Undergraduates’ Perception of the Efficacy of Social Studies Education in Peace-Building and Conflict Resolution for National Development in Nigeria

Abstract

The study examined undergraduates’ perception of the efficacy of social studies education in peace-building and conflict resolution for national development in Nigeria. The study’s specific objectives were to determine the perception of undergraduate students of the efficacy of Social Studies education in peace- building and conflict resolution for national development in Nigeria in relation to their gender and study level. Corresponding research questions and null hypotheses were stated. The survey research design was used. The population of the study comprised all undergraduate Social studies students of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and its affiliated colleges as at April, 2017 numbering 3069. The study purposively used

342 students. The study used structured Questionnaire titled “Peace-building and Conflict Resolution through Social Studies Education Questionnaire (PCRESSEQ), as a means of data collection. The instrument was duly validated and its reliability was 0.87. The arithmetic mean and standard deviation were used to answer the questions raised by the study while independent samples t-test was used to validate the null hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed that there is no significant difference in the mean perception scores of undergraduate students of the efficacy of Social Studies education in peace- building and conflict resolution for national development in Nigeria in relation to their gender and study level. Some recommendations were made which include a need for teachers to pay attention to Social  Studies objectives and contents that relate to peace-building and conflict resolution whether or not their locality is involved in violence.