History of Nigerian Social Studies Education

Social Studies J.S.S 3 Second Term

WEEK 2

History of Nigerian Social Studies Education

Performance Objectives

Students should be able to

     1. Explain the development of social studies education in Nigeria.    

Content

History of Nigerian Social Studies Education

Social studies were first conceived in the united states and later spread to Europe. After the world wars, it was identified as a course that is relevant to the understanding of man and his problems. Conferences were held to spread it in Africa, i.e. Mombasa conference in Kenya. The adoption of Social Studies as a subject in Africa was to make education more relevant to the needs of the Society.

Back home in Nigeria, in 1965 a first attempt was made at the comprehensive high school, Aiyetoro in Ogun State in the then Western Region, to teach social studies. Teachers came from the U.S.A., grants also came from the Ford Foundation. Some teachers at the Comprehensive High School, Aiyetoro, were also sent to the USA for a few months to study the development of the subject there. These efforts led to the production of two textbooks for Forms I and II and the teaching of the subject in the school. The experience of the civil war in Nigeria between 1967 and 1970 showed that the over 250 different ethnic groups and languages in Nigeria needed a better understanding of one another and how to relate to one another. The school, being a good instrument of change, offered an opportunity to assist in finding a solution through proper education in its relevant fields. The Aiyetoro experiment was critically looked at, at the Comparative Education Study and Adaptation Centre (CESAC), which was established at the University of Lagos. Initially, the scope of teaching social studies in secondary schools was limited to the then Western Region and to Forms I and II of the school. Through the assistance of the Ford Foundation and under its joint auspices with Comparative Education Study and Adaptation Centre (CESAC) of the University of Lagos in 1976, Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC), the Aiyetoro Project was given a national scope. The success and enthusiasm associated with the beginning of Social Studies, and with the encouragement and advice from the Federal and State Ministries of Education, a national syllabus was developed in 1974.

Today, social studies have become a core subject in both the primary and junior secondary schools, Grade II Teachers Certificates, Colleges of Education and Universities. One can obtain a PhD in social studies and its importance cannot be overemphasized in the Nigerian educational system, now and in the near future.