Social Studies Development

Social Studies skills refer to a child’s ability to understand oneself in relation to the world. It includes the exploration of roles, responsibilities and cultural traditions.

Children live within many different communities: family, school, church, city, nation, etc. Within each community are different social norms and traditions. Understanding social systems sets the stage for a child’s lifelong dispositions about people, cultures and how he or she belongs in these systems (NCSS, 1988). Experience Curriculum embraces the research that it is critical to invite children to explore diverse communities, which enables them to integrate commonalities between them and increase respect for differences (Morrison, 2008).