Nature and Structure of Araling Panlipunan

What is said of Araling Panlipunan as a learning area?

• Araling Panlipunan is said to be a “laboratory of life” or a practice environment.

• It is the learning area that provides the Filipino learner the quality time to demonstrate
practical knowledge and skills of empathy, vocational efficiency and problem solving in daily
life.
• Love of country serves as the unifying principle for the diverse values in this learning area.
• As a practice environment, Araling Panlipunan will cultivate in the learner a healthy, personal
and national self-concept which includes an adequate understanding of Philippine history and a
genuine appreciation of our local culture, crafts, arts, music and games.
will promote a constructive or healthy patriotism which is neither hostile nor isolationist
toward other nations but appreciative of global interdependence.
• The core competencies in the elementary level come from varied disciplines such as Social
Studies, Home Economics, Physical Education, Health, Music and Arts.
• In the secondary level competencies come from Araling Panlipunan, Technology and
Livelihood Education, Music Arts, Physical Education and Health, Citizenship Training, and
Edukasyon sa Pagpapahalaga.
• These competencies will be developed through integrated units of learning task whenever
such integrated units are possible and appropriate.

GUIDING PRINCIPLES
Effective teaching of Araling Panlipunan is characterized as Meaningful ,Integrative ,
Value – based, Challenging and Active

Meaningful: It is meaningful when students see the relevance and connection of their lesson to
their lives because it has real – world application. It also becomes meaningful when students
are challenged to use disciplined inquiry or use high – order thinking skills to construct
meaning. It is meaningful when learning is authentic.
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Integrative: The subject itself is an integration of several interrelated disciplines – history,
economics, geography, political science, sociology, anthropology, archeology and psychology. It
is sensitive to and integrates multiple intelligences and learning styles of students. It integrates
cognitive skills required in other disciplines as it provides opportunities for students to conduct
inquiry, develop and display data, synthesize findings, and make judgments.

Value - based: A powerful and effective AP teaching is value driven because its intended
outcomes the development of the mamayang mapanagutan, makalikasan, makabansa at
makatao. Students learn democracy by experiencing democracy right there in the classroom.
It’s lessons are replete with value – laden concerns and issues where students listen to
competing arguments, assess the merits of competing arguments and make informed and
value- based decisions.

Active: It requires students to process and think about what they are learning. Active learning is
"hands-on- minds-on-hearts-on". Students work individually or collaboratively, using rich and
varied sources, to reach understandings, make decisions, discuss issues and solve problems.
Students interact teachers by asking and answering questions as teachers explain. Students also
interact with learning materials.
Challenging: Learning task should neither be too easy to bore the students nor too difficult to
discourage them. AP teachers should know their students more than anything else and so are in
the best position to determine when the learning task are neither too easy nor too difficult.