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31 May 2017
Publications
PROMOTING CIVIC COMPETENCE THROUGH SOCIAL STUDIES EDUCATION
By: Bryan M. Santos
As an academic discipline, the main goal under which social studies operate is to offer
secondary students with a plethora of learning experiences where certain virtues are given the
opportunity to be nurtured and developed (Zevin, 2013). These virtues include improved
interpersonal relationships, higher level of self-realization, advanced social and political
participation, unity with national goals, and improved scientific and technological understanding.
Such is the case because the primary concern of social studies is to understand individuals’ spatial,
temporal, and geographical relationships (Ritter, Powell, & Hawley, 2007). Simply put it, the
interaction of people with one another and with the society as a whole is the phenomenon being
explored in social studies. As Barton, McCully, and Marks (2004) said, when referring to social
studies in general, there is unity of thought among academic scholars that man’s life is the center
of its endeavours.
However, Britzman (2003) claimed that among the aspects of the society as a whole, the
main focus of social studies is on the promotion of civic education. By civic education, he meant
developing civic competence among secondary school learners through integrating knowledge,
attitudes, and skills in proposing resolutions to the problems, challenges, and issues that societies
encounter. Along with the promotion of civic education, however, Zevin (2013) argued that the
dynamism of society should also be recognized and explored accordingly. His argument is
anchored on the fact that knowledge about the society as well as the nature of knowledge itself is
in a constant process of change. Seen in this light, social studies will be able to promote civic
competence by fostering modern approaches in giving solutions to the contemporary issues and
problems that societies confront.
Given the above social studies concept, social studies as a school subject should primarily
be concerned in developing “intelligent, responsible and self-directing citizens who are expected
to positively explore opportunities to develop their own potentialities and to contribute their
maximum effort to the improvement of group living within the societal framework of the nation”
(Dynneson & Gross, 1999:67). In other words, while part and parcel of the outcomes that social
studies education should bring about are students’ individual development and improved
relationships with others, the culminating realization of these outcomes is the betterment of the
31 May 2017
Publications
society as whole. Students are, through social studies education, expected to contribute to the
development of the entire society.
Understood in the above context, social studies teachers are exhorted to put emphasis on
civic education. This means that in carrying out their pedagogical tasks, their primary
consideration is the promotion of civic awareness among students. A brief discussion of what civic
education is will therefore be devoted.
According to Darling-Hammon and Bransford (2005), civic education refers to the
educational system whose chief educational goal is to develop upright civic values among the
learners. Furthermore, it seeks to develop students who are aware, informed, responsible, and
active citizens of the country. While civic awareness is the theoretical aspect of civic education,
civic participation is its practical counterpart. Ritter et al. (2007) support this view as they argue
that the main goal of civic education is the inculcation of morally sound virtues of good citizenship
which in the long run must be exhibited by learners through value characterization.
Given these views about social studies education, it must cease as an armchair classroom
subject. More than the acquisition of knowledge, the promotion of civic competence and virtues
of responsible citizenship should be emphasized in social studies education.
References
Barton, K.C., McCully, A.W., & Marks, M. J. (2004).Reflecting on elementary children’s understanding of history and social studies: An inquiry project with beginning teachers in Northern Ireland and the United State. Journal of Teacher Education, 55(1), 70-90.
Britzman, .D.T. (2003).Practice makes practice: A critical study of learning to teach. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.
Darling- Hammond, L., & Bransford, J. (Eds.). (2005).Preparing teachers for a changing world: What teachers should learn and be able to do. San Francisco, CA: Jossey- Bass.
Dynneson, T. L., & Gross, R. E. (1999). Designing effective instruction for secondary social studies. Merrill College, Prentice Hall, 200 Old Tappan Rd., Old Tappan, NJ 07675.
Ritter, J. K., Powell, D.J., & Hawley, T. S. (2007).Takin’ It to the streets: a collaborative self study into social studies field instruction. Social Studies Research and Practice, 2(3).
Zevin, J. (2013). Social studies for the twenty-first century: Methods and materials for teaching in middle and secondary schools. Routledge.