Social Studies

HOD: Gill Willis
Teachers: Brad Evelyn and Patricia O’Donnell

STUDYING SOCIAL STUDIES

Social Studies is a learning area that examines how societies work and how people can participate as critical, active, informed and responsible New Zealand citizens

Through Social Studies, students develop the knowledge and skills to allow them to understand, participate in, and contribute to the local, national and international communities in which they live.  They will also learn to critically engage with social issues and problems.

Students will also explore the peoples, places, cultures, histories, and economies within and beyond New Zealand.  The will develop and understanding about how society is organised and how it functions.

SOCIAL STUDIES AT ST CATHERINE’S COLLEGE

Social Studies is a compulsory subject taught at St Catherine’s College at Year’s 9 and 10.

Social Studies leads onto several NCEA subjects taught in the senior school.  These include:

  • History
  • Geography
  • Economics
  • Accounting
  • Classical Studies

STRUCTURE OF SOCIAL STUDIES

Social Studies integrates concepts from four different strands:

  • Identity, Culture, and Organisation: Students learn about society and communities and how they are organised and function.
  • Place and Environment: Students learn about how people live and interact with places and environments.
  • Continuity and Change: Students learn about past events and actions and the changing ways these things are interpreted over time.
  • The Economic World: Students learn about the ways in which people participate in the economic world through consumption, production and distribution of goods and services.

Students will learn how to:

  • Ask questions, gather information and ideas and examine relevant current issues
  • Explore and anaylse people’s values and perspectives
  • Consider the ways in which people make decisions and participate in society
  • Reflect on and evaluate the understandings they have developed and the responses that may be required.

Writing, questioning and discussion is required in Social Studies.