Exploring Indigenous Music and Folktales for Pupils’ Development of Higher-Order Thinking Skills in Public Primary Schools in Northwest Cameroon
Abstract
This study investigated the effect of indigenous music and folktales on the development of pupils’ higher-order thinking skills (HOTS) in public primary schools in the North-West Region of Cameroon. The argument for the study is anchored on Gardner’s (1983) multiple intelligences theory, Nsamenang’s (1992) social ontogenesis theory, and Bloom’s (1956) taxonomy of educational objectives. The study adopted a mixed-methods approach, using the convergent parallel mixed-methods design. Data were collected using both quantitative (questionnaire) and qualitative (focus group discussion and interview guides) research instruments. The questionnaire was validated using the content validity index which stood at 0.97 while its reliability was determined using Cronbach’s Alpha with an overall reliability coefficient of 0.868. The reliability of the qualitative instruments stood at 0.92 and 0.93 for focus group discussion and interview guide respectively. The sampling techniques used were simple random to select four Divisions, convenience to select six Subdivisions and 32 functional public primary schools, and purposive to select classes four and six pupils, Levels II and III teachers, headteachers, and subdivisional inspectors. The target population of this study comprised 80,089 pupils, 2,545 teachers, 414 headteachers, and 26 subdivisional inspectors from 414 functional public primary schools distributed across the seven Divisions of the North-West Region of Cameroon for the 2023/2024 academic year. Using Krejcie and Morgan’s Table for sample size calculation, a sample size of 660 participants (368 pupils, 254 teachers, 32 head teachers, and six subdivisional inspectors) was drawn from an accessible population of 8,050 pupils, 750 teachers, 32 headteachers, and six subdivisional inspectors. Data collected were analyzed descriptively (using frequencies, percentages, multiple response sets, mean, standard deviation, and charts) and inferentially (using ordinary logistic regression and Spearman’s correlation matrix). Findings from regression analysis showed that indigenous music (r-value -0.459, p-value 0.135) has no significant positive effect on the development of pupils’ HOTS while indigenous folktales (r-value 1.275, p-value 0.000) have a significant positive effect on the development of pupils’ HOTS. Based on the findings, it was recommended that educators should consider the musical preferences and interests of pupils, as well as the incorporation of both modern and traditional musical instruments to foster pupils' development of cultural and livelihood skills. Also, relevant educational authorities should organize seminars, workshops, and orientation programmes regularly where teachers are taught the importance and methods of application of folktales for the revival of the story hour in classrooms to perform the moral functions they had hither-to been performing.
References
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9 Anderson, L. W., & Krathwohl, D. R. (2001). A taxonomy for learning, teaching, and assessing: A revision of Bloom’s taxonomy of educational objectives. Longman.
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17 Cole, M. J. (2023). Evaluative thinking. Evaluation Journal of Australasia, 23(2), 70–90. https://doi.org/10.1177/1035719X231163932
18 Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (4th ed.). SAGE Publications.
19 Dewey, J. (1966). Democracy and education: An introduction to the philosophy of education. MacMillan.
20 Esere, M. O., Omotosho, J. A., & Idowu, A. I. (2011). Useful dimensions of education in Nigerian family traditions. In A. B. Nsamenang & T. M. S. Tchombe (Eds.), Handbook of African educational theories and practices: A generative teacher education curriculum (pp. 257–270). Human Development Resource Centre (HDRC).
21 Foncha, K. N. (2024). Redressing the declining fortune of the English-speaking subsystem of education in Cameroon. Modern Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 23, 19–25. https://doi.org/10.51699/mjssh.v3i1
22 Fonkeng, G. E. (2010). Strategies to reduce repetition in Cameroon primary schools (Unpublished Paper).
23 Forehand, M. (2010). Bloom’s taxonomy - Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching and technology. In H. Uzunboylu (Ed.), Innovation and creativity in Education (Vol. 2) (pp. 3282–3288).
23 Gall, M. D., Gall, J. P., & Borg, W. R. (2003). Educational Research: An introduction (7th ed.). Pearson Education, Inc.
24 Gardner, H. (1983). Frames of mind: The theory of multiple intelligences. Basic Books.
Gardner, H. (1999). Intelligence reframed. Basic Books.
25 Heong, Y. M., Othman, W. B., Yunos, J. B. M., Kiong, T. T., & Hassan, R. B. Mohamad, M. M. B. (2011). The level of Marzano higher order thinking skills among technical education students. International Journal of Social Science and Humanity, 121–125. https://doi.org/10.7763/IJSSH.2011.V1.20
26 Hesse, F., Care, E., Buder, J., Sassenberg, K., & Griffin, P. (2015). A framework for teachable collaborative problem-solving skills. In P. Griffin & E. Care (Eds.), Assessment and teaching of 21st century skills: Methods and approaches (pp. 37–56). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9395-7_2
27 Huiyu, G. (2018). A study on the educational strategy of using folktales in kindergarten. Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, 264, 757–760.
28 Iseke, J. (2013). Indigenous storytelling as research. International Review of Qualitative Research, 6(4), 559–577. https://doi.org/10.1525/irqr.2013.6.4.559
29 Iseke, J., & Brennus, A. (2011). Learning life lessons from indigenous storytelling with Tom McCallum. In G. J. S. Dei (Ed.), Indigenous philosophies and critical education (pp. 245–261). Peter Lang. https://doi.org/10.1525/irqr.2013.6.4.559
30 Kanu, Y. (2007). Tradition and educational reconstruction in Africa in postcolonial and global times: The case for Sierra Leone. African Studies Quarterly, 9(3), 65–84. https://doi.org/http://www.africa.ufl.edu/asq/v9/v9i3a3.pdf
31 Kibinkiri, E. L., & Kunike, T. (2022). Self-directed Learning (SDL) and development of competencies among students of the University of Bamenda. American Journal of Education and Practice, 6(3), 44–59. https://doi.org/10.47672/ajep.1161
32 Krejcie, R. V., & Morgan, D. W. (1970). Determining sample size for research activities. Educational Psychological Measurement, 30, 607–610.
33 Kroll, T., & Neri, M. (2009). Designs for mixed methods research. In S. Andrew & E. J. Halcomb (Eds.), Mixed methods research for nursing and the health sciences (pp. 31–49). Wiley-Blackwell. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781444316490.ch3
34 Kunike, T., & Chongwain, L. O. J. (2022). Application of appropriate learning strategies and development of competencies in students of the University of Bamenda. International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (IJTSRD), 6(4), 1391–1400.
35 Kunike, T., Tante, A. C., & Lawyer, B. N. (2025). Indigenous riddles as pedagogic strategies for the development of pupils’ higher-order thinking skills in public primary schools in the North-West Region of Cameroon. Open Access Library Journal, 12, e12849, 1–31. https://doi.org/10.4236/oalib.1112849
36 Lebaka, M. E. K. (2022). Informal learning of indigenous music and dance through observation and imitation : The case of Bapedi children’s musical arts. European Journal of Language and Literature Studies, 8(1), 56–68.
37 Loveline, Y. (2024). Project-based learning for enhancing competency-based education in primary schools in the Buea, South West Region of. Greener Journal of Social Sciences, 14(1), 104–116.
38 Lucarevschi, C. R. (2016). The role of storytelling in language learning : A literature review. Working Papers of the Linguistics Circle of the University of Victoria, 26(1), 24–44.
39 Lukong, T. E. (2015). Indigenous socialization strategies and emotion regulation adjustment among Nso early adolescents. PhD Thesis. University of Buea.
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Authors
Tieme Kunike
[1]
“Exploring Indigenous Music and Folktales for Pupils’ Development of Higher-Order Thinking Skills in Public Primary Schools in Northwest Cameroon”, Soc. sci. humanities j., vol. 9, no. 03, pp. 7432–7457, Mar. 2025, doi: 10.18535/sshj.v9i03.1734.
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