History & Anthropology
Social Studies
Social studies education is, on one level, a prescribed course of study designed to train future social studies teachers. Students in the program will take a variety of social science courses in the disciplines of anthropology, economics, geography, history, political science, psychology, and sociology as well as the requisite education curriculum. Upon completion of the requirements, the Department of Secondary and Elementary Education (DESE) will certify the graduate to teach social studies in the secondary schools (grades 9-12).
Preparing Citizens for the World
On another level, however, social studies education has a broader social mission. According to the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS)--the main professional organization for the social studies educator--the primary purpose of social studies education is the promotion of civic competence among young students. The task, then, of the social studies education program is to prepare future teachers to be able, in the words of the NCSS, "to help young people develop the ability to make informed and reasoned decisions for the public good as citizens of a culturally diverse, democratic society in an interdependent world." (Expectations of Excellence, p. 12).
To accomplish these goals, the social studies education program at UCM will provide its students with the course work necessary to acquire the knowledge (social studies content) and skills (education theory and methods) to succeed as a social studies teacher.