CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Government as an institution of the state may be defined as an agency or a machinery through which the will of the state is formulated, expressed and attained formation of government as an institution of the state arose as a result of people coming together and living together to form a society. In such a society people’s individual dierence that will give rise to the display of man’s wicked acts, selfish interest, conflict of interest and opinion etc. will manifest if there is no agency or a body to regulate people’s activities, the society will degenerate top what society where life was “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short”. In order to prevent confusion and disorder in a society people will have to surrender their natural rights to individual self-government to a body or an agency of the state called. Therefore, government which is an established body of persons vested with the authority and power to regulate, control and protect people in the state.
Government as a process or art of governing may be defined as a body vested with the power and authority for maintaining security peace and stability by making and enforcing conventional and fundamental laws in a given state or society. Through the formulation and implementation of policies in the state, government as a process or act of governing regulates the activities of the citizens and at the same time steers the affairs of the state. In order for the act of governing to be less cumber some and be more effective and efficient governmental powers that exist in the state are not vested in one organ or body rather, government is divided into three main organs. There organs in which governmental powers are vested perform different but complementary functions and they are. The legislature, the executive and the judiciary. These organs of government carry out the act of governing. Government as an academic field of study may be defined as the study of agencies political institutions and dynamics of the state. This study also involves looking into the functions and relationship between there institutions concerned in the steering of the affairs of the state. Government as an academic field of study also studies international organizations of which the state has membership and the relationship between the state and other states in the world. As an academic field of study, government is given various names as it suites the institutions concerned. Some institutions refer to it as government or simply politics.
The study of the mechanism of government equips citizens to take part in the act of governance of their state. Government as an academic field of study Government is an academic field of study or a school discipline because it is being taught in our schools, colleges and universities. Government has specialized areas in our tertiary institutions. Its specialized areas include political science, international relations, public administration, local government administration comparative politics political thoughts, among others. It borrows ideas from other popular well established disciplines like philosophy history, sociology, economics and law. Government is regard as a school discipline because it also borrows ideas from renowned philosophers like Plato, Aristotle, Hobbes, Rousseau, John Locke, Karl Mark, Among Others. Like other disciplines, government makes use of scientific methods tools and statistics in carrying and its researches and analysis. Government today, is been studied all over the world and these are some of the reasons why we study government. The study of government prepares us to take active part in the government of our country as administrative officers, personnel officers, etc.
Through the study of government, we know our rights duties and obligations as citizens. The study of government equips those interested in politics to be professional politicians. Knowledge of government puts the citizens in a position to defend their fundamental human rights when violated. Citizens with sound knowledge of government would be in good positions to understand the type of system of government adopted in their country and the implications of such system of government. The knowledge we gain from the study of government as an academic field of study inculcates the spirit of nationalism and patriotism in us. Citizens with sound knowledge of government will be liberated from political ignorance and make them to understand why government of their country belongs to some international organizations. The study of government will enable the citizens to support the practice of democracy and the rule of law.
Statement of the Problem
This research is to find out the factors affecting the teaching of government in secondary schools in Egor Local Government Area of Edo State. Most people are worried that the teaching of government is faced with problems. They contend that students develop a like warm attitude toward the subject and as such they do not have any interest to study the subject students see the subject as if nothing good can come out of it, thereby having little or no interest in the subject. Another problem has to do with parents’ attitude towards the subject they prefer their children to study law, economics, accounting, medicine etc. This has made students to detest government as a subject. Most students do not go out on practical work, they only listen to what is being taught without experimenting it. There is also problem of teachers who are not qualified or experienced in teaching the subject. A teacher of government can be said to be an experienced teacher if he or she has been teaching the subject for a reasonable number of years, and should also have graduated with a good degree from the subject area.
