MORAL AND CIVIC EDUCATION AS A DETERMINANT OF NATIONAL SECURITY IN NIGERIA: A CASE STUDY OF PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN RIVERS STATE

Abstract

The study examined moral and civic education as a determinant of national security in Nigeria: a case study of public secondary schools in Rivers State. The study had two objectives, with corresponding research questions and null hypotheses. The population of the study comprised 5,833 teachers in 320 public senior secondary schools in Rivers State. A sample size of 583 teachers, representing 10% of the total population, was drawn for the study, and a stratified random sampling technique was adopted. The instrument, which was a questionnaire of two sets, was titled: Moral and Civic Education Assessment Scale (MCEAS) and National Security Assessment Scale (NSAS). The instrument was validated, and reliability coefficients of 0.83 and 0.85 for both MCEAS and NSAS, respectively, were obtained using Cronbach's alpha reliability statistics. The two research questions were answered using simple linear regression, while hypotheses were tested using t-test associated with simple linear regression with the help of the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS). Findings from the study revealed that students’ moral and civic education responsibilities awareness in public secondary schools in Rivers State predict national security to a low extent by 46%, while moral and civic education taught in public secondary schools in Rivers State predicts the promotion of national security values among students to a high extent by 51%. Based on the findings, it was concluded that while students’ awareness of moral and civic responsibilities predicts national security to a low extent, the actual teaching of moral and civic education significantly promotes national security values among students in Rivers State. This indicates that the strength of civic education lies more in its structured delivery than in mere awareness. Consequently, it was recommended that government and school authorities should enhance the moral and civic education curriculum by integrating more experiential and participatory learning approaches, such as debates, community service, and simulations, to help students internalise and apply national security values in real-life situations.