The Effectiveness of Strategies Employed by Social Studies Teache

rs in Laboratory High School

INTRODUCTION

In order to create a civilized society, education is necessa

ry to nurture the youth to be open-minded, compassionate, skeptic

al, and knowledgeable of the past to make informed decisions and

be a good citizen. Social Studies is one of the subjects that wor

k towards developing these skills in basic education. Through soc

ial studies, students gain civic competence and comprehension of

the world they live in to become productive and responsible citiz

ens (Crisolo, O. R., Camposano, S., & Rogayan, D. V. Jr., 2021).

Social Studies is an imperative element of the K-12 curricul

um program of the Enhanced Basic Education in the Philippines whi

ch establishes civic competence and functional literacy in Filipi

no youth. The K-12 Araling Panlipunan Curriculum aims to develop

critical citizens who are reflective, responsible, productive, en

vironmentally conscious, nationalistic, and humanitarian, with a

national and global perspective and awareness for historical and

social issues (K-12 Araling Panlipunan Curriculum Guide, 2016). T

he curriculum puts an emphasis on comprehension and synthesis rat

her than memorization of concepts and terminologies which enables

the students to come up with their own definition, interpretation,

and application in a real-life context.

 However, most students still perceive Social Studies classes

as dull, boring, and irrelevant to their lives which seems to aff

ect their performance all the time (Mensah, 2019). If the youth t

reat this subject as irrelevant and uninteresting, the learning a

nd performance of students in Social Studies can be significantly

affected. According to a survey conducted in Pulo National High S

chool in 2016 for an Enhanced-School Improvement Plan, among the

reasons cited why it was one of the least favorite subjects were:

teacher’s attitude and teaching strategies, difficulty in the sub

ject, and activities provided by the teacher and teacher’s attend

ance. This indicates that teaching strategies affect the student’

s motivation which calls for an urgency to be under an investigat

ion of what needs to be improved in teaching Social Studies.

The present generation is born with the presence of advanced

technology which stipulates appropriate materials and strategies

directed to addressing the learner’s needs in this dynamic world.

Each student has a different way to learn different lessons. To a

ccommodate varied student types and achieve teaching and learning

objectives, several instructional strategies are used. According

to Poon (2013), using teaching strategies that include both tradi

tional and technological learning can improve students' learning

and provoke them to participate actively in the learning process.

An effective teaching strategy plays an important role in ensurin

g students engage with the subject matter and develop the essenti

al skills needed to become productive citizens of the country and

the multicultural world.

 However, there are several questions about the effectiveness

of teaching strategies on student learning. The Philippine Depa

rtment of Education’s Basic Education Development Plan 2030/BEDP

report (2022) noted that “...At NAT 10, the performance in Aralin

g Panlipunan (Social Studies), English, Mathematics, and Science

are all within the ‘low proficiency’ range.”. The previous Nation

al Achievement Test (NAT) from 2017-2018 showed the need to put g

reater emphasis on improving the teaching and learning of Araling

Panlipunan in the country.

For this reason, the researchers are interested in conductin

g a study that will evaluate the effectiveness of teaching strate

gies employed by Social Studies teachers in Laboratory High Schoo

l, targeted in enhancing student learning outcomes and engagement

in the subject. Furthermore, the study will draw on learning theo

ries that will support the use of effective teaching strategies,

such as constructivism and multiple intelligences theory, and con

sider the cultural and social context of the Philippines in devel

oping a framework for effective teaching strategies in Social Stu

dies education. Based on the results and implications of the stud

y, the researchers will provide insights into the most effective

teaching strategies for Social Studies education in the Philippin

es and offer recommendations for Social Studies teachers to impro

ve their instructional practices.

Statement of the Problem

The purpose of the study is to examine the effectiveness of

the strategies used by Social Studies teachers at Laboratory High

School. This study will be directed by the following questions:

1. How may the respondents' demographic profile be described in

terms of:

1.1 Age

1.2 Sex

1.3 Years of teaching experience

1.4 Highest Educational Attainment

1.5 Specialization

2. What strategies are employed by Social Studies teachers at L

aboratory High School?

3. Which strategy is the most effective in teaching Social Stud

ies?

4. What are the criterias that make one’s strategy effective in

teaching social studies?

5. Based on the results, what activities can be suggested in or

der to effectively teach Social Studies?

Theoretical Framework

There are a fair number of strategies that are now being imp

lemented in teaching social studies. Some examples include the us

e of role play, visualization and imagination exercises, perspect

ive-taking, and discussion. However, in this study, the researche

rs are examining what proficient strategies should be used when t

eaching social studies and the use of theories to support them. T

he constructivist approach is the work of Jean Piaget, who values

students' active participation in the educational process as well

as their ability to acquire their own knowledge independently bas

ed on experience and previous knowledge. Therefore, a key compone

nt of constructivism is promoting children's reasoning through ac

tive methods of learning (Maxim, 2010). Constructivism is a theor

y about how things work that is based on observation and scientif

ic research. People are educated. In a constructivist perspective,

people build their own understanding and knowledge of the univer

se through observing and commenting on one's surroundings (Bereit

er, 1994). Constructivism outlines how students may make sense of

the subject and how the material can be effectively taught. With

constructivism as an educational paradigm in mind, teachers shoul

d consider what their pupils know and allow them to apply their k

nowledge.

Intelligence is actually more than just language and logic i

ntelligence. Gardner (1993) defines intelligence as the human abi

lity to create problems and solve them. Hence, a kind of human in

telligence will appear when a person faces a problem and solves i

t. Gardner (1993) and Armstrong (2004) stated that every human be

ing has eight types of intelligence in different capacities. Iden

tifying students’ dominant types of intelligences before they sta

rt studying is important to assist teachers in designing appropri

ate strategies (Griggs, Barney, Brown-Sederberg, Collins, Keith,

& Iannacci, 2009, page 55). Several investigations have been cond

ucted since Gardner's publication of the Multiple Intelligences

(MI) theory. The implications of the theory for teaching and lear

ning activities in a variety of subjects, including language, psy

chology, and science, are all areas of study. According to the st

udy entitled ‘’ The Effectiveness of Multiple Intelligence-Based

Teaching Strategy in Enhancing the Multiple Intelligences and Sci

ence Process Skills of Junior High School Students'', some activi

ties in the MI-based learning strategy are created, such as self-

identification by taking out a MI questionnaire before the learni

ng process, communicating about themselves in pairs, analyzing th

e results of their own labor, and producing a collection of perso

nal experiences relating to the topic matter that can increase st

udents' sensitivity to reflection so that intrapersonal intellige

nce can be developed.

According to Kagan (1994), Thompson, and MacDougal (2002), t

he use of strategies that provide opportunities for students to d

iscuss in pairs will help students develop intrapersonal and inte

rpersonal intelligence as well. Intrapersonal intelligence develo

pment is something that is expected to occur in a learning activi

ty, as by having good intrapersonal intelligence, students will b

e successful lifelong learners. Owolabi and Okebukola (2009), Tal

ib and Bini-Kailani (2014) found that MI-based learning conducted

by using a study group in a cooperative situation provides signif

icantly different results from conventional learning. An importan

t effect of cooperative learning was tolerance and wider acceptan

ce of racial, cultural, and social differences, as well as cooper

ation and collaboration.

Conceptual Framework
 The schematic diagram below illustrates the variables utiliz

ed in this study.

Independent Variables Dependent Variables

Respondent’s
Demographic Profile Strategies used in teaching

Social Studies
 Age
 Use of Multimedia
 Sex
 Discussion

 Technology Integration
 Years of teaching ex
 Use of Songs
perience
 Roleplay

 Highest Educational  Problem-solving

Attainment  Integrative Approach

 Constructivist Approach
 Specialization
 Experential,

Contextualization, and

localization

 Reflective Learning

 Cooperative Learning
Suggested Activity
 Moral dilemma method

 Multiple Intelligence

Approach
Significance of the Study

This study will contribute to knowledge, and the findings wi

ll benefit the following:

Students. This study will help the students to have a better and

engaging learning process. This is because the teacher may implem

ent effective strategies that respond to the student’s needs.

Teachers. This study will help the teacher to discover strategies

that will help them to better. This can also help in knowing what

strategy they could use in order to deliver an organized type of

learning. This can help to discover the diverse needs of the stud

ents and know the different strategies to use.

Government. This study aims to give the government an awareness o

f their obligation to provide sufficient educational facilities a

nd appropriate resources that will be used to create instructiona

l materials that will help with providing effective learning.

Educational Institutions. This study will contribute to education

al institutions, specifically the Department of Education, to bec

ome familiar with the effective strategies employed by Social Stu

dies Teachers in teaching Social Studies in order to formulate an

d implement activities or programs that are suitable for students

to achieve better educational outcomes.

Other Future Researchers. This study may enlighten future researc

hers to conduct further study on this topic or related areas to t

his topic.

Scope and Delimitation of the Study

 This study will focus on which strategies are utilized and t

he effectiveness of these strategies employed by Social Studies T

eachers in Laboratory High school. This study refers to the facto

rs related to the teacher and teaching strategies, skills, and at

titudes of the teacher. The objective of this research is to know

what strategy teachers should use in teaching social studies. The

number of respondents is 5 people. Personal information will be c

onsidered as it will serve as a qualifying data in conducting the

research. The researchers will conduct an interview and survey to

the respondents. Academic Department to gather all information an

d their answers about the research questions. Interview will be c

onducted at NEUST - Laboratory High School General Tinio Campus,

Gen. Tinio Quezon, Quezon District, Cabanatuan City, Philippines.

This study started in the last week of October 2023.

Definition of Terms

Teaching Strategies - It refers to the various methods, technique

s, procedures and processes that a teacher utilize in a classroom

instruction to deliver course material while keeping students eng

aged and honing different skill sets.

Social Studies Teachers - A teacher that teaches the subject of S

ocial Studies to help students to learn about history, geography,

politics, economics, and culture.

Stipulate - To demand or require something in agreement

Employ - To use something

Imperative - Absolutely necessary and urgently attended to.