| dc.description.abstract | History and Government is one of the subjects in the secondary school curriculum. The subject
is important because it inculcates in the learner the feeling of national unity and patriotism.
There are problems in the teaching of History and Government and Government policy that
lays emphasis in the teaching of science has rendered the subject unmarketable. Secondly
teachers of History and Government do not use a variety of teaching methods because of lack
of time and resources. This makes the subject uninteresting to learners. The basic purpose of
this study was to explore method that teachers of History and Government use to teach the
subject in addition the study sought to find out ways in which teachers of history and
government try to make history and government interesting and ways in which they involve the
learner in the learning process. The research involved 98 teachers of teachers of History and
Government in public secondary schools in Nairobi province. A questionnaire was
administered to the teachers of history and government in the study. The questionnaire was
developed by the researcher with some items adapted from the work (Kiio, 2000).
The findings of the study reveal that the common problem of HAG is government policy that
lays emphasis on science subjects. This has created a negative attitude in the learners that
HAG is not important. The students who choose to take the subject do so with a lot of
reluctance. This negative attitude interferes with the teaching and learning process. The issue
of wide syllabus against limited time also affects the teaching and learning of HAG. Teachers
are forced to use methods that allow them to cover content in the shortest time possible. The
learners are disadvantaged. They are forced to remain passive in the lesson. This concurs with
Ayo'ts work Lthat History is taught more often for its own sake and
sometimes as a dry intellectual pursuit geared towards passing examination with no
relationship to immediate social reality (Ayot, 1987).
In regard to ways of involving the learners in teaching and learning process the respondents are
in agreement that adequate preparation, giving assignments to students in advance and asking
questions are some of the methods that encourage participation and make the HAG lesson
interesting. However despite the fact that HAG teachers enjoy teaching the subject, they are
uncertain about the future of HAG. They feel that if the subject is not made compulsory
preference of science subjects including Geography will kill the subject. This is true because
fewer students are choosing the subject every year.
The recommendation of the study include the following:-
.:. The ministry of education should organize seminars and workshops for teachers of
History and Government on a regular basis. This will enable teachers of History and
Government to equip themselves with relevant methods of teaching the subject .
•:. Teachers of History and Government should be guided by the objectives of the lesson
in their choice of teaching method. This will enable them to achieve the desired
objectives in each and every topic .
•:. As much as possible teachers of History and Government should use methods that
enable the learner to participate in the learning process. This will make the lessons
interesting and effective in achieving the desired objectives .
•:. Teacher of History and Government should use a variety of teaching resources. History
and Government cannot be taught with KIE textbooks alone because they are shallow.
The following recommendations were made for further research:-
.:. The researcher recommends further studies to be carried our in other provinces to get
information that can be used to make valid decisions,
.:. The researcher recommend comparative studies to be carried out between Government
and Private secondary schools to find out whether the problems in teaching and
learning of History and Government are also experienced in Private schools . | en |
