A Study of Factors Influencing Students’ Enrolment in Social Studies Education at the Post-Secondary School Level in Nigeria

The purpose of this paper was to find out the factors influencing students’ enrollment in social studies education at the post secondary level of education in Nigeria. The population included all students enrolled in social studies programme in tertiary institutions of learning in Edo State, Nigeria while the sample of the study consisted of one hundred and seventy-five (175) social studies students. The questionnaire was used to collect data while the chi-square test was used to test the hypotheses. The findings revealed that job prospects or employment opportunities, gender and environmental factors have significant influence on students’ enrollment in social studies programme whereas socio-economic, teacher-related, and parental factors do not influence students’ enrollment in social studies. Therefore, the paper recommended that teachers, parents and other stakeholders should change their dispositions and attitude towards the subject.Similarly, social studies practitioners, professors, associations like Social Studies Association of Nigeria (SOSAN), government, social studies teachers and other professionals should do more to sensitize and enlighten the public on the benefits accruable from the course.