Students' Perceptions of the Role of the Social Studies Curriculum in Curbing Youth Restiveness in State Colleges of Education in Benue State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study examined Social Studies students' perceptions of the role of the Social Studies curriculum in curbing youth restiveness in State Colleges of Education in Benue State, Nigeria. A descriptive survey design was adopted. The population comprised 870 Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE) II and III Social Studies students in the two State Colleges of Education in Benue State: College of Education, Katsina-Ala, and College of Education, Oju. Using Taro Yamane's formula at a 5% margin of error, a sample of 274 students was drawn through proportionate stratified random sampling by college and gender. Data were collected using the researcher-developed Social Studies Curriculum and Restiveness Perception Questionnaire (SSCRPQ), a 24-item, four-point Likert instrument validated by three experts in Social Studies Education and Test and Measurement, with an overall Cronbach alpha reliability coefficient of 0.82. Four research questions were answered using mean and standard deviation against a criterion mean of 2.50, and two null hypotheses were tested using the independent samples t-test at the 0.05 level of significance. Students perceived the curriculum content as addressing the causes of restiveness (grand mean = 2.86) and as contributing to peaceful coexistence and civic responsibility (grand mean = 2.91), but perceived the teaching methods used to deliver this content as falling short of curbing restiveness (grand mean = 2.28) and identified substantial implementation challenges, including large class sizes and inadequate practical activities (grand mean = 3.05). Perception did not differ significantly by gender, t(272) = 0.279, p = .781, d = 0.03, but differed significantly by college, t(272) = 3.878, p < .001, d = 0.47, in favour of Katsina-Ala. These findings point to a perceived gap between the relevance of curriculum content and the adequacy of its classroom delivery, rather than evidence that the curriculum has measurably reduced restiveness. It is recommended that Colleges of Education in Benue State strengthen the practical and co-curricular delivery of the Social Studies curriculum so that classroom practice matches the relevance students already attribute to its content.