Teaching Pedagogy Relations Notes - Ralation Between Social Science

 

Relation between Social Science and Other Subjects

 

Social science studies social life as a whole. But for the understanding of social life as a "whole social science requires the help of other subjects which studies a particular aspect of society.

 

4.1 Social Science: Meaning and Definitions

Social Science is a generic term covering the scientific study of man. It is a discipline or branch of science that deals with the socle-cultural aspects of human behaviour. The social sciences generally include cultural anthropology, economics, political science, history, geography, sociology, criminology and social psychology which play an important role in human life.

Social science is defined as any scholastic discipline or scientific field that investigates human society.

 

The important definitions are as follow

According to James High, "Social Sciences are those bodies of learning and study which recognise the simultaneous and mutual action of physical and no-physical stimuli which produce social relation."

According to Charles Beard, "Social Sciences are a body of knowledge and thought pertaining to human affairs as distinguished from sticks, stones, stars and physical objects."

Bining and Bining defines Social Science as "The subject that relates to the origin, organisation and development of human society, especially to man in his association with other men."

 

4.1.1 Nature of Social Science

The nature of this discipline is discussed below

·               Social sciences are those aspects of knowledge which have direct bearing on man's activities in different socio-cultural fields.

·               Social sciences are advance level studies of human society; and they are generally taught at higher education level.

·               It seeks to find out truths about human relationships which ultimately contribute to the social utility and advancement of knowledge.

·               It is a unique combination of various disciplines.

·               It is a study of human relationships.

·               It is a study of man's development through ages.

·               It is a realistic course of study.

·               It forms an important part of the core- curriculum.

·               It includes commitment to action.

·               It aims at preparing the learner for wholesome social living.

 

 4.1.2 Position of Social Science in Present School Curriculum

·               In India, at the primary school level (i.e. class I-V), social sciences are taught to the learners as the part of environmental studies or environmental sciences curriculum.  

·               At the upper primary school level (i.e. class VI-VIII) and secondary school level (i.e. Class IX and X), social sciences are taught to the learners as a core composite instructional area of curriculum, and this area of curriculum is called as social studies or social sciences.

·               At the upper primary and the secondary school levels mainly four instructional subjects/components (e.g. history, geography, economics and civics) comprise the social sciences/social studies curriculum.

·               At the higher secondary school level (i.e. class XI and XII), different social science subjects like political science, anthropology, economics psychology etc are taught to the learners as the optional specialised courses.  

·               At the upper primary and or the secondary levels, the term 'social sciences' and 'social studies' to a great extent are interchangeable used e.g. NCF (2005) used the term 'social studies' in the context of curriculum of the upper primary stage, whereas, the Position Paper- National Focus Group on Teaching Social Sciences (2006) has used the term 'social sciences' in the context of curriculum of the upper primary stage.

·               In the textbooks of 'history', 'geography' and 'social and political life' at upper primary level of CBSE curriculum (published by NCERT) the term social science' is used.

·               Whatever the terms (i.e. 'social studies' or 'social sciences') used, the focus of teaching learning of 'social sciences' or 'social studies' changes according to the levels of education.

 

4.13 Objectives of Teaching Social Science at Primary and Upper Primary School Level

At school level, learning of environmental studies/ social studies/social science focuses on the issues which are functionally different from the issues of learning of social sciences at higher education levels are as follow

·               To acquaint students with their geographical, social and cultural environments.

·               To develop in students the sense of social competence and social commitment.

·               To develop the democratic citizenship qualities among students.

·               To develop the spirit of patriotism, national feeling and international understanding among students.

·               To help students to participate in socio-economic institutions.

·               To train students to solve the present and forthcoming social issues and challenges.

·               To develop moral values, emotional qualities and sense of belongingness among students.

·               To develop respect of differences of opinion, lifestyle and cultural practices among students.

·               To develop in the child a holistic understanding of the environment with emphasis on the interrelationship of the natural and the social environments.

 

4.1.4 Scope of Social Science in Present Scenario

·               The present society is a differentiated society where large number of social problems are found. As the present society is changing at a faster speed because of the impact of science and technology, advanced media and many more things, new social problems are cropping up day by day. Accordingly new social science are emerging and becoming the part of education system in order to address to such new social problems.

·               In the 18th and the 19th centuries, social science subject like social works, public administration, criminology, psychology and demography etc. had little existence, but in the last and present centuries, these subjects are getting due importance because many new social problems are associated with them.

·               In the 18th and even in the 19th century, issues relating to population especially growth of population were not major social issues. But in the last and present centuries, the complexities relating to the population growth have affected many aspects of social life. For this the subject demography has emerged as the important part of education system.

·               In the pre-modern societies, the life of the people was simple and the criminal activities were less, but in the modern industrial society, the criminal activities are found in every sphere of human life.

·               And for checking all the maladies relating to criminal activities, the social science subject 'criminology' has emerged and has become an important part of education system.

Likewise many social science subjects are emerging day by day in order to meet the changing nature of social problems. Therefore, the scope of social sciences is widening gradually.

 

4.2 Relationship between Science and Social Science

·               Natural science included biology, math and physics and so no. While social science, which appeared later in history than natural science, contains cultural anthropology, economics, political science, history, geography, sociology, criminology and psychology.

·               Though many people including natural science researchers believe that science is to know the rules and disciplines of nature, and to explore how things happen. Thus, they may always exclude social science from science. Still, social science is a newly developed science. It refers to the behaviour of human and studies the relationship between humanity and science.

·               We live in a modern world where knowledge of science gave many advanced technologies like satellites, television, newspaper, internet, technology in medicine, transport and other inventions etc, which have great place in our life.

So, with the viewpoint of technology and invention in science and its scope increases in human life, which is a part of social science. Both the sciences are inter-related and important to study in school curriculum.

·               Environmental science .is also related with science where effect of environment on society is the area of social science. Thus, we can conclude that both the sciences, namely science and social science, are related with each other.

 

4.2.1 Relationship between Social Science and Other Subjects

 

The subject-matter of science is much related with the social science as it provides information about natural phenomena, their causes, effects and mitigation. Thus, we can say that without science, environmental education is unimportant. Science covers all the aspects related to the environment.

The relation between all the branches of science namely, physics, biology and chemistry and the environment is discussed below

 

Social Science and Physics

·               Physics deals with abiotic components of environment like temperature, pressure, energy, air etc.

·               Principles and laws of physics are used to find out causes of natural calamities and how to mitigate them. Thus, there are some similarities in the subject-matter of both the subjects.

 

Social Science and Chemistry

·               There are similarities in the subject-matter of chemistry and environment, e.g. objects surround us, properties of substances and their separation, minerals, metals, gases, water, fuels etc. The environment related problems like greenhouse gases, acid rain etc are discussed in chemistry.

·               In the same way, usefulness and testing of health related food products are done with the help of chemistry. Chemistry also helps in research of various medicines which are useful for mankind.

 

Social Science and Biology

·               Biology deals with the all living organisms which are the part of our environment. Without study of biology, study of social education is non-worthy.

·               Biology broadly deals with the biological components like-fauna, flora, plant life, structure of organisms, importance of animal and plants in human life etc. Structure of human body, its functions and growth all are the aspects of biology.

 

 Social Science and Maths

·               Mathematics or mathematical methods can be used to quantify social impacts of activities or products. If the social performance of products is shown in numbers (in data form), decision making will be much easier whereby the product or service can be assessed to inform which one of them is better in terms of social performance.

·               For example if there are few numbers of animal species left we can calculate them with the help of mathematical data and analyse the situation. In the same way, how much forest area is covered by a country of state is calculated by maths formulas.

 

Environment and Therapeutics

·               Therapeutics deals with the medicine and herbs which are the part of environment also. Men, plants and animals are part of social.

·               Human takes oxygen and leaves carbon dioxide in the same way plants take carbon dioxide and leaves oxygen. Oxygen is called life giving gas.

Therapeutics deals with such types of information which is useful for our survival.

 

Environment and Agricultural Science

Agricultural science deals with the technique and methods of agriculture, types of agriculture, crops and their growing seasons and their usefulness, factors affecting crop production their protection measures etc. These topics are also a part of social studies.

 

Environment and Health Science

Healthy environment is important for all living beings. Thus, health science deals with the topics like, what are the precautions which are important to be fit and healthy, healthy diet, impact of polluted food, polluted water and polluted air on human health etc. whereas balanced environment, factors of pollution and their measures are subject-matter of environmental studies.

 

4.2.2 Relation and Scope between Environment and Social Science

·               The subject-matter of social science is much related with the environmental studies. In other words, social science is a part of environmental science and both cannot be separated.

·               Social science deals with the subjects of history, geography, economics and political science which are studied at upper primary and secondary levels.

The relation between social science and the environment is discussed below

 

Environment and Army Science

·               Knowledge of physical phenomena of land helps armies, navies of a country to plan war and defence strategies accordingly.

·               Thus, knowledge of environmental studies is important for such plans. Sometimes various climatic elements like fog, precipitation, wind and water currents etc may become obstacles for these strategies.

·               Due to environmental impact, many become skilled warrior and some become lazy. e.g. Greek and Phoenicians were invaded by Macedonians and war on Italy and France by Napoleon were possible with the information of physical phenomena.

 

Environment and History

·               Emergence and decline of many civilisations are the result of the various environmental and social factors like, climate, availability of water for agriculture, transportation, disposition of the people and structure of the society etc.

·               Geographical phenomena played an important role for enhancing the power of these civilisations and kingdoms.

 

Environment and Economics

·               Economics deals with economic activities such as primary, secondary and tertiary activities.

Distribution of these activities on land is decided by the geographical conditions and physical phenomena of the environment. e.g. agriculture takes place on river plains, forest based industry takes place near forested areas, mining takes place in mineral rich areas, fishing takes place in water bodies like ocean, seas, rivers etc.

·               Agriculture is developed on the river plains of Ganga, Sutlej and Brahmaputra rivers, mining area is found in Chotanagpur plateau region, fishing grounds are located at grand bank and Dogar bank and grazing .grounds are found on Savanna land.

All these activities developed there due to environmental factors.

 

Environment and Anthropology

·               Environment impacts the races of mankind.

Anthropology deals with the human stature, physical formation, colour, text are and their activities according to environment. Griffith Taylor classified human races into five types like Negroids, Negritoes, Australoids, Caucasoid and Mongoloids.

·               Mongoloids found in Switzerland, Alps mountainous areas, Central Asia, Central Europe and America,

Australoids lives in South India and Australia,

Negroids found in South Africa and Malaysian Island group and Gaucasoid lives in Europe and South-Western  Asia and Negritoes lives remote and desert areas.

 

Environment and Society

·               The society is now awakened towards environment problems and the public concern about the quality of environment has reached the emotional peak.

·               The environmental improvement measures being costly and long-term investment of time, money and resources may jeopardies the public interest and the implementation of environmental improvement programmes.

 

Environment and Politics

·               The interaction between environment and society depends largely on the social and political system within which arise the environmental and ecological problems.

·               The ecological situation varies from one country to the other and one region to the other because of uneven distribution of natural resources, uneven economic and social development, dissimilarities of demographic factors, varying view points of the government and individuals towards environment etc.

·               Continuous but exceedingly increasing rate of rapacious exploitation of natural resources and uncontrolled development by the developed world, monopolistic groups and selfish international companies are responsible for alarming situation of grave environmental crisis and ecological imbalance.

·               These days few government lays more emphasis on the social importance of natural resources and environmental and ecological problems and on the urgent need to tackle these problems.

 

Environment and Geography

The field and study of geography is Earth and Man. Earth includes physical, biological, social, cultural and economic components of the environment with reference to man. Thus, geography is the only discipline that can pursue the study of environment and organisms as whole because

·               As regards the physical system, it is geography that excels other sciences because geographers have the knowledge of structure, geomorphic processes, climate, vegetation and soils while other scientists specialise in only one of those aspects.

·               'Being an integrating science geography synthesis all the elements and components of planet Earth into body and links the Social Sciences with the natural sciences.

·               The geographers besides identifying complex relationship between man and physical environment have the capability of locating the distribution of such relationships in space, mapping them and employing the causes of variations in distribution.