Rationale
Humanities and Social Sciences is the study of human behaviour and interaction in social, cultural, environmental, economic and political contexts. Humanities and Social Sciences has a historical and contemporary focus, from personal to global contexts, and considers opportunities and challenges for the future.
In the Western Australian Curriculum, the Humanities and Social Sciences learning area comprises four subjects: Civics and Citizenship, Economics and Business, Geography and History.
By studying Humanities and Social Sciences, students will develop the ability to question; think critically; make decisions based on evidence; devise proposals for actions; and communicate effectively.
Thinking about, reflecting on, and responding to issues requires an understanding of the key historical, geographical, political, legal, economic, business and societal factors involved, and how these different factors interrelate.
The Humanities and Social Sciences subjects provide students with the knowledge and skills they need to develop a broad understanding of the world in which we live and how people can participate as active and informed citizens in the 21st century.
History and Geography commence in Pre-primary. Civics and Citizenship is introduced in Year 3 and Economics and Business in Year 5.
In Humanities and Social Sciences, the key concepts (Figure 1), knowledge and understanding and skills within each subject are interrelated to inform and support each other. When developing teaching and learning programs, teachers combine these three aspects to create learning experiences.
The Humanities and Social Sciences knowledge and understanding identifies key concepts that are the high-level ideas involved in teaching students to think from a humanities and social sciences perspective.
The Humanities and Social Sciences skills (Figure 2) are divided into: questioning and researching; analysing; evaluating; and communicating and reflecting. They are common to all four subjects. These skills can be taught discretely and/or in conjunction with the key concepts, knowledge and understanding, or as part of an inquiry approach.
Figure 1:
Figure 2:
