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5.2 Social subjects

The study of social subjects is central to the development of pupils' understanding of their place in the world.

In social subjects pupils learn about the diversity of human experience, both today and in the past, in their local area and further afield. They learn how to research, sift through and evaluate information and evidence and then present their point of view - skills that are important for adult life.

The distinctive nature of learning in social subjects allows pupils to develop an open and enquiring mind and a sense of empathy. They become increasingly able to view situations from another person's perspective, whether that person has lived at a different time or is a contemporary living in a different country or in different social circumstances. This in turn allows pupils to become critically aware of their own attitudes and values and to respect those of others.

Equally importantly, they learn to take responsibility for aspects of their own learning and to recognise their strengths and weaknesses. This capacity to think and act autonomously will stand them in good stead in many contexts throughout life and is at the heart of lifelong learning.

As they progress from P1 to S2 pupils will be able, as citizens and consumers, to make informed choices based on their growing appreciation of the interaction between people and their physical, social and cultural environment. They will recognise progressively the distinctive nature of the separate social subjects so that by the later primary stages they will have developed understanding of the key ideas of the secondary school subjects of history, geography and modern studies. Programmes of study in social subjects should allow pupils to integrate their growing knowledge and understanding with the development of the associated enquiry skills and informed attitudes. Such programmes will be enhanced when teachers and pupils are able to experience and draw upon the substantial and wide-ranging variety of evidence available beyond the classroom. In planning for first-hand learning opportunities such as fieldwork, due consideration must always be given to matters of health and safety.

Precise areas of content have not been specified: the time available at different stages from P1 to S2 will determine the depth and detail of each topic or study. The selection of content should reflect the need to ensure coherence within a school's overall programme, as well as the need to ensure continuity and progression from P7 to S1.

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© The 5-14 Curriculum (Scotland) Guidelines were produced by the Scottish Executive and Learning and Teaching Scotland and are reproduced with permission from the Queen's Printer for Scotland.