Teachers understanding and attitudes towards inductive and deductive approaches to teaching social sciences

Abstract

Social science teachers in secondary schools
apply a variety of teaching approaches in their
day to day teaching and learning processes.
Such approaches are meant to achieve effective
teaching and learning. Effective teaching refers
to teachers accomplishing their planned goals and
assigned tasks in accordance with the curriculum
objectives. Therefore, the study investigated
the use of deductive and inductive methods in
teaching social science subjects in secondary
schools, specifically history and civic education.
The authors are aware that a distinction between
deductive and inductive methods is not easy to
sustain because the two concepts are usually
driven by the ideological strands. While, there is no
agreed upon standard of teaching history and civic
education in schools, it is important that this paper
attempts to understand the teaching instructions
or approaches that are normally applied in the
schools. The study was conducted during the time
when the association was having their quarterly workshops in Kafue District of Zambia. In trying
to demonstrate how the two methods could be used
in social science subjects in schools, the study
applied Basil Bernstein’s vertical and horizontal
discourse. The study was mainly qualitative in
nature and participants were drawn through the
use of purposive sampling technique. Data was
collected through focus group discussions as well
as an unstructured open ended interview guide and
the taking down of interview notes. The results
from the study shows that social science teachers in
schools understood the epistemology of deductive
and inductive approaches but are not following
the correct procedures in the utilisation of the
two concepts when teaching. It was also noted
that some teachers did utilise the two methods
while others were not applying them. The study
further noted that some teachers had a negative
attitude towards deductive methods as opposed
to inductive methods. The study concludes that
generally, teachers of social science subjects in
schools did not have the grip on deductive and
inductive methods.