Social Studies as a vehicle for multi-cultural education in a diverse cultural society for sustainable nation-building in Nigeria

Abstract

Cultural diversity is a huge phenomenon in the present-day Nigeria because virtually every society is a boiling pot of culture. What it means is that Nigeria, being the seventh most populous country in the world, is a society where people coexist. However, the various cultural organizations in the country are among the entities affected by cultural diversity. This paper is a comprehensive endeavour to explain the place of social studies as a vehicle for multi-cultural education in a diversely cultural society for sustainable nation-building in Nigeria. The work expounds such conceptual issues as the concept of multicultural education, multicultural education, nation-building, sustainable development, Nation-Building and Cultural Diversity in Nigeria. It is argued that national integration in the Nigerian context has been an attempt to forge “unity in diversity”, seeking to wish away socio-cultural differences and imposing uniformity in spite of complex cultural diversity using Social Studies Education. The work provides concrete ideas on how one can implement contents and techniques that support Social Studies in multicultural Education. The findings indicate that thorough and balanced courses preparation for Social Studies teachers to teach culturally diverse students are essential to achieving the national goal of a democratic and egalitarian society. These approaches should be streamlined and built into the curricular of schools and universities in Nigeria. Students will be taught these approaches as course or concepts and should be made to put them into practice. Nigeria should be taught that cultural diversity can aid fast development, which is natural and indeed desirable. It is never a curse. Integrated learning should be advocated among students; this will help to inculcate ideas from various cultural backgrounds among the students. Finally, Social Studies Objectives and Contents should be restructured to meet the dynamics and yearnings of current trends.