The Vocational Aspect of Secondary and Further

Education

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Some problems of teaching social studies

With general reference to part-time day-release classes

W. Wallace

To cite this article: W. Wallace (1954) Some problems of teaching social studies, The Vocational
Aspect of Secondary and Further Education, 6:13, 138-143, DOI: 10.1080/03057875480000151

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Published online: 30 Jul 2007.

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 SOME P R O B L E M S OF T E A C H I N G SOCIAL STUDIES
With general reference to part-time day-release classes
By W. WALLACE
Senior Lecturer, Garnett College, London
(.4 number of teachers of social studies in part-time day-release centres in the London area
have been meeting regularly at Garnett College, as one of the activities o f the OM Students'
Association. This article incorporates a talk and subsequent discussion at one of these meetings.--
EDITORS.)
THE INTRODUCTIONOF a new subject into the curriculum of secondary modern
and technical schools, and in institutions of further education dealing with
general part-time day-release classes, under the title of 'social studies' has been
increasing. A similar subject finds its place in the curriculum of other countries;
it is particularly well established, for example, in America, where it has been of
value in bringing the immigrant into the American way of life.
The subject has developed in this country out of a belief that there is some-
thing wrong with our civilisation and the schools that serve it, and, in particular,
that there is a lack of cohesion in modern life, which the schools should strive to
remedy. This lack of cohesion appears to have arisen with the development of
modern technological civilisation. While there was never a Golden Age o f ' t h e
good old days', before the Industrial Revolution in towns, and in rural life long
after it, home life, and life in the houses around the home, offered both father
and mother many varied skills which were essential for the continuance of life.
The young person quickly picked up sufficient knowledge to enable him to fill
a place in the community, with a variety of skills at his command, and a consider-
able realisation of his relationship with, and his dependence upon, other people
in the community.
Today there are few opportunities for a young man to acquire a variety of
skills such as his forefathers had, or to see and understand the relationships of
activities in his environment, and his dependence upon the other members of his
community. The variety of activities involved in home skills and crafts has been
replaced in a very large number of cases by a dull repetitive process involving
a narrow skill, in which the final result is seldom seen, and sometimes not
envisaged. The work of his fellows is equally obscure, so that the young worker
sees the work of the community as isolated activities and fails to see their
relationship and interdependence. This sense of incohesion and lack of relation-
ship has spread to social activities and to government, and it is reaction to this
lack of cohesion that has led many educationists to seek new outlooks in subject
matter. In 1921, Dover Wilson, writing about the new continuation schools
which were coming into being under the Fisher Act, said 'We need . . . a n
education adapted to the needs of a citizen in an industrial democracy',x and
later 'This vast new chaotic society needs above everything else . . . a sense of
 W. W A L L A C E 139

common purposes, and a sense of its own significance. '* Similarly L. J. Barnes,
in his investigation of youth service in the County of Nottingham found that
the impact of modern urbanisation had broken the ties of society, so that modern
youth failed to recognise responsibilities,' the incentives for which are inadequate
and the opportunities rare'. 3 In The Young Delinquent Burt points out that many
young people do not appear to find that they are a part of society, or that they
have anything to contribute towards it.
So we find these and other educationists suggesting means to overcome the
apparent anarchy of modern conditions, and the schism between culture and the
crafts, between academic subjects and urban citizenship. Barnes suggests that
education should aim at tackling ignorance to enable the social process to be
understood. Sir Fred Clarke said "The qualities needed by the citizen of an
industrial society if it is to be free as well as efticient are integrity, an intelligent
sense of responsibility and good social habits such as tolerance and co-opera-
tiveness. '4 The Council for Curriculum Reform says 'Realising how chaotic are
the values of modern industrial society, how depersonalised are its social pro-
cesses, and, above all, realising how our urban life has obscured the foundations
of a vital society, many educationists are turning, like Rousseau, to contemplate
afresh the "noble" savage in order to clarify the issues of the building of a " n e w "
society.'5
The chief criticism of the usual curriculum is that in itself it is a patchwork
of unrelated subjects, so that the young person is faced from the start by the
incoherence of which we complain. The result is that he grows up knowing some
subjects well, but he may not see the relationship of knowledge. He may learn
a lot but may grow up ignorant of the nature of society and devoid of the quali-
fies of character which develop out of membership of a society, and which can
only develop out of belonging to a community in the sense of both drawing upon
community life and contributing towards it.
This gap may be dosed by bringing the curriculum into clear relationship
with the needs and aspirations of young people today. Many teachers feel the
need for a closer co-ordination of subjects in the school curriculum. Hence we
have the suggestions of Happold in his various books, notably The English
Studies Synthesis, ~ or of McNicol in History, Heritage, and Environment, ~ that
English, history and geography should be merged into one subject, illuminated
by the contributions which may be made by civics, economics and sociology.
Similarly we find a new subject described as 'work centred on the contemporary
local, national and international environment'. This subject is usually alluded to
a s ' social studies'. It varies widely in interpretation. As in the above references,
many teachers see it as a mixture of subjects, particularly as an attempt to break
down the barriers between history and geography. Other teachers see in it the
presentation of facts closely linked with the child, and here it lies open to the
criticism that it is merely a 'chaos' of fact, without scientific or logical principle.
To other teachers it is a study of the relationships of society, drawing almost
entirely on the science of sociology for its material.
 140 Some Problems of Teaching Social Studies
Social studies, then, means very different things to different people. This is
borne out in the definitions given by some of the authorities quoted above, and
it may be of value to review some of them. The Content of Education calls it
social initiation, that is, the drawing of the individual into society to merge him
with the group, a To Dray and Jordan 9 it is social education, it is not something
studied by the student; it is something that happens to him. The young person
must experience community life within the school or college, with opportunities
to learn by taking responsibility. For Hemmings it is the study of relations and
inter-relations, historical, physical, geographical and social, and so it provides
the young person with 'that basis of public knowledge and orientation to life
without which . . . his personality is denied the means of integration, his
interest left unstirred and his energies untapped'. The Advisory Council for
Education in Scotland 1° says that the aims of social studies are (a) to help the
child to build up individual interests. In the process he will incidentally acquire
some store of facts, not systematised, but having the cues and feelers that attach
to what has been learned in living associations; (b) to foster generous and desir-
able attitudes of mind to persons and things, and (c) to give the child a growing
sense of belonging to a place and to a community. F. J. Nicholson in Suggestions
for Teachers of Social Studies in Post Primary Classes defines it as the discovery
of the life and work of men in their various places and in different times. 11 Teach-
ing History says it is the study of specific contemporary topics (e.g. houses~
food, coal, transport, parliament) sometimes in time, sometimes only in space,
and not necessarily in close relation to each other. TM Social studies have also been
defined as a purpose rather than a subject, aiming to build up a picture of
society in which the student can see himself. On the other hand, it has been de-
fined, in discussion, as an abstraction from the total body of kriowledge to be used
to equip young people with an understanding of the inter-relationship of groups.
For the majority, therefore, it would seem to be a method and an aim rather
than a subject, and it ranges over a wide field of knowledge, re-orientated
through the study of human beings. This knowledge may be systematised or
unsystematised, but is generally subordinate to the purpose of the lesson, for
the work deals with human problems rather than with material.
It is because of the apparent incohesion of the factual content of social studies
that many attacks have been made upon it as a constituent of the curriculum,
and it is interesting to see that the majority of attackers fail to see the deep-set
aims recorded above. The Royal Geographical Society issued a memorandum
on the subject in June 1950.TM This memorandum said that an attempt to study
a group of subjects together introduces such complexity that children cannot see
any general pattern, neither will they gain any clear and memorable educational
experience. The unique contributions of history and geography to the intellectual
equipment of the educated citizen cannot be made unless the recognised content
and characteristic method of presentation of each subject is preserved. The
memorandum further states that the emphasis placed on human affairs, and the
complexity of this subject, leads to a neglect of the natural environment, and
 W. W A L L A C E 141

that the intellectual power and habit of mind afforded by a sound geographical
training, with the factual content of the subject, are vital and unique contribu-
tions to the educational equipment of future citizens, and cannot be omitted
without grave loss to their education.
The H.M.S.O. publication Teaching History similarly says that syllabuses of
the social studies type lose material of great value, for example, 'the unfolding
story of men and women and nations, the strange unfolding of individual desti-
nies and of world-wide movements. If we teach only the history of separated
topics, the work . . . becomes depersonalised. Even if we choose "representa-
tive" homes or people . . . the particular character often becomes a tailor's
dummy and the pupil's eye is turned to his clothes, his carriage or other posses-
sions. The Black Prince's armour becomes more important than the Black
Prince.' Again, this publication says 'The Middle Ages is not the adding to-
gether' of individual topic knowledge, but is how things come about, the inter-
relationship of people, of movements, of thought, and of actions. 'It may not
be impossible to convey this dynamic, this story movement in some social studies
syllabuses, but experience shows that it is liable to be lost.'
Other criticisms of a similar nature are that social studies are less of a subject
than an attitude of mind in any socially conscious teacher or that they are an
artificial creation from an arbitrary and formless selection of material.
These criticisms, which are serious and often valid, pose a problem. Having
regard to the vast field covered by social studies, and as there are disciplines of
thought in history, geography, and sociology, is it necessary for each teacher
of social studies to be a specialist in one of these fields, then to approach the
subject through the methods and disciplines appropriate to that specialisation,
putting the material in a form acceptable to its appropriate discipline, keeping in
mind his social consciousness? This leads to another question. Should the selec-
tion of material from such a wide field be left to depend on the special interest
and training of the teacher, remembering his attitude of mind, or is there a body
of knowledge which it is possible to say that every young person should possess
before he enters into the adult life of the community?
For each of several years, a group of students of Garnett College has formu-
lated its ideas on 'What the Young Person should know on leaving the County
College'. Each year has varied in its opinions on this topic, sometimes differing
widely from previous years, but some themes have remained constant. Perhaps
the most important is the insistence on the 'wholeness' of social studies, not
to be seen as any special method of teaching, as any special topic or study, but
that the young person should see himself as a member of a group or groups,
from which he derives benefit and to which he contributes.
The aims of social studies, as suggested by these enquiries, might be summed
up as follows :--
1. To study critically certain aspects of modern society and their evolution
in relation to the social, philosophical and cultural problems arising from
industrialisation.
142 Some Problems of Teaching Social Studies
2. To make the student aware of his importance in the community and of his
responsibility to the community.
3. To study the past growth and present functioning of our own society, and
to obtain a background knowledge that will make possible a more adequate
interpretation of the social, economic and political problems of our times.
4. To provide direct social education by co-operative discussion, investigation
and study of the individual and his environment.
5. To help the student to become more aware of his social nature, to give him
basic knowledge regarding his social, economic and political backgrounds,
and their inter-relationships, and to help the student to work out a satis-
factory philosophy of life.
In the light of these aims it may be valuable to consider some syllabuses from
various sources. Various groups of students at Garnett College have made
syllabuses for day-release classes. One of the most recent, after consideration
of the work of previous years, is divided into Society, Leisure, Work and Poli-
tics. These main headings have each been subdivided where applicable into
their associations with the Individual, the Home, the Region, the Nation, and the
International Aspect. Another syllabus states its aim as being to help towards
the discovery of meaning and purpose in life by endeavouring to relate the indi-
vidual to his environment, to show the influences which have gone to the making
of it, and to indicate the possible direction of changes in it. For this purpose it
considers in turn the Family Group, Employment, the Neighbourhood, the
State, Politics, Religion and International Affairs.
A syllabus submitted by Mrs. Botfish of Hammersmith Day College to a dis-
cussion group of old students and teachers in day colleges had three aims:
(1) To arouse in the young person a curiosity about the world in which he lives,
and to bring him to some understanding of himself in relation to his environ-
ment; (2) To provide the student with the tools of creative living and show him
how he can play his part in the community; (3) To broaden the vision of the
student and provide him with some perspective for the future by which he can
develop his own aim in life.
The topics suggested to carry out these aims were: some knowledge of
Geography, Industry and Commerce, of Civic and Social Institutions, some
Cultural Experience, and Social and Cultural Skills, World and English History,
and the acquisition of Self-Discipline.
A syllabus provided two or three years ago by Langside College, Glasgow,
dealt with the needs of Civilised Life, i.e. Food, Clothes, Shelter, Protection,
Culture, in the first year; projects on the locality and region in the second year;
and in the third year, Elementary Economics and Politics, Work and Wages,
Money, International Finance, Modern Industry, and the Constitution.
The syllabus at North London Day College includes (a) Social Relationships
--the Family, Recreation Groups, Occupational Groups, Social Class, the
Neighbourhood, the Nation; (b) Economic Relationships; (c) Political Relation-
ships; (d) International Relationships.
 W. WALLACE 143

Mr. Vaughan of St. Alban's College of Further Education submitted an inter-

esting syllabus on ' Understanding Ourselves', the purpose of which was to use
the heightened interest of the adolescent in himself and his relationship with
others to develop understanding of human and social psychology, to promote
social virtues, and to improve social relationships. The course is basically
psychological, and deals with such topics as Adolescence, the Instincts, and the
Nature of Maturity.
F r o m these and a number of other syllabuses there emerge the central themes
of this article. There are m a n y different methods of approach to the subject.
The material used ranges from geographical and historical to sociological and
psychological, but all of it is an abstraction from the total field of knowledge
used for a specific purpose. The purpose of social studies m a y be generalised as
the developing of understanding and participation in social relationships, and
the broadening of vision of the student so that he may be able to lead a mature
and stable adult life, securely and self-reliantly at home in his environment.
This seems to be far more a matter of the development of attitudes than the
presentation of information, although some basic information appears c o m m o n
to all. The central problem then remains: can social studies be taught by any
teacher who is socially conscious, using his own interest as the material on which
to develop attitudes ?

REFERENCES
1. WILSON, DOVER (1921). Humanism in the Continuation School, p. 21. London: H.M.S.O.
2. V. 1 above, p. 32.
3. BARNES, L. J. (1945), Youth Service in an English County, p. 20. King George's Jubilee
Trust.
4. CLARKE, SIR FRED. (1948). Freedom in an Educative Society, University of London
Press.
5. - - 0945). The Content of Education, p. 147. University of London Press.
6. HAPPOLD, F. C. (1951). The English Studies Synthesis.
7. McNICOL, H. (1946). History, Heritage, and Environment. Faber & Faber.
8. V. 5 above, p. 147.
9. DRAY, J. and JORDAN, D. (1950). Handbook of Social Studies, p. 23. Methuen.
10. . Advisory Council for Education in Scotland, Scottish Education Department.
11. NICHOLSON, F. J. (1950). Suggestions for Teachers of Social Studies in Post Primary
Classes, p. 5. The Play House Press, Herefordshire.
12. (1952).Teaching History, p. 35. London: H.M.S.O.
13. (1950). ' Geography and "Social Studies" in Schools ', Geographical Journal, Vol.
No. 116, pp. 221-4.
14. II. 12 above, p. 36.