INTRODUCTION:

Have you ever noticed the rapid changes around you? It might probably be in aggregate
form such as technological breakthroughs, institutional reformation, process modification
or even vital details of everyday experiences for instance, an abrupt decision of your
family to transfer living to another country due to some circumstances. This decision could
be overwhelming. How will you deal with this experience?

As a future Social Studies educator, it is a must for you to thoroughly understand how
institutional changes affect the minute details of individual lives. This is vital as you
effectively educate learners the dynamism of social interactions, as essential
nomenclature in Social Studies Curriculum.

According to UNESCO in 2017, As societies around the world struggle to keep pace with:
 the progress of technology and globalization
 increasing individualization and diversity
 expanding economic and cultural uniformity
 degradation of ecosystem services, and
 greater vulnerability and exposure to natural and technological hazards

education as a mechanism of support should likewise evolve if it is to sustain its

relevance.

The K-12 Basic Education Program implemented in 2012 as a response to the

aforementioned global trends through the passage of R.A. 10533 or the Enhanced Basic
Education Act of 2013. It expands and improves the delivery of basic education by
producing Filipino learners who are equipped with the necessary skills and competence
and are at par with their international counterparts. The law clearly stipulated this in
section II which states that:
… every graduate of basic education shall be an empowered individual who has learned,
through a program that is rooted on sound educational principles and geared towards
excellence, the foundations for learning throughout life, the competence to engage in
work and be productive, the ability to coexist in fruitful harmony with local and global
communities, the capability to engage in autonomous, creative, and critical thinking, and
the capacity and willingness to transform others and one’s self.(section II paragraph 2)
In order to achieve this, the state shall:
(a) Give every student an opportunity to receive quality education that is globally
competitive based on a pedagogically sound curriculum that is at par with international
standards;

(b) Broaden the goals of high school education for college preparation, vocational and
technical career opportunities as well as creative arts, sports and entrepreneurial
employment in a rapidly changing and increasingly globalized environment; and

(c) Make education learner-oriented and responsive to the needs, cognitive and cultural
capacity, the circumstances and diversity of learners, schools and communities through
the appropriate languages of teaching and learning, including mother tongue as a learning
resource. (Section II)

As gleaned from the K to 12 Basic Education Curriculum Framework below, every learner
who completes the K to 12 basic education program will have been nurtured and
developed to become a Filipino with 21st century skills. This objective is founded on the
recognition of the nature, contexts, and needs of learners. The graduates of the K to 12
Program will have the necessary physical, cognitive, socio-emotional, and moral
preparation so they can determine their own purposes for learning in consideration of
present and emerging needs of their immediate, local, national, and global communities.
Figure 1. K to 12 Basic Education Framework

Vital in this educational reform is a clear articulation of curricular content relative to the
promise of developing Filipinos with the “ability to coexist in fruitful harmony with local
and global communities.” Thus, Araling Panlipunan(Social Studies) as a learning
area/program is an essential component of the Philippines K to 12 Curriculum.
I. What is Social Studies?

Social Studies is the integrated study of the social sciences and humanities to promote
civic competence. The primary purpose of social studies is to help young people develop
the ability to make informed and reasoned decisions for the public good as citizens of a
culturally diverse, democratic society in an interdependent world.

Social studies education has two goals: social understanding (i.e., knowledge of human
societies) and civic competence (i.e., democratic citizenship).

“Subject matter” is the what of teaching and learning—the curriculum. It includes the facts
(also known as information or data), ideas, skills, issues, and methods of inquiry drawn
from the seven social sciences: history, geography, civics and government (political
science), economics, sociology, psychology, and anthropology. The humanities—
philosophy, ethics, literature, religion, music, and the visual and performing arts—are
involved as well. These fields of study or “disciplines” serve as resources: The social
studies curriculum draws on them, blending and integrating them with two additional
ingredients—students’ cultural experiences and society’s needs.

On the other side of the definition is the purpose, “civic competence” or democratic
citizenship (the ability to make informed and reasoned decisions for the public good as
citizens of a culturally diverse, democratic society in an interdependent world). Civic
competence is the readiness and willingness to assume citizenship responsibilities.
These responsibilities include more than just voting. For in a democracy, it is also one’s
responsibility to be lawful, and to be just. One is expected to be tolerant of political and
cultural differences, one is expected to participate in creating and evaluating public policy,
and it is one’s duty to be civic-minded—to think not only of oneself and one’s own rights
and freedoms but also of the good of the whole community.

II. SUB-GOALS TOWARDS ACHIEVING SOCIAL UNDERSTANDING AND CIVIC

COMPETENCE

Schools typically approach these two broad goals by way of three sub-goals:
knowledge, attitudes and values, and skills.
KNOWLEDGE
Which social knowledge is most important? This question can be answered in
three ways: disciplines, themes, and topics.

One way to determining which social knowledge is most important is to refer to the
disciplines (also called fields) of study. These are the seven social science
disciplines and the humanities. Within these disciplines, knowledge is
systematically created, interpreted, critiqued, and revised continually in a never-
ending process of disciplined (i.e., it’s systematic, not random or without rules of
inquiry) knowledge construction. But these are large fields containing huge
amounts of ideas, information, and methods of inquiry.

Another approach is to identify a set of basic content themes. Themes help

curriculum planners and teachers narrow the scope somewhat and give them a
better idea of which social knowledge deserves the most attention. The following
themes have been incorporated into the current social studies standards
framework:

1. Culture
2. Time, Continuity, and Change
3. People, Places, and Environments
4. Individual Development and Identity
5. Individuals, Groups, and Institutions 10. Civic Ideas and Practices
6. Power, Authority, and Governance
7. Production, Distribution, and Consumption
8. Science, Technology, and Society
9. Global Connections
10. Civic Ideas and Practices
A third way to answer the “Which knowledge is most important?” question is to
identify topics. There is no shortage of topics, and of course they cannot all be
taught and it would be realistically impossible to learn them all. Educators are
responsible for planning which topics for unit development in each of the
elementary grades appear in the curriculum scope and sequence. For example,
elementary students should know:

• great river systems of the world

• desert cultures and forest cultures
• food, clothing, transportation, and shelter (now and then, near and far)
• ancient societies and modern societies
• geographic regions of one’s own country
• rights and responsibilities of citizens

ATTITUDES AND VALUES

The second sub-goal of social studies learning—attitudes and values—is directed
less at cognitive knowledge
and more at emotion, feeling, and beliefs about right and wrong. Particular
attitudes (also called dispositions, traits, and virtues) and values are essential to
democratic citizenship. Without attitudes and values, like a boat without a rudder
or a hiker with no compass, democratic government and civic life would be
impossible. Attitudes and values are incorporated into social studies so that
learners will:

• be committed to public values of society

• be able to deal fairly and effectively with value conflicts that arise when
making decisions about the common good
• develop a reasoned loyalty to one’s own nation and his/her country’s form
of government
• develop a feeling of kinship to human beings everywhere
• take responsibility for one’s actions and fulfilling one’s obligations to the
community
SKILLS
The third sub-goal—skills—identifies what students should know how to do. Of
course, doing involves knowing; skillful behavior is skillful to a great extent because
of the knowledge that supports it. A child is skillful at something because he or she
knows how to do it well. A skill, then, is also called know-how or procedural
knowledge. Skills are often subdivided as follows:

A. Democratic Participation Skills

• listening to and expressing opinions and reasons
• participating in classroom, school, and community decision making,
especially participating in group discussions of public issues (classroom,
community, international) with persons with whom one may disagree;
leading such discussions; mediating, negotiating, and compromising
• working cooperatively to clarify a task and plan group work
• accessing, using, and creating community resources

B. Study and Inquiry Skills

• using and making time lines, maps, globes, charts, and graphs
• locating, reading, and analyzing information from a variety of resources,
such as books, encyclopedias, the Internet, newspapers, and libraries
• writing reports and giving oral presentations
• distinguishing between primary and secondary sources
• forming and testing hypotheses

C. Intellectual Skills (critical thinking and problem solving)

• comparing and contrasting
• making and evaluating conclusions based on evidence
• identifying and clarifying problems and issues
• distinguishing fact from opinion
• inferring cause-effect relationships
 These skills are all inter-connected. Participating competently in group problem-
solving requires the student to apply various types of knowledge and thinking skills.
This requires the development of group participation skills such as the abilities to
lead, organize, bargain, compromise and manage a group discussion or activities
lawfully, cooperatively and effectively. These may involve learning experiences like
small group problem-solving, role playing and participating in civic action projects.

Teachers must establish a supportive learning environment that encourages the

students to participate and contribute in group activity and to understand and
respect the efforts and contribution of all. As far as possible, teachers should see
that no one is left out of group projects.
III. GUIDING PRINCIPLES IN TEACHING SOCIAL STUDIES
The guiding principles in the teaching of Social Studies can be summarized in the
acronym MAVIC. M – meaningful, A – active, V – value-based, I – integrative, and
C – challenging.

1) Meaningful. A lesson is meaningful when:

• it is relevant and connected to students’ lives including prior
experiences.
• it is taught with depth not just memorizing isolated bits of information and
superficial content coverage for the test.
• it challenges the students to employ life skills like critical and creative
thinking skills.
• lesson is learned by doing.

2) Active. Learning is “hands-on, minds-on, and hearts-on.” Learning is active

when:
• students discuss issues, solve problems, and make decisions
themselves.
• students interact with the teacher.
• students interact with classmates.
• students interact with learning materials.
3) Value-based. Lessons have both cognitive and affective dimensions.
Lessons are meant to develop students with a mind and a heart. Social
Studies teaching is value-based when:
• lessons make use of value-laden concerns and issues where
students are expected to come up with informed and value-based
decisions.
• lessons engage students in experiences that develop them to
become good citizens of a democratic form of government.
• lessons balance the cognitive approach with an emotional touch.

4) Integrative. Social Studies teaching is enriched by employing a

multidisciplinary approach. By its very nature, social studies as a
subject consists of a number of interrelated disciplines. Social
Studies teaching is integrative when:
• lessons integrate other disciplines.
• lessons connect the past, the present, and the future.
• lessons consider students’ learning styles.
• lessons make use of cognitive skills used in other disciplines such as
interpreting data, and drawing conclusions.

5) Challenging. Social Studies teaching is challenging when it requires real

effort on the part of students to learn. Social studies lessons are challenging
when:
• they are not too easy to take for granted nor too difficult to turn off
students from learning.
• they inject novelty into exercises, so they are different from the usual
and the familiar.