Social Studies Education Goals

Social Studies is the integrated study of the social sciences and humanities to promote civic competence. The primary purpose of social studies is to help young people develop the ability to make informed and reasoned decisions for the ______ good as citizens of a culturally diverse, democratic society in an interdependent world.

Social studies education has two goals: social understanding (i.e., knowledge of human societies) and civic competence (i.e., democratic citizenship). Social understanding “Subject matter” is the what of teaching and learning—the ______.

It includes the facts, ideas, skills, issues, and methods of inquiry drawn from the seven social sciences: history, geography, civics and government (political science), economics, sociology, psychology, and ______.

The humanities—philosophy, ethics, literature, religion, music, and the visual and performing arts—are involved as well. These fields of study or “disciplines” serve as resources: The social studies curriculum draws on them, blending and integrating them with two additional ingredients—students’ cultural experiences and ______ needs.

Civic Competence On the other side of the definition is the purpose, “civic competence” or democratic citizenship (the ability to make informed and reasoned decisions for the public good as citizens of a culturally diverse, democratic society in an ______ world).

Social understanding “Subject matter” is the what of teaching and learning—the curriculum. It includes the facts, ideas, skills, issues, and methods of inquiry drawn from the seven social sciences: history, geography, civics and government (political science), economics, sociology, psychology, and ______.