Availability And Utilization Of Ict Facilities In The Teaching And Learning Of Social Studies

The purpose of this study is to critically examine the availability and utilization of ICT facilities in teaching and learning of social studies in junior secondary schools in Awgu Local Government Area of Enugu State. The study adopted a descriptive survey design in which four research questions were posed. The population consisted of seven hundred and sixty nine (769) students and thirty five (35) social studies teachers in Awgu Local Government Area of Enugu State. Simple random sampling procedure was used in selecting nine (9) secondary schools to represent the twenty seven (27) secondary schools in Agwu local government Area of Enugu State. Eighteen (18) teachers and one hundred and eighty two (182) students were randomely selected from the selected schools making it a total of two hundred (200) respondents.

A questionnaire of four point rating scale was used as instrument for data collection. Simple percentage was used to analyze the demographic characteristics of the respondents, while weighted mean was used for the data analysis proper with a cut off mean score of 2.50. That formed the standard for accepting or rejecting any item on the questionnaires.

The result of the study shows that very few information communication technology facilities are available for the teaching and learning of social studies in the selected junior secondary schools, and this has made both the teachers and students to stick to the old methods of teaching which makes them achieve little at the end of a lesson, the result also Shows expressly that (1) lack of sufficient computer desktops,(2) poor electricity supply, (3)inability of teachers to operate the ICT facilities and transfer knowledge with them,(4) lack of adequate facilities maintenance, etc are some of the factors that hinder the availability and utilization of ICT facilities in the teaching of social studies. Based on the results, it was recommended among others that, The serving social studies teachers in the government secondary schools in Awgu should be sponsored to attend workshops where they will be taught how to use most ICT facilities and how to use it in teaching as well, also Teachers should try as much as possible to use the available ICT facilities in teaching the students so as to make the lesson interesting and appealing to them and should also give them to use the computer desktops for research and so on.