Relevance and Challenges of Civic Education on Students' Political Behaviour in Gwagwalada Area Council Fct Abuja

ABSTRACT This research was conducted inter alia to determine relevance of civic education in students' political behaviour in Gwagwalada Area Council and challenges facing the implementation of Civic Education curriculum. The public secondary schools in Gwagwalada Area Council were used as case studies. Four research questions and hypotheses were raised to guide the study. The population consisted of 5 public senior secondary schools in Gwagwalada Area Council, the estimated population of students in these schools was about 600 students. There were about 30 Civic Education teachers in some selected schools. The sample size of 275 respondents comprised of 250 students and 25 Civic Education teachers, using purposive sampling techniques. Research design used was descriptive survey method. The statistical method used for data presentation and analysis were simple percentage, Arithmetic mean and standard deviation the study also adopted the suggestions of Cronbach alpha with reliability coefficient of 0.82. Independent t-test statistics was used in testing the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. Secondary data which include review of related literatures like academic research works, publications and journals were adequately consulted. Other sources of data were structured questionnaire. The data so collected were treated, analyzed, presented and their procedure were relevant in testing the hypotheses. Lack of qualified teachers, poor implementation of curriculum and poor finance were among the major challenges of teaching of Civic Education. Others include apathy on the new subject, lack of infrastructural facilities and poor awareness of the importance of the subject goal. Conclusions were drawn based on the results of the findings and it is recommended that there is need to re-orient Civic Education teachers on the use of appropriate teaching techniques, provision and utilization of instructional materials. It is further recommended that the Ministry of Education should as a matter of urgency approve the teaching of civic education in higher institutions as a course of study.