The Meaning and Scope of Social Studies Education
<h1><strong>MEANING AND SCOPE OF SOCIAL STUDIES EDUCATION</strong></h1> CONTENT <ol> <li>Meaning of Social Studies</li> <li>Scope of Social Studies</li> <li>Interaction between Man and the Environment</li> <li>Reasons for Studying Social Studies</li> </ol> <br> <h2><strong>Meaning of Social Studies</strong></h2> Social Studies is the study of man and his environment. It focuses on making us understand the interrelationship between man and his environment. It can be described as a subject that studies the way man lives in his physical and social environment. It is about how man influences his environment and how this environment, in turn, influences him. <br> <h2><strong>Scope of Social Studies</strong></h2> Basically, scope of Social Studies entails man, his environment (physical environment and social environment) as well as science and technology which man uses to make his environment suitable or conducive for him. It also entails the fact that Social Studies is an <em>integrated subject.</em> <img class="size-full wp-image-30637 aligncenter" src="https://classhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/scope-of-social-studies1.jpg" alt="Scope of Social Studies" width="409" height="261" /> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Dimensions of Social Studies</strong></p> <strong>Man</strong>: In Social Studies, ‘when we say man’ we simply mean human beings – you and I. It refers to human beings anywhere in the world: male or female, black or white. <strong>Man’s Environment:</strong> Environment refers to the totality of things and fellow human beings around man. There are two types of environment: physical environment and social environment. (a)<strong> Physical Environment:</strong> Physical environment refers to those physical things (or non-humans) around man. Examples are land, river, water, car, building etc. They are natural or man-made objects in our environment that we can see, feel or touch. Physical environment can be divided into <em>Natural Environment</em> and<em> Artificial Environment</em>. (i)<strong> Natural physical environments: </strong>These are things provided by God or nature. These include: