Social Studies Standards
Performance Expectations
I. Culture
Performance Expectations
I. Culture
Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of culture and cultural diversity, so that the learner can:
- a. analyze and explain the ways groups, societies, and cultures address human needs and concerns;
- b. predict how data and experiences may be interpreted by people from diverse cultural perspectives and frames of reference;
- c. apply an understanding of culture as an integrated whole that explains the functions and interactions of language, literature, the arts, traditions, beliefs and values, and behavior patterns;
- d. compare and analyze societal patterns for preserving and transmitting culture while adapting to environmental or social change;
- e. demonstrate the value of cultural diversity, as well as cohesion, within and across groups;
- f. interpret patterns of behavior reflecting values and attitudes that contribute or pose obstacles to cross-cultural understanding;
- g. construct reasoned judgments about specific cultural responses to persistent human issues;
- h. explain and apply ideas, theories, and modes of inquiry drawn from anthropology and sociology in the examination of persistent issues and social problems.
Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of the ways human beings view themselves in and over time, so that the learner can:
- a. demonstrate that historical knowledge and the concept of time are socially influenced constructions that lead historians to be selective in the questions they seek to answer and the evidence they use;
- b. apply key concepts such as time, chronology, causality, change, conflict, and complexity to explain, analyze, and show connections among patterns of historical change and continuity;
- c. identify and describe significant historical periods and patterns of change within and across cultures, such as the development of ancient cultures and civilizations, the rise of nation-states, and social, economic, and political revolutions;
- d. systematically employ processes of critical historical inquiry to reconstruct and reinterpret the past, such as using a variety of sources and checking their credibility, validating and weighing evidence for claims, and searching for causality;
- e. investigate, interpret, and analyze multiple historical and contemporary viewpoints within and across cultures related to important events, recurring dilemmas, and persistent issues, while employing empathy, skepticism, and critical judgment;
- f. apply ideas, theories, and modes of historical inquiry to analyze historical and contemporary developments, and to inform and evaluate actions concerning public policy issues.
Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of people, places and environments, so that the learner can:
- a. refine mental maps of locales, regions, and the world that demonstrates understanding of relative location, direction, size, and shape;
- b. create, interpret, use, and synthesize information from various representations of the earth, such as maps, globes, and photographs;
- c. use appropriate resources, data sources, and geographic tools such as aerial photographs, satellite images, geographic information systems (GIS), map projections, and cartography to generate, manipulate, and interpret information such as atlases, data bases, grid systems, charts, graphs, and maps;
- d. calculate distance, scale, area, and density, and distinguish spatial distribution patterns;
- e. describe, differentiate, and explain the relationships among various regional and global patterns of geographic phenomena such as landforms, soils, climate, vegetation, natural resources, and population;
- f. use knowledge of physical system changes such as seasons, climate and weather, and the water cycle to explain geographic phenomena;
- g. describe and compare how people create places that reflect culture, human needs, government policy, and current values and ideals as they design and build specialized buildings, neighborhoods, shopping centers, urban centers, industrial parks, and the like;
- h. examine, interpret, and analyze physical and cultural patterns and their interactions, such as land use, settlement patterns, cultural transmission of customs and ideas, and ecosystem changes;
- i. describe and assess ways that historical events have been influenced by, and have influenced, physical and human geographic factors in local, regional, national, and global settings;
- j. analyze and evaluate social and economic effects of environmental changes and crises resulting from phenomena such as floods, storms, and drought;
- k. propose, compare, and evaluate alternative policies for the use of land and other resources in communities, regions, nations, and the world.
Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of individual development and identity, so that the learner can:
- a. articulate personal connections to time, place, and social/cultural systems;
- b. identify, describe, and express appreciation for the influences of various historical and contemporary cultures on an individual's daily life;
- c. describe the ways family, religion, gender, ethnicity, nationality, socioeconomic status, and other group and cultural influences contribute to the development of a sense of self;
- d. apply concepts, methods, and theories about the study of human growth and development, such as physical endowment, learning, motivation, behavior, perception, and personality;
- e. examine the interactions of ethnic, national, or cultural influences in specific situations or events;
- f. analyze the role of perceptions, attitudes, values, and beliefs in the development of personal identity;
- g. compare and evaluate the impact of stereotyping, conformity, acts of altruism, and other behaviors on individuals and groups;
- h. work independently and cooperatively within groups and institutions to accomplish goals;
- i. examine factors that contribute to and damage one's mental health and analyze issues related to mental health and behavioral disorders in contemporary society.
Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of interactions among individuals, groups, and institutions, so that the learner can:
- a. apply concepts such as role, status, and social class in describing the connections and interactions of individuals, groups, and institutions in society;
- b. analyze group and institutional influences on people, events, and elements of culture in both historical and contemporary settings;
- c. describe the various forms institutions take, and explain how they develop and change over time;
- d. identify and analyze examples of tensions between expressions of individuality and efforts used to promote social conformity by groups and institutions;
- e. describe and examine belief systems basic to specific traditions and laws in contemporary and historical movements;
- f. evaluate the role of institutions in furthering both continuity and change;
- g. analyze the extent to which groups and institutions meet individual needs and promote the common good in contemporary and historical settings;
- h. explain and apply ideas and modes of inquiry drawn from behavioral science and social theory in the examination of persistent issues and social problems.
Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of how people create and change structures of power, authority, and governance, so that the learner can:
- a. examine persistent issues involving the rights, roles, and status of the individual in relation to the general welfare;
- b. explain the purpose of government and analyze how its powers are acquired, used, and justified;
- c. analyze and explain ideas and mechanisms to meet needs and wants of citizens, regulate territory, manage conflict, establish order and security, and balance competing conceptions of a just society;
- d. compare and analyze the ways nations and organizations respond to conflicts between forces of unity and forces of diversity;
- e. compare different political systems (their ideologies, structure, and institutions, processes, and political cultures) with that of the United States, and identify representative political leaders from selected historical and contemporary settings;
- f. analyze and evaluate conditions, actions, and motivations that contribute to conflict and cooperation within and among nations;
- g. evaluate the role of technology in communications, transportation, information-processing, weapons development, or other areas as it contributes to or helps resolve conflicts;
- h. explain and apply ideas, theories, and modes of inquiry drawn from political science to the examination of persistent issues and social problems;
- i. evaluate the extent to which governments achieve their stated ideals and policies at home and abroad;
- j. prepare a public policy paper and present and defend it before an appropriate forum in school or community.
Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of how people organize for the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services, so that the learner can:
- a. explain how the scarcity of productive resources (human, capital, technological, and natural) requires the development of economic systems to make decisions about how goods and services are to be produced and distributed;
- b. analyze the role that supply and demand, prices, incentives, and profits play in determining what is produced and distributed in a competitive market system;
- c. consider the costs and benefits to society of allocating goods and services through private and public sectors;
- d. describe relationships among the various economic institutions that make up economic systems such as households, business firms, banks, government agencies, labor unions, and corporations;
- e. analyze the role of specialization and exchange in economic processes;
- f. compare how values and beliefs influence economic decisions in different societies;
- g. compare basic economic systems according to how rules and procedures deal with demand, supply, prices, the role of government, banks, labor and labor unions, savings and investments, and capital;
- h. apply economic concepts and reasoning when evaluating historical and contemporary social developments and issues;
- i. distinguish between the domestic and global economic systems, and explain how the two interact;
- j. apply knowledge of production, distribution, and consumption in the analysis of a public issue such as the allocation of health care or the consumption of energy, and devise an economic plan for accomplishing a socially desirable outcome related to that issue;
- k. distinguish between economics as a field of inquiry and the economy.
Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of relationships among science, technology, and society, so that the learner can:
- a. identify and describe both current and historical examples of the interaction and interdependence of science, technology, and society in a variety of cultural settings;
- b. make judgements about how science and technology have transformed the physical world and human society and our understanding of time, space, place, and human-environment interactions;
- c. analyze how science and technology influence the core values, beliefs, and attitudes of society, and how core values, beliefs, and attitudes of society shape scientific and technological change;
- d. evaluate various policies that have been proposed as ways of dealing with social changes resulting from new technologies, such as genetically engineered plants and animals;
- e. recognize and interpret varied perspectives about human societies and the physical world using scientific knowledge, ethical standards, and technologies from diverse world cultures;
- f. formulate strategies and develop policies for influencing public discussions associated with technology-society issues, such as the greenhouse effect.
Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of global connections and interdependence, so that the learner can:
- a. explain how language, art, music, belief systems, and other cultural elements can facilitate global understanding or misunderstanding;
- b. explain conditions and motivations that contribute to conflict, cooperation, and interdependence among groups, societies, and nations;
- c. analyze and evaluate the effects of changing technologies on the global community;
- d. analyze the causes, consequences, and possible solutions to persistent, contemporary, and emerging global issues, such as health, security, resource allocation, economic development, and environmental quality;
- e. analyze the relationships and tensions between national sovereignty and global interests, in such matters as territory, economic development, nuclear and other weapons, use of natural resources, and human rights concerns;
- f. analyze or formulate policy statements demonstrating an understanding of concerns, standards, issues, and conflicts related to universal human rights;
- g. describe and evaluate the role of international and multinational organizations in the global arena;
- h. illustrate how individual behaviors and decisions connect with global systems.
Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of the ideals, principles, and practices of citizenship in a democratic republic, so that the learner can:
- a. explain the origins and interpret the continuing influence of key ideals of the democratic republican form of government, such as individual human dignity, liberty, justice, equality, and the rule of law;
- b. identify, analyze, interpret, and evaluate sources and examples of citizens' rights and responsibilities;
- c. locate, access, analyze, organize, synthesize, evaluate, and apply information about selected public issues Ñ identifying, describing, and evaluating multiple points of view;
- d. practice forms of civic discussion and participation consistent with the ideals of citizens in a democratic republic;
- e. analyze and evaluate the influence of various forms of citizen action on public policy;
- f. analyze a variety of public policies and issues from the perspective of formal and informal political actors;
- g. evaluate the effectiveness of public opinion in influencing and shaping public policy development and decision making;
- h. evaluate the degree to which public policies and citizen behaviors reflect or foster the stated ideals of a democratic republican form of government;
- i. construct a policy statement and an action plan to achieve one or more goals related to an issue of public concern;
- j. participate in activities to strengthen the "common good," based upon careful evaluation of possible options for citizen action.