IMPACTS OF TEACHING GOVERNMENT SUBJECT ON POLITICAL AWARENESS OF SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN OWERRI EDUCATION ZONES OF IMO STATE

Abstract

In this study, the researcher investigated impacts of teaching government subject on political awareness of senior secondary school students in Owerri Education Zones of Imo State. In order to achieve the aims of the study, four research questions were asked and four hypotheses were formulated. This study adopted the survey research design. The population of this study is 34,633 comprising 2,438 teachers and 32,195 students from the 124 public secondary schools in Owerri Education Zones, Imo State. The researcher drew a sample of 395 respondents (163 teachers and 232 students) from 15 selected secondary schools using multistage sampling technique. Rating scale was used as the instrument for the collection of data for this study and prepared by the researcher. The rating scale is titled: Impacts of Teaching Government Subject on Political Awareness of Senior Secondary School Students Scale (ITGSPASS) and contained 30 items. Three research specialists validated the instrument. Reliability coefficient of 0.84 was obtained using Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient (PPMCC) statistics. The researcher analyzed the data using mean scores and standard deviations to answer the research questions while the hypotheses were tested using the t-test statistics at a 0.05 level of significance. The result found that there is no significant difference in the rating scores of teachers and students on the positive impacts of teaching government subject on students’ awareness of human right, rule of law, good governance and electoral processes in public senior secondary schools in Owerri Education Zones, Imo State. The study concluded that the teaching government helps students to be aware of their fundamental human rights, rule of law, good governance and electoral processes which create awareness and spark discussions about the importance of politics. This collective effort can lead to stronger, more resilient societies where citizens are not just passive recipients of policies, but active contributors to the democratic process. Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended among others that government should ensure that only the right caliber of teachers is recruited for teaching of government in schools in order to improve the teaching of government subject in schools towards fostering students’ awareness of the fundamental human rights.