An appraisal of Social Studies Teachers Perceptions of Teachers’ Pedagogical Content Knowledge

The study objective was to assess the perceptions of Junior High School (JHS) Social Studies teachers in the Yilo Krobo Municipality of the Eastern Region of Ghana on teachers’ Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK). The study adopted Shulman's theory of Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) as its theoretical framework. The philosophical approach upon which the study is hinged on is the ideology of interpretivism and positivism, in other words, pragmatism. The study used a mixed methodological approach as well as a descriptive survey design. A random sampling technique was used for the study. The study participants were JHS social studies teachers in Yilo-Krobo Municipality, Ghana. Eighty (80) out of the one hundred and two (102) representing 78.43% JHS Social Studies teachers were selected from the fifty-four JHSs in the Municipality. Both Questionnaire and interview guide were used for data collection. The survey data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and the interview data was analyzed using content analysis. The study indicated that at the heart of the PCK concept is the idea that 'deep knowledge' of content is essential for effective teaching and cannot be taken for granted; that it has a significant bearing on teaching and student learning, and that it is used as a cadre to define professional teaching knowledge. PCK also provides the uniquely necessary knowledge for the transformation of the different types of knowledge required for Social Studies teaching and evolves over time due to the progressive awareness of students' needs, while a wealth of content knowledge is imperative for the development of a comprehensive pedagogical content knowledge. The paper recommends that the Ghana Education Service (GES) should conduct regular in-service training for teachers on the enhancement of their PCK, to enable them select appropriate TLMs and pedagogical approaches that foster meaningful learning for students.