Social studies is the integrated study of the
social sciences and
humanities to promote civic competence. Within the school program, social studies provides coordinated, systematic study drawing upon such disciplines as
anthropology,
archaeology,
economics,
geography,
history,
jurisprudence,
philosophy,
political science,
psychology,
religion, and
sociology, as well as appropriate content from the humanities,
mathematics, and
natural sciences. The primary purpose of social studies is 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.