Students' Preferences for Methods of Teaching Christian Religious Studies: A study in Senior Highs Schools in Mfantsiman Municipality, Ghana

Abstract

Methods of teaching have implications for students' academic performance. Therefore, teachers' choice and students' preferences of methods adapted to teaching are vital. This study focused on students' preferences for teaching methods in Christian Religious Studies in the Mfantsiman Municipality of the Central region of Ghana. The descriptive cross-sectional research design was be adopted in this study. The population for this study was 2152, comprising six CRS teachers and 2146 CRS students from five schools. All the six CRS teachers were included in the study. Out of 2146 CRS students, 327 were selected using the proportionate sampling technique. The sample size for the study was therefore 333. Questionnaires, made up of both open-ended and close-ended questions were used to collect data from students and teachers. Data collected was analyzed using SPSS version 22.0 for windows.

Descriptive statistics: frequency counts and percentages were used for data analysis. The results revealed that, CRS teachers used the discussion method mostly when teaching because, among many reasons, it allows students to participate in the lesson. CRS students there also prefer the discussion method to all the other methods used by the CRS teachers. It was recommended that government agencies responsible for the training of teachers should introduce CRS teachers to all the methods of teaching for them to be able to use other teaching methods suggested by the CRS syllabus and not rely solely on the discussion method.