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Abstract
This study examined the role of General Studies in promoting national unity among students of the Federal College of Education, Eha-Amufu, Enugu State, Nigeria. Grounded in social identity theory and the intergroup contact hypothesis, the investigation treated three General Studies components, Nigerian Peoples and Culture, Peace and Conflict Resolution, and Citizenship and Civic Values, as predictors of students' national unity orientation. A descriptive correlational survey design was adopted. The target population comprised 2,486 NCE and degree students who had completed at least one General Studies course during the 2024/2025 academic session. A sample of 341 usable questionnaires was obtained from 360 instruments distributed on the basis of the Krejcie and Morgan (1970) table, with an allowance for nonresponse. Cronbach's alpha coefficients ranged from .79 to .88 across constructs and reached .91 for the full instrument. Descriptive statistics showed that students rated both General Studies engagement (M = 3.14, SD = 0.48) and national unity orientation (M = 3.15, SD = 0.46) above the 2.50 criterion on a four-point scale. Pearson correlation indicated a significant positive relationship between composite General Studies engagement and national unity orientation, r(339) = .58, p < .001, r² = .336. An independent-samples t test showed that degree students reported significantly higher national unity scores than NCE students, t(339) = 3.05, p = .002, Cohen's d = 0.33. Multiple regression demonstrated that the three General Studies components jointly predicted national unity orientation, R = .61, R² = .372, adjusted R² = .366, F(3, 337) = 66.54, p < .001, Cohen's f² = 0.59. Peace and Conflict Resolution made the largest unique contribution (β = .31). The findings support the continued use of General Studies as a structured curricular instrument for civic socialization in a multi-ethnic teacher-education setting and point to the need for more interactive, contact-rich pedagogy.