Preparedness of Ghanaian Senior High School Instructors for Application of Online Learning in Social Studies Instruction amid the Covid-19 Pandemic
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Date
2021
Authors
Ondigi, Samson Rosana
Kiio, Mueni
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Universal Wiser publisher
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic brought about school shutdowns across the globe to prevent the spread of the
virus. To avoid learning losses among students, online learning has been adopted by many countries including Ghana
to continuously deliver instructions to learners. In Ghana, schools have been encouraged to reach out to students using
virtual platforms but not without challenges. This research was therefore conducted in the Northern Region of Ghana
to assess senior high schools teachers’ preparedness for the integration of online learning in Social Studies teaching
and learning. Three research questions were posed to guide the study. The data was collected using checklist which
assessed schools digital readiness for virtual learning. Questionnaires, as the second instrument for data collection, were
administered to 972 students and 84 Social Studies teachers from 12 secondary schools. The internal consistency of the
questionnaires were established using Cronbach alpha formula which yielded r = 0.89 for teachers and r = 0.73 for the
students. The study discovered that all schools had ICT laboratories and were connected to electric power for online
learning. However, most classrooms were not connected to electricity to support virtual learning. Schools were not
sufficiently equipped with ICT tools and lacked local ICT in education policy guidelines to guide E-learning. Teachers
had content and pedagogical knowledge but lacked ICT technical skills do deliver online learning. Students’ rate of
integration of digital technology in Social Studies learning was low and ineffective. The study recommends connecting
classrooms with electricity and internet, supply schools with adequate ICT tools, train and guide schools to design their
local ICT in education policies, and organize periodic in-service training for teachers to build their capacity on how to
integrate online learning in Social Studies teaching and learning to improve students learning outcomes.
Description
Article
Keywords
accessibility, authentic learning, equity, E-learning, online learning, social studies
Citation
Bariham, I., Ondigi, S. R., & Kiio, M. (2021). Preparedness of Ghanaian senior high school instructors for application of online learning in social studies instruction amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Social Education Research, 52-64.