Needed Urgently: A Pedagogy for Boosting the Interests of Youths in Citizenship and Civic Education in Nigeria (Published)

Policies and policy directions in Nigeria are terribly shallow in terms of welfare considerations for the youths and the sustainable development of the Nigerian state. Adults who have been at the helm of affairs have been superlatively self-centered and this has consequently retarded general development in the Nigerian state in general and detrimentally hampered the development of the youths in particular. This paper makes a case for citizenship and civic education for the youths as a viable option for reversing this unfortunate trend. The paper extols the values of citizenship and civic education as needed innovations to affect the necessary changes and makes a case for urgent pedagogical re-engineering where the interests of the youths can be boosted in citizenship and civic education as a strategy to reverse the ugly trend. The paper proposes and recommends that such pedagogical strategies can focus on sensitizing the youths on the dangers that are inherent in their continued marginalization, making youths to think critically and analytically especially on how their participation in civic and democratic processes can reverse the trends in their favour, making social justice and good governance the focus of educational provision for youths and translating theory into practice by inculcating democratic norms of participation, commitment to learning, agreeing with others and accommodating divergent views of others.

Keywords: Citizenship Education, Civic Education, Democracy, Nigeria, Pedagogy, Policy, Politics, Youths

Role of Parents in Value Re-Orientation of Youths within Families in Ehime Mbano Local Government Area Imo State (Published)

The study focused on the roles of parents in value re-orientation of youths within families in Ehime Mbano local government area of Imo state. Specifically, the study sought to find out the roles of parents in reducing indecent dressing, cultism, prostitution and examination malpractices among youths in Ehime Mbano local government area of Imo state. A descriptive research design was used for the study. The total population of the respondent were 5050 while the sample size was 200. A structured questionnaire was used as an instrument for data collection. Data collected were analysed with the use of mean ( ). The results of the study showed that parents have a role in reducing indecent dressing, cultism, prostitution and examination malpractices among youths in Ehime Mbano local government area of Imo state. It is based on this that the study recommended that parents should be knowledgeable in matters that affect children, and should ensure that their children get the best from home training which will help them in the socio-economic development of the country and it therefore call for sensitisation for parents on their role in the moral upbringing of their wards.

Keywords: Families, Parents, Re-orientation, Values, Youths

Moderating Effect of Smuggling, Bad Character and Negative Self-Comportment on the Creative Ability of Youths in Shaki Boarder Town, Oyo State Nigeria (Published)

This study investigated the moderating effect of smuggling, bad character and negative self-comportment on the creative ability of youths in Shaki boarder town, Oyo State Nigeria. Using the descriptive survey research design, three research questions were asked and three hypotheses tested. Data were collected using four validated instruments, from two hundred (200) randomly selected youths residing in Shaki town in Oyo state Nigeria, a border town with Benin Republic. Analysis of data was done using the multiple regression analysis and Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC) at 0.05 level of significance. The result of the study revealed that the three independent variables made a joint contribution of 53% on the creative ability of youths. The composite effect of the independent variables as jointly contributive on the creative ability of youths are revealed as thus, R= .703, R^S= .565, Adj. R^S= .531 and Std. error of estimate 7.112. The result of the multiple regression analysis produced an F-ratio (3/196) = 57.09 which is significant at p<0.05 alpha level. The study further revealed significant relative and contributive effect of each of the independent variables as thus (smuggling β.441; bad character β.496 and negative self-comportment β.394) on the dependent variable. The findings suggest the need for employers of labour to ensure that they are supportive of their employees and possibly provide government, school and significant others to support the development of the creative potentials of youths. This would enable them to adjust favourably to the challenges of the 21^st century Nigeria.

Keywords: Bad character, Creativity, Negative self-comportment, Nigeria, Shaki, Smuggling, Youths