CHAPTER ONE

1.1 INTRODUCTION
The concept of social change is one thing that demands explicit
exploration in institution of higher learning and most especially as it relates
to the students who are made of different personalities.
Acceptances of changes is very hard to do but change they say is a
must in life. Life is dynamic due to the changing nature of man, the
changing nature of society and the changing nature of the environment.
Every rational man wants to enjoy the best of humans and ascend the top
most running of life ladder make’s man always want to change situation to
his favour in order to achieve growth and subsequently, development,
growth and development are products of change and these students who
are out to study are seeking growth and development.
These changes which bring about development in various ways,
beliefs role play, class structure social institution, communication system,
social interaction, customs, biological make-up etc, these change which
highly affect students lives at school include what is called social change.
Students learn easily and so copy one another easily, too, all
students are not the same. Some are good but others are bad. Most
students are people who have changed a school; because of that, either
the good simply copied good things and the bad copied bad things or the
bad copied good things and become good and the good copied bad things
and turned bad. That is change is either positive or negative.
In school students are exposed to untold ways of life, left for them to
make their rational choice. This choice making is continuous. A new choice
strikes out an old way of life and therefore brings in change into the
students. In fact, some student graduate from home with entirely new
personality; effect from the utter change examine at school during his or
her programme. Therefore, the impact of social change cannot be over
emphases in higher institution, hence, this research project will focus on
such impact of one’s changes. The study will specifically bring out the
impacts of social change on the life pattern of higher institution students in
Agbor in particulate and the world in general. It will clearly explicate the true
meaning of social change and carefully change. Like earlier said that
people find it difficult to accept changes, hence the factors influencing the
unveiled and the dimension of social changes, as regard political,
economic, educational and socio-cultural changes in Nigeria will be
thoroughly analyzed.
1.2 BACKGROUND OF THE PROBLEM
Students are in the higher institutions of learning like Agbor, today to
come out as the blood stream of the society of tomorrow. They graduate to
form the bulk of the work force of a nation like Nigeria. This means that
they are very important section they are not to be over-looked when it
comes to treating the problem of a nation. Based on that, one could say
that what is made of the nation tomorrow. Socially, every human being is
bound to change and that makes students like those in higher institutions,
Agbor subject to continuous change.
It is worrisome to observe that higher institution students must
change socially but that it is hard to say the direction of the change that has
not come but inevitable. While most students of old have grown into
hoodlums, nuisance and develop excellent work attitude from school, other
graduate into becoming loggers and braggarts. It can be found that the
deviations between and among graduates social behaviours are cultivated
in school days. Students at school meet fellow students from across the
globe, with distinct personalities, customs, culture, tradition, and
experiences. These differences rub of so much new characters on the
individual students. Students sure, copy one another. Some become secret
cult member based on the influence of other students and so also are a
others. Who join scripture unions, voluntary organizations, social clubs like
the higher etc some join politics and or become political activists who later
graduate to become renounced politicians or great activists.
Up till now, people still don’t know and rather don’t worry about the
impact of social change in the life pattern of these promising students who
would make the leaders to tomorrow to either make or man the country.
However, this is posing very serious danger in our society as most
students are not working towards achieving the goals and philosophy of
the Nigerian Education calculative, it is the right time we learned the impact
of social change on our students and do something about the unwanted
sides of it.
To make a mark ion our education we must understudy the impact of
social change on our students. This will give us the edge to be able to
follow, guide, and check the behaviours of the adult students in higher
institution like Agbor and Nigeria in general.
This is the only way their excesses can be nipped at the bud before
they graduate into the society. Also, learning these impacts will guide us
after they direction of modern social development and equip us to prepare
adequately for it.
Learning these pacts too. Will help us move our education to an
enviable height, more viable more reliable a convenient for future students.
In short positive change acquired social and or otherwise, is likely to
result in social acceptance esteem respect feeling of achievement and
fulfillment on the part of the individual. As most likely too, it may bring
about extensive and or rapid development in urbanization and
industrialization, continued survival of the society through the adaptation
to modern trend and practices, the promotion of social progress and
development the enticement of cultures; positive relationship and ensuring
the survival of human system the satisfaction of the need for which change
was sought to improve on human interaction etc. if the society looks she
benefit from positive social change in students of higher institutions than
she is expected to study or encourage the study of the impact of social
change on such students to guide their behaviours and check their
excesses at the right time.
1.3 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
In this study, the problem which the investigation attempts to address
include:
i. Finding out whether social change bring about cultural enrichment
ii. Finding out whether social change makes living satisfying and
exciting
iii. Finding out whether social change promotes social progress and
development
iv. Finding out whether social change facilitates the satisfaction of the
need for which change was sought to improve on human interaction.
v. Finding out whether social change increases the attitude to learn of
students and the general standard of education in the institution of
higher learning.
1.4 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
The evolution theory of social change postulates that society changes
from one form to another over time. Thus change according to the theory is
gradual and may not necessary be radical. According to Obi 2001), this
theory is as a functionalist theory and that it provides holistic accounts of
the social structures and socials dynamics of the society. He explained
further that theory has the aim of describing, explaining and predicting how
and why societies change gradually form relatively small scale and simple
state to relatively large scale and complex from. Invariable, one could say
that the College of Education, Agbor might have evolved from a simple
form into what it is now and would likely change further.
Also the social exchange theory opines that human beings live in
groups in which they must engage in purposeful interaction with one
another in order for them to obtain all of their various means of livelihoods
or existential goals.
It is the various ways b y which diverse human beings interaction with
one another and the give and take benefit for m one another is what is
called social exchange, which is bound in higher institution. Moreover, the
conflict theory says that conflict as we experience sometimes in the higher
institution like College of Education, Agbor is important in a society and that
they are geared towards innovation that bring about social change.

1.5 SCOPE AND DELIMITATION OF THE STUDY

This research shall study how social helps to enrich the respective
cultures of the individual students. For instance, students from places
where idol worships is a common practice do away with such when they
get into school where they embrace better and popularly accepted religion
as Christianity a more social religion.
 This has helped to stop evil practices like ritual murder, killing of
twins etc as students drop part of their own cultures and take the
complements form others cultures within the school.
The study will go ahead tor research on how social change lead to
social progress and development. Students learn new and modern practice
from among themselves. This is reason behind students going about with
cell phones as modern medium of communication. Students also change
they mode of dressing when in school. Female students wear trousers as
one addicted to an option, whereas these are the same people who were
looking lifeless in their ambiguous naïve attires and plaited hair-do before
gaining admission to school their contact with modern European mode of
dressing at school has turned them round about to be these attractive
angles we see in the school.
Furthermore the study includes how social change helps to improve
on human interaction in the school, at school students interact freely make
friends of any kind with whomever they chose without fear or favour. They
live as independent adults in school and have the gain or loss of any of
their actions to share alone. we shall also study how social change helps
to increase students’ attitude to learn. Through social change students
today have learned the use of the internet and the computers in learning.
This has immensely enhanced learning in the school.
In all, we shall them try to find out by this research work if social
change makes life more satisfying and exciting by the time a students in
the school has enrich his original culture, made social progress improve
his education standard and becomes capable interacting more sociably,
then he may agree that yes! Life has become more satisfying and exciting
through the new life pattern acquired in school.
 However, due to the affect of time funds and the difficulty of gaining
reliable data, this study will be limited to the above areas of social change.
1.6 RESEARCH QUESTION
This research shall attempt to provide answer for the following
question.
a. How does social change in higher institutions affect the standard of
education and students attitude to learn?
b. How does the individual students enrich their respective cultures from
the conglomerated cultures that abound in the schools?
c. Does social change lead to social progress and development in the
school? If yes, how
d. Is it possible for social to make life more meaningful, satisfying and
exciting in the school? How?
1.7 HYPOTHESIS
In carrying out this study the following hypotheses were formulated
1. There is a significant relationship between social change and cultural
enrichment through borrowing from the culture of others in the school
2. There is a significant relationship between social change and social
development
3. There is a significant relationship between social change and
improved human interaction
4. There is a significant relationship between social change and
students improved attitude to learn and the general standard of
education in schools of higher learning
1.8 THE OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The immediate reasons for carrying out this research work is;
a. To make students and staff of higher institution understand fully what
social change is all about
b. To make the students in particular know the factors that could make
their accept just any change that wanders into their ways.
c. To make the students capable of differentiating between social
change and other changes that could have negative effects on them
and eschew such.
d. To make school and the society at large know the full consequences,
seriatim of social change to enhance talking decision on which social
to accept and which to learn out.
e. To make the students and the school in general understand the
direction and magnitude of affect which the direct agents of social
change has on us.
f. To make the school realsi8ed change is inevitable and profitable.
1.9 OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF TERMS
The following terms are carefully defined in according with the
content of this research study.
1. Evolution this is s gradual transformation of the society from the
simple to a more complex form; over time.
It is the movement from one form of a simple society to a more
complex one with time.
2. Social Dynamic: This means had people and the another in an
attempted to interact with one another
3. Conflict: This is the situation in which it is difficult to chose because
of opposing ideals, opinions, feelings wishes which may result in
fierce disagreement and consequently a violent situation, if not
quickly resolved here we are concerned with realistic conflict which
 people use as effective means of achieving set goals like most cases
of students protests on Nigeria such as Anti SAP riot of 1989 etc.
4. Social Exchange: This is the social interaction of people which make
them give and take benefits from each personality as people come
together they copy one another behavior and character.
5. Social Acceptance: It is the co[ping of others with ones
personalities that is they readily to do with your values, attitudes character
behavior, culture, etc without conflict if one is well recovered by the society,
that means he/she is socially accepted.