THE USE OF INSTRUCTIONAL METHODS IN THE ABBASID ERA - THE VIEW POINT OF SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS - IRAQ – BAGHDAD

Abstract

This study sought to assess the extent to which social studies teachers in secondary schools in the Karkh district of Baghdad used seven prominent instructional methods from the Abbasid era: modeling by example, debate and dialogue, storytelling, popular proverbs, gradual progression, dictation and recitation, and emotional education. It also sought to determine whether there were statistically significant differences between male and female teachers in their use of these methods. A random sample of 424 male and female students was selected from 22% of public secondary schools in Karkh. The final group included 241 male students (56.8%) and 183 female students (43.2%), providing a gender-balanced perspective on classroom teaching practices. The researcher adopted a descriptive and field design, using two instruments: a 28-item questionnaire (four items for each instructional method) to measure usage rates, and a 15-item questionnaire to measure student motivation and achievement. Content validity was confirmed through expert review, with an agreement rate of at least 80% for all items. Internal consistency reliability was determined using Cronbach's alpha coefficient, which ranged between 0.80 and 0.89 for the teaching methods scale and between 0.78 and 0.85 for the motivation scale. Gender differences were tested using an independent-samples t-test at α = 0.05. All seven curricula from the Abbasid era received very high scores on a five-point scale (mean ≥ 4.43), demonstrating their strong presence in modern pedagogy. Independent-samples t-tests showed that male teachers significantly outperformed female teachers in "modeling by example" (t = 3.77, p < 0.05) and in the overall score for blended teaching methods (t = 3.86, p < 0.05). No other individual teaching method demonstrated statistically significant gender differences. These findings underscore the enduring importance of traditional approaches and the large gender gap in one key area.