Importance of social studies in primary school
Social studies are part of the educational system in Nigeria that are designed to efficiently provide students with the necessary knowledge and skills, as well as to teach them to interact with the surrounding world and people. In this article, we will look at the importance of social studies in primary school for the people of Nigeria, as well as the ways they can be used to develop and achieve national goals.
What are social studies?
Social studies are school curriculum that focuses on the development of social relations and the more active functioning of society. Usually, social studies include courses in such subjects as:
- history
- government
- economy
- citizenship
- sociology
- geography
- anthropology
Over the years, the Nigerian education system has undergone some significant changes and continued to change every year. The state policy in the sphere of social studies is aimed at the national development of education and its annual improvement.
The primary goals of social studies
- creating a free and democratic society
- integration and development of national values through educational programs
- creation and development of a highly dynamic economy
- raising the level of education of the population
- acquisition of the necessary skills, abilities, and competencies for each student to more efficiently interact with the environment
- now it is obvious what is social studies and why they are important. Still, let’s talk about its contribution to society.
What is the importance of social studies?
Importance of social studies in Nigerian schools cannot be overestimated. This process should primarily affect the solution of all social and political problems that shocked society. The importance of education, in this case, provides all opportunities for unification and drawing together different ethnic groups of the nation.
The various constructive reforms created later will help make society more progressive and fair. Also, such changes help significantly to strengthen the national aspiration for self-reliance and national unity.
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The importance of social studies education also contributes to the achievement of national goals of the state by training citizens of their country and raising the level of education in schools and other educational institutions. Social studies have a direct relationship:
- to the system of formation of views
- basics of behavior in society
- acquiring values and knowledge for further effective interaction with all social processes in society
Each student who can adopt such values will have the opportunity to strengthen spiritual and moral aspects. It will also help to participate more actively in all internal social processes.
Social studies help ensure that every person can understand the full variety among all peoples inhabiting Nigeria. In this case, it will be easier to see and develop cooperation and the relationship between them. This, in turn, will strengthen the fundamental state norms and play a decisive role in the development of the country and society.
Very often social studies in the elementary school fall into the free time of the primary learning processes. Of course, subjects such as mathematics, reading, etc. remain more important for society. At first glance, it might seem that social studies pushed into the background in schools. Nevertheless, this is far from being the case.
The main subjects taught in schools are so-called primary subjects. Therefore, the teaching staff and the school administration focus their attention on them. It is believed that the acquired practical knowledge is more important than social studies and can significantly affect the social processes in the lives of children.
However, what becomes even more evident every year is the importance of social studies that begin to move to the forefront. Social studies become fundamental knowledge necessary for more active interaction with the environment.
Constant reforms of education very often led to the fact that the burden on students increased. Children just could not keep up with the changes, and thus the attitude to the learning process was hard to change to positive.
Nevertheless, as soon as social studies began to be given sufficient time in the educational process, the situation started to change. The children were able to discover a lot of new things about themselves and become more socially responsible.
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Source: Legit.ng
