An Investigation into Senior High School Social Studies Teachers' Knowledge of the Problem Section in the Social Studies Syllabus: The Case of North-East Region of Ghana

The current Senior High School Social Studies syllabus has a section on the problem for each topic to be studied presents for the teacher. Knowledge of this problem section of the syllabus has a positive impact on teachers' effectiveness in their lesson delivery; thus, the call on teachers to take this section seriously in their classroom practices. But there is little sign that teachers in the North-East Region of Ghana have taken this call. This study investigated the knowledge of Social Studies teachers of the North-East Region of Ghana of this section of the syllabus and how they used it as a guide for the teaching of the subject. A sample of fifty-four (54) teachers was selected for the study using the simple random, cluster and convenient sampling techniques to select the respondents for the study. As a qualitative study, an open-ended interview guide and observational guide were designed to elicit information from the respondents. Data from the interview was transcribed, grouped, analyzed and discussed on themes that emerged. The study focused on the teachers’ knowledge of the problem section of the Senior High School Social Studies syllabus and how this informed their selection of objectives, content, instructional techniques, materials, and evaluation of the subject. The study revealed among other things that: teachers’ knowledge of the problem section in the syllabus and their reciprocal relationship with other components of the syllabus fall short of the expectation of effective Social Studies teachers, especially trained to teach the subject. Observation of teaching sessions revealed that lessons were taught without teachers explaining the problems of the units to leaners. Based on the findings of the study, it is recommended that Ministry of Education (MoE) through Ghana Education Service (GES) should organize regular in-service training such as seminars, workshops for Social Studies teachers to update their pedagogical skills in the subject; on-campus and off-campus teaching practices in the Universities should be intensified by allowing in-field lecturers to supervise and train the teacher-trainees to ensure effective teaching of Social Studies.