Don calls for reintroduction of social studies in schools

A professor of Social Studies, Curriculum Studies and Educational Evaluation, Professor Babatunde Adeniyi Adeyemi, of the Obafemi Awolowo University, (OAU) Ile-Ife, has said social studies should be made compulsory at all levels of education in Nigeria without changing the nomenclature.

Professor Adeyemi who stated this while delivering the 366th inaugural lecture at the OAU called for the reintroduction of social studies in schools and identified social studies as a problem-solver discipline which helps to inculcate desirable social habits, attitude and values needed for the survival of any society.

According to the scholar, the study of social studies can help to proffer solutions to all forms of human challenges either social, economic, psychological, environmental and political, among others in a holistic approach; and help humanity in resolving its present and future problems.

He noted that “social studies is still relevant today as it encourages community participation; enhances critical and creative thinking, fosters cultural sensitivity, broadens global perspective and promotes values formation.

Adeyemi who described social studies as a jack of all trades said that “social studies borrow ideas from other traditional subjects such as Economics, History, Geography, Religious Studies, Political Science, Anthropology, Philosophy, Law and Medicine among others.

The don, however, noted that social studies as a subject was introduced into the school curriculum after the first and second world wars as a cure for social problems.

He recommended that “governments at various levels should equip institutions with the necessary tools and infrastructure such as computer systems and laboratories as well as technical assistance that will help to enhance their ICT literacy, since frequent use of computers is an antidote to computer anxiety.