INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL STUDIES JUNIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL CURRICULUM CONTENTS AND TEACHING STRATEGIES ON STUDENTS' SOCIAL INTERACTIONS IN THE NORTH CENTRAL ZONE OF NIGERIA

Abstract

This study examined the influence of Junior Secondary
School Social Studies curriculum contents and teaching
strategies on students' social interactions in the North
Central zone of Nigeria. Specifically, it assessed the
extent to which the curriculum promotes social
interaction, identified teaching strategies employed by
Social Studies teachers, and evaluated the relationship
between curriculum contents, pedagogical methods,
and students' social behaviours. Adopting a descriptive
survey design, the study sampled 420 participants: 360
students and 60 teachers, selected through multistage
sampling across six states and the Federal Capital
Territory. Data were collected using validated Likert
scale questionnaires for students and teachers, and
analysed using descriptive statistics, Pearson
correlation, and multiple regression analysis. Findings
showed that the curriculum content significantly
promotes students' social interactions, and that
teachers frequently utilize interactive strategies such as
group work, role-play, and project-based learning.
Statistically significant relationships were found
between curriculum content, teaching strategies, and students' social interaction (R² = 0.618, p< 0.05).
These results affirm the combined influence of
curricular themes and teaching methodologies in
fostering interpersonal skills and civic competence.
The study recommends periodic curriculum review by
NERDC, sustained teacher training by policymakers,
and broader adoption of student-centred strategies to
optimize social learning outcomes in Social Studies
classrooms