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Investigating the attitudes of primary school pupils towards social studies
Author
Wang, Loke Heng
Supervisor
Lee, Christine Kim-eng
Abstract
This study investigates the attitude of Primary Three and Six pupils towards Social Studies as a subject in school by gender, level and academic ability. It is an attempt to identify pupils' reasons for liking or disliking the subject and the factors which may have an influence on their attitude. This thesis extends an earlier study by Loh (2001) which investigated the relationship between attitude towards and academic achievement in Social Studies based on the 1994 Primary Social Studies syllabus using a survey. It looks into the 2000 revised Social Studies syllabus to examine if there are changes in attitude of pupils since the earlier study. A survey and group interviews were used to yield a more complete picture of what pupils perceive about Social Studies.
The sample for the survey (n = 913) was drawn from three co-educational primary schools in Singapore. The sample was represented by both male (n = 507) and female (n = 406) pupils from Primary Three (n = 462) and Primary Six (n=451) who were of different academic abilities. The sample for the interview (n = 32) was drawn from two of the schools. The sample was represented by both male (n = 16) and female (n = 16) pupils from Primary Three (n = 16) and Primary Six (n = 16).
This study found that generally pupils have a positive attitude towards Social Studies. There was no significant difference in pupils' attitude towards Social Studies by gender (t(875) = 0.65, p<0.05) but there was a significant difference by level (t(911) = 11.52, p < 0.05). Primary Three pupils were more positive in their attitude towards Social Studies (M=35.57, SD = 6.07) than Primary Six pupils (M = 30.94, SD = 6.06) but there was no difference in attitude towards Social Studies between male and female pupils (M = 33.16, SD = 6.55; M = 33.44, SD = 6.0). Analysis of variance found a significant difference in the attitude of pupils for the three academic abilities (F(2, 910) = 3.5, p < 0.05). Low ability group pupils were more positive towards Social Studies than middle and high ability group pupils. Pupils from the low ability group responded more positively to Social Studies.
This study also found that the main reason for pupils liking or disliking Social Studies was the nature of content. Other reasons included the nature of lessons and ease of understanding. Factors that may have influenced pupils' attitudes towards Social Studies were the usefulness of the subject, the degree of interest or boredom in the subject, the ability of pupils in understanding what they read in the Social Studies textbook and specific teaching-learning activities. The interviews showed that generally pupils could recall what they learnt most from the knowledge domain. However, pupils could not recall what they have learnt in the skills and affective domains. Pupils perceived Social Studies as a means of citizenship transmission.
The findings of the study have implications for curriculum planners at the Ministry of Education as well as school teachers. While the attitude towards Social Studies is generally favourable, the selection of content for inclusion in the syllabus is important in influencing pupils' attitudes. Teachers too have to pay careful attention to the kinds of teaching strategies that should be employed in the learning of Social Studies in order to improve attitude.
The sample for the survey (n = 913) was drawn from three co-educational primary schools in Singapore. The sample was represented by both male (n = 507) and female (n = 406) pupils from Primary Three (n = 462) and Primary Six (n=451) who were of different academic abilities. The sample for the interview (n = 32) was drawn from two of the schools. The sample was represented by both male (n = 16) and female (n = 16) pupils from Primary Three (n = 16) and Primary Six (n = 16).
This study found that generally pupils have a positive attitude towards Social Studies. There was no significant difference in pupils' attitude towards Social Studies by gender (t(875) = 0.65, p<0.05) but there was a significant difference by level (t(911) = 11.52, p < 0.05). Primary Three pupils were more positive in their attitude towards Social Studies (M=35.57, SD = 6.07) than Primary Six pupils (M = 30.94, SD = 6.06) but there was no difference in attitude towards Social Studies between male and female pupils (M = 33.16, SD = 6.55; M = 33.44, SD = 6.0). Analysis of variance found a significant difference in the attitude of pupils for the three academic abilities (F(2, 910) = 3.5, p < 0.05). Low ability group pupils were more positive towards Social Studies than middle and high ability group pupils. Pupils from the low ability group responded more positively to Social Studies.
This study also found that the main reason for pupils liking or disliking Social Studies was the nature of content. Other reasons included the nature of lessons and ease of understanding. Factors that may have influenced pupils' attitudes towards Social Studies were the usefulness of the subject, the degree of interest or boredom in the subject, the ability of pupils in understanding what they read in the Social Studies textbook and specific teaching-learning activities. The interviews showed that generally pupils could recall what they learnt most from the knowledge domain. However, pupils could not recall what they have learnt in the skills and affective domains. Pupils perceived Social Studies as a means of citizenship transmission.
The findings of the study have implications for curriculum planners at the Ministry of Education as well as school teachers. While the attitude towards Social Studies is generally favourable, the selection of content for inclusion in the syllabus is important in influencing pupils' attitudes. Teachers too have to pay careful attention to the kinds of teaching strategies that should be employed in the learning of Social Studies in order to improve attitude.
Date Issued
2005
Call Number
H62.5.S55 Wan
Date Submitted
2005