Faculty of Education, University of Benin, Benin City, Nigeria; College of Education, Agbor, Nigeria
Iyamu, E.O.S., Faculty of Education, University of Benin, Benin City, Nigeria; Ukadike, J.O., College of Education, Agbor, Nigeria
This study was motivated by the continuous quest for the improvement of social studies instruction in Nigerian schools. It sought to find out the relative effectiveness of expository and inquiry methods of teaching social studies using a quasi experimental design. It compared the performances of 80 and 85 social studies students taught with expository and inquiry methods respectively. After six weeks of instruction, a 50-item. multiple-choice test with a reliability coefficient of 0.74 was administered on the subjects and the t-test used to analyze their scores. It was found that students taught with inquiry method performed better and also demonstrated higher retention than those taught with expository method. The study therefore recommended large scale use of inquiry method by social studies teachers as against the prevailing predominance of expository methods as a veritable means of achieving the objectives of social studiesin Nigerian schools. © EuroJournals Publishing, Inc. 2005.