Ifesochi DIOKPALA

This article presents a study which is aimed at identifying the problems and constraints of teaching history in secondary schools in Nigeria using secondary schools in Ukwuani local government area of Delta state . The problem of teaching history is often traced to the low production capacity of the history teacher. This article argues that the dullness of history lessons in class and lack of interest among the students can also be traced to the teacher who is accused of lack of resourcefulness, laziness, intellectual bankruptcy and lack of interest in the subject. This study therefore examines the challenges facing the teaching and learning of History as a subject in senior secondary schools in Ukwuani Local Government Area of Delta state, Simple random sampling technique was adopted to select some History teachers and 100 History students as samples. Questionnaire was designed to collect data while a descriptive statistic was used to answer the three research questions generated in this study. The findings reveal that inconsistent government policies towards History as a subject, the quality of History teachers and the teaching method used in teaching History has adversely affected the teaching and learning of the subject in Ukwuani Government Area secondary schools of Delta State. Based on the findings, it is therefore recommended that the government should make History a compulsory subject for all secondary school students as other core subjects such as Mathematics and English Language, so that they can have adequate knowledge of Nigerian History, learn from the past mistakes of our leaders in order to correct the future. Finally, it is argued that the introduction of non - professional historians as history teachers also constitutes a major problem in teaching history. It is against this background that this study has become necessary in order to make useful suggestions aimed at arresting the constraints. The article summits that the solution to these problems lies in the cooperation of the teachers, students and the government.