Evaluation of Christian Religious Knowledge Curriculum for Junior Secondary Schools in Plateau State

Abstract

This study aimed at evaluating the Christian religious knowledge (CRK) curriculum for junior secondary schools in Plateau State of Nigeria. The CRK curriculum is used all over Nigeria for teaching Christian religious knowledge. Survey design was adopted in the study. Eight research questions and six null hypotheses that focused on the objectives of the study were formulated to guide the study. The respondents for the study were a sample of 336 junior secondary III students from 35 junior secondary schools drawn from the three educational zones of Plateau State using Proportionate Stratified Random Sampling Technique. The major instruments for data collection were a Christian Religious Knowledge Questionnaire (CRKQ) for teachers and students, a Junior Secondary Students’ Attitude Questionnaire (JSSAQ), and a Students’ Hypothetical Socio-moral Problem test (SHOMPT). The findings show that the content of the JS CRK curriculum and the methods used in teaching the subject were quite adequate for achieving the objectives of the programme. The teachers perceived all the identified methods of teaching, except the lecture method, all the assessment techniques as relevant, while they agreed that the dearth of instructional materials, lack of qualified CRK teachers etc militate against the achievement of the objectives of the CRK curriculum. The reaction of the students to the CRK attitude questionnaire and to the hypothetically posed socio moral test was generally positive. Furthermore, the findings show that while school location and the type of school the students attend can affect performance in CRK exams, the occupation of parents and the gender of students do not. Furthermore it was confirmed that the reaction of students to hypothetically posed socio- moral questions can be predicted from their achievement in CRK exams and that there is relationship between attitude and the reaction of students to hypothetically posed socio- moral test. Prominent among the recommendations of the study were: that more qualified and experienced teachers who are professionally trained in the art of teaching CRK be recruited; that Government provides adequate instructional material in the form of teaching aids to facilitate teaching and learning in the schools; and that teachers in the field take advantage of in-service, sandwich and workshop programmes to improve.