Action Learning Strategy and Students’ Knowledge of Character Education Concepts in Social Studies - No. 1 - Research article

Oct 15, 2026

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Action learning strategy is examined for its effect on students’ knowledge of character education concepts in Social Studies. The study also evaluates how academic ability level and gender moderate outcomes. A pretest-posttest control group quasi-experimental design with a 2x3x2 factorial matrix and multi-stage sampling was used with 339 Junior Secondary School II students from four randomly selected schools in Ile-Ife, Nigeria. Data were analyzed via ANCOVA and Scheffé post-hoc tests at 0.05 significance.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages12

Reading Time30 min

AccessFree to download

INTRODUCTION

Character deficits and moral decline

Character education embedded in Social Studies

Social Studies and character formation

Curriculum objectives in Nigeria

Anatolian Journal of Education No.1 e-ISSN: 2547-9652 April 2021 ● Vol. 6, [www.e-aje.net](www.e-aje.net)[ ](www.e-aje.net)pp. 67-78 Action Learning Strategy and Students’ Knowledge of Character Education Concepts in Social Studies Muraina Olugbenga Omiyefa Ph.D, Institute of Education, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria, [momiyefa@oauife.edu.ng](momiyefa@oauife.edu.ng), [omiyef2004@yahoo.com](omiyef2004@yahoo.com) This study investigated the effect of action learning strategy on students’ knowledge of character education concepts in Social Studies. The moderating effects of level of academic ability and gender were also examined. A pretest-posttest control group, quasi-experimental design using the 2x3x2 factorial matrix was adopted for the study. A multi-stage sampling procedure was adopted. The sample size was 339 Junior Secondary School II students from four randomly selected schools in Ile-Ife, Nigeria. Instructional Guide for Action Learning Strategy and Character Knowledge Test were the main instruments used in the study. Data were analysed using Analysis of Covariance to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance while Scheffé post-hoc test was used to determine the source of significant difference. The result showed a significant main effect of treatment on students’ knowledge of character concepts. Participants in action learning strategy performed better than those in the control group. Academic ability had significant main effects on students’ knowledge. Students with the high academic ability performed better than students with moderate and low academic ability respectively. Gender had no significant main effect on students’ knowledge in character education. Based on these findings, teachers of Social Studies could, therefore, adopt action learning strategy for teaching secondary school students. Keywords: academic ability, action learning strategy, character education, character knowledge, gender, social studies INTRODUCTION One of the greatest challenges currently facing the Nigerian society is character deficits (Momodu, 2015) . This is indeed reflected in many outcries from the public and the media. Over the years , especially since the 1970s, it has become fashionable among people to lament the decline of moral values if not the total moral degeneration in modern Nigerian society, particularly among the youths (Onyeama, 2013) . This is because the youths of today have been entangled by youthful lust, pride, arrogance, disrespect, disobedience and indiscipline, degenerating to youths’ uncultured behaviour (Joshua, 2012; Momodu, 2015) . However, the position of various scholars has been that there is the problem of declining moral conduct in many parts of the world, Nigeria inclusive, and this has found its way into schools (Ojo, 2008) . Indeed, Nigerian youths are in value conflicts and confused social world (Adetoro, 2015) as their actions seem not guided by any enviable sound value system. It is documented in literature that many Nigerians are getting involved in different immoral acts such as dishonesty, fraud and all sorts of anti-social practices (Ojo, 2008; Aimiyekagbon, Okobia & Omole, 2013) . Thus, in spite of the efforts aimed at the teaching and learning of values in schools, particularly in Social Studies, scholars like Lawal (1999), Ndan (2004), as well as Ige (2013), argued for the inability of the Nigerian educational system to produce individuals who are acceptable and useful members of the society. They observed that most Nigerian youths are involved in moral decadence, Citation: Omiyefa, M. O. (2021). Action Learning Strategy and Students’ Knowledge of Character Education Concepts in Social Studies. Anatolian Journal of Education, 6(1), 67-78. [https://doi.org/10.29333/aje.2021.615a](https://doi.org/10.29333/aje.2021.615a) 68 Action Learning Strategy and Students’ Knowledge of… such as computer scam, getting-rich-quick syndrome, laziness, disrespect

FAQs

What was the main purpose of the study?

To investigate the effect of action learning strategy on students’ knowledge of character education concepts in Social Studies, including whether academic ability level and gender moderate the effect.

How was the study designed and what was the sample size?

It used a pretest-posttest control group quasi-experimental design with a 2x3x2 factorial matrix. The sample consisted of 339 Junior Secondary School II students from four randomly selected schools in Ile-Ife, Nigeria.

What were the key findings about academic ability and gender?

Action learning strategy improved students’ knowledge compared with the control group. Academic ability showed significant main effects, while gender had no significant main effect on students’ knowledge in character education.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Dipper