Social Science
The social sciences learning area is about how societies work and how people can participate as critical, active, informed, and responsible citizens. Contexts are drawn from the past, present, and future and from places within and beyond New Zealand.
Why Study the Social Sciences?
Through the social sciences, students develop the knowledge and skills to enable them to: better understand, participate in, and contribute to the local, national, and global communities in which they live and work; engage critically with societal issues; and evaluate the sustainability of alternative social, economic, political, and environmental practices.
Students explore the unique bicultural nature of New Zealand society that derives from the Treaty of Waitangi. They learn about people, places, cultures, histories, and the economic world, within and beyond New Zealand. They develop understandings about how societies are organised and function and how the ways in which people and communities respond are shaped by different perspectives, values, and viewpoints. As they explore how others see themselves, students clarify their own identities in relation to their particular heritages and contexts.
How is the Social Science learning area structured?
New Zealand Curriculum Achievement Objectives for Year 9 and Year 10 Social Studies are explored through broad Social Science concepts. These concepts are explored over a two year period from Year 9 to Year 10.
The Social Science Concepts explored in Year 9 are:
- Values
- Culture
- Society
- Rights
The Social Science Concepts explored in Year 10 are:
- Change
- Social Justice
- Perspectives
These concepts overlap each other and have clear links to the Social Science Strands in the New Zealand Curriculum. The Social Science Strands are:
- Identity, Culture, and Organisation.
- Place and Environment.
- Continuity and Change.
- The Economic World.