CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

Social studies deal with man‘s interactions with his environment. It is concerned withthe reciprocal relationship between man and his various aspects of his environment. While interacting with his physical and social environments, men encounters problems and challenges in him to live comfortably, orderly and more meaningfully (Muhammed, 2006). Man continuously finds solutions to problems and issues that arise in his socio-economic life. It is expected that through social studies man would have been sufficiently informed to tackle these societal problems and issues. Therefore, the general purpose of social studies education is to help learners develop the ability to adapt to acquisition of relevant knowledge, attitudes, values and practical skills.

Social studies is the integrated study of the social sciences and humanities to promote civic competence (NTI, 2006). Within the school programme, social studies provides coordinated, systematic study drawing upon such disciplines as anthropology, archaeology, economics, geography, history, law, philosophy, political science, psychology, religion, and sociology, as well as appropriate content from the humanities, mathematics, and natural sciences. The primary purpose of social studies is to help young people develop the ability to make informed and reasoned decisions for the public good as citizens of a culturally diverse, democratic society in an interdependent world. Social studies is taught in kindergarten through junior secondary schools across the nation. As a field of study, social studies may be more difficult to define than is a single discipline such as history or geography, precisely because it is multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary and because it is sometimes taught in one class (perhaps called ―social studies‖) and sometimes in separate discipline based classes within a department of social studies. According to National Teachers‘ Institute (NTI, 2006).