Exploring Implications for the Competence-Based Social Studies Curriculum through the Analysis of Overseas Social Studies Curriculums

This study compared and analyzed the social studies curriculums of New York, Ontario, Canada, Australia and Singapore in order to explore what is emphasized in the social studies curriculum documents for the practice of competences cultivation. As a result of the analysis, there is no country that had a subject competency separately in the social studies curriculum. In addition, emphasis was placed on the inquiry and concept of thinking in the social studies curriculum of every countries. In terms of inquiry, not only the inquiry process and detailed activities were specified, but also questions and activities that can be used in the class were presented in various ways, and the inquiry process emphasized the cultivation of functions and thinking skills. In terms of concept, the use of concept in the process of inquiry was emphasized, and the relationship between concept understanding and competences cultivating, and the role of students and teachers for this were suggested. Based on these points, implications for the social studies curriculum in Korea were derived.