HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCATION THROUGH SOCIAL STUDIES: A NECESSITY FOR SOCIAL AND CIVIL LEARNING IN NIGERIA

This is a literature-based paper that looked at the role of Social Studies education in teaching, protecting and advocating for human rights in Nigeria. The paper discussed the meaning of human rights and some of the philosophies and theories of human rights. The paper paid attention to the two human rights theories that influenced the present-day discussions of human rights – the Will theory and the Interest theory. The categories of human rights were also discussed. The writer looked at different Human Rights violations in Nigeria under the following sub-headings; government violations, child labor and child marriage and women abuse. She then discussed the role of Social Studies education in Human Rights Education and concluded by saying that since Human Right education is a program that includes both process dimension and content that since Social Studies primary responsibility is to develop reflective citizens, Social Studies teachers must be adequately prepared to enable them teach the concepts adequately because Human Rights is a key component of 21st century civic education