Social studies is defined by the Board of Director of the National Council for the social
studies as, the integrated study of the social sciences and humanities to promote civic
competence. Within the school program, social studies provides coordinated, systematic
study drawing upon such disciplines as anthropology, archeology, economics, geography,
history, law, philosophy, political science, psychology, religion, and sociology, as well as
appropriate content from the humanities, mathematics, and neutral sciences. The primary
purpose of social studies is to help young people develop the ability to make informed and
reasoned decisions for the public good as citizens of a culturally diverse, democratic
society in an interdependent world.
There are two main characteristics of social studies as a field of study. First is social
studies promoting civic competence, the knowledge, skill, and attitudes of a student
needed to assume the office of citizen” in our democratic republic. The National Council
for the Social Studies considers civic competence as a main goal for social studies. The
NCSS says, students who learn these skills in social studies will help shape the future of a
democratic society. The second characteristic of social studies is the social studies
program, K-12, integrates knowledge, skills, and attitudes within and across disciplines.
A third characteristic is one in which social studies programs help students construct a
knowledge base and attitudes drawn from academic disciplines as specialized ways of
viewing reality. This can be achieved with courses such as, history, geography, political
science, sociology, and language arts, English and fine arts. Examples from each help
students experience concepts reflectively and actively, through reading, thinking,
discussing and writing. The fourth characteristic of the social studies program is the
demonstration of the changing nature of knowledge, fostering entirely new and highly
integrated approaches to resolving issues of significance to humanity. The social studies
program should help students gain knowledge of how to know, how to apply what they
know, and how to participate in building a future.
A well designed social studies curriculum will help each student achieve a blend of
personal academic, pluralist, and global views of the human condition with a personal
perspective, academic perspective, pluralist perspective, and global perspective. A
personal perspective will help to explore events and recurring issues, consider implication
for self, family, and the while nation and world community. Students should be able to
make choices for themselves and others. Students should learn how to construct an
