Efficacy of Visual Resources on Learning Outcomes in Social Studies: A Comparative Study by School System and Type

Efficacy of Visual Resources on Learning Outcomes in Social Studies: A Comparative Study by School System and Type

Abdu-Raheem, Bilqees Olayinka (Ph. D)¹, Folorunso, Christianah Omowamide (Ph. D)²

¹Department of Social Science Education, Faculty of Education, Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria

²BamideleOlumilua University of Education, Science and Technology Ikere-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria.

DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.47772/IJRISS.2025.907000442

Received: 14 July 2025; Accepted: 20 July 2025; Published: 22 August 2025

ABSTRACT

The study examined efficacy of visual resources on secondary school students learning outcomes in Social Studies based on school system and type.Quasi-experimental design of pre-test, post-test, control groups design was adopted. The population of the study consisted of all Junior Secondary School III students in Ekiti State. The sample for the study consisted of 155 JSS III students who were selected from four secondary schools in Ekiti State using multi-stage sampling procedure. The two research instruments were used such as lesson notes on Social Studies and Social Studies Performance Test (SSPT). The face and content validity of the instruments were ensured by Social Studies and Test and Measurement experts. The reliability of the instrument was determined through test-retest method.  The scores of the sampled students were analyzed using the Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient Analysis. A reliability coefficient of 0.85 was obtained. The research hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. The study showed that there is no significant effect of school system on the performance of students taught Social Studies with visual resources after treatment.  Also, the study revealed that there is no significant effect of school type on the performance of students taught Social Studies with visual resources after treatment. It was concluded that school system and school types has no effect on the performance score of students when they are taught with visual resources. The study recommended that all the Social Studies teachers in day and boarding, single and mixed secondary schools should embrace the use of instructional resources while teaching Social Studies for better understanding and performance of students.

Keywords: Visual Resources, Day and Boarding schools, Single and Mixed Schools

INTRODUCTION

Education is a social process that leads to positive behavioural, character and knowledge changes in students. A school is a social organization set up to achieve specific goals such as, imparting knowledge, cultivation of good character and moderation of students’ behaviour. The implementation of Universal Basic Education in Nigeria as a follow-up plan to the international idea of education for all was considered to accelerate Nigeria’s progress due to the inherent values in education.

Social Studies is one of the most important subjects in Nigeria’s upper primary schools and it is also one of the most important subjects that solve societal issues for the development of a nation. Abdu-Raheem (2018) posited that Social Studies is a wholesome study of human beings that attempt to proffer solutions to crucial problems facing individuals and the society at large and that Social Studies is the study of human beings in their environment. She opined that Nigerian Education is aimed at developing the skills and knowledge of the Social Studies students and to achieve an over-all development.

Students’ academic performance is the criterion by which a country’s educational greatness is judged.  As a result, excellent results in internal and, for the most part, external exams are required. Reports from the Junior Secondary School Certification Examination showed that secondary school students have been performing poorly in public examinations for several years. Students’ low performance in public examinations has reported by Adeyemi (2012) has declined to a very disappointing level, and this has been irritative to both students and parents: may be because it has far-reaching societal consequences especially when half-baked graduates are turned out in the nation’s tertiary institutions every year.

The results of the Junior Secondary School Certificate Examination (JSSCE) in Ekiti State between 2015 and 2020 have shown a significant decline and instability in students’ performance in Social Studies. According to the findings, 27.69 percent failed the subject in 2015. 18.75 in 2016. 28 percent in 2017, 22.50 in 2018, 18 percent failed in 2019 while 20.54 percent of students failed the Junior Secondary School Certificate Examination. Overall, the performance has been fluctuating and has not been very encouraging.

Nonetheless, there appears to be consolation, as it appeared that the performance was steadily increasing over the years with only a few pupils earning distinction grades during the study period. If the citizenship education and nation-building objectives of the subject are to be met at the upper class level, a long-term solution to students’ declining performance and teachers’ effectiveness in the teaching of Social Studies are required. Students’ academic performance in Social Studies will continue to fluctuate, unless the teaching materials chosen are relevant to the students’ age, interest, aspirations, and capabilities and that such instructional materials should aim at developing one or more attitudinal behaviours of the learners. (Jekayinfa,2015).

The utilization of visual resources by the teacher to expand and support the teaching is critical to the overall success of any classroom lesson (Konomi, 2014). Only about 8-10 minutes of the knowledge supplied by a teacher is kept in the minds of the students for every hour he or she speaks. The remainder of the knowledge is lost because learners lose interest and attention to the content being provided, particularly when the session is monotonous and dismal (Thomas, 2013). When visual aids are used, however, learners’ engagement and retention rise, and learning in general improves. Phillip (2016) went on to say that when instructional materials are matched with the precise objectives of the class and the characteristics of the learners, perception, understanding, transfer of training, memory, and retention are all improved because the majority of learners are visual learners who prefer visual content because instructional materials that include visual resources that are correctly used serve to improve learning. Effective learning occurs when new knowledge is associated with what one already knows, and these associations are most successful when visual resources such as pictures and real objects are used.

Visual resources can also be used to manage behaviour and the classroom. Visual resources are used by teachers to improve classroom discipline by improving students’ motivation, attention and interest (Cardillo, 2017). Classes that are not paying attention, on the other hand, will not be able to adequately receive instructions. This could result in a lack of understanding and performance. Visual resources cause most students’ attention levels to rise thereby allowing them to learn new abilities more quickly.

The effectiveness of visual resources in facilitating learning is increased by the teacher’s cautious and skilled manipulation of them. An account given by Swanson, Wanzek, Robert and Miller (2017), suggests that teachers frequently fail to use visual resources in real-world situations due to a variety of causes, including a failure to identify individual learner’s characteristics and build visual resources that are compatible with learners’ learning styles. As a result, it is vital for teachers to get familiar with different sorts of visual resources and how to use them effectively to boost students’ understanding and academic performance. Also, academic performance relates to a student’s ability to complete activities and studies.

Moreover, in order for it to properly achieve its functions, visual resources in Social Studies must be oriented to methods of acquiring knowledge, such as problem solving, problem detecting, and discovery learning, as well as learning by experimenting. A skilled Social Studies teacher should be well-versed in the application of numerous teaching aids as well as Social Studies methodology. A qualified Social Studies teacher must convince him/herself that he/she is passionate about the subject and enjoys teaching it.

Similarly, the  poor teaching methods used by Social Studies teachers, the predominant use of text and lecture instructional strategies by Social Studies teachers, and learner variables such as gender and home background have all been identified as major factors contributing to the persistent low interest and poor level of achievement in Social Studies (Adeyemi, 2012). The teacher is expected to play a significant role in shaping students’ thinking and acquitting processes, rather than simply transmitting knowledge. In this regard, intentional direction and instructions are crucial for the success and fecundity of the learning process.

 Instruction is also expected to be an active rather than passive process. For the best results, it should be a two-way conversation in which both parties (teachers and students) are actively involved. Effective teaching and learning processes need deliberate efforts on the part of both the instructor and the students and this desirable state can be achieved when teachers and students build substantial engagement. This form of connection requires the teacher to entice students to actively participate in the process.  Majority of teachers adopt the traditional style which seems to prevent students from actively participating in lessons. The process of passing knowledge from teachers to students is known as the traditional way of teaching (Rhodes & Bellamy, 2012).  According to Zubairu cited by Adegbola (2017), most schools use the teacher talk and blackboard mode of instruction, in which students simply listen to the teacher without actually concentrating, understanding and internalizing much of what they are taught.

School system in this context is defined as the composition of the students in terms of sex in a particular school. The school system can be analysed into two which are: Single sex schools and Mixed Sex schools (co-educational). Those who advocate for segregating students based on their gender claim that doing so improves their productivity and motivation in the classroom. It should be noted that other proponents take the position that single-sex schooling should be an option for interested families despite the effects of single-sex schooling. In this case, however, parents and school districts making the decision need reliable data on whether or not single-sex programmes outperform co-education ones in terms of student outcomes. Due to its high cost and difficulty of implementation in public schools, the question of whether or not single-sex education improves students’ performance is still relevant today (Pahlke, Patterson, & Galligan, 2012). Proponents who believe single-sex schooling increases students’ performance and interests draw on a number of perspectives to support their claims about the efficacy of single-sex schooling, the most prevalent being;

Views that gender differences in psychological characteristics relevant to learning are substantial and/or are biological in nature;

Social psychological and “girl power” approaches that highlight the negative effects of sexism in co-educational classrooms; and

 Views that biological and social psychological perspectives make single sex schooling particularly effective for low-income.

The “girl power” perspective, which is held by some proponents of single-sex schools, argued that the predominance of boys in co-educational classrooms is reason enough to separate the sexes. Even in mixed-gender classrooms, male students gravitate towards and focus on male teachers, especially in the STEM subjects. Teachers are concerned that boys’ exist language and actions will discourage girls from pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) (Jennifer, 2019). They claim that girls are more likely to succeed academically in “counter stereotypic domains” when they are taught in environments free of males (Shakka and Keating, in Ogungbe 2022). The argument for all-female schools is that it’s easier for girls to feel comfortable expressing themselves and build self-esteem in a setting designed specifically for them (hence the term “girl power”). This perspective aligns with the work of social psychologists, who have long argued that students’ actions are heavily influenced by their peers (Rudman and Glick, in Okolie 2018).

The question of whether or not single-sex education is more effective than coeducational education is not the only possible angle from which to view this topic. Because of the declining demand for single-sex education and the increasing popularity of co-educational schools, many previously single-sex schools have converted to co-educational in an effort to maintain enrolment. This shift came about as studies of American educational institutions showed that students benefited from a more focused environment free of distractions and distraction-free learning, particularly young women. Advocacy for coeducation is primarily motivated by economics in countries where educational systems are still developing, such as many developing countries.

In addition, Guarisco (2010) believed that boys, particularly boys from minority groups and boys from poor families who may need more direct guidance, would benefit the most from attending single-sex schools. Improved students’ behaviour and a greater emphasis on students’ individual learning styles contribute to higher academic outcomes in single-gender school settings, particularly for students from underrepresented groups or from low-income families (Guarisco, 2010). The advantages of single-sex settings extend to women as well. Unfortunately, sexual harassment occurs in both male- and female-dominated settings (Guarisco, 2010). Although some believe that female students are safer in a single-sex school setting, this is not universally accepted. Districts should provide both coeducational and single-sex options so that parents can make educated decisions for their children (Hughes, 2017).

The ancient Greek philosopher, Plato, said that Co-education creates feeling of comradeship. He advocated teaching of both the male and female sexes in the same institution without showing any discrimination in imparting education. Others argue that the social development of both sexes is stunted in settings where only one is taught at a time. The American Civil Liberties Union argues that co-education benefits students by encouraging them to interact with peers of different genders. Without the “collegial relationships boys and girls form in school,” Mendez (2014) worries, “they will not develop into men and women who understand and respect one another.” Adding, “Boys and girls must learn to get along together in the world, opponents of the single-sex approach say, and separating them will take away that opportunity,” he argued that segregating children by gender would be counterproductive.

It is assumed that young people can only learn how to get along with others in the real world through their time in school. Hughes (2017) posed the question of whether or not the social growth of students should be the primary focus of education. Hughes argued that this was not the case, and that there are plenty of other, arguably better, ways for students to interact with people of different sexual orientations in their everyday lives. Indeed, there are clear benefits to properly educating boys and girls together, as this will allow each gender to gain insight into the mental processes, emotional reactions, and behavioural patterns of the other. Gender-inclusive education aims primarily at fostering this kind of awareness among students.

Making the classroom more welcoming to students of all genders does not necessitate the introduction of gender-specific activities, the separation of the genders, or separate classes for each. Keeping in mind that we all exist in a bi-gendered world necessitates instructing students on how to thrive in that setting. It is important for students to learn how to work effectively in both gender-matched and gender-mismatched settings. When students’ learning activities are tailored to their individual preferences, they are able to relax and focus during class. In a mismatched situation, however, they develop the ability to function outside of that zone of proximal development. The goal is not to establish gender-specific classrooms. Instead, classes should be designed to cater to different learning preferences, such as those of boys and girls so that their work sometimes reinforces individual strengths and sometimes strengthens a weaker area. It is crucial that students understand the differences and structure of their learning environment (Hughes, 2017).

There are a number of challenges that boys face, including lower achievement scores in most classes, particularly among students from low-income backgrounds and those from racial and ethnic minorities. Because of specific literacy issues and a lack of skills in areas like note taking and listening, these challenges persist. When compared to girls, boys have more trouble with homework and generally perform worse in all subjects, with the exception of mathematics and the sciences. When boys do not see the relevance in schoolwork, they lose interest and stop trying to learn. Although both sexes benefit from a competitive learning environment, boys are more likely to be visual thinkers.  (King, Gurian& Stevens, 2010). Some studies have found that single-gendered groups are more cohesive than mixed ones because members are less likely to feel like “outsiders” or “in-groupers” (Byrd in Bayero, 2019).

Hoffman (2012) and Gillibrand, Robinson, Brawn, and Osborn (2014) used studies comparing the effectiveness of single-sex versus co-educational settings on students’ interest and achievement in physics to show that girls benefit more from a single-sex educational setting. Girls performed better in a single-sex setting, while boys’ performance was unaffected by the setting type. In a co-educational setting, male students tend to dominate discussions in physics and mathematics classes, which can be beneficial for female teachers in single-sex settings (Byrd in Bayero 2019). The atmosphere of single-sex classrooms is more appealing to female students, according to two studies (Jackson and Smith, 2014; Strange, Oakley, and Forrest, 2016).

The results of a two-year study by Jackson and Smith (2014) in a co-educational secondary school where single-sex mathematics classes were introduced for one cohort of students over the course of five school terms showed that girls viewed these classes more favourably than boys: 80% of girls preferred to continue with single-sex groups, while only 36% of boys did. Single-sex schools had higher achievement levels than co-ed schools, and the benefits of single-sex schooling tended to be more pronounced for girls than for boys. However, the majority of boys (72%) preferred mixed classes to single-sex classes.

The review above showed that school system refers to the composition of the school in terms of students’ gender (male and female), thus being referred to as single school or mixed school. It was reviewed that mixed school comprises both male and female while single school has only male or female as the students. There were debates among various scholars whether single-sex school or mixed school improves students’ academic performance. Most of the authors cited submitted that single schools are of more advantage than the mixed schools as they encourage full concentration of the sex involved (male or female). However, there were contradictory views from the authors cited on the influences of both mixed and single schools on the academic performance of students.

Statement of the Problem

Despite the fact that Social Studies was introduced to Nigerian secondary schools to instill a positive attitude, and promote better citizens, the situation seems to be deteriorating by the day. One would imagine that the majority of students who are taught Social Studies will graduate and make a beneficial contribution to society, but this is not the case. The emergence of numerous social vices in Nigeria, such as cultism, kidnapping, rape, insurgency, and cyber-crime, reveals that the goals of including Social Studies into the school system seems not to be realized.

The lack of use of visual resources such as charts, diagrams, maps, images, and models can be blamed for the low academic performance. Poor students’ performance appeared to be caused by incorrect or bad teaching methods and improper utilization of instructional resources. When looking at how the Social Studies subject is taught in Junior Secondary Schools, it is clear that traditional teaching methods are used. The majority of teachers adopt the traditional style, which seems to prevent students from actively participating in lessons. However, it seemed that most of the schools are still using the conventional mode of instruction, in which students simply listen to the teacher without actually concentrating, understanding, and internalizing what they are taught. The study considered the effects of visual resources on students based on school type and school system.

METHODOLOGY

The research design for this study was quasi-experimental design of pre-test, post-test, control groups design. Pre-test was administered before the application of the experimental and control treatments, and the Post-test was administered at the end of the treatment period. The experimental group received the treatment using Visual Resources while the control group was taught without using visual resources. After the treatment, both groups were tested using Social Studies Performance Test (SSPT) as Post-test. The population of the study consisted of all Junior Secondary School III students in Ekiti State. The sample for the study consisted of 155 JSS III students who were selected from four secondary schools in Ekiti State using multi-stage sampling procedure. The two research instruments for this study are lesson notes on Social Studies and Social Studies Performance Test (SSPT). The face and content validity of the instruments were ensured Social Studies and Test and Measurement experts. The reliability of the instrument was determined through test-retest method. The Social Studies Performance Test (SSPT) was administered on 20 students (10 male and 10 female) of Junior Secondary School (JSS III) students that were not used for the study. Within the interval of two weeks, the instrument was re-administered to the same set of students.  The scores of the sampled students were analyzed using the Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient Analysis. A reliability coefficient of 0.85 was obtained. The administration of the instrument were in three stages, the pre-treatment stage the treatment stage and the post-treatment stage. At the treatment stage, the students in the experimental group were taught with particular focus on the use of visual resources. The students in the control group, however, continued with normal learning without visual resources. At post-treatment stage, the Social Studies Performance Test (SSPT) was re-administered on all the students. The scores of the two groups were correlated. Inferential statistics of t-test were used to test hypotheses 1 to 6. All the research hypotheses were tested a 0.05 level of significance.

Research Hypotheses

The following research hypotheses were generated:

There is no significant effect of school system on the performance of students taught Social Studies with visual resources.

There is no significant effect of school type on the performance of students taught Social Studies with visual resources.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Results

Hypothesis 1: There is no significant effect of school system on the performance of students taught Social Studies with visual resources.

To test this hypothesis, t-test was used to compute and compare the performance score of single-sex and mixed schools after being taught with visual resources.

Table 1: t-test of theEffect of School System on the Performance of Students Taught Social Studies with Visual Resources

P>0.05 (Not Significant)

The results presented in Table 1 revealed that t= 0.459, P=0.647 is greater than 0.05 level of significance. This indicated that hypothesis five is not rejected. Therefore, there is no significant effect of school system on the performance of students taught Social Studies with visual resources.

Hypothesis 2: There is no significant effect of school type on the performance of students taught Social Studies with visual resources.

To test this hypothesis, t-test was used to compute and compare the performance score of day and boarding Social Studies students after being taught with visual resources.

Table 2: t-test of theEffect of School Type (Day and Boarding schools) on the Performance of Students Taught Social Studies with Visual Resources

P>0.05 (Not Significant)

The results presented in Table 2 showed that that t= 1.688, P=0.094 is greater than 0.05 level of significance. This showed that hypothesis seven which states that there is no significant effect of school type on the performance of students taught Social Studies with visual resources is accepted.

DISCUSSIONS

The study showed that there is no significant effect of school system on the performance of students taught Social Studies with visual resources after treatment. The finding contradicts the study of Jackson and Smith’s (2014) research who found that pupils in single-sex schools had higher levels of achievement than did pupils in coeducational schools, and that the advantages of single-sex schooling tended to be greater for girls than for boys.

The study revealed that there is no significant effect of school type on the performance of students taught Social Studies with visual resources after treatment. The finding supports the study of Adetunde and Asare (2009) who compared performance of Day and Boarding Students in Secondary School and revealed that there was no significant difference between a student being a boarder or day student in terms of the academic performance. However, the finding is at variance with the study of Alexis, Renful, Yaojiang & Ai (2016) who revealed that from all outcomes, boarding students performed worse than non-boarding students. The study differs from the study of Okoye and Nnamani (2018) who conducted research on the extent of academic achievement of day and boarding secondary school students and revealed that boarding students academically achieve better than day students.

CONCLUSION

It was concluded that school system and school types has no effect on the performance score of students when they are taught with visual resources.

RECOMMENDATIONS

The following recommendations were made

Adequate visual resources should be provided by the government and school administrators in Ekiti State to encourage teachers to teach Social Studies students with relevant instructional resources.

All the Social Studies teachers in day and boarding, single and mixed secondary schools should embrace the use of instructional resources while teaching Social Studies for better understanding and performance of students.

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