ED216 Assignment 3 Social Studies

Approaches For Teaching Social

Studies
 Introduction

Social studies develops the knowledge, skills, and processes necessary to

understand historical and present day connections among diverse
individuals and groups (Maine Department of Education Regulation, 2007).
The informal, non-formal and formal approaches are used in the teaching
and learning of Social Studies (Kedrayate, Koroi, & Lingam, 2008). The first
part of this essay aims to discuss two of the approaches above that have
contributed greatly to my development as a member of my society. The
second part of this essay will attempt to define Culturally Exclusive
Curriculum and describe three problems that a teacher may face in
facilitating this type of curriculum in a formal setting then it will suggest
possible solutions that can be utilized by a teacher to address these
problems.

1. Approaches For Teaching Social Studies

The two approaches that have greatly contributed greatly to my

development as a member of society are informal and formal learning.
Informal learning is learning that takes place through everyday embodied
practices in non educational setting (Janie, Phil, & Helen, 2003). This
happens when instead of being taught children are incorporated in every
life task , so that theu learn themselves by keen observation (Little, 2011).
Formal learning is organised, structured and institutionalised learning
experience that is classroom based and provided by trained teachers
(Kedrayate, Koroi, & Lingam, 2008). It is learning within educational
institutions where children are taught (Janie, Phil, & Helen, 2003). The
knowledge, skills and attitudes that have more significance in my life are
the ones that have been learnt from one approach and confirmed in the
other. There is one very important attitude that is very important to me
and I try my best to impart to my students, my own children and people
that live in my household. This is the knowledge and attitude that involves
rubbish disposal. From my formal education I have been taught the
different ways of safely disposing of rubbish with consideration of the
physical and social environment. These knowledge and attitude were
being continuously confirmed at home (informal learning) by my mother
who was always particular with how we dispose of our rubbish at home.
My family lived in the island for years as my mother taught in island
schools. There was no City Council to take care of our rubbish and our
immediate physical environment became the victim of poor rubbish
disposal. Even though almost every household in the villages does not
worry about the environmental effects of their actions my family lived
under very strict rules of burning, burying, composting and reusing and
using the right method for each item of garbage. The skill of rubbish
disposal methods is used in my home and is going to be surely passed
down to my grandchildren. Even now when living in the city, vegetable
gardening is still done at home to make good use of the compost. The
rubbish that gets taken in the council truck are only items that we cannot
possibly compost or reuse at home.

S97002114 Mary Blakelock Assignment 3 ED216 Semester 1 2014 USP

Another attitude that I have learnt from formal and informal learning is to
appreciate the social structure of my own community and those of
communities other that my own that I come into contact with. This was
learnt in school in the formal setting and also confirmed in my life's
journey as my family got exposed to a lot of new communities that my
mother got transferred to. As I grew up, and moved from different schools,
into a new family (my husband's family) and got my fair share of various
communities through my work I became more and more experienced in
studying social structure and learnt to become quickly accepted in a
community if I quickly learn their social structure, their culture, their
concerns, their social norms and at times their language or dialect. I
believe that if what children learn are confirmed at home by their parents
and elders the knowledge, skills and attitudes will be used in the real lives
of learners and valued. This also applies to confirming at formal
institutions the right attitudes and respect for their own cultures as well as
those of others and what is valued in the homes and communities.

2.3. Culturally Inclusive Curriculum (CIC)

The above term can be defined as a curriculum that includes pupil's prior
knowledge, understanding, cultures and values. Culturally responsive
classrooms specifically acknowledge the presence of culturally diverse
students and the need for these students to find relevant connections
among themselves and with the subject matter and the tasks teachers ask
them to perform (Winifred, 2001). This type of curriculum requires the
teacher to be well versed with the culture(s) of students in his classroom.
The teacher will always ensure to include what the students already know
about a topic or concept to be taught if it already exists in the culture(s) of
his students. Teachers will be in a better position to teach a concept
effectively if he teaches the topic with consideration of the culture and
existing knowledge of students.

A problem that may be faced with teachers in facilitating CIC is having to

teach in a classroom where students are from different diverse cultural
backgrounds. This can be seen in urban schools in Fiji. It will require a lot
of effort to fully understand each child's background before a teacher can
address and include each child in the lessons. A strategy to deal with this
problem will be having portfolios kept by students that includes
information about their background, photos of the family and of the
student's village. As they approach topics like weddings and other
cultural, community and family events, students can bring photos that
portray these topics from their culture and family and also in their
attending those of other cultures. These portfolios may be updated
regularly to include songs, poems and stories. These portfolios will be
used by the teacher to learn about the students and for students to
appreciate the events that take place in their lives, families, communities
and cultures. They may be allowed to look at the portfolios of other
students and learn about the lives and cultures of their peers. From the
knowledge about students gained from these portfolios, the teacher will

S97002114 Mary Blakelock Assignment 3 ED216 Semester 1 2014 USP

have some background knowledge about students and be able to address
their diverse cultures in lessons.

A second problem that may be faced by teachers in the existence of

minorities in the class. Sometimes teachers tend to concentrate or be
biased towards the culture of students who makes the majority of the
class. Students who belong in a minority group are ignored and this may
also have an effect on the children from the majority group, as they might
unintentionally learn to remain ignorant about the cultures of people
around them. It sometimes happen that students in the minority group
feel ignored and unappreciated. For some, it may lead to developing low
self esteem but for some it sometimes lead to developing unacceptable
behaviour that brings the teacher's attention to themselves. This can be
solved by having a lesson about the culture of the student in the minority
group where the student himself may take part in bringing artefacts,
costumes, or teaching a song from his culture. With these type of lessons
the other students will learn about and accept the differences that exist
between cultures and learn to have respect for students of a minority
group. It will also build confidence for students who are from minority
groups in a class and create a sense of belonging as they see the interest
in their peers for the culture of minorities. Prejudice and stereotyping
about a certain culture can also be reduced if students are more informed
about it and its culture and tradition.

The last problem that I would like to mention is one where the culture of
all the students in the class is distinctively different from that of the
teacher. An example of this kind of situation would be an ethnic Indian
teacher who has been posted to a Kadavu island school in Fiji where all
the students are i Taukei. This is happening in some of the island schools
around Fiji. I choose to use some of the methods that I observed was
being used by this particular teacher in an island school. Even though he
was from the city, he blended well with the local community, went fishing
with them, wore a sulu and attended weekly Church services even though
he was a Hindu, learnt the dialect very quickly, and tried out almost every
traditional food on the island. He even attended funerals in the village. I
had a lot of admiration for this young teacher who the students had a lot
of respect for. I believe that in his lessons he would be able to relate to the
culture and prior knowledge of the students effectively as he experiences
their life, uses their methods and speaks their language. The more a
teacher understands and appreciates the prior knowledge and
experiences of his students in his Social Studies lessons, the more
effective his lessons will be as he will relate well to the students' ideas and
be able to see things from their perspective.

Conclusion

Teaching Social Studies will be a success if the lessons and concepts are
contextualised and localised. Students will understand the concepts that
are being taught when we begin from what they already know. It is very
important that teachers confirm in school the worthwhile values that have

S97002114 Mary Blakelock Assignment 3 ED216 Semester 1 2014 USP

been learnt in the home and communities. It is also important that
teachers and schools try and work together with the community of
parents on some of the issues that are important to the physical
environment like rubbish disposal. Some of these knowledge, skills and
values formally taught at schools will be lost if they are not practiced and
supported in the home or if practices in the home and community
contradict them. It is our duties as teachers to help students to develop
and maintain a good relationship with the social and physical environment
around them.

Bibliography
Janie, M., Phil, H., & Helen, C. (2003). The interrelationships between informal

and informal learning. Journal of workplace learning , 313-318.

Kedrayate, A., Koroi, M., & Lingam, G. (2008). ED216 Science and Social Studies

II Course Book 2 Module 2 Social Studies. Suva: The University of the South

Pacific.

Little, C. A. (2011). How Asabano children learn: Formal schooling amongst

informal learners. Oceania , 148-166.

Maine Department of Education Regulation. (2007). Retrieved April 22nd, 2014,

from Maine.gov: http://www.maine.gov/education/lres/pei/ss102207.pdf

Winifred, M. (2001). Creating culturally responsive, inclusive classrooms.

Teaching Exceptional Children , 4.

S97002114 Mary Blakelock Assignment 3 ED216 Semester 1 2014 USP

S97002114 Mary Blakelock Assignment 3 ED216 Semester 1 2014 USP