Social Studies
"Social studies"
is an academic area defined for school programs and encompasses a number
of fields in the humanities and social sciences. The following statements
identify specific competencies. Students should also, in their social
studies curriculum, be encouraged to complete a major project to demonstrate
ability to apply these competencies in an integrative and analytical fashion.
Several assumptions
underlie the statements of expected competencies in subjects included
in school social studies:
- high school social
studies programs have multiple purposes and serve diverse student and
community needs; preparation for college is only one goal of school social
studies curricula; the competency statements do not attempt to prescribe
school curricula but only to identify essential elements in college preparatory
study;
- these competencies
are important not only for study in social science and humanities courses
but for all learning that requires understanding of institutional and
cultural contexts;
- competencies in
reading and writing the English language and in the analysis and presentation
of quantitative data are foundational for the social studies; without
adequate preparation in English and mathematics, students are not prepared
to succeed in college work in the social studies;
- study of foreign
languages is essential for acquiring knowledge of other cultures and for
a comparative understanding of American culture and institutions;
- knowledge of the
principles of scientific investigation and of the key achievements of
the physical and natural sciences is needed to understand modern social
change; and
- competency statements
that draw on concepts and subject matters in the fields of economics,
geography and the behavioral sciences do not presume study in courses
based in those disciplines; they rather identify knowledge and understanding
that should be assimilated in any three-year social studies program; they
should be included, for example, in U.S. History and World History courses
as part of the essential topics they cover.
A. Knowledge:
Students should be able to:
- Recognize the principal
significance and chronological sequence of major events, movements and
personalities in the political and diplomatic history of the British North
American colonies to 1776 and the United States thereafter;
- Distinguish among
the powers assigned to the executive, legislative, and judicial branches
of the government in the U.S. Constitution, and between the areas of responsibility
assigned to the state and federal governments; identify significant changes
that have altered the foregoing through judicial interpretation and other
developments;
- Describe the processes
for choosing political and governmental leaders in the United States,
including formal constitutional and other conventional procedures, and
the role of such major elements in American political culture as political
parties, interest groups, traditional images and values, and the media;
- Discuss the sources
and history of civil rights in the political system of the United States,
recognizing distinctions between ideas of natural and civil rights, and
identifying issues and competing interests in debates over human and civil
rights;
- Discuss the concepts
of class, race, ethnicity, and gender in the analysis of society, and:
- Characterize the major ethnic and racial groups that compose the
population of the United States, identifying their linguistic, religious,
and other cultural differences, the chronology of their arrival in North
America, and their main regional and national influences within the United
States;
- Describe how the following have affected the status of women in various
cultures of the world, including the United States:
- increasing numbers of women in the economy;
- the rebirth of an organized women's movement;
- traditional definitions of women's roles.
- Recognize the principal
eras in the history of western civilization from Greek and Roman times
to the present, identifying elements used in conventional periodization;
show a knowledge of the basic chronologies of world history;
- Demonstrate an
ability to compare and contrast the various political theories including
socialism, communism, fascism, totalitarianism, and democracy;
- Discuss patterns
of governmental authority in countries other than the United States in
relation to their differing historical, geographical, cultural and social
circumstances;
- Recognize in chronological
order the major wars of the twentieth century, and alliances of nations
that preceded and emerged from the wars, and the principal international
organizations that have been founded to resolve disputes and promote concord
and cooperation among nations;
- Demonstrate knowledge
of major world religions and belief systems;
- Recognize differences
among major regions of the United States and among major regions of the
world; and
- Explain how the
scarcity of productive resources requires the development of economic
systems to make decisions about how goods and services are produced and
distributed.
B. Skills and Methods:
Students should be able to:
- Distinguish between primary and secondary sources; use them appropriately
as evidence to support an argument in formal writing, giving full and
accurate citations;
- Demonstrate ability
to use geographic tools and resources (e.g., maps, atlases, data bases,
and spatial data);
- Demonstrate ability
to analyze and correlate data through the use of conventional historical,
comparative, and quantitative research techniques (using, e.g. tables,
graphs, and basic statistics); and
- Show awareness
of the variety of sources used as evidence by social scientists and humanists,
including print material, statistics, paintings, sculpture, architecture,
film, music, photographs, and other artifacts.
C. Integrative Applications:
Students should also, in their social studies curriculum, be encouraged
to complete a major project to demonstrate ability to apply their knowledge
and skills in integrative and analytical ways. For example, projects drawn
from any of the following topics would be appropriate.
- Compare and contrast the impact of race, class, ethnicity, and gender
on the histories of U.S. and other cultures;
- Compare and contrast
the definition, role and significance of citizenship in the history of
the U.S. and other countries;
- Discuss the significance
of geography in the development of cultures with specific reference both
to the U.S. and other areas of the world;
- Apply economic reasoning
to help explain historical and current developments and issues, distinguishing
between and showing the interaction of the U.S. domestic economy and the
global economy;
- Explain how major
world religious systems and philosophical schools affect the way people
react to crises and dilemmas;
- Describe the interconnections
among cultural, political, social and technological, and environmental
change accounting for and resulting from the emergence of modern industrial
economies in the United States and the world; and
- Use social science methods in such disciplines as anthropology,
sociology, and psychology to analyze historical and contemporary issues.
We welcome your questions and comments. If you would like to discuss the
possibility of using Competency-Based Admission for some or all students
from your high school, please contact:
Page content last updated December 27, 2000. |
