MEANING, SCOPE AND NATURE OF SOCIAL STUDIES.

Social studies can be defined as the study of man and his environment.

Social studies can also be defined as the totality of man’s physical and social environment.

SCOPE OF SOCIAL STUDIES.

The word “man” in the definition given above connotes human beings while man’s environment has a huge influence on mankind in all spheres of life.

 Man’s environment affects his language, dress, food, and every other thing one can think of in society.

 The man also interacts with two environments which are:

1.           Physical environment (Natural)
2.           Social environment  (Artificial)

PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT

The grassland, mountains, rivers, deserts, seas, oceans, and valleys are created by God for the benefit of mankind and it has a great influence on man in so many ways.

For example, those who live in riverine areas like the Ijaws and Ilaje often take fishing and farming as their occupation while those who are surrounded by forests like those living in rural areas often become hunters.

SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT

These are man-made social ways of life which include: religion, tribe, customs, language, ways of dressing, morals, values, etc.  For example, if an adult who had never spoken the Hausa language relocates from Yoruba land to the Northern parts of the country in Nigeria, within a few years he may find himself unconsciously taking a Hausa culture just as a way of greeting, eating, language, dressing, etc. All these happen because of his daily interaction with the environment he finds himself.

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND MAN.

SCIENCE: This is the systematic way of acquiring knowledge through observation and experiment.

TECHNOLOGY:  This is the application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes.

The scope of social studies has a wider range in the area of science and technology. This innovation has greatly influenced man by making life more comfortable for mankind.

For example, it has helped man to be connected with happenings worldwide through the internet, television, cable, telephone, etc. It has also helped to dam rivers and from that get electricity which makes life more comfortable for man.

NATURE OF SOCIAL STUDIES

Some subjects make up social studies.  Such subjects include;

1.       Geography
2.        History
3.        Civics
4.       Government
5.       Sociology
6.      Economics

–        The combination of all these subjects helps in reflecting how man uses the resources within his environment to profound solutions to his problems and improve his life generally.

–          Moreso, social studies as a subject studies how man lives together in harmony in society and how people interact and have a great influence on one another.

–          Furthermore, social studies helps us to know about conflicts and their causes in society.

–          It gives a better understanding of the effects and ways of resolving such conflict in society.

Evaluation: –

–          Define social studies

–          Man interacts with how many environments?

–          Explain the concept of science and technology

–          Highlight the subjects that make up social studies

–          State 3 importance of social studies