This study scrutinizes the history curriculum's pedagogical approaches and civic engagement in Lakes State, South Sudan. History curriculum in South Sudan is evolving from a colonial-influenced system towards a national framework emphasizing peacebuilding, critical thinking, and civic engagement, though it faces severe challenges, including a lack of qualified teachers, limited resources, and contested historical narratives. The curriculum prioritizes “unity in resistance" to foster national identity while struggling with the challenges of teaching sensitive, recent conflict history. History curriculum’s pedagogical approaches have shifted from a 19th century focus on nationalistic, elite-driven narratives to a 21st century emphasis on critical thinking, inquiry, and civic engagement. This evolution aims to use the study of the past to prepare students for active participation in democratic societies through pedagogical strategies like historical thinking, empathy, and evidence analysis. The study was analyzed under historical thinking / disciplinary theory, critical constructivism theory and narrative/chronological theory. A case study design was used, with a sample of 429 history teachers and head teachers from public secondary schools in Lakes’ state, South Sudan. The study's results are reliable with existing research on civic education and civic engagement, which suggests that the development of the understanding of historical and chronological time, independent of cognitive development of the person, must be understood above all as an educative process in which strategies and mediums employed are fundamental.
REVIEW ARTICLE | June 5, 2026
Poverty & Its Various Facets in the Current Circumstances
Anjali Tripathy, Rakesh Dwivedi, Tridibesh Tripathy, Byomakesh Tripathy, Shankar Das, Sanskriti Tripathy
Page no 262-264 |
https://doi.org/10.36348/sjhss.2026.v11i06.002
For a sociologist, poverty is a social evil. A social worker does modalities related to poverty alleviation. An anthropologist sees the phenomenon as an obstacle in the human race. For a student of human development, it hiders the development right at the budding stage. A philosopher has so many unanswered questions related to poverty. An economist sees the phenomenon as a multidimensional process. Public health sees the phenomenon as the background of all ill health where as an epidemiologist sees it as a stage of health in the domain of epidemiology. In India, Bollywood made movies like ‘Mother India’ & ‘Boot Polish’ to portray poverty. Least of all, it is a tool that politicians use 24*7. The current article sees the phenomenon of poverty in the current circumstances especially in India. Process, obstacles, challenges, opportunities, emerging issues, alleviation strategies are all discussed upon in the article. Views of academicians, policy makers, nobel laureates, politicians, executives, civil society organizations & think individuals & institutions are embedded in the current article.
REVIEW ARTICLE | June 6, 2026
Fuel Subsidy Removal and Its Effects on Inequality and Poverty in Nigeria: A Critical Analysis
Karim Adamu Mamudu, Al-Hasan Fatimetu Olohigbe, Igiekhume Mohammed Nurudeen
Page no 265-271 |
https://doi.org/10.36348/sjhss.2026.v11i06.003
Following the complete removal of fuel subsidy in 2023 by the Nigerian government, the effects are still subject of debate to both proponents and opponents of the policy. While its proponents believe it had saved huge revenue and blocked leakages in government expenditures thereby saving funds for developmental project, its opponents believe it has worsened the socioeconomic conditions of the populace through wide spread poverty and inequality in the society. The study focuses on a critical analysis of the effect of fuel subsidy removal on poverty alleviation and bridging the inequality in Nigeria. The work adopted the documentary and qualitative research design. Also, secondary sources of data were explored to generate data needed for the study and content analysis method was used to analyze the derived data. The study findings reveal that the removal of subsidy have strong effects on societal poverty and inequality in Nigeria and thus far the impact of palliative measure put in place are yet to meaningfully change the status quo. The study therefore recommends the need for the government to ensure its policy formulation and policy implementation process are well guided to address the challenges posed by the removal of fuel subsidy.
ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE | June 9, 2026
A Comparative Analysis of Conceptual Metaphors in Chinese and American News Discourses from the Ecolinguistic Perspective
Junmei Wang, Yuan Zhou
Page no 272-276 |
https://doi.org/10.36348/sjhss.2026.v11i06.004
This study compares conceptual metaphors in Chinese and American ecological environment news discourses from the ecolinguistic perspective. It examines their underlying ecological orientations and philosophies to advance language ecologization. The findings show that: 1) Conceptual metaphor types in the two corpora display both commonalities and variations; 2) Both corpora feature beneficial and destructive ecological orientations; 3) Chinese and American metaphors respectively, embody the philosophies of “harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature” and “America First”. These differences are shaped by economic and cultural contexts, socio-political factors, and ecological philosophies.
ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE | June 11, 2026
Self-Defence Training and Women’s Mental Health: A Rapid Review on Reducing Negative Psychological States
Asish Biswas, Nita Bandyopadhyay, Madhab Chandra Ghosh
Page no 277-284 |
https://doi.org/10.36348/sjhss.2026.v11i06.005
Women’s mental health is significantly impacted by psychological stressors such as stress, anxiety, depression, anger, self-silencing behaviour and fear of sexual assault. These negative emotions not only cause discomfort in life but also limit the freedom of expression and interaction. Self-defence is now considered a means of enhancing one’s mental capability and empowerment. The current study focuses on the effects of self-defence training in lowering negative psychological states related to women’s overall well-being. Seven quantitative studies meeting the inclusion criteria were systematically analysed to assess the effects of self-defence training on women. These studies were sourced from electronic databases, including ResearchGate, PubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus, and ScienceDirect, using keywords such as “self-defence training,” “mental health,” “women,” “psychological states,” “empowerment,” etc. The main psychological factors considered during this study include fear, stress, anxiety, depression, anger, and self-silencing behaviour. Findings indicate that self-defence training is effective in reducing fear, stress, anxiety, depression, anger, and self-silencing behaviour. Moreover, self-defence training also increases a person’s feeling of control and safety. Therefore, this review highlights the benefits of self-defence training in reducing negative psychological states, emphasising its value as a holistic approach to mental health and women’s empowerment in the 21st century. Further research may focus on the long-term impact of martial arts on mental health and improve techniques to ensure maximum psychological benefits.