The teaching of social studies
Maureen Campbell,Contributor
Welcome back to the start of a new year with its new challenges. With much diligence and dedication you will do well this year in your examinations.
Why do we study social studies?
Social studies contributes to the development of the individual by helping to increase personal and social awareness and by placing emphasis on values, as well as on the improvement of their social and interpersonal skills and behaviour. Its main focus is primarily on human interactions, including how social relationships influence people's attitudes and how societies form and change. It is a discipline with a broad scope.
The goal, therefore, of social studies is to educate students to become caring and well- informed citizens. Virtually no topic can be excluded when studying social studies. Topics such as family, group relationship, gender, race, religion, politics, education, health care, contemporary social problems, communication are all studied.
Social studies can be viewed as making great contribution to developing responsible citizens in a culturally diverse, democratic society within an interdependent world. Social studies is an integrated subject which draws on several disciplines to contribute to the students' deeper understanding of the world around them. It also seeks to ensure that students develop the necessary skills to be effective participants in the Caribbean community through a range of themes and unifying concepts that are focused in content on the Caribbean and its unique challenges. The concept development reflects the interdisciplinary nature of this subject.
What is included in the study of social studies?
The following subjects all form a part of the subject social studies:
Geography: The land; how people use and change it. People's responses to topography and climate, and soil and vegetation.
Economics: How you use your money and how production, distribution and consumption of...