Evaluating the Effectiveness of Teaching Economics at the Senior High School Level

Abstract

This study evaluates the effectiveness of teaching economics in some selected senior high schools in the Cape Coast municipality. The teaching of economics at the senior high school level seems to be beset with certain factors and these makes it difficult for teachers as they seek to improve the teaching of Economics in their role in nation building. The study therefore sought to find out how to improve the teaching of economics in the senior high school level. The study was conducted in the central region of Ghana with schools selected from the Cape Coast metropolis. Thirty (30) teachers from seven (7) senior high schools were used in the study. The convenience sampling technique was employed and to gather data, the questionnaire was the instrument used. Percentages and Frequencies were used to analyze the data. The research concluded that, majority of economics teachers are qualified with academic qualification of first degree, sufficient allocation on the time for teaching economics, inadequacy of teaching and learning resources, and teachers use more of the discussion method of teaching. To reduce, if not to eliminate, the factors that affect the effectiveness of teaching economics so as to improve teaching economics in the senior high school, adequate time, qualified teachers, teaching training and better methods of teaching should be employed to make teaching economics in the senior high more effective.