CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background to the
Study
In Nigeria and the world over,
education is a means of achieving a nation’s objectives. Education may be
viewed as involving the transmission of what is worthwhile from generation to
generation; it is the various ways in which a society
creates and utilises knowledge, including factual information and occupational
skills as well as cultural norms and values, to its members.
Education is also a life-long
process, which transforms the life of an individual from that of a helpless and
dependent creature to a self-reliant, rational and skilful person who can
contribute to the development of his society. It is the aggregate of all the
means by which human beings develop the necessary skills, attitudes and values
that are socially acceptable (Akinbote, 1988). It is a social institution that
should be organized to improve social life and other social institutions,
namely: politics, family, culture, economy and others. As the society is
dynamic, and is constantly changing and growing, the changes must be reflected
in the various social institutions.
Nigeria’s educational objectives
have been geared towards self-realization, individual and national efficiency,
effective citizenship, national consciousness, and national unity as well as
towards social, cultural, economic, political, scientific and technological
emancipation (FRN, 2004). Changes are most often effected through the
educational system of the nation involving various reform programmes and
curriculum development. Indeed, education is the vehicle for effecting any
social change. It is a polyvalent agent for the transmission of appropriate
values, norms, ideals and skills from generation to generation. It is also the
most powerful instrument for developing and empowering members of the society
to compete for survival (Azikiwe, 2007).Education is also
globally recognised as the bedrock of individual and national development
(Lawal, 2008).
Abiri (2008) advocated a
functional education aimed at tackling Nigeria’s numerous problems, and serving
as a road map toward the country’s emergence as a modern and industrialised
nation by the year 2020. In Nigeria, there are major levels of education. These
includes: early childhood education, basic education, secondary education and
tertiary education. Aghenta (2001) observed that the national education system
of any country comprises informal, non-formal and formal processes which
constitute the means of transmitting knowledge to the younger generation with a
view to perpetuating and advancing the people.
The Nigeria secondary school
system is the second level of a three-tier education system. The secondary
school has two sections: the junior and senior secondary. Students are usually
admitted into junior secondary school after they had passed the primary school
leaving certificate examination. Its curriculum is geared towards developing
students from the primary school; instilling in them some forms of literary and
vocational skills that would make them contribute meaningfully to national
development as law-abiding citizens. In the junior secondary school, there are
four core subjects taught. These are English Language, Mathematics, Integrated
Science and Social Studies (FRN, 2004).
The importance of secondary
education cannot be overemphasized in a national development plan. Secondary
education is strategic and it dictates the pace of education at the primary and tertiary
levels of the educational system. It not only consumes the products of the
primary schools but also yields input for the tertiary level. According to the
National Policy on Education (FRN, 2004), the broad goals of secondary
education are to prepare the individual for useful living within the society
and for higher education.
Ukeje (1986) asserted that the
imperative needs of youths of secondary school age are: rational thinking,
saleable skills, scientific knowledge, health and physical fitness, economic
efficiency, knowledge of rights and duties, successful family life, aesthetic
appreciation, enjoyment of leisure and social sensitivity.
Social Studies, as a school
subject, try to teach youths the total summation of all experiences within
their environment. The subject develops students’ appropriate skills and
attitudes which will make them become catalysts and contributors to the
community. The youths need to know their society, its nature, its problems and
its prospects (Ogundare, 2003). The importance of Social Studies education in
the school curriculum cannot be over-emphasized.
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