CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION1.1Â Â Â BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Social studies is a program of teaching or study that a society employs to instill in students or pupils the concepts, information, skills, attitudes, and behaviors that it deems significant in regard to the relationships and things we have with one another Jiboku (1993). This is a dynamic body of knowledge in a subject that studies man’s interaction with his physical and social environment, specifically how he influences and is influenced by his physical, social, political, economic, psychological, and cultural settings. Social studies education in Nigerian secondary schools has a brief but significant history in the school curriculum. Social studies is more than a course of study; it is a way of life that combines social science and humanities to foster civic competency Jiboku (1993). There is a peer-reviewed journal that publishes papers of interest to educators at all levels, as well as a branch of research that studies society. Through the proper development, implementation, and utilization of the knowledge that social studies can provide about society’s best, the right environment can be created for the development of the right laws, ethics, and values for society in a way that is superior to what could be obtained through application of any knowledge obtainable for any of its component subject parts. Social studies, according to Jiboku (1993), is that aspect of learning that deals with how to get along with one’s environment, both physical and human, and how to develop those skills, knowledge, attitudes, and values that characterized a responsive and responsible citizen in a free world and free society. Teaching social studies is a relatively new phenomenon in most Nigerian secondary schools; it was previously known as general knowledge.
