Development of Social Studies and Its Challenges in Ghana: A Case Study of Bolgatanga Technical Institute in the Upper East Region of Ghana

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the development of Social Studies and its challenges at the Bolgatanga Technical Institute in the Upper Eat Region of Ghana. The descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study. The simple random sampling and purposive sampling techniques were used in selecting the respondents for the study. In all, 285 students were selected from the Bolgatanga Technical Institute. Quantitative research approach was used in collecting and organizing data. Questionnaire was the main tool used to collect data for the study. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics in which percentages, frequencies and tables were used. The study adopted the theory of attitudinal formation that focused on motivational bases for learning. The findings revealed that favourable development of Social Studies in the Bolgatanga Technical Institute has roots in utilitarian, value-expressive, and knowledge motivational bases while the opposite lies in ego-defensive bases. Research further revealed that students perceived that Social Studies is good to be studied as it broadens their intellect by enabling them acquire a lot of ideas about their society and country as a whole. However, students' attitude towards the subject is negative. It was found that some students do not attend social studies lessons while others attend classes but do not contribute in the lesson. It was also found that others hate their teachers because of how they teach the subject. As a result of students’ negative attitude towards the subject their level of participation was low. Based on the findings, it was concluded that the major school factors influencing students' poor performance in Social Studies at the Bolgatanga Technical Institute emanated first, from the students' negative attitude towards the learning of the subject and second, the low level of participation from the students. Based on the findings, it was recommended that School authorities and Social Studies teachers should sensitize students on the significance of Social Studies in the school curriculum. The findings and recommendations of this study will assist teachers and other stakeholders in Social Studies to know the current perceptions of students towards the teaching and learning of Social Studies at the Bolgatanga Technical Institute.