School of Education
Teaching Social Studies
About the course
Social Studies came to exist in the world to promote social well-being, prosperity, sustainability, and collaboration of humans with nature. It creates Earth a safe and common living place for all creatures. Social Studies build the harmony between nature and humans stronger. It enhances education as a means of enhancing students’ knowledge and leadership connecting the classroom with a community of interest. Social Studies aims to enhance students’ critical and creative thinking skills through inquiry-based and other innovative modes of learning. Social studies, which include subjects like geography, history, economics, sociology, culture, political science, journalism, etc., and focus on understanding the changing forms of human relationships in a societal base that is always structuring and restructuring, has been a neglected area of study in Nepal. This is mainly because of two reasons. First, people have given very high and undue emphasis to science and technology related subjects as these are thought to be employment oriented and the second and actually the main reason is the very poor contribution of non-technical or social subjects in improving the livelihood opportunities of its graduates. Such poor contribution is not because these non-technical subjects are of little value but because these are practiced in a very poor manner.
In this manner, if we want to understand the dynamics of the society we need to understand all its aspects in all its totality, or in an integrated manner, that is, not as a geographer or an economist or an educator, but as a social scientist and this is what the focus of social education is. Realizing the lack of competent social studies teachers in the country who could teach social studies effectively and in a contextualized manner linking its theoretical as well as practical aspects, and realizing that there is a dire need for such a program focusing on education science, Kathmandu University School of Education is now all set to offer this program aiming the following course learning objectives.
| Objectives of the course | Modules |
| 1. Develop the pedagogical insights of the teachers, 2. Enhance the teachers’ content-based competency and linking it in an everyday manner. 3. Prepare competent educators in social studies. |
Module 1: Historical Development and Its Philosophy Module 2: Social Identity and Political-Environment Awareness Module 3: Demography, Economy, Development and Glocalisation Module 4: Pedagogical Insights |
Target audience:
Social studies teachers, teacher educators, trainers working in different part of the world.