UNIT 1: GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL STUDIES
Key unit competence: The student-teacher should be able to explain the components of social studies and evaluate its importance.
Introductory Activity
Mugabo was born in the village of Masaka to business parents. His father was a shop keeper and his mother a small scale milk seller. One day, when he was coming from school, he saw a young girl called Keza who was crying…… When Mugabo asked her why she was crying, Keza replied that she was hungry. Mugabo decided to take her to his mother so that she could get what to eat. When the two arrived, his mother served them with milk and Keza was very happy. From that day, they became great friends.
1.1. Meaning and importance of social studies
Learning activity 1.1
1. Using internet and other reference books, carry out a research and write the meaning of social studies
2. Explain the importance of teaching and learning social studies in schools?
The inclusion of Social Studies in the curriculum of TTC classes signifies the importance of the subject and the role it plays in a student’s life. The subjet of Social Studies is incorporated in the TTC school curriculum through a
combination of subjects like – History, Geography, Economics, Sociology, Foundation of education.
According to Collins English dictionary, Social Studies is the study of how people live and organize themselves in society, embracing Geography, History, Economics and other subjects.
Social studies is also a study of people in relation to each other and to their world; it is an interdisciplinary subject which borrows from many disciplines for example History, Geography, and Economics.
It focuses on peoples’ relationship in different environments and helps learners to become active and responsible citizens.
Social Studies is very important not only to the student teachers but also to the Rwandan society. Some of its importance is explained below:
1. The study of Social Studies provides students with the basic knowledge, skills, attitudes and values to continue to learn, make
informed decisions, positively participate in society, and achieve personal goals of interest.
2. Social Studies has the capability to guide students’ skills progress, stimulate students’ interest and awareness, and enhance their thought processes and decision making.
3. Some of the major Skills Social studies will help students to master include critical thinking, writing, reading, analysis, interpretation, independent thinking, etc... If these skills are practiced consistently throughout a school year, students can begin to master them. These skills will build a foundation for the knowledge, ideas, abilities and stimulated interest that Social Studies can provide for students.
4. Social Studies is also designed to increase historical understanding; turning points, causes and effects, progress and decline, empathy, connecting past and present, and historical agency.
5. Social Studies has the ability to expose students to common biases and multiple perspectives from an early age preparing them for the reality that waits for them after high school, including diversity and dishonesty.
6. Social Studies has the ability to prepare students and adolescents to be productive, successful, and active citizens in a democratic society. All of the skills, ideas, and exposure all funnel into the overall idea of guiding the development of independent, individual, intelligent and informed citizens who can actively participate in society to make necessary changes and improvements.
Application activity 1.1
From the content learned above, explain other importance of learning and teaching Social Studies in secondary schools.
1.2. Components of Social Studies
Learning activity 1.2
Read a range of textbooks or use internet and explain the main components of Social Studies.
Social Studies is an interdisciplinary integration of social sciences and humanities concepts for the purpose of practicing problem solving and decision making for developing citizenship skills on critical social issues.
Social Studies involves the following components: History, Geography, Economics, Moral issues/ethics, Philosophy, Political Science.
Geography is the study of earth’s landscapes, peoples, places, and environment. It is quite simply about the world in which we live. Geography is unique in bridging the social sciences with natural sciences.
Geography informs us about:
• The places and communities in which we live and work.
• Our natural environment and the pressures they face.
• The interconnectedness of the world and our communities within it.
• How and why the world is changing globally and locally.
• The importance of location in business and decision-making.
History is the analysis and interpretation of the human past that enables us to study continuity and change overtime. It is an act of both investigations that seeks to explain how people have changed overtime.
History is a mean to understand the past and the present. Through the study of History we can investigate and interpret why a society develops as it has and determine what influence has infected the past and the present and shapes the future. History helps to learn, to understand the immense complexity of our world and to provide insight to help cope with problem
and possibility of the present and future. History is also a bridge to other disciplines. In order to understand other humanities and the sciences, one needs or historical overview of those ones. Historical knowledge is a
fundamental prerequisite fundamental for understanding the world in which we live. History is “magister vitae” teacher of life.
History prepares us to live more humanly in the present and to meet the challenge of the future because it provides us with understanding of human condition.
History fulfills our desire, to know, understand ourselves and our ancestors. It also trains its students to read intelligently, think critically, and writing effectively.
Economic: Is a social science that analyzes the production of goods and services. It focuses on how economic agent behaves or interacts and how economic works. Economics is a social science that predicts and studies the human behavior before a given economic situation.
Moral issues or Ethics: Moral issues or ethics refers to an issue concerning how one ought to behave, how other ought to behave or whether a situation is proper or unproper, Moral issues are defined a society often called norm.
However, if you claim to be a Christian moral issues can or should be defined by biblical principles. The question might be: what is your moral stand that you use?
Below are several moral issues which a person should examine and compare his or her response into the biblical teaching.
Philosophy: is a way of thinking about a world the universal and can help to us to learn how to think more creatively. It offers us path to improve our critical thinking skills far beyond anything else.
Political Education: refers to the knowledge regarding politics. Political education provides the science of leadership, national integration, creation of good citizen and preparing adult life.
Sociology: it is the study of group living, cooperation and their responsibilities
Psychology: it is the study of the mind, emotions and behavioral process
Anthropology: It is the study of the way people live
Application activity 1.2
Explain the components of Social Studies.
Relationship among the components of Social Studies
Learning activity 1.3
Do research in library or use internet and find out the relationship among the components of social studies
Although the term “Social Studies” includes primarily History, Geography,
Civics Education, Economics, and Sociology, it also deals with materials
from other subjects. Thus, some elements of Ethics, Psychology, Philosophy,
Anthropology, Art, Literature, and other subjects are included in various courses in the Social Studies.
Relationship between History and Geography: History and Geography are specially closed because they represent fundamental dimensions of the same phenomena. History views human experience from the perspective of time and Geography views human experience from the perspective of space. These dimensions of time and space are constantly affecting each other. Key concept of Geography such as location, space, and region are tied inseparably to major idea of History such as time, period and events. Geography and History enable learner to understand how the events and places have affected each other across time.
Relationship between Economics and Geography:
Location and climate have large effects income levels and income growth, through the effect of transport cost, disease burdens and agricultural productive, among other channels. Furthermore, Geography seems to be a factor in choice of economic policy itself. When we identify geographical regions that are now conducive to modern economic growth, we find that many of these regions have high population density and rapid population increase. This is especially true in populations that are located far from the coast, and thus that face large transport cost for internal trade, as well as population in tropical regions of high disease’s burden.
Relationship between Political Science and History:
The Political Science and History are very close. History without Political Science has no fruits, and Political Science without history has no roots.
History is essential in political science because it is a record of past events. It provides the raw materials to Political Science. The study of state as it has been, can be done only with the help of History. Historical study is essential for understanding political thoughts, movements and institutions. In general,
History is a vast store house of facts and information as from which Political Science obtains data for all its generation. History has also much to borrow from Political Science. Our knowledge of History is a meaningless if the political bearings of events and movements are not adequately appreciated.
E g: History of 19th Century Europe cannot be fully understood without bring out significance of Movements like Nationalism, Imperialism, Individualism and Socialism.
Relationship between Politics / Political Science and Ethics / Morals:
Ethics/ Morals and Political are intimately related, both are normative science.
Ethics aim at supreme good individual as Political aim Science at public good. Public good can be obtained through individual good and individual goods can be attained through public good. Both ethics and political are concerned with the idea of justice, liberty, right, and duties etc…
Thus, we can conclude that incorporating Social Studies in the TTC curriculum ensures well-rounded education of the students.
Application activity 1.3
Describe the relationship between the components of Social Studies
End unit assessment
As a prospective teacher, how you will apply the Social Studies skills to live in harmony with other people?