THE IMPORTANCE OF SOCIAL STUDIES AS A CORE SUBJECT IN HIGH SCHOOL
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
THE STUDY’S BACKGROUND
The twenty-first century necessitates providing children with basic education in literacy and numeracy, as the more advanced skills required for living can serve as the foundation of life, allowing the children to adapt and change to life’s ever-changing circumstances. Basic education remains the most important factor that enables the process of improving knowledge, skills, and attitudes required for any country’s societal and national growth.
Slavin (1983) defines learning as the process of acquiring and applying knowledge to meet the needs of individuals. A child’s education begins at home with the family (informal education) and progresses to nursery school, primary school, secondary school, and tertiary education.
According to the national education policy, secondary schools should achieve the following goals:
1. Preparation for productive living in society.
2. Preparation for a higher education.
Secondary education (JSS). This refers to pre-vocational and academic education designed to help students learn more than just literacy and numeracy, as well as develop basic life skills. This level is for children aged 12 to 14, and it lasts three years. The curriculum has the following effects on education:
1. The English language
2. Applied mathematics
3. Art
4. Music
5. Science that is integrated
Agriculture is number six on the list.
7. Studies in business
Social studies (8th grade)
9th. Household Economics
ten. Physical health education
11th. Religious and moral instruction
The knowledge gained as a result of this life gives the children the ability to deal with issues relating to the entire spectrum of their survival, well-being, and knowledge on how to deal with people and situations encountered. It helps them interact with others, appreciate their own rights, and respect the opinions of others at home, school, and on the street. Students can stop at this level with a little vocational knowledge for survival or continue on to the next level, senior secondary school.
SECONDARY SCHOOL SENIOR (SSS)
This refers to academic and vocational education for those awaiting the completion of the six-year circle. Its core curriculum subjects are comprehensive and broad, with the goal of broadening students’ knowledge and outlook. The primary topic;
1. English as a second language
2. Applied mathematics
3. A single Nigerian language
4. Physicists, chemists, and biologists
5th. English literature, history, or geography
Agriculture science is sixth.
These core subjects are fundamental subjects that will allow students to offer and study a specific course in a high school if necessary. This curriculum does not include any special studies. Social studies is a subject or field of study in schools. It is an internal discipline. Since its inception, there has been confusion and disagreement about what social studies should be. Social studies’ rational content and approach vary depending on the needs and conditions of the society it serves.
Ethiopia: In Ethiopia, social studies is viewed as a means of changing the people’s political culture.
Gham is a weapon used for economic emancipation.
Japan: it is used to lay the groundwork for a democratic society.
It is used in Nigeria to instill nationalism and unity among its diverse people.
Sierra Leone: sees it as a way to improve their self-image following colonial rule.
The United States sees it as the development of social problem-solving abilities at one time, effective citizenship at another, and integrated and adapted social sciences for school at yet another.
West Germany: see it as a means of establishing a new order; each point of view is a reaction to a specific situation. The department of curriculum development and evaluation (undated) defines social studies as the study of ma, the way he behaves and organizes in groups, his relationship with his physical and social environment, and his interaction with them, taking into account the past, present, and emerging in the future.
According to Kesock (1981), social studies is a program that a society uses to instill knowledge, skills, attitudes, and action in students. It considers the importance of human relationships with one another, their environment, and themselves.
Dubey (1986) defines it as an educational program that uses the study of human life to give children the opportunity to practice solving problems of critical importance to both the individual and society. It is founded on the common understanding of man’s interaction with his social and physical surroundings. According to Salav (1991), it is the study of man and his physical environment.
According to Ulehe (1980), social studies help people understand their physical and human environments so they can be responsible citizens. According to Newman (2003), it is a course or study based on the social sciences, such as history, geography, economics, psychology, government, and anthropology. In 1916, the national education organization decided that less emphasis should be placed on memorizing factual information and more emphasis should be placed on preparing people for the future.
Such preparation necessitates the teaching of attitudes and skills in addition to knowledge. At the time, social studies was regarded as an integrated curriculum that combined previously established history and geography with newer social studies. It should be noted that Nigeria inherited the colonial form of education, which was deemed irrelevant upon independence, necessitating the need to change the school curriculum for a relevant one in Nigeria.
The movement to develop policies and change the existing curriculum has also gained traction among local elites, farmers, and concerned citizens. To that end, efforts have been made to design the type of education that future African citizens should receive.
HYPOTHESIS
Man, as a social being, is constantly interacting with other beings until the day he dies. This interaction has consequences for both man and his environment. Based on this, the study will attempt to answer the following questions.
1. Is there any application of social studies in everyday life?
2. Are social studies objectives met by the time a child graduates from junior secondary school?
THE STUDY’S IMPORTANCE
This study was initiated by the researcher in order to:
i. To assess the learning experience in the classroom.
ii. Outline the benefits of social studies problems and make any necessary contributions.
STUDY OBJECTIVES
The study is limited to Edo State’s Oredo local government area and remote parts of Egor, including Oliha quarters, Uselu quarters, Ugbowo quarters, and Benin city environs.
PRIMARY ASSUMPTION
The investigator assumed
1. Social studies are taught in all junior secondary schools, whether public or private.
2. The students’ lack of understanding of the importance of social studies.
DESCRIPTION OF TERMS
Some of the terms used in this study are defined below:
1. Environment: the totality of circumstances surrounding an organism or organisms in a complex of social and cultural conditions influencing the nature of an individual or society.
2. Knowledge: Is the assured belief referring to something known?
3. Objectives; there are desirable outcomes to achieve with resources and time.
4. Perception is the acquisition of knowledge through the sensory organs.
5. Relevance: this is relevant to the subject at hand.
6. School: This refers to a pre-college formal education institution. It also includes colleges, universities, and a variety of other types of specialized institutions.
7. Skills: refers to expert knowledge of a subject, accomplishment, or craft.
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THE IMPORTANCE OF SOCIAL STUDIES AS A CORE SUBJECT IN HIGH SCHOOL