Social Studies: Meanings, Concepts, and
Purpose
Social studies is an integrative learning program
intended to develop civic competence among
students.
Civic competence is defined as the ability to
engage effectively with others in the public
domain, and to display solidarity and interest in
solving problems affecting the local and wider
community.
This involves critical and creative reflection and
constructive participation in community activities as
well as decision-making at all levels, from local to
national and even in international arena.
It includes demonstrating a sense of
responsibility, as well as showing understanding
of and respect for the shared values that are
necessary to ensure community cohesion, such as
respect for democratic principles (European
Parliament and of the Council, 2006).
The National Council for Social Studies (NCSS)
defines social studies as:
"the integrated study of the social sciences and
humanities to promote civic competence. It
provides coordinated, systematic study drawing
upon such disciplines as anthropology, archaeology,
economics, geography, history, law, philosophy,
political science, psychology, religion, and
sociology, as well as appropriate content from the
humanities, mathematics, and natural sciences.
The primary purpose of social studies is to help
young people make informed and reasoned
decisions for the public good as citizens of a
culturally diverse, democratic society in an
interdependent world."
The NCSS has long advocated civic competence as
the primary goal of social studies.
Social Studies is composed of two words, social
and studies.
According to Arthur Dunn as articulated by
David Saxe, "...
the purpose of social studies was in the term's
meaning as a verb-as in, good citizenship-not in
its meaning as a noun-as in, studying the content
of particular social science or history subjects."
Meaning, social studies was conceived as
something one does-studying or examining social
science topics which include civic competence,
history, governance, society, and culture, among
other things.
Araling Panlipunan (Social Studies) intends to
develop among learners critical understanding
on historical, geographical, socio-political, and
economic issues of the Philippines, taking into
account the international and global contexts,
allowing them to become productive citizens of
the country and of the world.
Primarily, K to 12 Araling Panlipunan (Social
Studies) intends to develop critical, reflective,
responsible, productive, nature-loving,
nationalist, and humane citizens rooted in
his/her identity as Filipino yet manifests the values
and skills of a global citizen.
The said overarching goal is expected to be
achieved by employing sound learning theories,
which include; constructivism (which will be
further discussed in the subsequent lessons)
collaborative learning, experiential, and
contextual learning.
The lessons and topics from Grade 1 to 12 are
anchored in the seven themes that include:
• People, Environment and Society
• Time, Continuity, and Change
• Cultural, Responsibility and Nationhood
• Rights, Responsibilities and Citizenship
• Power, Authority and Governance
• Production, Distribution and Consumption
• Regional and Global Connections
Conceptualizing Social Studies: A Brief History
of Social Studies in School Curricula
-It is essential to examine as early as now how
social studies as a subject evolved.
Subsequent paragraphs were heavily borrowed
from the paper written by David Warren Saxe
titled Framing a Theory for Social Studies
Foundations published in 1992. Though it's almost
three decades old, it provides valuable insights on
how social studies as a learning area/subject
emerged.
The author argued that many social studies
educators, practitioners, and specialists have
little knowledge or background on the identity of
social studies.

Thus, they fell short in the delivery of a
comprehensive and relevant social studies
curriculum. He explicitly stated this when he said
that,
"I argue that practitioners and theorists are
prevented from articulating viable perceptions of
social studies' purpose, theory, and practice
because they lack basic understandings of the
original historical underpinnings of social
studies."
This "scarcity of theoretical" foundations can be
rooted in the myths (as used by Saxe) on the origin
of social studies which widely spread among
educators and practitioners.
As Saxe suggested, one of the reasons behind the
absence of historical information on social studies
might be rooted in the dearth of resources.
He argued that only Krug and Kliebard treated
seriously the beginnings of social studies. He
explained that.
"Krug (1964) presents a fair accounting of the
role of the 1916 Committee on the Social Studies
of the National Education Association as the first
major organization to advocate social studies,
but he presents little of the actions or thinking
that precipitated the Committee's work.
Kliebard (1986) briefly mentions the 1916
Committee on the Social Studies."
Myths on the Origin of Social Studies
Based on the literature survey conducted by Saxe,
he was able to identify three myths surrounding the
emergence of social studies. These include
Continuous Existence Theory, Big Bang Theory
of 1916, and History Foundation Theory.
Continuous Spontaneous Existence (CSE)
Theory
According to this theory, social studies exists
without any antecedents. It holds the idea that social
studies' past is not relevant. Various writers and
scholars did not include a comprehensive study on
how social studies became part of the subjects being
taught in basic education. For many, the subject
arose simultaneously with other learning
programs/areas.
As Saxe summarized,
For whatever reasons, the authors decided to ignore
the notion of origins or historical orientation
altogether. To the presents authors-using an
inventive ahistorical mentality-each preservice
social studies teacher is charged to activate social
studies in his or her own image without historical
antecedents to bother with or ponder.
Big Bang Theory of 1916
-this is centered on the idea that social studies
suddenly appeared in the year 1916, thanks to the
Committee on the Social Studies under the
sponsorship of the National Education Association
(NEA; Dunn, 1916). There are literature that
espoused this idea.
History Foundation Theory
The history foundation theory is an extension or
deeper interpretation of the big bang theory.
Here, conventional wisdom holds that, since history
education existed before 1916, obviously history
was the seedbed or promulgator of social studies.
Among these intellectuals, it was Keels who
"captures the essence of the history foundation
origin of social studies by connecting the
domination of historians and history curricula pre-
1916 to the production of the 1916 social studies
report.
Hertzberg (1981), too, reaches a similar conclusion
by highlighting connections between the 1916
social studies report and earlier reports issued
between 1893 and 1911 by various history
organizations."
-Even before the deliberation of the 1916 Social
Studies Committee, the term social studies was
widely used in research literature, and its meaning
was common many. In fact, data revealed that as
early as 1883, the term social studies was already in
circulation among social welfare advocates.
Sarah Bolton (1883), Heber Newton (1886), and
Lady Wilde (1893) already used social studies in
their book titles. The said books were related to the
social welfare movement that underscored the use
of social science data. It was Carroll D. Wright, the
first US Commissioner of Labor and a member of
Allied Social Sciences Association (a member of
American Social Science Association (ASSA), who
emphasized the link between Social Science
instruction and good citizenship.
-Saxe further explained that, "As social science
moved from an area of study to discrete fields of
research in the 1880s, the term social education was
introduced as the means to activate social welfare in
public schools. In this context, social education was
used as a generic term for socially centered school
curricula."
-At the turn of the 20th century, social education
was redefined and narrowed to identify a special
area of school curricula to be devoted expressly to
social science and citizenship concerns.

-Edmund James, president of the American
Academy of Political and Social Sciences, was the
first to use social studies as an element of school
curricula in 1897. He defined it as a general term
for sociologically-based citizenship education. He
then suggested to pull together the social science for
use in the lower schools under the umbrella of
"social study."
Kingsley suggested six major areas of study
that included:
• English
• Social Science
• Natural Science
• Physical Training
• Mathematics
• Foreign Language
The social studies that we have at present is a
product of an evolution. The dynamic
transformation of its meaning could be
summarized into three things. These include:
• a meaningful integration of history, geography,
civics, and the various social sciences used to
promote the learning/practice of civic competence;
• a program that emphasized direct/active student
participation; and
• a representation of two interdisciplinary courses,
"Community Civics" and "Problems of American
Democracy."
Lesson 2 Social Studies as Integrated
Curriculum
Timothy Lintner pointed out that educators and
teachers have the tendency to misconstrue the
idea between interdisciplinary and integrated
curriculum. This is due to the fact that various
literature offers conflicting ideas.
Integrated vs. Interdisciplinary Curriculum
-Integrated curriculum, as defined by Shoemaker
(1989), is education that is organized in such a
way that it cuts across subject-matter lines,
bringing together various aspects of the
curriculum into meaningful association to focus
upon broad areas of study.
-It intends to create meaningful learning
experiences by allowing learners to establish
connections between and among learning areas,
thus making sense of the social phenomena being
examined.
There are four core tenets to an integrated
curriculum. These include:
• integrated experiences;
• social integration;
- integration of knowledge; and
- integration as a curricular model.
Integrated experiences,- the learners take an
active role in the educational process by linking
experiences with the information shared by the
teachers. They reflect on their lived experiences
while connecting it to the curriculum content.
Social integration - encourages learners to
examine the content from positions of power
(powerlessness) and action. It presents rich
opportunities for learners to become socially aware
and engaged.
-On the other hand, integration of knowledge
happens when learners solve problems using
eclectic approaches acquired from various
personal and classroom-based experiences.
-An Integrated curriculum may manifest in various
forms like project-based units, correlated units-
wherein two separate subjects are taught in parallel-
or a problem based unit that serves to solve the
problem rather than differentiating the subjects
(Applebee, Adler & Flihan, 2007).
-Interdisciplinary curriculum, on the other hand,
is a curricular model that uses multiple
disciplines or learning areas in examining a
given theme, problem, topic, or issue.
Lintner clarified, it is purposely subject centered
and usually structured around a single objective
(lesson plan) and developed and delivered by a
single teacher in his/her classroom (Nesn &
Lounsburry, 1999; Shriner, Schlee and Libler,
2010).
Both the integrated and interdisciplinary
curriculum are similar in the use of theme.
However, as argued by Lintner (2013), “in
interdisciplinary curriculum the theme is more
teacher-determined. S/He culls the requisite cross-
disciplinary information and plans, administers, and
assesses the information presented.”
This is where integrated curriculum differs,
where both teacher and learners drive the
inquiry, presentation, and assessment process.
Interdisciplinary planning is less time-consuming
than integration (Morris, 2003), thus providing
more cross-disciplinary opportunities.
Social Studies as an Integrated Curriculum
Social studies programs help students construct a
knowledge base and attitudes drawn from
academic disciplines as specialized ways of
viewing reality. Each discipline begins from a
specific perspective and applies unique processes
for knowing to the study of reality.
As mentioned in the previous lesson, Araling
Panlipunan (Social Studies) in the Philippines
uses the expanding environment model. This
model offers rich, integrative opportunities for both
teachers and learners as they examine themselves
and the society where they belong.
As early as Grade 1, children are exposed to
learning opportunities relative to their identity and
personal characteristics vis-à-vis their fellow human
beings called kapuwa.
Grade 2, they will explore identity in light of
sociology when they see themselves as members of
the basic institutions called the family and school.
As learners proceed to Grade 3, they will be
taught ideas related to cultural identity as they
discover and appreciate the origin and development
of their community by highlighting its local history,
economy, and culture, thereby strengthening their
cultural identity and pride.
National identity will be realized as learners
advance to Grades 4, 5, and 6, where national
history, society, geography, economy, and politics
will comprehensively be examined.
Moreover, Filipinos as members of a bigger
community called the ASEAN (Association of
Southeast Asian Nations) Region is given premium
in Grade 7 as learners identify themselves not only
as Filipinos but also as Asians, thereby cultivating
their Asian identity.
Grade 8 where multiple histories and cultural
identities appear.
Grade 9 social studies, on the other hand,
underscores Philippine economic identity as
students explore Philippine economic history and
development, including challenges.
Finally, Grade 10 social studies as a culminating
phase of elementary and junior high school social
studies, ponders and reflects on identity issues like
culture and gender.
Seven Themes Explained
1. People, Environment and Society
Human interaction with his environment is one of
the fundamental concepts in Social Studies. This
theme puts premium on how human interacts not
only with his environment but also to a bigger
society thus providing learners the opportunities to
locate him/herself in his immediate environment,
understand the impact of human decisions to the
environment and versa, examine the dynamism of
human mobility, and realize his/her roles and
responsibilities as a member of the so and stewards
of the natural resources among others.
2. Time Continuity and Charge
Essential in the understanding of cultural and
national identity is the evolution and development
of a given society. Central in this study is the
concept of time that serves as the contextual basis
and foundation in the analysis of social dynamics.
3. Culture, Identity and Nationhood
Identity is anchored on culture which pertains to the
complex whole that includes belief system, values
tradition, language, and arts of a group of people in
a given society. This theme provides learners the
opportunities to develop their identity as
individual, as youth and as a Filipino.
4. Rights, Responsibilities and Citizenship
Civic competence is grounded on how citizens
understand and value their role as members of
society and how they acknowledge their rights,
roles and responsibilities as citizens.
5. Power, Authority and Governance
Central in citizenship education is understanding the
concept of the use of power in advocating the
common good and the importance of democratic
processes in realizing good governance.
6. Production, Distribution and Consumption
This theme provides learning experiences that allow
students understand economic concepts such as
choice, opportunity costs, expenditure, inflation,
deficit, sound economic decision, savings,
investments, and financial literacy among others.
7. Regional and Global Connections
The Philippines is a member of a bigger community
called global village. This theme affords learners to
appreciate how the country influences the rest of the
world and how it was influenced in return in terms
of the mobility of ideas, people, and products.
It is clearly stipulated that Filipino learners in Key
stage 1 are expected to demonstrate basic
understanding and values of self, family and
school, and community including fundamental
concepts on continuity, change, distance, and
direction, employing significant and related skills
toward the attainment of an in-depth understanding
of one’s self in the context of his/her physical and
socio-cultural environment while being a member
of a community and a bigger society.
The key stage 2 standard highlight learner
productivity of being a member of Philippine
society specifically this stage intends learner to
demonstrate knowledge and skills as a productive,
responsible and patriotic Filipino.
Lesson 4 Constructivist Theory in Teaching
Social Studies
Constructivism has become the parlance of
educators, teachers, education policy-makers, and
curriculum specialists for the last three decades.
Constructivism is a theory of learning that has
roots in both philosophy and psychology. The
essential core of constructivism is that learners
actively construct their own knowledge and
meaning from their experiences (Fosnot, 1996;
Steffe & Gale, 1995).
The Basic Tenets of Constructivism
Cognition is an adaptive process that functions to
make an individual's behavior more viable given
a particular environment;
Cognition organizes and makes sense of one's
experience, and is not a process to render an
accurate representation of reality; and knowing
has roots in both biological/neurological
construction, and social, cultural, and language-
based interactions.
For one, Giambattista Vico, in his treatise titled
"De antiquissima Italorum sapientia" (1710),
explored its essence when he coined the phrase
"verum est ipsum factum." He reiterated the idea
that, in order to know something, one must know
the parts and how they have been fit together.
In the modern period, more specifically in the field
of psychology, the idea of cognitive construction
was first fashioned into a comprehensive theory by
James: Mark Baldwin (1861-1934) and Jean Piaget
(1896-1980). They were able to map the procedures
and operations on the constructions of a "stable
experiential world," having access only to sensation
and to the operations of the mind.
Types of Constructivism
It is essential to point out that constructivism is not
a unitary theoretical position; rather, it is a
continuum or spectrum.
A. Cognitive Constructivism
This is typically associated with information
processing and relies heavily on the component
processes of cognition. It emphasizes that in order
to acquire knowledge, an individual has an active
role in cognizing any stimuli that formed part of his/
her experiences.
The internalization of process and structures
corresponds to the processes and structures that exist
in the real world. These internalization, construction,
and reconstruction are what we call learning; learning
that creates accurate internal models or representations
that reflect external structures that exist in the "real"
world.
This perspective on learning focuses on:
(a) the processes of learning:
(b) how "experiences" are represented or
symbolized in the mind; and
(c) how representations are organized within the
mind.
Cognitive constructivism contributed significantly
to empirical findings regarding learning,
memory, and cognition, including schema theory,
working memory models, computational models of
learning and memory, and neurological models of
brain function.
B. Radical Constructivism
Radical constructivism, on the other hand, believes
that the acquisition of knowledge (e.g., ideas,
concepts, processes, insights, etc), is an adaptive
process that could be attributed from the active
cognition of an individual translating an
experientially based mind.
Staver (1995) precisely articulately this idea when
he said that "knowledge is knowledge of the
knower, not knowledge of the external world;
improving knowledge means improving its viability
or fit in, but not match with, an external world".
C. Social Constructivism
Social constructivism as a school of thought lies
between the transmission of the knowable reality
of the cognitive constructivists and the
construction of a personal reality of the radical
constructivists.
Moreover, social interaction occurs within a socio-
cultural context, resulting in knowledge that is
bound to a specific time and place (Gergen, 1995;
Vygotsky, 1978). Bakhtin (1984) explained this
position by saying that "truth is not to be found
inside the head of an individual person; it is born
between people collectively searching for truth, in
the process of their dialogic interaction"
Constructivist Pedagogy
Due to the breadth of constructivism's theoretical
underpinnings, pedagogies vary among
practitioners. Among these differences, however,
there were identified eight factors that are essential
in constructivist's pedagogy (Brooks & Brooks,
1993; Larochelle, Bednarz, & Garrison, 1998;
Steffe & Gale, 1995).
1. Authentic and real-world environments are
necessary for learning to take place.
Authentic environments are essential in realizing
"learning experiences" for it provides actual
learning contexts. It provides the activity upon
which the mind operates.
2. Social negotiation and mediation should be
taken into account in any form of learning.
Social interaction is a vital element of learning for it
provides socially relevant skills and knowledge. In
the age of globalization and cultural heterogeneity,
learners should be exposed to various opportunities
of interaction in order for them to develop the
necessary knowledge, skills, and values such as
tolerance, social adaptation, flexibility, peaceful co-
existence, and collaboration, among others.
3. Content and skills are made significant to the
learners.
Regardless of types, constructivism emphasizes the
importance of knowledge since it serves an adaptive
function. Knowledge could enhance one's
adaptation and functioning;
4. Learner's prior knowledge is fundamental in
the acquisition of content and skills.
All learning begins within an individual's schema or
prior knowledge. This simple yet profound
statement can unravel learning possibilities for it
allows us to examine the personal history (i.e.,
experiences, trauma, interests, contexts) of each
learner.
5. Formative assessment should be done to
inform future learning experiences.
Constructivism asserts that knowledge acquisition
and understanding is an active and ongoing process
that is heavily impacted by the student's prior
knowledge and experiences. Sadly, knowledge and
understanding are not directly visible, but rather
must be inferred from action.
6. Constructivism encourages learners to become
self-regulated, self. mediated, and self-aware.
One of the basic tenets of constructivism is the idea
that individuals (learners) are active in knowledge
and meaning construction, deconstruction, and
reconstruction... As Brown & Palincsar (1987)
espoused, "Metacognition is considered an essential
aspect of learning and consists of (1) knowledge of
cognition (i.e., knowing what one knows, knowing
what one is capable of doing, and knowing what to
do and when to do it) and (2) regulation of
cognition (i.e., the ongoing task of planning,
monitoring, and evaluating one's own learning and
cognition)."
7. Teachers should act as guides and facilitators
of learning.
The teacher's role plays a major part in students'
learning. In the cognitive constructivist perspective,
teachers create experiences where students
participate, leading them to knowledge processing
and acquisition. Thus, teachers are seen as the
"guide on the side" instead of the "sage on the
stage."
8. Teachers must employ multiple perspectives
and representations of content.
If learners are provided multiple perspectives or
lenses in examining a particular phenomenon or
event, he/she can have the raw materials necessary
to create and develop varied representations. This,
in turn, allows him/her various routes from which to
retrieve knowledge which in the long run develops
his/her capacity to use more complex schemas
relevant to the experience.
Linking Constructivism to the Social Studies
Curriculum
The nature of social studies as a learning
program complements the ideas of
constructivism as a learning philosophy. The
ethic of freedom, identities, and civic. competence
works well with what constructivism is espousing.
Combining both ensures the development of a
holistic 21st century Filipino learner.