TOWARDS THE ENHANCEMENT OF CHRISTIAN RELIGIOUS STUDIES THROUGH THE INSTRUMENTALITY OF DRAMA IN JUNIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN F.C.T., ABUJA

Abstract

This study geared towards the enhancement of Christian Religious Studies (CRS) through the instrumentality of drama in junior secondary schools in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.The traditional methods of teaching CRS often rely heavily on teacher-centered approaches, such as lectures, rote memorization, and passive note-taking. These methods prioritize the delivery of content over interactive learning, which makes it difficult for students to connect personally with religious principles and moral values. Thus, integrating drama into CRS instruction can improve students' comprehension, participation and moral development. Therefore, this study adopted a descriptive research design. One hundred and thirty (130) Junior Secondary School students were randomly sampled for the study. The instrument for data collection was a structured questionnaire designed. Data collected were analysed using mean and standard response scores to answer the research questions. The findings revealed that the main challenges faced by CRS teachers in using drama methods in teaching and learning are their reluctance, lack of expertise, inexperience and time constraints and that good classroom atmosphere, physical environment, planning drama lessons and evaluation are the ways of implementing drama methods in teaching and learning of CRS in Junior Secondary Schools in the study area, The study recommended that, priority should be given to qualified teachers in the field to teach the Christian Religious Studies in the Junior Secondary schools and that government on its part should provide all instructional materials' equipment lacking in Junior Secondary Schools for the teaching of CRS in schools among other recommendations proffered.