Dissonance in Employability Social Skills of Social Studies Undergraduates and The World of Work in Nigeria (Published)
The study considered the need for Social Studies undergraduates to be equipped with good social skills that will enable them to become gainfully employed, sustain meaningful employment and build a career for themselves. To achieve this, the study investigated the level of employability social skills possessed by undergraduates in Nigeria using Social Studies undergraduates in the Delta State University, Abraka as a springboard. Survey research design with simple random sampling technique was employed for the study. The population of the study comprises of the seven hundred and thirty two (732) undergraduate Social Studies students of 100 to 400 levels, from which a sample size of fifty (50) students was drawn. A self-report designed questionnaire was the instrument for data collection; data collected was analyzed using simple percentages and t-test. Findings of the study shows that Social Studies undergraduates of Delta State University have a good level of social employability skills such as communication skills, empathy skills and skills of understanding group behaviour. However, the findings also showed that participants do not possess critical employability social skills such as interpersonal, problem solving, conflict resolution and creative survival skills that are needed in a working environment. The t-test analysis showed that there is no significant difference in the level of social skills between male and female undergraduate students. The study therefore recommended that Social Studies Education should be harnessed to imbibe social skills into Social Studies undergraduates to make them employable and develop a career for themselves.
Keywords: dissonance; undergraduates; social skills; employability; social studies