Content analysis of senior secondary school economics textbooks in enugu state

Project Abstract

<p> Textbooks<br>have been emphasized to be the most important tool in the teaching-learning process<br>of any school subject. They have been identified as one of the factors<br>affecting students’ learning outcomes. This study was aimed at carrying out a<br>content analysis on senior secondary school economics textbooks used in Enugu<br>state in order to find their adequacy of content coverage of the Economics<br>curriculum, ascertain their appropriateness of the illustrations, find their<br>appropriateness of verbal communication and also to ascertain their<br>appropriateness of the evaluation guide. Four research questions guided the<br>study. The literature was reviewed under the conceptual framework, theoretical frame<br>work and empirical framework. The sample of the study was three Economics<br>textbooks recommended by the Enugu state Ministry of Education. Qualitative<br>research design was adopted for this study. The senior secondary curriculum for<br>Economics was used alongside a textbook analysis guide adapted and developed as<br>the instruments for data collection. Three secondary school Economics teachers<br>were selected as research assistants to analyse the textbooks. The method of<br>data analysis was description and analysis of the information found in the<br>textbooks in order to answer the research questions. The major finding of the<br>study is that, none of the textbooks analysed covered the curriculum content<br>adequately. It was also discovered that all the textbooks were appropriate in<br>terms of illustrations, verbal communication and evaluation guide. Based on the<br>findings, some recommendations were made. It was recommended that, authors of<br>these Economics textbooks should endeavour to review and update them by<br>including all the newly introduced topics and concepts and make sure that the<br>content of each topic is adequate and up to date as well, government should<br>work together with stakeholders in education especially teachers in prescribing<br>textbooks for use in schools and recommendation of textbooks should be<br>appropriate by considering those textbooks that have a very good content<br>coverage of all the topics and all the attributes of readability such as<br>appropriate verbal language (simple, short and clear sentences), and<br>appropriate diagrams and pictures. <br></p>

Project Overview

<p> </p><p><strong>INTRODUCTION</strong></p><p><strong>Background of study</strong></p><p>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; A<br>textbook is an educational resource or instrument. One of the major educational<br>resources required for teaching and learning (of Economics) in Nigerian senior<br>secondary schools is quality textbooks (Federal Government of Nigeria, 2004).<br>The teaching and learning of Economics as a senior secondary school subject<br>requires the use of Economics textbooks to achieve its objectives as enshrined<br>in the National Policy on Education. A textbook can be seen as an important<br>tool in the teaching-learning process of Economics and any other subject. It<br>could be one among other factors affecting students’ learning outcomes. A<br>textbook according to Jones (2007) is a book that contains information about a<br>subject that students study. Also, it is a book that students use regularly<br>during a set of lessons, textbooks treat subject comprehensively and is used by<br>students as a basis for study. Ciftci, Cecen and Melanliogu (2007) defined<br>textbooks as printed educational and instructional materials which are<br>comprised of rich text equipped with cognitive and perceptive capabilities<br>appropriate for age and knowledge levels of students and are prepared based on<br>educational programme principles for transfer of knowledge to students.<br>Williams (1983) says that the textbook is a tool and the teacher must know not<br>only how to use, but also how useful it can be and so must use discretion in<br>adapting textual materials to the need and interests of students. The textbook<br>as an instructional tool is unique among all other instructional media due to<br>its possession of certain characteristics. It is durable, permanent (not<br>transient), portable and independent of electricity or electronic device when<br>in use. It appears to be the oldest of instructional media. Due to its age-long<br>existence and availability, it is common among teachers and learners more than<br>any other medium. Moreover, textbooks have a prominent position in curriculum<br>reform and are considered the most important tool for the implementation of a<br>new curriculum in many countries (Valverde, Bianchi, Wolfe, Schmidt &amp;<br>Houang, 2002). While emphasising on textbook(s), Aggarwal (2001) stated that,<br>classroom teaching activities depend heavily on the use of textbook especially<br>in the institutions where the teachers are not well qualified. Aggarwal<br>suggested guidelines upon which the relevance and adequacy of textbook features<br>could be evaluated. They include; selection of content, organization of<br>content, presentation of content, verbal communication (language) and visual<br>Communication (illustration). To each of the items listed above, Aggarwal<br>identified some specific features, thus; the selection of content consists of<br>eight parameters which are; content must be relevant, there must be adequate<br>coverage of the content, there must be adequate content of each topic, there<br>should be authentic content, there should be up-to date content, there must be<br>integrated content and there should be content linked with real life. Under<br>organization of content, 3 parameters were identified thus; division into suitable<br>unit, division into suitable sections and psychological approach to the<br>content. The presentation of content should be attractive and have an<br>appropriate title, motivating, creative and interesting content. Verbal<br>communication (language) has four parameters thus, appropriate vocabulary,<br>short and simple sentences, correct spelling and correct punctuation. Visual<br>illustrations should be; suitable for the mental level of students, easily<br>portable and up to date, motivate learners, relevant and purposeful, accurate,<br>simple, and large enough for sight. Given the adequacy and relevance of these<br>features, a textbook can be referred to as good.</p><p>There are some criteria for selecting a<br>good textbook. Afolabi (2014) opined that in the selection or choice of a good<br>textbook, the textbook must be well-graded, that is, suitable for the<br>capability of the children for which it is intended. The facts must be simple,<br>clear and logically set out, fit into child-centred education. For the general<br>presentation format, Afolabi gave the following conditions; first, the textbook<br>should be interesting, because it makes the learner interested in learning,<br>well written and beautifully compiled so that it might win and retain users’<br>goodwill by virtue of more solid qualities. Secondly, it should be<br>well-illustrated with attractive colour, inspiring drawings and photographs. It<br>should be attractive, inviting, pleasant to look at and read, with well-chosen<br>illustrations that are well connected and sequential. Thirdly, the textbook should<br>be up-to-date in content, frequently revised and reprinted when necessary and<br>lastly the textbook must be complete with its table of contents, illustrations,<br>charts or other references. And for higher classes’ textbooks, Afolabi<br>suggested inclusion of references at the end of each chapter for supplementary<br>reading so as to inculcate in the learners the skill of comparison. It should<br>also include the index. This is to give room for supplementary textbooks.</p><p>Textbooks play a large part in<br>determining what is taught in secondary school classes and they stand out at<br>the heart of educational enterprises. Teachers rely on them to set the<br>parameters of instruction and to impart basic educational content. In schools,<br>students’ school work often begins (and in some schools ends) with the<br>textbook. Textbooks constitute the base of knowledge, particularly in the third<br>world countries (like Nigeria) where there is a chronic shortage of qualified<br>teachers, and online educational services (Naiz, 2001). This would make<br>teachers who are poorly prepared to address the curriculum to rely heavily on<br>textbooks for information and assignments. Since textbooks are very important<br>in teaching and learning processes, they need to be critically evaluated to see<br>whether they are meeting the expected goals of the National Policy on Education<br>(NPE, 2008).</p><p>In Nigeria today, there are many<br>(Economics) textbooks written by different authors, published and pushed into<br>the market and schools. Additionally, many senior secondary schools offer<br>Economics as an elective subject and there are some practical problems facing<br>the teaching and learning of Economics ranging from obsolete textbooks with the<br>exception of a few, and badly written Economics textbooks in Nigeria which are,<br>sketchy and lack the in-depth content, they are largely descriptive, poorly<br>illustrated, contain lots of inaccuracies and they are mostly produced in a<br>hurry (Afolabi, 2014). Similarly, studies on textbooks have shown that some of<br>them may contain incorrect information. Schwartzman (2008) in his study on<br>South Korea’s elementary, middle and high school textbooks found out that eight<br>of them contain incorrect information. In the same vein, Nomoto,Nonaka, Mizoue,<br>Kobayashi and Jimba (2011) in their study on the content of health textbooks<br>used in elementary, junior and high schools in some 14 countries, also found<br>out that several current textbooks provide insufficient content and contain<br>inaccurate or out of date health information. Given these problems associated<br>with textbooks, there is a need to carry out a content analysis on Economics<br>textbooks used in senior secondary schools in Nigeria in order to make sure<br>they contain accurate and up to date information and are rich in content in<br>terms of adequacy of content coverage, appropriateness of illustrations, verbal<br>language and evaluation guide.</p><p>Economics textbooks are a representative<br>of the Economics curriculum. Textbooks which are given over-reliance by<br>teachers are regarded as representing the intended curriculum (Flanders, 1994).<br>Economics is one of the elective subjects to be studied at the Senior Secondary<br>School level as prescribed by the National Policy on Education (2004). The<br>curriculum is based on the principle of equipping Senior Secondary School<br>graduates with basic knowledge and skills to appreciate the nature of economic<br>problems in any society and adequately prepare them for the challenges in the<br>Nigerian economy. The curriculum is designed thematically and structured in a<br>spiral form to spread from Senior Secondary one level to Senior Secondary three<br>levels (SS1-SS3) in a simple to complex way with in-built teachers and learners<br>activities for each topic. The Economics curriculum reflects depth,<br>appropriateness, and interrelatedness of the curricular contents. Also,<br>emerging issues which covered value orientation, peace and dialogue, including<br>human rights education, family life/ HIV and AIDS education, entrepreneurial<br>skills et cetera were infused into the relevant contents of the new Senior<br>Secondary Curriculum. In general, the curriculum pays particular attention to<br>the millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the critical elements of the<br>National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategies (NEEDS). Since the<br>curriculum represents the total experiences to which all learners must be<br>exposed, the contents, performance objectives, activities for both teachers and<br>learners, teaching and learning materials and evaluation guide are provided.<br>The prescription represents the minimum content to be taught in the schools in<br>order to achieve the objectives of the new Senior Secondary School programme.<br>However, teachers are encouraged to enrich the contents with relevant materials<br>and information from their immediate environment. Changes in Economics<br>curriculum are supposed to be reflected to both textbooks used in Economics<br>course and teaching activities of Economics teachers, so as to bring about the<br>desired learning outcomes in students.</p><p>In the recent review of the Senior<br>Secondary School Economics Curriculum in 2008, the former twenty six (26)<br>themes have been restructured into sixteen (16) themes with 49 topics spread<br>over the three years of Senior Secondary levels based on the complexity of<br>topics and the total teaching time available in each year (Senior Secondary<br>one-16 topics, Senior Secondary two-18 topics and Senior Secondary three-15<br>topics). The inclusion of new topics and concepts requires new Economics<br>textbooks to reflect the content of this curriculum. Given these changes in the<br>review of the curriculum, there is a need to find out the adequacy of content<br>coverage of Economics textbooks and the inclusion of the new topics and<br>concepts in order to bring about the desired learning outcome.</p><p>Some science and social science<br>(Economics) textbooks used in Senior Secondary Schools in most part of the<br>country have been criticized by stakeholders to be irrelevant because of the<br>learning outcomes of the students at the end of the programme (Afolabi, 2014).<br>However, most statements of the critiques were not based on empirical evidence.<br>For some years now, research findings have shown the abysmal achievement of<br>students of secondary schools in public examinations in Economics. Ajayi<br>(2002), Nwokocha and Amadike (2005), Adeyemi (2008) and Ashikhia (2010) in<br>their various studies have all shown the extent of poor achievement of students<br>in Economics examinations. The trend of Economics students’ achievement in<br>May/June Senior Secondary School Examination (WAEC) 2009-2012 for Enugu State<br>shows that, in 2009, when 519,524 enrolled for Economics, 33.97% had credit<br>pass (A1-C6), 28.16% had ordinary pass (D7-E8), 34.47% failed (F9), while 3.4%<br>were absent. Similarly, in 2010, out of the total number of candidates that<br>enrolled for Economics (554,853), 38.20% had credit pass, 36% had ordinary<br>pass, 34.41% failed, while 2.03% were absent. Furthermore in 2011, 649,277<br>candidates enrolled for Economics, out of which 41.12% passed at credit level,<br>31.09% had ordinary pass, while 24.95% failed while 2.84 were absent. Finally<br>in 2012, 849,028 candidates enrolled, 46.75% had credit pass, 26.75% had<br>ordinary pass, 24.24% failed while 2.26% was absent from the examination<br>(source: WAEC Statistics Office Enugu, 2013). Though there has been a steady<br>increase in the number of Economics student enrolment, but the conclusion drawn<br>from their achievement between 2009 and 2012 is that, more than 50% of the<br>students that enrolled had below credit pass which implies poor academic achievement<br>(See Appendix C, page 72). This persistent decline in students’ achievement in<br>internal and external examinations is not just a source of worry to<br>stakeholders alone, but also frustrating to the students and their parents; its<br>effects are equally grievous on the society and do not justify the objectives<br>of secondary education. Carrying out a content analysis on most of these<br>Economics textbooks used in senior secondary schools in Enugu State in order to<br>determine their adequacy in terms of content coverage, appropriateness of<br>illustration, verbal language and evaluation guide, would bring about an<br>improvement in the quality of the textbooks and subsequently also improve the<br>quality of content conveyed by the schools to students thereby improving their<br>academic achievement.</p><p>Content analysis is one of the most<br>frequently applied research methods in the field of education. Content analysis<br>originally used in communication, journalism, sociology, psychology, and<br>business (Neuendorf, 2002), is today considered to be one of the main methods<br>of educational research and it is also frequently applied in areas such as law<br>and health care. As Weber (1990: 117) puts it “content analysis is a research<br>method that uses a set of procedures to make valid inferences from text” and it<br>has several advantages in comparison with other research methods. According to<br>Cohen, Manion, and Morrison (2007), content analysis in a broader sense refers<br>to the process of summarising and interpreting written data, whereas, in a<br>narrower context, it is “a strict and systematic set of procedures for rigorous<br>analysis, examination and verification of the contents of written data”. One of<br>the fundamental features of content analysis is that a vast amount of written<br>data is reduced to smaller groups of information, or as put by Weber (1990),<br>long texts with loads of words are represented by fewer words or expressions.<br>In addition, content analysis can be conducted with any written material, from<br>documents to interview transcriptions and can be applied to examine large<br>amounts of text (Cohen, Manion &amp; Morrison 2007). The supervision and<br>control of information and ideas found in textbooks, and other printed<br>materials for students, are very important. There is a clear need to carefully<br>analyze textbooks, journals, and other communication media for the purpose of uncovering<br>parts thought to be dated, offensive or irrelevant. Thus, an important<br>rationale for a content analysis of textbooks is to improve the quality of the<br>contents conveyed by the schools to students. In carrying out a content<br>analysis on Economics textbooks used in senior secondary schools, the<br>curriculum is a very important tool.</p><p>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; As<br>a result of the importance of textbook to school teaching-learning process, the<br>paucity of research on Economics textual materials and rare analysis of these<br>textbooks themselves, this research will consider the content analysis of some<br>recommended Economics textbooks used in senior secondary schools in Enugu State<br>in accordance with the specifications of the existing Senior Secondary School<br>Economics Curriculum to ascertain the adequacy of content coverage,<br>appropriateness of illustration, verbal language and evaluation guide and also<br>to establish a basis for a true critique and to enhance improvement and also to<br>achieve the objectives of the post-basic Economics curriculum (2008).</p><p><strong>Statement of the<br>Problem</strong></p><p>While textbooks and learning materials<br>are especially important for students, they may contain incorrect information.<br>For instance, many researchers have found that some textbooks contain factually<br>incorrect information. One study found that eight of South Korea’s elementary,<br>middle, and high school textbooks contain incorrect information. Another study<br>reviewed analytical studies about the contents of health textbooks used in<br>elementary, junior high, or high schools in some 14 countries and found that<br>several current textbooks provide insufficient content and contain inaccurate<br>or out-of-date health information.</p><p>Textbooks have been identified as one of<br>the factors affecting learning outcomes. Stakeholders in education have<br>criticised textbooks used in our education system because of the poor results<br>of students at the end of the learning programme. The results of senior<br>secondary school Economics examinations from 2009 to 2011 (WAEC) in Enugu State<br>has shown that the percentage of failure is above 50%, which implies poor<br>academic achievement.</p><p>In the recent review of the Senior<br>Secondary School Economics Curriculum in 2008, the former twenty six (26)<br>themes have been restructured into sixteen (16) themes with 49 topics spread<br>over the three years of Senior Secondary levels based on the complexity of<br>topics and the total teaching time available in each year (Senior Secondary<br>one-16 topics, Senior Secondary two-18 topics and Senior Secondary three-15<br>topics). The inclusion of new topics and concepts requires new Economics<br>textbooks to reflect the content of this curriculum.</p><p>When Economics textbooks used in Enugu<br>State are not analysed properly and evaluated, they tend to be<br>counterproductive to students with devastating consequence of loss of interest<br>in Economics as a subject and subsequently mass failure in Economics<br>examinations. There is, therefore an urgent need to carry out a content<br>analysis on some of the Economics textbooks used in Senior Secondary Schools in<br>Enugu state, to determine their adequacy and appropriateness in terms of content<br>coverage, illustrations, verbal communication and evaluation guide so as to<br>provide the basis and guide for their revision.</p><p><strong>Purpose of the Study</strong></p><p>The main purpose of this study is to<br>carry out a content analysis of Economics textbooks used in senior secondary<br>schools in Enugu state. Specifically this study seeks to;</p><ol><li>Find<br>the adequacy of content coverage of the Economics curriculum.</li><li>Ascertain<br>the appropriateness of the illustrations used in the textbooks.</li><li>Find<br>the appropriateness of verbal communication.</li><li>Ascertain<br>the appropriateness of the evaluation guide.</li></ol><p><strong>Scope of Study</strong></p><p>This research work would focus on<br>approved Economics textbooks for Senior Secondary Schools in Enugu State. This<br>study will be delimited to five Economics textbooks for the post basic level or<br>Senior Secondary School. They are; Fundamentals of Economics by R. A. I<br>Anyanwuocha; Economics for Senior Secondary Schools by M. A. Shittu, O. J.<br>Ajuwoa and O. Kehinde; New Economics for Senior Secondary Schools by K. Nnachi<br>and A. Falodun. Standard Economics for Senior Secondary School by Attah C. N.<br>and New System Economics for Senior Secondary Schools by Ewa Udu and G. A. Agu.</p><p><strong>Significance of the<br>Study</strong></p><p>The outcome of this study will have both<br>theoretical and practical significance. The theoretical significance of this<br>study is explained by the theory of Cognitive learning which was developed by<br>Jerome Bruner in 1966. Bruner said that learning is a highly complex activity<br>which involves three major processes namely: acquisition of information, transformation<br>or manipulation of the information into a form suitable for dealing with the<br>task at hand, testing and checking the adequacy of this transformation.<br>Transformation here refers to past experiences in the memory which are utilized<br>to deal with the present situations and that they are represented in three<br>systems labelled by Bruner and they are; the inactive mode, the iconic mode and<br>the symbolic mode. He explained that inactive mode operates through action, the<br>iconic mode operates through imagery and the symbolic operates with language.</p><p>Cognitive learning can be applied to the<br>content analysis of Economics textbooks so as to develop favourable attitude<br>towards learning of Economics. Bruner’s theory when applied to content analysis<br>of Economics textbooks, the inactive mode refers to the student’s activities in<br>the textbook which the students are expected to practice in other to acquire<br>skills. The iconic mode refers to the use of imagery without language to relay<br>information. The use of imagery is likened to the use of familiar diagrams and<br>clear pictures in textbooks which can make them interesting and readable since<br>illustrations are among the content of a textbook. The symbolic mode employs<br>representation through language which leads to learning of abstract things.<br>Also, Economics textbooks employ representation through language. If they are<br>written in a simple and neutral language, the texts will lend themselves to<br>easy reading and understanding. When the ideas and information in the textbooks<br>are understood, through familiar diagrams, clear pictures, students’<br>activities, simple and neutral language, the textbooks are said to be<br>appropriate and accurate and its contents can bring about the desired learning.<br>Where the textbooks are appropriate and accurate, there will be acquisition of<br>information and transformation of information. Hence, the findings of this<br>study will help to either strengthen or refute this assertion of Bruner.</p><p>The practical significance of this study<br>is that, the findings of this study will be of great benefit to teachers,<br>students, Federal and State ministries of education and the society at large.<br>This study will benefit Economics teachers greatly because they will be able to<br>select Economics textbooks that are rich in content which will serve as a good<br>resource material in the teaching and learning of Economics. The findings of<br>this study would also benefit Economics students by helping them to opt for<br>textbooks with content validity and are up to date in order to read and understand<br>easily during assignments and projects. Similarly, the findings of this study<br>will be beneficial to Economics textbook writers by serving as a guide in the<br>review and writing of these textbooks through updating their knowledge towards<br>the use of appropriate language, picture, illustrations and evaluation guide in<br>order to improve the quality of Economics textbooks they publish and bring it<br>up to standard in order to meet the changing needs of the society and<br>curriculum review.</p><p>The outcome of this study is significant<br>to subsequent researchers carrying out similar investigation on content<br>analysis of textbooks as it will serve as a springboard for further empirical<br>studies. The present study will help improve their methodology. More so, the<br>result of this study will invariably reveal Economics textbooks that are rich<br>in content and up to date to the Ministry of Education and stakeholders for<br>guidance in prescription and recommendation for use in senior secondary schools<br>to bring about the achievement of the desired learning outcome and also the<br>achievement of the objectives of the post-basic Economics curriculum.</p><p>The findings of this study will also<br>reveal the importance of analysing the contents of textbooks used in our<br>secondary schools hence, the Nigerian government may perhaps see and accept the<br>need to enact and implement laws promoting the content analysis of textbooks<br>before they are used in schools. This could be achieved through the setting up<br>of a content analysis unit or department under the Federal or State Ministry of<br>Education to make sure textbooks used in schools are adequate, appropriate and<br>rich in content.</p><p><strong>Research Questions</strong></p><p>The<br>following research questions are posed to guide the study:</p><ol><li>How adequate is the content coverage of the Economics curriculum?</li><li>How appropriate are the illustrations used in the textbooks?</li><li>How appropriate is the verbal communication of the textbooks?</li><li>How appropriate is the evaluation guide of the topics?</li></ol> <br><p></p>