: wall Maps, globes, topographical sheets, rock samples, drawing papers, graph papers, transparent papers, camera and films, drawing ink.
ii) Survey instruments.
iii) Air photo interpretation equipments
iv)  Audio visual aids
v) Field equipments
c)          Personnel; (i) Academic Staff: a minimum of Eight (8) lecturers who should possess at least a good first degree in social studies with teaching qualification or B.Ed. B.A/B.Sc. Ed Social studies from a recognized institution and staff student ratio of 1:25
ii) Support Staff: Cartographer 1, Typist 1, two weather observers trained to function in shift system, cleaner/messenger/laboratory attendant.
d)         Mode of teaching includes: Lecture/discussion method, practical, field studies, projects, tutorials and seminars.
e)          Graduation requirements.
In consideration of the above benchmarks every NCE social studies  is required to meet these prescribed minimum standards for proper and functional implementation to take place and for the production of qualified and competent social studies teachers who will function effectively in the education industry.
Evaluation as defined by Olaitan and Ali (1997) is a process of determining the extent to which objectives are achieved. Anikweze (2010) also defined evaluation, in the context of formal schooling, as a systematic process of determining the extent to which the learners have achieved the stated instructional objectives. These definitions address the effectiveness of a  in bringing about desired changes in the behaviour of learners. This implies questioning the merit of the . Slufflebeam (1971) defined evaluation simply as the process of delineating, obtaining and providing useful information for judging decision alternatives. Stake (1978) opined that assigning marks, selecting individuals for special opportunities or the quality of instructional materials, assessing the effectiveness of various approaches to instruction and many other kinds of activities are all commonly referred to as evaluation. Much earlier, Tyler (1949) had contemplated evaluation as new concepts, new procedures and new instruments of evaluation emerging from the interaction among new needs for educational evaluation, new conditions that must be met, new knowledge about education and technologies that can be utilized.
From the foregoing, evaluation may be seen as a continuous process, which diagnoses the strength and weaknesses of a . It also identifies the results of instruction or recognition of the need for teacher education or selection of a new basis for changing an educational policy. Tyler (1949) stressed that an educational , which has been in existence for more than a decade should be subjected to evaluation, review or assessment. He specifically pointed out that an overall study of any  should be embarked upon after three or five years in order to continue or to improve and make it more relevant. Teacher education is not an exception in this regard because the teacher lies at the heart of the educational set up. Next to the students, teachers are the largest inputs into an educational system. They are also the most critical and expensive input in any educational process (Imogie, 2010).
The system of training teachers is the keystone of any national educational system in a rapidly developing country such as Nigeria. The efficiency of teacher education greatly determines the success or failure of education to meet the country’s needs (Imogie, 2010). The qualification and teaching methods of teachers in any educational system matters a lot. In most cases, the knowledge and application of the teaching methodology may be a function of the training the teacher has gone. Moreover, Offorma (2006) considered the teacher as a medium through which the curriculum is translated into action in the classroom. In other words, the teacher interprets and implements the curriculum. Thus, if social studies must be taught and learnt very well, then the quality of the teacher should be evaluated alongside the  that produced him/her of which the NCE Social studies  is one.
This study is intended to evaluate the NCE Social studies  in Kogi State College of Education Ankpa as one of the intermediate teacher education  centers.  evaluation as an integral part of evaluation involves those activities undertaken to judge the worth or utility of a  (or alternative s) in improving some specified aspect of an educational system (Worthen, 1990).
Many evaluation models have been developed by educational researchers in recent time to assist the evaluators in the process of evaluation of a course,  or curriculum. These models assume that substantial amount of instruction will be created and that considerable resources are available. According to Owoyemi (1992), evaluation models are procedures used for structuring and organizing thought for making complex phenomena less complex. There are different types of these models in evaluation, they include: The Traditional Models of Evaluation, the Formative and Summative Evaluation Model, Goal-free Evaluation Model, The Decision – Making Model, The Antecedents, Transactions and Outcomes Models (ATO), Context, Input, Process, Output and Impact Model (CIPOI), Management model, the system Analysis model, Engineering model, the medical model, Goal Attainment model, Lawton’s six-fold Analysis of Evaluation model (1983). these are: The Classical Research Model, The Research and Development Model, De-Briefing Decision-Makers (Political) Model, The Teacher as a Researcher (or Professional) Model, The Case Study (or Eclectic) Model, The Illuminative and Responsive Model. Other evaluation progenitors have offered decision-related models.  These include Marvin Alkin (UCLA Evaluation Model), Malcolm Provus (Discrepancy Evaluation Model), and W Edwards Deming (Total Quality Management Model).  But none are as extensive as that offered by Stufflebeam, and it has proven to be the most referenced and durable over time for educational purposes.
            In this study the  evaluation model developed by Stuffllebeam (1971) will be used. The CIPP (Context, Input, process and Products) model of evaluation. This model was chosen because it will produce a full coverage on the  being evaluated and in that process lending validity and reliability to the research work. Based on this model NCE Social studies  will be evaluated on four component areas-Context, Input, Process and Product (CIPP) of the NCE social studies . The intended evaluation is expected to provide benchmark data on whether the NCE Social studies  academic activities and  standards prescribed by NCCE stipulated benchmarks are being maintained in the implementation of NCE Social studies  at the Kogi State College of Education Ankpa.
Statement of Problem
The school system, regardless of the level of operation is generally accepted as a major agent of education providing the environment for interaction between, students and teachers on the subject matter. Teacher education in Nigeria has witnessed a lot of innovation in the past decades, which were aimed at improving teaching and learning. The National Policy on Education (FRN, 2004) asserts that no education system can rise above the quality of its teachers. The Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE) is the minimum professional qualification for entry into teaching in Nigerian primary and secondary schools. However there has been a growing concern that the quality of education has dropped and this is attributed to the use of incompetent teachers (products of teacher education s) to implement the curriculum. Other factors often attacked by concerned citizens include the school environment, motivational variables, instructional strategies and the mass media. Little or no attention is been paid to the fact that lack of periodic evaluation of school s could cause damage in the systems thereby making it impossible to achieve set goals and objectives, a situation that has become a threat to the proper implementation of the national policy on education. If a product of human resource training is adjudged incompetent, then either the process that produced it is faulty or the system is incompetent as its product. There is a need to find out, how the NCE teachers are trained, what facilities (both human and material) are available for training them, what are the qualifications of the lecturers involved in the process amongst others.