ATTITUDE OF UNDERGRADUATE YOUTH TOWARD DEMOCRATIC VALUES: IMPLICATIONS FOR SOCIAL STUDIES
ABSTRACT
The study attempt to access the attitude of undergraduate youth toward democratic values: implication for social studies. However, the researcher adopted a descriptive method survey, and formulated three different hypotheses for the purpose of the study. A well structured questionnaire was adopted to collect information from respondents which were randomly selected from (2) selected tertiary institution in Ojo Local Government Area of Lagos State. Meanwhile the data collected were collated and chi-square statistical analysis were used to analysis the data. The study established the following:
- There is no significant relationship between attitudes of youths to the virtues of respect and tolerance in political activities in the table one, where (X2= 94.26943=12, P < (0.05).
- There is significant relationship between attitude of undergraduate youths to the virtues of honesty and participation in the democratic process in the table two where (X2= 100.9209=12, P < (0.05).
- There is no significant relationship between attitude of the undergraduate youths to the principle of one-man-one vote and political process in the table three where (X2= 68.2751=12, P < (0.05).
Based on the findings, all the formulated hypotheses were rejected and recommendations were made as well as the implication of the study and suggestions for the further studies were clearly stated
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
TITLE PAGE ii
CERTIFICATION iii
DEDICATION iv
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS v
ABSTRACT vi
TABLE OF CONTENT vii
CHAPTER ONE
1.0 Introduction 1
1.1 Background to the Study 1
1.2 Statement of Problem 10
1.3 Purpose of Study 11
1.4 Research Questions 11
1.5 Research Hypotheses 12
1.6 Significant of the Study 12
1.7 Scope and Delimitation of the Study 13
1.8 Limitation of the Study 13
1.9 Operational Definition of Terms 14
CHAPTER TWO:
2.0 Literature Review 15
2.1 Conceptual Framework 16
2.1.1 Youth 16
2.1.1.1 Enhancing Youth Political Participation 19
2.1.1.2 People Attitude Towards Democracy 26
2.1.1.3 Youth Political Participation in an Emerging Democracy 32
2.1.1.4 Engagement of Youths in 2015 Election 35
2.1.2 Conceptual Clarification on Democratic Value 46
2.1.2.1 Creating Effective Citizens 49
2.1.3 Social studies Education 53
2.1.3 Role of Social Studies in Training Citizens 55
2.3.4Contribution of Social studies on Awareness of Democratic Values 64
2.2 Theoretical Framework 69
2.2.1 Dynamic/active Engagement Theory 69
2.2.2 Youth Bulge Theory 72
2.2.3 Traditional Democratic Theory 74
2.3 Relevant of Review studies 75
2.3.1 Youth and satisfaction with Democracy 75
2.3.2 Democratic value and Implication for Social Studies 78
2.4 Summary 80
CHAPTER THREE
3.0 Research methodology 82
3.1 Research Design 83
3.2 Population of the Study 83
3.3 Samples and Sampling Techniques 83
3.4 Research Instrument 84
3.5 Research Administration of Research Instrument 84
3.6 Reliability of Research Instrument 84
3.7 Validation of Research Instrument 85
3.8 Method of Data Collection . 85
3.9 Method of Data Analysis 85
CHAPTER FOUR
4.0 Data Analysis and Presentation of findings 87
4.1 Test of Hypothesis One 89
4.2 Test of Hypothesis Two 94
4.3 Test of Hypothesis Three. 99
CHAPTER FIVE:
5.0 Summary, Conclusion and Recommendations 104
5.1 Summary 104
5.2 Conclusion 105
5.3 Implication of Study 106
5.3 Recommendation 106
5.5 Suggestion for Further Studies . 108
REFERENCES 109
APPENDIX (A) 116
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study.
The success of democracy rest on the enlightenment, activeness and commitment of citizens and hence there must be active and informed involvement of the people at all levels of governance as willing participants in defining and maintaining their democracy (NOA, 2006). A democratic citizen should be concerned with promoting understanding of the ideals of democracy. The youth of any society are a potential force to reckon with in that society, Nigeria not exempted. They constitute a large chunk of the decision-making groups in the society. Youth must not be unlookers but the driving force behind democracy and their participation must not be limited to elections only, but a continuing engagement with the process of democratic governance. They must ensure that government policies truly represent people’s best interest and not those of a handful of rulers (NERDC, 2005). So, for the youth to play their expected and functional role as democratic citizens there must be serious participation in the entire democratic process. The decision of the youth to participate or not to participate depends on their awareness, adherence and internationalization of these democratic values and this has serious consequences on democracy and the general polity. CIVITAS (1991) and Avaro (2001) defined democratic values “as the fundamental beliefs and constitutional principles which guide the democratic government put in place in a particular society”. They are ethos that regulates the extent, level and involvement of participants in a democracy. Some of these values of Nigerian democracies are freedom, equality(one-man-one vote), justice, toleration of diversity, unity(national integration), nationalloyalty(as against sectional loyalty), rule of law, separation of powers, checks and balances, transparency, patriotism, dignity ofhuman person, representative government, self-reliance, due process, electoral credibility(citizens vote must count), common good(acting in the best interest), popular consent, supremacy of the people, toleration of opposition and legitimacy (FRN, 1999; Ojo, 2003; NERDC, 2005 &Nnamdi, 2009). They are in turn determined by the factors of or the interplay of political culture, civic or citizenship education and the political experiences of the society in question.
Effective participation in democratic governance by citizens is a major concern of all democracies including Nigeria. This no doubt has influenced the premium placed on the education of citizens by the state for active participation in democratic governance and general well-being of the society. Arguably, the role of education (through the auspices of the school) in promoting civic competence seems to have been adequately reflected in relevant literature. (Ogundare, 2000). For instance, it has been argued that any school subject in the educational system is capable of educating for citizenship depending on how it is taught (Udoh, 2000). However, other schools of thought (Obebe, 2005, Osho,2007) believe that certain school subjects by virtue of their philosophy, nature, contents and methodological insight or approaches are better strategically positioned to provide effective
citizenship education.
Avaro (2001) defined democratic values “as the fundamental beliefs and constitutional principles which guide the democratic government put in place in a particular society”. They are ethosthat regulates the extent, level and involvement of participants ina democracy. Some of these values of Nigerian democracies are freedom, equality (one-man-one vote), justice, toleration of diversity, unity (national integration), national loyalty (as against sectional loyalty), rule of law, separation of powers, checks and balances, transparency, patriotism, dignity of human person, representative government, self-reliance, due process, electoral credibility(citizens vote must count), common good (acting in the best interest), popular consent, supremacy of the people, toleration of opposition and legitimacy (FRN, 1999). They are in turn determined by the factors of or the interplay of political culture, civic or citizenship education and the political experiences of the society in question. It is against this background that this study intends to examine the influence of Civic Education on Awareness of Democratic Values among Secondary School Student in Sagbama Local Government Area, Bayelsa State, Nigeria.
From several interactions with students especially during elections and others civic engagements, the extent to which students are aware of their rights, understand and/or have internalized known democratic values is not certain. There appears to be 156 Modinat Idowu Arunah& Victory Collins Owedepalpable apprehension when one examines the undemocratic attitudes, level of incivility prevalence among our students and the ultimate manifestation of negative behaviours in our democracy.This could be as result of the fact that most students are not well abreast with democratic values and civic duties/responsibilities expected from them. Or probably Civic Education has not beentaught thoroughly in our secondary schools. This, no doubt, had negative effects on the values and civic engagements of the Nigerian citizens (Falade&Adeyemi, 2015).
Ainiyekagbon and Uzamere (2014) examined the extent to which Nigerian undergraduate youth are regulated by democratic ethos of equality (one-man-one vote), patriotism, honesty, respect,tolerance, rule of law, etc. while discharging their civic duties; and noted that undergraduate youth awareness, understanding, internalization and adherence to democratic values during civic practices is selective of institution types (whether public or private) but not selective of programmes (whether full-time or part-time). Dania (2015) investigated Civic Education as a collaborative dimension of Social Studies Education in attainment of political ethics in Nigeria, and observed that there is no significant difference in the opinion of Social Studies teachers on Civic Education as a collaborative dimension of Social Studies Education in then attainment of political ethics; there is significant difference between male and female Social Studies teachers opinion on Civic Education as a collaborative dimension of Social Studies Education in the attainment of political ethics;
Ojo (2003) advanced that “the lack of development of democratic attitude (values) is one major obstacle that hasmar democratic consolidation in Nigeria. Thus, it is the obstacle to youth positive participation in our democracy”. And that “both the elites and youth have surprisingly shown weak commitment to basic symbols and values of democracy”. Hence, there is serious manifestation of greed, inordinate ambition to win power, thuggery, dishonesty, personalization of political/public offices, insincerity, disrespects for others, intolerance, etc. in our national polity. All these undemocratic behaviors manifest in the forms of electoral rigging; kidnapping/killing of political opponents; writing or sponsoring the publications of damaging articles in our media; tearing, removal or defacing of posters belonging to political opponents/parties; youth enlisting into various cut groups to be used as party kingpins/political thugs; general apathy/indifference of many youth to elections and democratic process; youth mortgaging their conscience after being induced with meager amount of money or materials like face-caps, T-shirts, umbrellas etc. (Aghayere, 2007 and Omorogbe&Orobor, 2007) to support the wrong candidates/parties knowing fully well they have no political will and the reputation to deliver on electoral promises and thereafter put their future in jeopardy and perpetual wants. The end result is bad leadership/governance, high number of electoral cases in court, lack of basic infrastructure, unemployment, and underemployment.
Citizens are the hearts and soul of democracy and hence there must be active and informed involvement of the people at all levels of governance as willing participants in defining and maintaining their democracy. The youth of any society are a potential force to reckon with in that society, Nigeria not exempted. They constitute a large chunk of the decisionmaking groups in the society. The Nigerian youth form the bulk of the citizens which is the decision making groups in our democracy. Youth must not be unlookers but the driving force behind democracy and their participation must not be limited to elections only, but a continuing engagement with the process of democratic governance. In line with this assertion, NERDC (2005) agreed that, The role of the youth as electorates does not just stop at voting. The youth must constantly engage in the political process in order to strengthen democracy. Thus, the youth must ensure that government policies truly represent people’s best interest and not those of a handful of rulers.Supporting the assertion above, NOA (2006) posited that, For democracy to succeed, citizens must be active, not passive, because the success or failure of the government is their collective responsibility. The citizens must ensure that they shape the government of their choosing. The youth can individually, collectively and through various civil society groups get mobilized and involved in citizenship and governance by joining political parties and contesting elective offices wherein they can influence government policies and programmes. To participate well in democratic activities, the youth must possess a good grapse of democratic values which will aid, guide and direct their conducts in the discharge of their civic responsibilities. In line with this, NOA(2006) asserts that: “For democracy to be sustained, it is essential that citizenry possess the requisite skills, demonstrate the values, and display the behaviors that accord democracy”. That is democracy is nurtured and sustained only when democratic values are rooted in the minds and actions of citizens (NOA, 2006).
Nigerian youth have contributed immensely to the growth and development of this country, Nigeria. Their struggle and move have always been a sacrificial one which outcomes is not only their selfish interest alone but for the generality of the people (Aghayere, 2007). Youth have been involved in the evolution of democracy and advocacy/entrenchment of good governance and creation of civil society groups in Nigeria. But the many years of military rule in Nigeria have been marred by uncivil political behaviors that ranged from political apathy to electoral fraud. The attendant effect has been lack of popular participation, and disengagement of many Nigerians, particularly youth, from political processes. These developments negate the role of citizens in a democracy according to Gatson (2001) where he argued that ‘’in a representative system, citizens need to develop the capacity to evaluate the talents, character, and performance of public officials. This, he says, a democratic state demands from her citizens’’ and this suggest weak civil support for democratic values and institutions. So, for any democracy to be sustained, it is essential that its citizenry, mostly youth, possess the requisite skills,demonstrate the abovementioned values, and display the behaviors that accord democracy (NOA, 2006). But in Nigeria, the reverse has been the case among many youth. To participate and do so well in democratic activities, the youth must possess a good grasp of democratic values which will aid, guide and direct their conducts in the discharge of their civic responsibilities. That is, democracy is nurtured and sustained only when democratic values are rooted in the minds and actions of citizens (NOA, 2006) avers that,the disposition that form democratic ethos are not inherited or passed down through the genetic mode, it is required that each generation of society learn civic facts, explore democratic ideas and values, and connect such concepts to the responsibility of citizenship. Such disposition must be fostered and internalized by word, study and by power of example.’’ It is in this regard social studies as a school subject and a programme of society to mold the character of its youth in the direction it deems favourable to its democratic governance and survival is imperative.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
From experience with youth during elections and civic activities, the extent to which youth are aware of, understand and/or have internalized these values is not certain. This has serious implication for social studies education, our democracy and the Nigerian nation as a whole. Thus, there is apprehension when one takes a cursory look at the undemocratic attitudes, level of incivility prevalence among our youth and the ultimate manifestation of negative behaviours such as electoral rigging; kidnapping/killing of political opponents; writing or sponsoring the publications of damaging articles in our media; tearing, removal or defacing of posters belonging to political opponents/parties; youth enlisting into various cult groups to be used as party kingpins/political thugs; the general apathy/indifference of many youth to elections and democratic process; youth mortgaging their conscience after being induced with meagre amount of money or materials like face-caps, T-shirts, umbrellas etc to support the wrong candidates/parties knowing fully well they have no political will and the reputation to deliver on electoral promises and thereafter put their future in jeopardy and perpetual wants. The end result is bad leadership/government, high number of electoral cases in court, lack of basic infrastructure, unemployment, and underdevelopment. Recently, the National Orientation Agency has embarked on mass mobilization to raise people’s awareness of democratic values in the country. Even at that, what can we say about the present perception of Nigerian youth of democratic values? How much does social studies have to offer in promoting these values in the youth?
1.3 Purpose of Study
This study aimed at finding out the attitude of youth toward democratic values: Implication for Social Studies. Other specifically objective are to:
- Examine virtues of respect and tolerance while indulging in/carrying out political activities;
- Find virtues of honesty and patriotism while discharging their civic duties;
- Find the principle of one-man-one vote in the political process.
1.4 Research Questions.
- What is the attitude of youth to the virtues of respect and tolerance in the political activities?
- What is the attitude of youth to the virtues of honesty and patriotism in the democratic process?
- What is the attitude of the undergraduate youth to the principle of one-man-one vote in the political process?
1.5 Research Hypotheses
- There is no significant relationship between attitudes of youth to the virtues of respect and tolerance in political activities.
- There is significant relationship between attitude of undergraduate youth to the virtues of honesty and participation in the democratic process.
- There is no significant relationship between attitude of the undergraduate youth to the principle of one-man-one vote and political process.
1.6 Significance of the Study
The result of the study will provide basis for the development of positive attitude and, improve the interest of undergraduate youth toward Democratic values and also, it will help to identify the undemocratic attitudes and behaviour Nigerian youth are associated with/indulged in our democratic process so as to provide INEC, security agents and political parties with the adequate information and possible ways of forestalling such ugly menacewill expose what social studies as a school subject has done so far in terms of citizenship transmission – producing citizens (youth) that are civically conscious, responsible and competent. And the lapses in the school subject why it is not living up to expectation.
The work will also be useful to curriculum developers when deciding which subjects should feature as core; and at which level should they feature and when should they not. That social studies education terminating in JSS III in our school system before now has done great disservice to good citizenship transmission. And thanks to the newly introduced civic education that will be offered at senior secondary school (SSS) in our schools.
1.7 Scope and Delimitation of the Study
The scope of this study is restricted to the attitude of Nigerian youth within the ages of 18 and 45 years of democratic values. The composition of youth for this study is made up of undergraduate students of the higher institution in Ojo local government Area of Lagos State. But the findings are generalized on the entire Nigerian undergraduate youth.
1.8 Limitation of the Study
The researcher is able to choose this topic ” Attitude of undergraduate youth toward democratic values: implication for social studies” for the study. Insufficient time and financial constrains also limit the study to Ojo local government. The study is based on available information that is within the reach of the researcher at the time of writing this project
1.9 Definition of terms
- Democracy:a system of government by all the people of a country, usually through representatives whom they elect. It is a government under the direct or representative rule of the people of its jurisdiction.
- Democratic Value: fundamental belief and constitutional principle which guide the democratic government out in place in a particular society
- Attitude: a way of thinking about something or somebody or behaving toward something or somebody.
- Undergraduate: a university or college student who has not yet taken his or her first degree.
- Civic: the study of the rights and responsibilities of citizens.
- Implication: a thing that is suggested or implied; a thing that is not openly stated.
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