By Afedzi Abdullah, GNA
Cape Coast, Oct. 14, GNA – Professor Kankam Boadu, a Professor of Social Studies Education at the University of Cape Coast (UCC) has called for more attention to be paid to ensure the effective teaching of Social studies in schools.
He said the subject remained the most appropriate tool for promoting national integration and nation building.
« Social Studies serves as a tool for effective Citizenship Education. In Social Studies, children are taught moral values, norms, customs and beliefs, which help the individual to fit well into the society,
« Hence, becoming responsible citizens who will contribute meaningfully to national development by exhibiting desirable attitudes such as honesty and hard work, » he stated.
Speaking on the topic: « Teach the Untaught: Perspectives of Social Studies Education in Ghana » as his inaugural lecture, Prof Boadu expressed the need to maintain Social Studies as a unique discipline to which no individual subject could replace.
He maintained that the role of social studies education could not be overemphasised as it provided relevant information and knowledge, which aided students to grow to be active, responsible and reflective members of society.
According to him, the idea of replacing Social Studies was creating unnecessary panic, fear and frustration amongst many professional teachers and students whose economic livelihood and academic identification depended on the subject.
« What has social studies failed to do in terms of achieving developmental goals in this country for it to be replaced by another subject? The untaught must be taught and that is the duty of social studies » he stressed.
Prof Kankam Boadu said Social studies was an integrated area of study that draws subject matter from various disciplines and promotes civic competence with the change needed for persons to appreciate culture and civic issues.
« If you want to change people to appreciate culture and civic issues, then social studies cannot be over emphasised »
He said Social Studies as a subject brings ideas, generalization, theories and principles from the social sciences and other related disciplines with the view of solving problems and or describing phenomena; « that is the beauty of social studies. »
Prof Kankam Boadu underscored that the relevance associated with Social Studies Education had created the platform for the subject to become one of the core subjects in the educational system of Ghana but « the untaught » tends to have unfavourable attitude towards its inclusion.
In this regard, he emphasised that the « untaught » of Social Studies must disabuse their minds of the misconceptions that the subject was not so relevant to merit an inclusion into the country’s educational curriculum.
Prof Knkam Boadu made a strong case for the country’s educational curriculum to be integrated and designed in a way that would focus on problems and issues that were connected with real life situation.
He added that « learning is more effective when facts and principles from one field are related to another, especially, when applying knowledge ».
GNA
AT/LAA
