Social Studies Curriculum: An Educational Response Tool to the Different Problems Faced in Family Life Today in Africa

Abstract

Family is a gift of God. The holy family of Nazareth (Jesus, Mary and Joseph) exemplifies a model family. A family is the basic social unit of the society based on marriage. It comprises the child (children), their mother and their father. In some extreme cases when children do not arrive, it does not make it less a family. The scripture exposes us to the different realities of family life. It tells stories about births, love and family crises. This is drawn from the first book of the Bible which recorded the stories of Adam and Eve’s family with all its burden of violence and enduring strength. There are myriads of problems faced in family life today in Africa. Some of these problems include domestic violence, marital rape, incest, infidelity, hatred, marital slavery, patriarchy, child labour, male child vis à vis female child syndrome, information and communications technologies, just to mention a few.  Despite faith response to these problems; a response based on the sacred scripture and the teachings of the church, there is need for its educational response; the Social Studies Curriculum, in order to bring plausible solutions to these problems. This qualitative study, based on content analysis is anchored on the functionalist theory and supported by the conflict theory.

Keywords: Marriage, family life, challenges, faith response, educational response, social studies curriculum, Kenya, Nigeria, Africa

DOI: 10.7176/JEP/12-8-08

Publication date:March 31^st 2021