Abstract: The purpose of the study was to assess teachers’ knowledge in integrating affective domain in teaching and learning of Social Studies lessons in the junior high schools in Aowin Municipality. A quantitative approach and survey research design used the study. The study population constituted Social Studies teachers in the 40 Junior High Schools in the Aowin Municipality of the Western North Region of Ghana. Simple random and convenient sampling techniques were used to sample the respondents of the study. The sampling technique was to ensure the representativeness of the sample. The study used structured questionnaires to collect the data. Descriptive statistics in the form of percentages was used in this study. SPSS was used to analyse the data. The study concluded that the Social Studies teachers have some level of knowledge of the principles of developing affective test items. The study also indicated that Social Studies teachers in the study area can define affective objectives in behavioural terms and have some level of knowledge of the principles of developing affective test items, they do not teach the affective domain. It is recommended that, Coordinators for junior high schools and the headmasters (academic) should ensure that affective objectives are inculcated in the general lesson objectives of Social Studies teachers. Intensive in-service training should be ran for Social Studies teachers to equip them on the formulation of affective objectives. It is also recommended that in service training should be organised by the education directorate in the municipality to train teachers in the teaching of lessons involving the affective domain. The headmasters, as well as the coordinators for junior high schools, should monitor whether teacher’s qualification reflect in the teaching of the social studies lessons that involve the affective domain.

The enduring goal of Social Studies is Citizenship Education [1]. Social Studies is not the only subject that imparts Citizenship Education to learners, its unique thrust and approach make it ideally appropriate to perform certain fundamental changes need to be made in the way the subject is conceptualized, taught and examined [1]. The purpose of Social Studies is citizenship education aimed at providing students opportunities for an examination, critique and revision of past traditions, existing social practices and model of problem solving [2]. Citizenship Education details as the opportunities provided by schools to engage students in meaningful learning experiences…and other teaching strategies to facilitate their development as socially and politically responsible individuals [3]. This is supported by the National Council for the Social Studies, (NCSS) which has long been a leading advocate in the area of social studies. According to the NCSS the primary goal of education is to prepare students to be effective citizens and that through the curriculum students should have the opportunity to apply their civic knowledge to solve problems in schools [4]. The basic purpose of social studies curriculum across the grade is to develop reflective, competent and concerned citizens. Reflective individual are critical thinkers who make decisions and solve problems. Competent citizens possess a repertoire of skills to aid them in decision making and problem solving. Concerned citizens investigate their social world, identify issues as significant, exercise their responsibility as members of a social community. Social studies should be seen as [italics added] the head, the hand and the heart. The head represents reflection; the hand denotes competencies and the heart symbolizes concern [5].

From the foregoing, it means that Social Studies teachers have the sole responsibility of training students not only develop their knowledge and skills but also affective aspect of the individual, these are reflection of good citizens which Martorella refer to as effective citizen. Martorella argues that the general purpose of the social studies should be citizenship education; the objective is to produce reflective, competent and concerned citizens who are critical and have an inquiring mind. By thinking reflectively, students are able to apply the best course of action among alternatives. Reflective thinking therefore disrupts prejudices and deliberates on issues that are fair to everyone concerned [6]. Since citizenship is the central purpose of Social Studies as well as the bed rock upon which school function, teachers should provide reflective classrooms to help close the chapter on problematic areas of our society. This will require effective method of reflection that should be applied to the school curriculum and organization [8]. Social Studies Teachers’ Conception and efficacy beliefs can never be underestimated in the evaluation of Junior High Schools curriculum in Ghana. Social studies teachers should dedicate enough time for preparation of lesson plans, teaching learning materials and other related activities that will make the teaching of the subject effective and also impact on the attitude of learners positively [9].

Affective learning involves changes in feeling, attitude and values that shape thinking and behaviour [10]. Basically, personal and aesthetic development, as well as meta-learning in the affective domain, as these relate to creating a desire for lifelong learning and an appreciation for truth, beauty and knowledge [11]. Again, affective characteristics such as motivation, initiative, honesty, advocacy, commitment, optimism, respect and self-confidence lead to behaviours that typically produce professional excellence [12]. As students learning social studies to prepare them to fit into the country as good citizens, internalization of values including service to one another and the nation, justice, dignity and worth of the person, the importance of human relationship, integrity and competence are key and very valuable.

There are two aspects of affective learning. The first involves the learner‘s attitude, motivation and feelings about the learning environment, the material, and the instructor, or conditions external to the learner. Affective learning is concerned with providing strategies to enhance external conditions that promote motivation, attention and retention. But this does not describe actual learning; rather it describes a student‘s motivation and attitude about a particular learning experience [10]. Actually, effective learning relates to feelings, explored, and modified in some ways because of the learning experience. It is beneficial to differentiate between attitudes about a learning experience but that is not properly stated in many of the literature on affective learning. For any learning to take place, cognitive, affective or psychomotor, the student must be attentive, engaged, and receptive. In social studies, we assume that students are motivated to explore the affective domain to develop good attitude, and values needed in the society. Social Studies is one of the integrated subjects in the Ghanaian educational system from the basic to the University level. It plays a major role in influencing the beliefs and attitudes of learners. It helps learners to grow in their understanding of and sensitivity to the physical and social forces at work around them in order that they may shift their lives in harmony with those forces [13].

Social Studies was introduced into the Ghanaian curriculum with a major goal of providing citizenship education. There are three categories of the objectives of Social Studies for the achievement of citizenship education. First, understanding which deals with knowledge and knowing; second, attitude which relate to value, appreciation, ideals and feeling; third, skills which relate to using and applying Social Studies learning and ability to gain new learning [3]. This is to say that the objectives of social studies cut across the cognitive, affective and psychomotor domains. The knowledge and the process involved in knowing are the cognitive aspect whereas feelings, attitude, emotions, values, appreciation, ideals are the affective. Being able to apply the knowledge gained in new situations which deal with manipulation is the psychomotor domain. The types of knowledge, skills and values that are stressed in Social Studies curriculum generally depend on the affective goals that are considered as central [14]. The Social Studies Syllabus for Ghanaian Senior High Schools is replete with concepts that are taught and learnt. Sometimes the calibre of teachers who teach the subject and their attitude towards the teaching and learning of the subject hamper grasping of the concepts that are presented in the Social Studies lessons. This requires a resourceful teacher to handle it to acquaint themselves with the modern teaching techniques and strategies that will promote the teaching and learning of Social Studies concepts [15]. This implies that teachers of Social Studies should possess request skills in assessing affective domain in the teaching and learning of the subject.

The introduction of Social Studies into the Ghanaian school curriculum was meant to shape values, attitudes, provide character training, and help individuals to control their emotions, have fellow feeling and develop love for the nation and fellow citizens. All these are issues to be addressed by objectives in affective domain in Social Studies [16]. Social Studies teachers hardly teach and assess directly in the affective outcome, hence the affective domain is neglected in the teaching and learning of the subject [17]. The purpose of the study was to assess teachers’ knowledge in integrating affective domain in teaching and learning of Social Studies lessons. The study was guided these research questions - (1) To what extent do teachers of integrated Social Studies define affective objectives in behavioural terms? (2) To find out how teachers indicate enough knowledge of principles of developing affective test items.

A quantitative approach is one in which the investigator primarily uses positivist claims for developing knowledge [18]. The positivist paradigm leads to a scientific and systematic approach to research. A quantitative approach was used in this study as it allowed the researcher to carry out an objective analysis and generate factual knowledge through measurement. In a quantitative approach, a researcher will set aside his or her experiences, perceptions, and biases to ensure reliability in the conducting of the study and the conclusions that are drawn [19]. The use of questionnaires in the current study upheld the principle of objectivity and removed bias. The strengths of a quantitative approach in this study was that data was presented numerically thereby allowing easier analysis of factors that influence the choice of careers among high school students. Quantitative research provides information from a large number of units thereby allowing general is ability of results [20]. It was therefore prudent to use a quantitative approach in the current study since the sample used was large. However, its main drawback is that gaps in information are difficult to recognise. This means that issues which are not included in the questionnaire are not included in the analysis. The research design for the study was survey. Surveys gather data at a particular point in time with the intention of describing the nature of existing conditions, identifying standards against which existing conditions can be compared or determining the relationships that exist between specific events [21]. Survey research involves the collection of information from a sample of individuals through their responses to questions. It is an efficient method for systematically collecting data from abroad spectrum of individuals and educational settings [22]. The study population constituted Social Studies teachers in the 40 Junior High Schools in the Aowin Municipality of the Western North Region of Ghana. Simple random and convenient sampling techniques were used to sample the respondents of the study. The sampling technique was to ensure the representativeness of the sample. Social Studies is a core subject in all junior high schools in Ghana. All Social Studies teachers in the selected zones therefore become automatic members of the sample. It is evident here that the sampled population was small but all the same was the rightful target to elicit the necessary information during the research. It was irrelevant to adopt any other sampling technique because all Social Studies teachers became automatic members of the sampled population as stated already. The study used structured questionnaires to collect the data. A questionnaire is a widely used and useful instrument for collecting survey information providing structured, often numerical data that is administered without the presence of the researcher and often comparatively straight forward to analyse [21]. In other to ensure the validity and reliability of the study the researchers gave the instrument to colleagues and determine whether the items covered all the research questions. To ensure reliability of the study as well the questionnaire was pilot-tested at Suaman District with ten (10) teachers. The purpose of this pilot was to help determine the extent to which the research questionnaire would be effective in collecting data from respondents for the actual study. Cronbach coefficient alpha was used to calculate the reliability of the instrument. This exercise helped to validate the instrument and made it more reliable for use in the main research. Descriptive statistics in the form of percentages was used in this study. SPSS was used to analyze the data. Data was converted into percentages and ratios for easier interpretation.

3.1. Definition of the Affective Domain in behavioural terms

This section addresses research question one- To what extent do teachers of integrated Social Studies define affective objectives in behavioural terms? Affective behaviours develop when appropriate learning experiences are provided for students. Unplanned and incidental experiences alone cannot be relied upon as a satisfactory means of teaching affective behaviour, hence the need to teach them directly through a planned programme of a teaching situation. In respond to the research question which sought to find out the definition of affective objectives in behavioural terms, the respondents are indicated in Figure 1.

Figure 1

Definition of Affective Objectives in Behavioural Terms (Source: Field Survey, 2021)

From the Figure 1 of the respondents indicated they define their affective objectives in behavioural terms whilst 7 indicated they do not define their affective objectives in behavioural terms.

3.2. Teaching in the Affective Domain

Planned and direct teaching in the affective domain provides appropriate learning experiences for the learner to develop affective behaviour rather than unplanned and incidental experiences alone. It is against this background that the result of the analysis of the data on the definition of affective objectives in behavioural terms and respondents’ direct teaching in the affective domain is discussed.

The findings from the analyses of data on the definition of affective objectives in behavioural terms were that most of the respondents 33 defined their affective objectives in behavioural terms. The implication of this finding is that most of the respondents cannot effectively teach and assess in the affective domain since behaviourally defined objectives force the teacher to be more precise about what to be accomplished when assessing the affective outcomes to make sequencing easier and simplify evaluation [23].

The analysis of that data on direct teaching in the affective domain by the respondents revealed that the teachers, on the average, occasionally taught directly in the affective domain, majority of them indicated. This finding suggests that the teachers relied very much on unplanned and incidental experiences for the development of affective behaviours in their students. This presupposes the teachers had the belief that greater efforts made in the cognitive domain would have favourable affective consequences. There is no supporting evidence to the claim that efforts made in teaching in the cognitive domain always have favourable affective results. There is no supporting evidence to the claim that efforts made in teaching in the cognitive domain always have favourable affective results. Evidence suggests that affective behaviours develop when appropriate learning experiences are provided for students much the same way as cognitive behaviours develop from appropriate learning experiences [24]. The fact that the respondent occasionally taught directly in the affective domain suggests that adequate appropriate learning experiences for the development of affective behaviours were not provided for the students even though the development of the affective behaviours is the primary concern of Social Studies.

3.3. Knowledge of the Principles of Developing Affective Test Items

This section addresses research question two - How do teachers indicate they have enough knowledge of the principles of developing affective test items? The knowledge of the principles of developing affective test items is a necessary prerequisite for effecting the development of affective behaviours in the student by teachers. It is therefore prudent to examine the respondents’ knowledge of the taxonomic internalisation levels of affective domain which use methods of teaching for the development of affective behaviours. The following responses were gathered from the respondents. In an attempt to find out whether the respondents have any knowledge on the hierarchical arrangement of objectives by affective taxonomy, majority of them indicated they are very much in known of the hierarchical arrangement. In this regard, the respondents were asked to arrange the categories of affective domain and how they should occur in the classification. This is summarized in the Table 1 below.

3.4. Distribution of hierarchical arrangement of affective taxonomy

Respondents were asked to arrange the categories of the affective domain in a hierarchical manner. This was done in order to find out the extent to which teacher follow the principles of developing \affective test items. Respondents’ responses are presented in Table 1.

The Table 1 indicates that in the hierarchical arrangement of objectives by affective taxonomy, 9 (22.5%) of the respondents stated receiving came first; 7 (17.5%) indicated responding came second. Again, only 3 (7.5%) indicated valuing came third on the hierarchical structure; 8 (20%) of the respondents stated organizing as the fourth whilst majority 13 (32.5%) of them indicated characterization being the last on the structure.

4.1. Knowledge of the Principles of Developing Affective Test Items

The knowledge of the principles of developing affective domain and the use of methods and techniques of teaching that provide appropriate learning experiences are necessary pre-requisites for effecting the development of affective behaviours in the student by teachers. It is therefore prudent that the findings from the analyses of the data on knowledge of the taxonomic internalisation levels of affective domain which use methods of teaching for the development of affective behaviours must be examined in the light of the role both knowledge of the taxonomic internalisation levels of affective domain and the use of methods and strategies of teaching in the development of the affective domain [24]. It was found from the analyses of data on the taxonomic internalisation levels of affective domain that majority of the respondents did not have adequate knowledge about the five (5) levels of internalisation of the affective domain in order of degree, and also majority of the respondents did not know the appropriate learning experiences for the taxonomic levels of internalisation of the affective domain. These findings establish that, most of the teachers sampled for the study could not operationalise and classify educational objectives.

The study concluded that the Social Studies teachers have some level of knowledge of the principles of developing affective test items. The study also indicated that Social Studies teachers in the study area can define affective objectives in behavioural terms and have some level of knowledge of the principles of developing affective test items, they do not teach the affective domain. It is recommended that, Coordinators for junior high schools and the headmasters (academic) should ensure that affective objectives are inculcated in the general lesson objectives of Social Studies teachers. Intensive in-service training should be ran for Social Studies teachers to equip them on the formulation of affective objectives. It is also recommended that In- service training should be organised by the education directorate in the municipality to train teachers in the teaching of lessons involving the affective domain. The headmasters, as well as the coordinators for junior high schools, should monitor whether teacher’s qualification reflect in the teaching of the social studies lessons that involve the affective domain.

Author Contributions: Conceptualization BKA, EKA, SF, and SO; Methodology, BKA, SA, EKA, GB, SF, and SO; Validation, BKA, SA, GB, SF, and SO; Formal Analysis, BKA, EKA, and SO.; Investigation, BKA, SA, GB, SF, and SO; Resources, BKA, SA, EKA, GB, SF, and SO.; Data Curation, BKA, SA, EKA, GB, SF, and SO; Writing-Original Draft Preparation, BKA, SA, EKA, GB, SF, and SO; Writing-Review and Editing, BKA, EKA and SF; visualization, BKA, SA, GB, SF, and SO; supervision, BKA, EKA and SF.; Project Administration, BKA, SA, EKA, GB, SF, and SO; All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Funding: “This research received no external funding”

Data Availability Statement: Data is available on request from the corresponding author.

Acknowledgments: we acknowledge the participants in this study.

Conflicts of Interest: “The authors declare no conflict of interest.” “No funders had any role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results”.