The shift from specific social science subjects to current multidisciplinary approaches - Essay Example

? Introduction The concept of social studies is one which was defined by a set objective and curriculum as well as divided topics which were used more within the classroom. However, there are current shifts which are now adding into the concept of education not only with divided topics, but instead through a multidisciplinary classroom. The changes this is creating leads into a different set of definitions of what it means to receive a specific education while having the correct approaches to learning within the classroom. Exploring the understanding of movement from social studies and sciences into multidisciplinary approaches to learning within the classroom also conveys a deeper understanding of how education can work from a variety of perspectives and in terms of the necessary components of teaching, education and how learning can be enhanced by using a variety of approaches. However, a variety of perspectives and studies all relate to different factors which change the understanding and outcome of social sciences and learning with multidisciplinary approaches. The traditional approach to teaching the social sciences is based on offering historical facts and figures while moving through highlighted events within history. This particular approach in the curriculum is one which is now being recognized as ineffective. While the historical facts and figures are developed with student retention, there is often little to no association with the facts and figures to the current events. This is combined with the lack of understanding of how the particular historical events affect those who are a citizen of a particular country. The ideology of multidisciplinary learning challenges the concept of traditional learning to an expanded curriculum. The ideology is to create a personal relationship to the materials while expanding the awareness of students with the material that is being learned. Multidisciplinary ideologies consist of everything from adding in personal and social relationships to the material to combining the curriculum with other formats of teaching, such as other topics or literature. The initiative which is taken is based on a re-examination of the materials which are being taught and what this means to students when they are beginning to understand the philosophies of social studies and the importance which this holds (Clark, 2008). Citizenship Education The first approach which is now considered with multidisciplinary education and social studies is citizenship education. There are many which are showing that the concept of history is not only to learn about historical facts and figures. There is also a direct correlation between the approach with citizenship to a country and the way in which one’s perspective alters toward the country. If there is not the ability to understand the historical factors within a country, then one cannot become a responsible citizen while having different opinions, social responsibilities and political actions which are taken. By changing the curriculum to incorporate social responsibility and citizenship, there is also the ability to begin altering the way in which social and cultural movements occur in terms of political terms and conditions. Changing the approaches to teaching so it correlates with meaning behind being a citizen is one which is then able to develop a different alternative in terms of educational development as well as the relationship which one holds to the historical ideologies which are taking place through current events. There are a variety of factors which show that social studies are not only linked to the main topic and sets of facts but also to other multidisciplinary approaches. The first is with the understanding of citizenship and what it means to be a part of a nation. The concept of being a citizen within a nation becomes an important term. It links directly to the understanding of the country, relationships to different historical facts and the responsibility which one takes in turn of being a citizen. However, this cannot be explored unless there is a direct relationship to the idea of what it means to be a citizen. The concept of studying the social sciences then has a direct relationship to what it means to be a part of the discipline of being a citizen. Having rights, obligations and responsibilities and combining this with the status of what it means to belong to a country become important facets with teaching the concept of social sciences. The importance is one which not only relates to the main concepts of history and democracy, but also changes the relationship which an individual has to values, political responsibilities and interactions which take place within the country. If these are not taught in the correct manner then the outcomes may lead to a lack of social and political responsibility towards the nation (Osborne, 2008). The concept of responsible citizenship is not the only perspective which factors into the teaching capacity and multidisciplinary approach within the classroom. This is an expansive concept which forms the responsibility, behaviors and other activist approaches of students that understand the basics of the nation. It is noted that there are active learning capacities which are a part of the classroom and which help to transform the way in which children work in the classroom. This is combined with the ability to create a personal and social relationship to the information which is retrieved. Connecting history to current issues, ideas and philosophies which are associated with society are then able to develop an alternative understanding of what it means to be a part of the nation while creating different types of understanding for students. Those who are studying with the development of a personal and social relationship are able to learn actively and in relation to the outside world. From this, there is the ability to create and develop purpose to the information which is being received while incorporating aspects of what it means to belong to a nation and region. Instead of the particular events only being associated with the foundations of information, there is the ability to develop beliefs, definitions, values and identity from the information which is taught. The multidisciplinary approach is then able to help with an overall evaluation of how one responds to the current events which are taking place and the role which each individual has from the historical relationships which are created (Case, Abbott, 2008). The idea of creating relationships with social studies to the multidisciplinary approaches furthers with the understanding that citizenship education plays a role in the development of identity of many. The purpose with citizenship education is one which is founded with understanding the history and political elements that are within a nation. However, this extends to one taking responsibility, understanding their place within society and developing the different elements that are associated with the main purposes. The concept of citizenship education as a multidisciplinary approach is one which is able to assist with one being responsible and respecting a nation while understanding the role which one carries within it. This is combined with the ability for one to integrate and connect the different facts which take place from the classroom with the outside environment. Connecting these together is able to develop cultural action as well as social development. The political and economic responses are able to further with this by developing and understanding a different sense of connection that is within the curriculum (Clark, Case, 2008). Developing History The concept of citizenship is one which cannot be looked into without a thorough understanding of what it means to belong to a country. There are a variety of factors that are interdependent and which influence the other aspects of a given society. Incorporating these into the social sciences is one which can also change how one thinks about history and the current events which they are a part of. Adding in a personal relationship to history is one of the missing links which is associated with the curriculum. The lack of opinion, individual relationship to the study and understanding of how events are intertwined with other concepts is one of the ideologies which are associated with the historical relationships. Creating a deeper understanding of history then relies on finding the right tools and techniques to ensure that students have an understanding of how current events create the history which one is associated with. Multidisciplinary approaches then consist of using tools and curriculum development outside of the social sciences that help to incorporate and develop a deeper understanding of how each of the ideologies and philosophies are multidimensional. The multidisciplinary approach expands beyond the relationship which one has to the cultural and social aspects of society. The history which is incorporated into social sciences is one which is often considered as a gap from other types of topics and curriculum. Dates, events and different factors are created in terms of developing a basic understanding of the historical reasoning which is a part of social studies. However, this leads to gaps with students understanding the events that occurred and the ways in which they have affected other aspects of a country and society. Changing this to create a deeper understanding is one which also integrates even more concepts of history into the curriculum. Combining the historical events and dates with activities through other topics, such as sciences, arts and other components helps to expand the awareness of what is occurring within society. The concept of the curriculum and the development of thinking is one which moves beyond historical thinking and into a well – rounded understanding of what it means to have an all inclusive understanding of what has occurred during a specific time frame. The relation to this is not only based on the complete understanding of a specific topic but also links to creating connections with current events and how this relates all facets of life (Denos, 2008). An example of this particular type of response is by changing the approach to teaching with the materials which are used. The traditional approach to learning social studies is to look into the textbook initiatives. These move in chronological order with the basic events and the dates that are used by the students. However, this often leaves out the individual and social perspectives as well as the events which are relating to this in terms of social and cultural action. The lack of responsiveness in terms of the other ideologies relating to historical events then creates a gap in the knowledge of students and what is retained in terms of learning. A change which can easily be made within the curriculum is to use literature and other outside materials to support the information that is given with historical facts. Fiction and non – fiction, artistic works and other types of expressions can be used to ensure that there is a deeper understanding of the knowledge which is provided. This will then create a connection to the materials that is personal and which adds in critical analysis and thinking to the materials provided. More important, it offers a perspective which is congruent with the current social status while creating a direct relationship to the types of movements and changes that have occurred in history at a deeper and more personal level (Clark, 2008). The combination of various topics with the social studies that are taught then leads into other ways in which an interchange can occur between various topics. Instead of relating to only factual information and the concept of history, there is the ability to expand awareness with other topics and the relationship which one can create between this and their own learning. The basis of this is to understand why it is important to learn history first. There is then the need to look at what one can do with history in the current time frame and how this can best be used for teaching students in a way which allows deeper meaning and purpose to be found with the historical events. Combining the curriculum with the question of why history is an important topic then becomes an essential component in understanding what the current purpose is of learning history. In this manner, it is easier for students to begin taking responsibility for the actions of history and to begin altering the understanding and perspective of information. Instead of the knowledge only being based on the basic text, there is the ability to combine this with other disciplines and to create relevance to the current day as well as how the interactions of different ideologies in society are able to link to this (Segall, 2008). Social Action and Social Studies The combination of curriculum with the questioning of why one should learn social studies then leads into current events and responsibilities associated with the ideology of learning the discipline. The concept of learning about citizenship relates to this through the different concepts which are created. Specifically, there is an understanding that one not only needs to know about the types of citizenship which are created. There is also the need to create a link to the attributes which one carries in this particular time frame and the social and cultural associations which are related to this. The individual and group decisions which are made by citizens have a direct effect with the political and historical events which are current to what is occurring. If history is looked into from this perspective, then there is the ability to create more responsibility from citizens and the interactions which are occurring. More important, there is the ability to develop an understanding of the changes in law and other important events. An example is the law related education which is often used with social studies. The law related education is one which can also help in providing responsibility for citizenship while creating a deeper understanding of what one’s rights and responsibilities are as a citizen. By doing this, there is the ability to create and develop a deeper sense of knowledge in terms of interactions, political efforts which can be taken and the responses which are most likely to occur from the past legalities and changes which are currently associated with those involved in political regimes (Cassidy, Ferguson, 2008). The ability to change the approach into responsible citizenship for the current time frame continues with the dynamics which are currently associated with the social and cultural time frame. The social studies which are now taught are based on the historical meaning and significance of knowing specific facts. This often leads to the political and social events of the time not having the correct response to the specialized needs of individuals. The lack of progression in specific events, repetition of problems in terms of legality and in political movements and the lack of possibilities which are available come from the lack of integration that occurs with the social studies in the classroom. To change this, there is the need to develop a place with social studies that moves beyond the basic and factual information. Relating this to the social action which is currently a part of society in terms of the political and economic responses is one which can change the level of active citizenship for those who are interested in the development of the country outside of historical facts. Creating a voice among students and allowing a different level of responsibility to arise is then able to create and develop new alternatives in terms of social action. This is furthered by the students understanding a sense of responsibility with the actions which are taken while the social studies become a pivotal point of knowledge for current responsibilities and action (Clark, 2008). The main approach which is taken with social action is to take the several influences of the social sciences and to incorporate this into the present day. The concept of adding in responsibility, incorporating the teachings and observing the approach toward present society then becomes an important component with the teaching. To do this, teachers are asked to re-examine what the history and social studies should be linked to. Instead of basic facts and figures, there is the need to incorporate how this continues to influence individuals in society while creating a direct link to what is occurring among several within society. This is furthered with a different understanding of how the influences within contemporary society become a history which is being created and which each individual is responsible for. Conclusion Traditional elements of social studies in the classroom have been developed in terms of knowing what has occurred among various cultures in terms of political events. However, this has been limited to the facts and figures as well as the basic timelines that are presented through textbook materials and expectations to reach specific standards. As a result, many students are lacking the knowledge and have gaps in terms of the relationship of social studies to other topics and the relevance for today. To change this approach, there is the need to create a multidisciplinary approach to teaching. The specific component is based on the need to alter the approach to responsible citizenship and how this affects social action today. This is furthered with creating personal relationships for students, specifically in terms of developing a relationship to literature and other disciplines that are a part of the cultural and social elements of citizenship. By doing this, there is the ability to develop a deeper understanding not only of the social studies from the past but also with the relationship that this holds to current levels of citizenship and social status. The result will be responsible citizenship and a deeper understanding of how actions affect those that are involved in political, legal, social and cultural concepts for the current time frame. References Case, Roland, Mary Abbott. Roland Case & Penney Clark, eds., (2008). “Purposeful Teaching in Secondary Social Studies.” The Anthology of Social Studies: Issues and Strategies for Secondary Teachers. Pacific Education Press: Vancouver.  Cassidy, Wanda, Margaret Ferguson. Roland Case & Penney Clark, eds., (2008). “Law Related Education for Citizenship and for Life.” The Anthology of Social Studies: Issues and Strategies for Secondary Teachers. Pacific Education Press: Vancouver.  Clark, Penny, Roland Case. Roland Case & Penney Clark, eds., (2008). “Four Defining Purposes of a Citizenship Education.” The Anthology of Social Studies: Issues and Strategies for Secondary Teachers. Pacific Education Press: Vancouver.  Clark, Penny. Roland Case & Penney Clark, eds., (2008). “Teaching History Through Literature.” The Anthology of Social Studies: Issues and Strategies for Secondary Teachers. Pacific Education Press: Vancouver.  Clark, Penny. Roland Case & Penney Clark, eds., (2008). “All Talk and No Action? The Place of Social Action in Secondary Social Studies.” The Anthology of Social Studies: Issues and Strategies for Secondary Teachers. Pacific Education Press: Vancouver.  Denos, Mike. Roland Case & Penney Clark, eds., (2008). “Portals to Understanding: Embedding Historical Thinking in the Curriculum.” The Anthology of Social Studies: Issues and Strategies for Secondary Teachers. Pacific Education Press: Vancouver.  Osborne, Ken. Roland Case & Penney Clark, eds., (2008). “The Teaching of History and Democratic Citizenship.” The Anthology of Social Studies: Issues and Strategies for Secondary Teachers. Pacific Education Press: Vancouver.  Segall, Avner. Roland Case & Penney Clark, eds., (2008). “Teaching a Critical History.” The Anthology of Social Studies: Issues and Strategies for Secondary Teachers. Pacific Education Press: Vancouver.  Read More