Teaching social studies to slow-learners

Abstract

This dissertation focussed on how Social Studies can be taught to primary school children who have learning difficulties and have been classified in their school environment as belonging to the lowest year 6-class stream. The authors carried out a literature review on the best teaching methods for History, Geography and Civics, which are the three subjects that make up Primary Social Studies in Maltese State schools. Then these methods were adapted and used with a particular class of slow-learners. The term slow-learners was used in this dissertation to refer to the pupils under investigation. However by using it the authors do not wish to be offensive. They were classified in this way by their school since they got an average of 15% in their examinations. After observing these children during Social Studies lessons carried out by their class teacher, the researchers prepared various methods like group-work and role-play which after trying them out proved to be more successful for slow-learners. Through a triangulation process evaluations of this research were carried out. These involved an evaluation by pupils, another by the class teacher and another one by the researchers, themselves.