SOCIAL CONSEQUENCES OF COVID-19 ON THE EDUCATION PERFORMANCE OF SOCIAL STUDIES STUDENTS

SOCIAL CONSEQUENCES OF COVID-19 ON THE EDUCATION PERFORMANCE OF SOCIAL STUDIES STUDENTS

CHAPTER ONE/INTRODUCTION

Background to the study

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), coronaviruses are a family of viruses that cause illnesses ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). These viruses were originally transmitted from animals to people. SARS, for instance, was transmitted from civet cats to humans while MERS moved to humans from a type of camel. Several known coronaviruses are circulating in animals that have not yet infected humans. The name coronavirus comes from the Latin word corona, meaning crown or halo. Under an electron microscope, the looks like it is surrounded by a solar corona. The novel coronavirus, identified by Chinese authorities on January 7 and since named SARS-CoV-2, is a new strain that had not been previously identified in humans. Little is known about it, although human-to-human transmission has been confirmed.

 

Chinese health authorities are still trying to determine the origin of the virus, which they say likely came from a seafood market in Wuhan, China where wildlife was also traded illegally. On February 7, Chinese researchers said the virus could have spread from an infected animal species to humans through illegally-trafficked pangolins, which are prized in Asia for food and medicine. Scientists have pointed to either bats or snakes as possible sources of the virus.

 

According to the WHO, signs of infection include fever, cough, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties. In more severe cases, it can lead to pneumonia, multiple organ failure and even death. Current estimates of the incubation period – the time between infection and the onset of symptoms – range from one to 14 days. Most infected people show symptoms within five to six days. However, infected patients can also be asymptomatic, meaning they do not display any symptoms despite having the virus in their systems. (Wikipedia, 2020)

 

The number of fatalities from the new coronavirus has overwhelmingly surpassed the toll of the 2002-2003 SARS outbreak, which also originated in China. SARS killed about 9 percent of those it infected – nearly 800 people worldwide and more than 300 in China alone. MERS, which did not spread as widely, was more deadly, killing one-third of those infected. As of April 4, more than 60,000 people worldwide have died of COVID-19, the highly infectious respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus. The number of people who have tested positive for COVID-19 has exceeded 1 million, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. While the new coronavirus is more widespread than SARS in terms of case numbers, the mortality rate remains considerably lower at approximately 3.4 percent, according to the WHO. Scientists around the globe are racing to develop a vaccine but have warned it is not likely one will be available for mass distribution before 2021. There have been five global health emergencies since 2005 when the declaration was formalized: swine flu in 2009, polio in 2014, Ebola in 2014, Zika in 2016 and Ebola again in 2019.

 

As of April 13, more than 70,000 people worldwide have died of COVID-19, the highly infectious respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus. The number of people who have tested positive for COVID-19 has exceeded 1 million, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Countries around the world are scrambling to halt the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. This outbreak of covid-19 is a global health emergency, the WHO said on January 30, raising the alarm further on March 11 when it declared the crisis a pandemic. (Wikipedia, 2020)

 

Presently, COVID-19 has spread to about 200 Countries in the World including Nigeria. Nigeria is a country located in West Africa. The official name of the country is the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The country has a population of 188,462,640 people, making it the 7th most populous country in the world. In terms of area, it is the 32nd largest country at 356,669 square miles. The country is a federal presidential republic with a president and vice president. The capital city is Abuja. On 28 January 2020, the Federal government of Nigeria assured citizens of the country of its readiness to strengthen surveillance at five international airports in the country to prevent    the    spread    of     coronavirus.     The     government     announced     the     airports as Enugu, Lagos, Rivers, Kano and the FCT. The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control also announced same day that they had already set up coronavirus group and was ready to activate its incident system if any case emerged in Nigeria. On 31 January 2020, following the developments of COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China and other countries worldwide, the federal government of Nigeria set up a Coronavirus Preparedness Group to mitigate the impact of the virus if it eventually spreads to the country. On the same day, the World Health Organization listed Nigeria among other 13 African countries identified as high-risk for the spread of the virus. (Wikipedia, 2020)

 

On 27 February, Nigeria confirmed its first case in Lagos State, an Italian citizen who works in Nigeria had returned on 25 February from Milan, Italy through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, fell ill on 26 February and was transferred to Lagos State Biosecurity Facilities for isolation and testing. Presently, Nigeria is having 199 covid-19 cases, two death and twenty recovered. In order to contain the spread of the virus in Nigeria, the Federal Ministry of Education has directed all educational institutions in Nigeria to shut down and allow students to go home as cases of reported COVID-19 increased to 13. The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Sonny Echono, told reporters on 19 March that the directive was part of the country’s overall strategy to contain the spread of the virus. Nigeria joins the growing list of countries in Africa which have closed schools and universities. Before the official announcement by the permanent secretary, most universities had already sent their students home. (Wikipedia, 2020)

 

Education is administered by the federal, state and local governments. The Federal Ministry of Education is responsible for overall policy formation and ensuring quality control, but is primarily involved with tertiary education. School education is largely the responsibility of state (secondary) and local (elementary) governments. The country is multilingual, and home to more than 250 different ethnic groups. The languages of the three largest groups, the Yoruba, the Ibo, and the Hausa, are the language of instruction in the earliest years of basic instruction; they are replaced by English in Grade Nigeria’s education system encompasses three different sectors: basic education (nine years), post-basic/senior secondary education (three years), and tertiary education (four to six years, depending on the program of study). According to Nigeria’s latest National Policy on Education (2004), basic education covers nine years of formal (compulsory) schooling consisting of six years of elementary and three years of junior secondary education. Post-basic education includes three years of senior secondary education. The direction that all educational institutions in Nigeria should be shut down and allow students to go home as a measure to contain the spread of the virus. This thesis is aim to find out Social consequences of Covid-19 on the education performance of Social studies Students in Ethiope West Local Government Area. 

Statement of the Problem

In Nigeria, the Federal government announced the indefinite postponement of the 2020 West African Examination Council and the National Examinations Council (NECO) due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The situation is depressing. The statistics are scary and the consequences are severe. The numbers are unprecedented and the implications are enormous. Never before have so many children and youths been out of school at the same time. The consequences are better imagined.

Even before the current closure of schools, the world was already experiencing a global learning crisis, as many students, who, even while the school system was in full swing, were not learning the fundamental skills needed for life,(World Bank  2020).The closure of schools has now further compounded the situation with remarkable impacts on students, teachers, families and far-reaching economic and social consequences.

In many countries like Nigeria, poor children rely on the school feeding system for their only meal for the day. But with schools now forced to close, millions of children are missing out on these meals.

Many social vices are associated with youths not actively engaged in schooling. Children and youths who are not in school are more susceptible to social vices such as alcoholism, substance abuse and other forms of criminal activities. Early marriage and child labour are also some of the consequences of school closures.

In an attempt to positively engage the children and also ensure that they are not left behind in their learning journey, many countries including Nigeria have adopted online teaching and learning, using radio, television and internet solutions to support access to education.

In order to provide another window for learning, UNESCO through its COVID-19 Education response, floated a platform tagged Learning Never Stops, to facilitate inclusive learning opportunities for children and youths during this period of sudden disruption in the school system.

Recently, the Ministry of Education in Nigeria uploaded on its website electronic learning resources and education chat rooms for the thirty-six states in the country and the Federal Capital Territory, for continuing education and individualized learning for children at home.

Laudable as these initiatives appear, they cannot be compared to classroom based instructions and the benefit to the very poor children who rely on schools not only for education, but also for food, healthcare and safety.

Moreover, these efforts may not achieve the set objectives, given the limited access of poor children to television, electricity, internet and other equipment needed to take advantage of the e-learning platforms.

Objectives of the Study

 

The main objectives of this study is to examine Social consequences of Covid-19 on the education performance of Social studies Students in Ethiope West Local Government Area.

The study sought to examine the following specific objectives:

  1. To find out if COVID-19 Schools shutdown has effects on the academic performance of Social studies students in Ethiope West Local Government Area ,Delta State, Nigeria
  2. To find out the perceptions of student on the effects of COVID-19 Schools shutdown down on the academic programme of Social studies students in secondary school students
  3. To find out if Covid-19 pandemic have impact on reduction of manpower in secondary school education in Nigeria.
  4. To give possible suggestions on how to re-open schools in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic

Research Questions

  1. Does COVID-19 Schools shutdown has effects on the Social studies students academic performance in  Ethiope West Local Government Area ,Delta State,Nigeria?
  2. What are the perceived perceptions of Social studies student on the effects of COVID-19 Schools shutdown down on the academic performance in Ethiope West Local Government Area ,Delta State, Nigeria?
  3. Does Covid-19 pandemic have impact on reduction of manpower in  secondary school education in Nigeria?

Significance of the Study

This study will provide an insight into the Perception of parents on the impact of covid 19 on secondary education in Nigeria. This study will help the administrators to ascertain the level of damages the schools close down has caused. Furthermore, the study will again be helpful for researchers, students and lecturers. Government official, policy makers and schools administrators will benefit from the recommendation of the study.

Scope

This research work is aim to Social consequences of Covid-19 on the education performance of Social studies Students in Ethiope West Local Government AreaDelta State .The study was limited to secondary school education in Nigeria and  COVID-19 side effects on secondary academic performance which include academic effects, students performance and their current state.

Definitions of Terms

Virus: A virus is a small infectious agent that replicates only inside the living cells of an organism. Viruses can infect all types of life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea

Pandemic: A pandemic is a disease epidemic that has spread across a large region, for instance multiple continents, or worldwide. A widespread endemic disease with a stable number of infected people is not a pandemic. Further, flu pandemics generally exclude recurrences of seasonal flu.

Epidemic: An epidemic is the rapid spread of disease to a large number of people in a given population within a short period of time. For example, in meningococcal infections, an attack rate in excess of 15 cases per 100,000 people for two consecutive weeks is considered an epidemic

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EFFECTS OF PROBLEM SOLVING AND COOPERATIVE TEACHING METHODS ON ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS

EFFECTS OF PROBLEM SOLVING AND COOPERATIVE TEACHING METHODS ON ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS

CHAPTER ONE/INTRODUCTION

Background to the Study

Play enhances children’s development and is fundamental for every child’s acquisition of language skills (Ginsburg, 2006). It is a critical element of early childhood, curriculum and pedagogy development. In addition to being recognized as a vehicle for learning, play is described as a context in which children can demonstrate their own learning and help scaffold the learning of others (Woolkopf, 2004). According to the United Nation High Commission for Human Rights (UNHCHR 2006), play is so important to optimal child development.

Play benefits children’s language development through socially interactive and cognitive elements known to enhance language skills (Shonkoff and Philip, 2000). Maria Montessori (1940), noted that play is children’s work as it often mirror in aspects of lives through development of language skills. Children talk about having fun, mingling with friends and sequencing activities for sustained fulfillment through use of language. Language performance is the manner in which the learner comprehends, how a learner uses language, the extent of vocabulary use and how one is understood using language. Language learning involves both the receptive skills (listening and reading) and the productive skills (speaking and writing) (Woolkopf, 2004). Naturally, the receptive skills should be learnt first. In schools, learning to read becomes the most celebrated achievement in a child’s schoolin Play encourages Language growth through a curriculum that introduces interesting play objects, activities, experiences and concepts  as well as creating an indoor and outdoor environment that set up to invite groups of learners to work together. As children play, they manipulate, explore, experiment and develop language and reasoning skills while they acquire concept of the world around them. In the contemporary society, play has been undervalued in school because the goals of learning in these settings have been defined narrowly in terms of mastering a set of basic academic skills. In this regard, most readers find it difficult to incorporate play in and outside classroom.

Broncher and Joyes (2003), note that currently in the UK, the government has been taking keen interest in developing the standard of the children studying in pre-schools by providing relevant facilities and play materials that enhance holistic development of the learners (Aliza and Rahety 2011). They believe that children are playful by nature. Their earliest experiences of exploring with their senses leads them to play by themselves at first and then eventually with others. Available research in Western world shows that play materials tend to be differentiated according to gender. Play materials for girls are attractive and nurturing while materials for boys are aggressive and competitive based, (Betozzi, 2008).

In California, there is well-established consensus among early childhood professionals that play is an essential element of developmentally appropriate high quality early education program. National Association for Education of Young Children (NAEYC, 2003). Play provide benefits for cognitive, social, emotional, physical and moral development for children from all socio-economic cultural & linguistic background (Josef, 2006).To provide these benefits, play must be consciously facilitated by skilled teachers who are well trained in observing children and in understanding how playcontributes to the children’s mastery of concepts and skills. The exploratory and creative activity that young children initiate themselves is the primary way they develop concepts and understanding about the world. In California, teachers use the power of developing ideas, interests and competencies to promote learning through play, circle time and small groups (Elkins, 2007). Children have many opportunities to apply and integrate all types of learning – physical, social, emotional, intellectual and language development.  Children engage in activities they are interested in so that they have a natural motivation to learn (Shonkoff and Philips, 2000). These oral narratives, capacity and oral language skills form the foundation for reading comprehension, the ability to produce coherent writing

In Malaysian context, the play-based approach has been emphasized in the pre-school curriculum and teachers are encouraged to adopt play-based activities in their teaching and learning process. Manstura (2008) reiterated that play focuses on children’s natural characteristics and that learning through play is the most appropriate approach in early childhood curriculum. Nonetheless, managing play-based activities is one of the most challenging tasks that teachers in Malaysia have to face. Studies have shown that many teachers never prioritize the use of play approach in their teaching instruction (Saayah, 2004). They do not possess skills in planning and organizing activities by identifying appropriate age to use materials and resources effectively during play activities, structuring environment to suit learners’ needs during play. In addition, constant pressure for academic achievement and lack of support from school administration has resulted in play-based approach being abandoned by many teachers.

In Ghana, ECE focuses on learning through play, which Jean Piaget posits that meets the physical, intellectual, language, emotional and social needs of children. Children learn more efficiently and gain knowledge through activities such as dramatic play and social games. It is important that teachers promote children development through play by various types of play on daily basis. In Ghana pre-schools, the key guidelines for creating a play-based learning environment include providing a safe space, correct supervision and culturally aware trained teachers who are knowledgeable about early years’ foundation. Learning through play has been seen regularly as the most versatile way a child can learn. According to Rudolf Steiner (1925), believed that play allows children to talk, socially interact, use their imagination and intellectual skills.

(Frobel, 1852) stated that play was a vehicle of child’s development, “the more the child plays the more the mind becomes” hence play helps children learn to solve problems in an environment that is supportive to this process. Play enhances children’s skills to ask questions and figure out how things work. Through these activities, children strengthen their language development when given the time and basic play materials that provide the child with a variety of valuable learning opportunities. In reading, children learn to hold a book properly and turn pages, understand that words convey messages through pictures and enjoy reading picture storybooks. Children’s play unlocks their creativity and imagination and develops reading; thinking and problem solving skills. When playing with children and adults, vocabulary and language skills are fostered.

Children will learn to use language to communicate meaning as well as picking up new words and hearing grammatical structure of the English language. Children’s symbolic play is cognitively valuable occupation because such play allows them to practice thskills required in later life. The ability to pretend at a young age is a sign of early competence in understanding mental status. Even though considerable research has explored play’s development potential in early years, play has been reduced or eliminated from some early childhood classrooms in Ghana. The press for academic readiness through direct teaching is now affecting the amount of time assigned for play in pre- school in Ghana (Gmitrova and Gmitrov, 2004).

Psychologists generally agree that the period below six years is critical in the development of human beings. Theories of intellectual development take place in stages and it therefore follows that certain concepts, skills and attitudes must be developed and nurtured at particular periods in a child, failure then the concepts can be stunted or missed completely. There is a growing concern among Kenyan pre-school education practioners on the current approach to ECE that emphasizes the academic component at the expense of other areas of child development. Over emphasis on cognitive development observed, goes against child development research findings that define quality and relevance  which caters for total development of the child (Kombo and Khalayi 2011).

In Nigeria the Ministry of Education syllabus intended for use in pre-schools places emphasis on the use of play and play materials by teachers during teaching and learning process (KICD, 2008). The schools should ensure that there is equal opportunity for girls, boys, and children with special needs in all aspects of play However; there is a lot of rot learning with more emphasis on academic achievement depriving the learner time to  play. Evidence is seen in schools that have perfected teaching over the weekends even to pre-schools yet what is done is within the confines of classrooms. The school policy requires the adoption of pre-school curricula that emphasize play and child initiated activities yet both parents and teachers who believe in academic achievement hinder this.

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