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| Staff: |
| Mr. M. Fitzgerald -Dept. Head |
| Mr. D. Hinton |
| Ms. L. Nelliphuza |
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The Place of Canadian and World Studies in the Curriculum
The Canadian and world studies program encompasses five subjects: economics, geography, history, law, and politics. In studying these subjects, students learn how people interact with and within their social and physical environments today, and how they did so in the past.
The main goals of the Canadian and world studies program in Grades 9 and 10 are to help students to:
* gain an understanding of the basic concepts of the subjects taught at this level, as a foundation for further studies in the discipline;
* develop the knowledge and values they need to become responsible, active, and informed Canadian citizens in the twenty-first century;
* develop practical skills (such as critical-thinking, research, and communication skills), some of which are particular to a given subject in Canadian and world studies and some of which are common to all the subjects in the discipline;
* apply the knowledge and skills they acquire in Canadian and world studies courses to better understand their interactions with the natural environment; the political, economic, and cultural interactions among groups of people; the relationship between technology and society; and the factors contributing to society’s continual evolution.
These goals are all of equal importance. They can be achieved simultaneously in a concrete, practical context through learning activities that combine the acquisition of knowledge with the application of various skills, including inquiry/research, communication, and map and graphic representation skills.
Students’ learning in the various courses in this discipline will contribute significantly to their understanding of Canada’s heritage and its physical, social, cultural, governmental, legal, and economic structures and relationships. It will also help them to perceive Canada in a global context and to understand its place and role in the world community.
Students and teachers need to be aware that success in these courses is not measured simply in terms of how well students memorize a series of facts. Rather, these courses teach students to assess how events, ideas, and values affect them individually and their society as a whole. Courses in Canadian and world studies actively involve students in research, critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making. They also help students develop a variety of communication skills, as well as the ability to use information technology to collect, organize, interpret, and present information. Students can apply these skills and understandings in other secondary school subjects, in their future studies, and in today’s rapidly changing workplace.
The five subjects in Canadian and world studies are fundamentally connected to one another and can easily be linked to other secondary school curriculum areas as well. For example, civics has close ties with history; geography with science and technology; history with arts, languages, and social sciences and humanities. Taken from the Ontario Ministry of Education Curriculum 9 - 12
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