ENHANCING NIGERIA'S DEVELOPMENT AND CAPACITY IN THE 21ST CENTURY: THE ROLE OF SOCIAL STUDIES

Abstract

The twenty first century is bringing new developmental challenges to Nigeria, such as: to produce responsible citizens, build social cohesion, increase economic productivity, engage in democratic participation and ensure sustainable national transformation. The purpose of this paper is to look at the role of Social Studies teaching in the development and capacity building of Nigeria in the modern times. The study addresses the role of Social Studies in the improvement of human capacity to facilitate democratic values, social responsibility, peaceful coexistence and informed decision making. It also identifies and discusses key issues that hinder the execution of effective Social Studies in Nigeria such as poor instructional materials, poor policy support, inadequate teacher training and constraints in the course of delivering the Social Studies curriculum. The paper concludes that the improvement of Social Studies is very important for the development of knowledge, attitude and skill of citizens needed for sustainable development and national development in Nigeria of the twenty-first Century.