INFLUENCE OF EDUCATION ON YOUTHS FOR DEMOCRACY AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA

Abstract

When young adults lack the appropriate education that promotes active participation in democratic life they tend to lose interest in politics. It therefore becomes necessary to equip young adults with the appropriate knowledge, skills and attitudes required for development, active citizenship, respect for human rights of every person, sustainable and inclusive society. This study assessed how educational programmes and activities can be used as a tool to prepare young adults for active and appropriate participation in democratic life for sustainable development. Three research questions and two hypotheses were raised for the study. The descriptive research design was adopted to assess 1,200 respondents randomly sampled from a population of 12,000 from the university of Lagos post graduate studies using proportionate stratified random sampling technique. Questionnaire titled Education, democracy and sustainable development in Nigeria (EDSDQ) was used to elicit data from respondents. Research questions were answered using mean, while the research hypotheses were tested using Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation. Findings of the study include that; teaching and learning of the right values, skills and attitude enhance young adults’ participation in democratic life; education to be inculcated into the lives of the young adults include; respect for life, social and work ethics, integrity, responsibility, respect for laws and regulations, productivity, punctuality and change of attitude towards work, national and sustainable development; conclusively, there is significant correlation between education, democracy and sustainable development. It was therefore recommended that decision makers and curriculum developers should include comprehensive and appropriate policies and curricula in schools that will promote and sustain civic education to enhance sustainable development in Nigeria.