PROFESSIONALIZATION OF TEACHING SOCIAL STUDIES IN NIGERIAN UNIVERSITIES: THE GAINS, CHALLENGES AND CONCERN FOR GLOBAL EDUCATION

Professionalising social studies education teaching in Nigeria's universities is a quality control measure to ensure that lecturers observe professional practices of the discipline to the core. In addition, it is a process of producing qualitative graduates and academic lecturers who are imbued with the requisite philosophies, orientation and goal objects of socia l studies geared at transforming human persons for functional national and global education. This discourse delineated the status of social studies curriculum implementation in Nigerian universities as follows: teaching by non-professionally trained social studies lecturers, ineffective implementation of social studies curriculum, poor application of social studies' pedagogic practices, and extent of utilization of innovative instructional resources, staff development and funding of research. The gains of utilization of professionally trained social studies lecturers are itemized as follows: effective implementation of social studies curriculum, achieving social studies programme curriculum objectives, application of requisite social studies pedagogic practices, others are quality development of academic staff, installation of effective social studies postgraduate programmes and widening the horizon of social studies for global education. The contemporary challenges of professionalizing social studies education are addressed. The result of repositioning social studies lecturers' quality for global education is highlighted as recruitment of qualified social studies lecturers, internalization of social studies curriculum, exposure on innovative instructional res ources, active staff orientation on pedagogic practices and preparing of learners for productive living. Conclusion was articulated and the following recommendations were made; there is a need for qualitative staff development and recruitment of qualified professionally trained lecturers, supervision of lecturers' professional practices, diverse appraisals by students, lecturers self and peer evaluation among others.