Unit
II Disciplines and Subjects in Socio-Cultural Perspectives
Emergence and development of
knowledge, subject and curriculum in social, political and intellectual
contexts - Changes in social science, natural science and linguistics -
Concepts of knowledge- firm , objective
and impersonal-diverse, dialogical, subjective, fluid and porous frame -
Redefinitions of school subject from socio-cultural perspectives - School
subjects and social justice.
Emergence and
development of Knowledge, Subject And Curriculum in Social, Political and
Intellectual Contexts
Introduction
Education is
the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world - Nelson
Knowledge
According
to Plato, justified true belief is
Knowledge. Knowledge is a mix of framed experience, values, contextual
information and expert insight.
Development
of knowledge
It is now known that
babies are beginning to learn even before they are born. During the last 10
years, there has been an explosion in our knowledge of the ways in which humans
develop and learn. There is increasing international recognition that science-
and technology-intensive solutions can significantly improve quality of life.
School
Subject
A school subject is an area of
learning within the school curriculum that constitutes an institutionally
defined field of knowledge and practice for teaching and learning. Constructing a school subject is in
accordance with respect to both the societal expectations and the activities of
teaching.
School subjects are human
constructions in response to social, economic, cultural, political, and
educational realities and needs. They are “uniquely purpose built educational
enterprises, designed with and through educational imagination towards
educative ends” (Deng & Luke)
Curriculum
All the learning which
is planned and guided by the school, whether it is carried on in groups or individually,
inside or outside the school is called curriculum.
Curriculum development
Curriculum development
is defined as planned, purposeful, progressive, and systematic process in
order to create positive improvements in the educational system. Every time
there are changes or developments happening around the world, the school
curricula are affected. There is a need to update them in order to address the
society’s needs.
Curriculum
development has a broad scope because it is not only about the school, the
learners and the teachers. It is also about the development of a society in
general.
Emergence and
development of knowledge, subject and curriculum in social contexts
In today’s
knowledge, subject and curriculum development plays a vital
role in improving the social, political,
intellectual and economy
of a country. It also provides answers or solutions to the world’s pressing
conditions and problems, such as environment, politics, socio-economics, and other
issues on poverty, climate change and sustainable development.
One of the most
powerful means of propagating and sustaining new developments is the education
system in a society. Education transmits society's collective knowledge from
one generation to the next. It equips each new generation to face future
opportunities and challenges with knowledge gathered from the past. It shows
the young generation the opportunities ahead for them, and thereby raises their
aspiration to achieve more.
Knowledge, subject and
curriculum imparted by education
raises the level of expectations of youth, as well as aspirations for higher
income. It also equips youth with the mental capacity to devise ways and means
to improve productivity and enhance living standards.
Social development
involves learning the values, knowledge and skills that
enable children to relate to others effectively and to contribute in
positive ways to family, school and the community. This kind of
learning is passed on to children directly by those who care for and
teach them, as well as indirectly through social relationships within
the family or with friends, and through children’s participation in
the culture around them. Through their relationships with others and
their growing awareness of social values and expectations, children
build a sense of who they are and of the social roles available to
them.
Some development of knowledge, subject
and curriculum in social contexts are as follows
·
Children develop the
ability to respect the rights of others and to feel empathy for them.
·
They learn to work
cooperatively with others and to resolve conflicts in peaceful ways.
·
encourage cooperative behaviour
·
Interacting with others
in positive ways is to success in life.
Roll
of knowledge, subject and curriculum for social context are as follows:
·
Knowledge,
subject and curriculum fulfill the needs of society.
·
It initiate
social changes and agent of change and social development
·
To assume
leadership roles
·
Build a new
social order
·
Develop world
citizenship
·
Make positive
contribution to the progress of society.
·
Formation
of Knowledge society
Development of knowledge, subject and
curriculum in political contexts
India is
the largest democracy in the world. India has the biggest number of people with
franchise rights and the largest number of political parties, which take part
in election campaign. Politics
in India take place
within the framework of its constitution, as India is a federal parliamentary democratic republic, in which the President of India is the head of the
country and the Prime Minister of India is the head of the government. The knowledge, subject and curriculum in political
contexts helped for the following developments:
·
Believe in
Democracy and Training in Democratic Citizenship
·
for national
integration and international Understanding
·
National
Development through industrialization
increasing division of labor,
use of management techniques
improved technology and
expansion of service sector.
·
Treating Every
Individual with Dignity and Respect
·
Freedom,
Equality, Fraternity and Tolerance
·
Faith in
Bringing Changes through Peaceful Means
·
Faith in Hard
work and Belief in Group Work
·
Free and quality
education and Common school
·
Utilisation of
National for all
·
Vocational
education in all levels
Roll of the Government in the Development of
knowledge, subject and curriculum
- Universal primary education
- National literacy mission
- Priority to oppressed and backward
- Special attention for girls education
- Give boost to joyful learning, Activity based learning and
vocationalisation.
- Liberal grant of scholarship and educational loan.
- Aiming for excellence in education
Ways
to Develop knowledge, subject and curriculum in intellectual contexts
- Give
children choices.
- Allow
and encourage creativity (through art, music and movement, dictation,
retelling stories and creating new ones).
- Build
language skills
- Provide
science experiments and introduce concepts about our world to help them make
sense of it.
·
Make them to learn
about the neighbourhood and the city through walks and field trips
Significant
of development of knowledge, subject and curriculum in intellectual contexts
·
Development of problem
solving skills.
·
Widen Critical thinking
·
Increase rational thinking
·
Increase awareness
·
Expand Logical
assessment
·
build Sound mind
in a sound body
Changes
in social science, natural science and linguistics
Social
Science
Branches
in Social Science
History,
Geography, Sociology, Law, Demography are Social Science and anthropology are
the branches in social science.
History and Changes in Social Science
20th century, The development of social
science became very quantitative in methodology. The interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary nature
of scientific inquiry into human behaviour
In 21st century History, Geography, Sociology,
Law, Demography are Social Science and anthropology. They foster social
justice, equality and empathy and help to think critically and decide
judiciously. It builds committed citizens
Current Situation in Social Science
•
It focused on contemporary
matters
•
It gave more
important to Social awareness
•
It paying
attention to ethical concern
•
It give more
important to Peace building
•
It concern the sustainable development
•
Computer
Assisted language learning was encouraged
Natural
Science
Natural science is
a branch of Science, concerned with natural phenomena. Natural Science is the
systematic study of the universe around us.
People observed and
built up knowledge about the behaviour of animals and the usefulness of plants
as food and medicine, which was passed down from generation to generation.
An interest in
astronomy, mathematics and other aspects of the physical world, the ultimate
aim of inquiry about nature's workings was in all cases religious or
mythological, not scientific.
Branches of natural science
Physics, Chemistry, Botany and Zoology are the Branches of natural science
Changes
in Natural
Science
Natural Science also covered plants, animals and
celestial bodies’ natural science as a means of interpreting scripture, this
suspicion persisted until the 12th and 13th centuries.
Invention of the printing press in the 15th century
and invention of the microscope and telescope, and the Protestant
Reformation fundamentally altered the social context in which scientific
inquiry evolved in the West. Christopher Columbus's discovery of a new world
changed perceptions about the physical makeup of the world
Scientific societies and scientific
journals emerged and were spread widely through the printing press, touching
off the scientific revolution. Scientific revolution blossomed in the 17th,
18th and 19th centuries.
20th century
focused on mechanics, Electronics
and Mechanics. Today, in 21st century natural sciences are more commonly divided
into life sciences, such as botany and zoology; and physical sciences, which
include physics, chemistry, geology, astronomy and materials science.
Current Situation
Following are the Current Situation in Natural studies:
•
Natural studies
give important to environment
•
It focus on Preservation
industry
•
Its center of
attention on Water management
•
It focus on awareness
of Eco system
•
The emerging
trend is Occupational biology
•
Computer
Assisted language learning was encouraged
Linguistics
Branches
The following are the Branches of linguistics
•
Phonetics - the
study of speech sounds in their physical aspects
•
Phonology - the
study of speech sounds in their cognitive aspects
•
Morphology - the
study of the formation of words
•
Syntax - the study of the
formation of sentences
•
Semantics - the
study of meaning
•
Pragmatics - the
study of language use
India’s linguistic
Linguistic
before Independence
India’s linguistic, cultural,
ethnic, religious diversity is very strong and wide spread. Heterogeneity and
multilingualism is not a recent product. It goes back to the time when Aryans
came to India with Sanskrit and thereafter many came, invaded and settled in
India and with them was their languages. Since that time India is managing its
diversity and multilingualism very beautifully and ardently.
Different languages were assigned
different roles in different domains but there was no conflicting situation.
Even at the time of British rule, the British promoted the Indian vernaculars
as well as English too. Macaulay wants to spread English in
India and done it
Linguistic
after Independence
Since independence, English language
continued to be taught in Indian schools, though in limited schools and
colleges initially. With passage of time the use of English increased resulting
in a shift of its status. English became the language of industrialization and
modernization, and now it is the language of globalization.
English became the primary
requirement for Inter connectedness of people, for free exchange of ideas,
cultures and economies and a ‘Lingua Franca’ for communication, business and
education.
The following are some changes in Changes
in linguistics in India
- Old
Indo-Aryan have Vedic Sanskrit
language
- Middle
Indo-Aryan focused on Prakrits-vernacular language
- Pali
- Buddhist scriptures
- Dravidian languages
includes approximately 73 languages
- Pallava dynasty onwards,
a number of Sanskrit ,Tamil,
particularly in relation to political, religious and philosophical
concepts
- Saivism and Vaishnavism, works
ane in Tamil
- The Nannul remains
the standard normative grammar for modern literary Tamil.
·
In 1823 English education was introduced in India.
·
1835 English was formally introduced as a medium of
instruction.
·
1857 Universities were established in Madras, Bombay and
Calcutta.
·
1947 Free India chose to retain English as long as it was
needed.
·
The University Education Commission headed by S.
Radhakrishnan in 1950-51 reported: “...the English language has been one of the
potent factors in the development of unity in the country
·
952-53 The Madras English Language Teaching (MELT) campaign
was launched.
·
1954 English Language Teaching Institutes (ELTI’s) were set
up. The first centre was at Allahabad.
·
New education policy guarantees status of English
Current
Situation
•
Important to
Listening, speaking, reading and writing
•
Functional
grammar
•
Translation to
bilingual
•
Communicative
language
•
Computer
Assisted language learning was encouraged
Concepts of knowledge-
firm, objective and impersonal -
diverse, dialogical, subjective, fluid and porous frame
Introduction
Concept is something conceived in the mind or stimuli that have certain features
in common.
Knowledge is an awareness or understanding of someone or
something, such as facts, information, descriptions or skills, which are acquired through experience or
education
Concepts of knowledge
Some concepts of knowledge are as follows:
·
Firm knowledge, epWtd mwpT
·
Objective knowledge FwpNfhs;
mwpT
·
Impersonal knowledge jsp
egUf;fpy;yh mwpT
·
Diverse knowledge, gd;Kf mwpT
·
Dialogical knowledge, ciuahly; %yk; ngWk; mwpT
·
Subjective knowledge mfepiy mwpT
·
Fluid knowledge nefpo;Tjd;ikahd
mwpT
·
Porous frame knowledge Ez;zpa rl;l mwpT
Firm knowledge - epWtd mwpT
Firms are considered as
bundles of mixed resources that include visible and invisible assets,
operational processes, and products.
Among these, knowledge is often considered a firm’s most important
resource
Objective
knowledge FwpNfhs; mwpT
Objective
knowledge is obtained indirectly, mainly via books. It is not influenced by personal feelings or
opinions in considering and representing facts.
Example
Science Subject
Mathematics Subject
Subjective knowledge mfepiy
mwpT
Subjective
knowledge is the result of personal experience and feelings. Subjective
experience reaches us via sensation.
Example
Religion
Impersonal knowledge jsp egUf;fpy;yh mwpT
Fact gained directly through firsthand experience or
observation. True knowledge is deemed impersonal, universally established,
objective. Impersonal knowledge which, being
unable to recognize any persons, presents us with a picture of the universe in
which we ourselves are absent.
Impersonal knowledge has no interest in individual
people or their feelings, lacking emotional warmth and not influenced by
personal feelings
Example
Mathamatics,
Science are impersonal knowledge
Diverse knowledge, gd;Kf
mwpT
Knowledge of different
discipline
Example
Knowledge of Tamil,
English Maths, Science and Social Science
Dialogic Knowledge ciuahly;
%yk; ngWk; mwpT
Dialogic Knowledge is
learning that takes place through
dialogue. It is typically the result of free dialogue.
A ‘dialogic approach’
to investigating classroom interaction helps us understand how teachers and
students co-construct knowledge. The
scheme can serve as a useful research tool to ground empirically the concept of
‘dialogic interaction’ in educational contexts.
Significante of Dialogic Knowledge:
- Harnesses the power of talk to stimulate and
extend children’s understanding, thinking and learning.
- Promotes inquiry and joint construction of
knowledge: it builds on, elaborates and synthesises others’ ideas.
- Engages in ‘social modes of thinking’ where
reasoning can be made visible to others.
- Promotes equitable participation and sees all,
including teachers, as co-learners.
- Is open, critical and constructive: it explores,
compares negotiates, and challenges different perspectives.
- Involves teachers in open-ended questioning,
feeding in ideas, reflecting, comparing and interpreting ideas.
- Encourages learners to: articulate and justify
their own points of view; appreciate and respond to others’ ideas; take
extended turns.
Fluid
knowledge: nefpo;Tjd;ikahd
mwpT
Fluid
knowledge refers to mental processes rather than specific information (declines
with age). It is the ability to think on the spot and solve novel problems. It is
the ability to perceive relationships and to gain new types of knowledge.
Children who do well on one test of fluid intelligence usually do well on other
tests of fluid intelligence
Example
·
The ability to assemble
novel puzzles
·
The ability to
determine the next entry in a series of numbers
·
The ability to identify
which one of four objects is related to the others
Porous frame
knowledge Ez;zpa rl;l mwpT
Frames were proposed by Marvin Minskey in his 1974 article "A Framework
for Representing Knowledge." Frames are the primary data structure used in
artificial intelligence frame languages.
Frames are also an extensive part of knowledge representation and reasoning
scheme. Frames were originally derived from semantic networks and are
therefore part of structure based knowledge representations.
Redefinition of school
subject from socio-cultural perspectives
Education is importance for economic and social development,
that is, for developing knowledge-based society. The School subjects reflect
the social, cultural and economic activity of society. Education in
future implies a reconstruction in the education system. This practically means
implementation of reform of the entire educational system and development of
conception of the permanent education accorded with social needs and changes.
The subjects taught in schools
enable students,
• To understand the society in
which they live - to learn how society is structured, managed, and governed,
and also about the forces seeking to transform and redirect society in various
ways.
• to appreciate the values
enshrined in the Indian Constitution such as justice, liberty, equality and
fraternity and the unity and integrity of the nation and the building of a
socialist, secular and democratic society.
• To grow up as active,
responsible, and reflective members of society.
• To learn to respect differences
of opinion, lifestyle, and cultural practices.
• To undertake activities that will
help them develop social and life skills and make them understand that these skills
are important for social interaction. In textbooks and in the classroom, the
content, language, and images should be comprehensible, gender sensitive, and
critical of social hierarchies and inequalities of all kinds.
Primary Stage
Classes I and II
For
these primary grades, Socio-cultural perspectives will be explained as integral
parts of languages, Social Science. Children should be engaged in activities to
understand the natural and social environments through illustrations from the
physical, biological, social, and cultural spheres. The language used should be
gender-sensitive.
Teaching
methods should be in a participative and discussion-oriented mode. For example,
storytelling, painting, dance, song, and music can all be part of the
teaching-learning process. A Teachers’ Handbook should be prepared with
examples of activities that promote the development of concepts and teach
sensitivity towards Socio-cultural concerns.
Classes III to V
For
these grades, the subject Environment Studies (EVS) will be introduced and will
be constituted by a discussion of the Socio-cultural perspectives. . In the
study of the natural environment, emphasis will be on its preservation and the
importance of saving it from degradation. Children will begin to be sensitized
to social issues like poverty, child labour, illiteracy, and caste and class
inequalities, in rural and urban areas.
The
content should reflect the day-to-day experiences of children and their life
worlds. At this stage, all concepts taught should be activity-based. Activities
should be related to examples from local surroundings. A Teachers’ Handbook
should be prepared that gives clear directions on how to handle different
topics.
Upper Primary Stage
At
this stage, the subject areas of the social sciences may be introduced
simultaneously to contemporary issues and problems. Emphasis needs to be given
to issues like poverty, illiteracy, child and bonded labour, class, caste,
gender, and environment. Geography and Economics may together help in
developing a proper perspective related to issues concerning environment,
resources and development at different levels, from local to global. Similarly,
History will be taught emphasising the concepts of plurality. The child will be
introduced to the formation and functioning of governments at the local, state,
and central levels, and the democratic processes of participation.
Secondary Stage
At
the secondary stage, the social sciences reflect the judicial structure in the
country. Responses varied from teacher to teacher, but the dominant effect was
one of undermining the modern system of justice in favour of caste-based
panchayats. In History, the contributions of various sections/ regions to
India’s freedom struggle can be studied, as well as other aspects of recent
history, in the context of developments in the modern world. Aspects of
Geography should be taught keeping in mind the need to inculcate in the child a
critical appreciation for conservation and environmental concerns. In Political
Science, the focus should be on discussing the philosophical foundations that
underlie the value framework of the Indian Constitution, i.e. an in-depth
discussion of equality, liberty, justice, fraternity, dignity, plurality, and
freedom from exploitation. As the discipline of Economics is being introduced
to the child at this level, and it is important that the topics discussed
should be from the perspective of the masses.
For
example, the discussion of poverty and unemployment should no longer be
undertaken in terms of statistics, but instead should derive from an
understanding of the elitist functioning of many economic institutions and the
inequality sustained by economic relations.
Higher Secondary Stage
The
higher secondary stage is considered important as it offers a choice of streams
to the students according to their need, interest, and aptitude. They may
choose either specialized academic courses or job-oriented vocational courses
depending upon their preferences.
At
this stage, the social sciences will include the disciplines of political
science, geography, history, economics, sociology, and psychology. Commerce may
include business studies and accountancy.
The
objectives of the social science courses at this stage may be: Local Crafts and
Museums and there is a need for innovations in teaching methods. Social science
learning should involve visits to museums at local, state, and national levels.
Students may be asked to explore the local surroundings and observe the
activities of artisan communities engaged in different crafts using local
skills and materials. These handicrafts may be displayed in a small corner of
the school and developed into a museum. The schools could have their own social
science museums.
To
encourage them to explore higher levels of knowledge in different disciplines,
to promote problem-solving abilities and creative thinking in the citizens of
tomorrow, to introduce students to different ways of collecting and processing
data and information in specific disciplines, and help them arrive at conclusions,
and to generate new insights and knowledge in the process.
School subjects and
social justice
School
subjects
School
subjects have connection with social structure; social relations and they have
contributed in the process of cultural transmission too. Now it is being
recognized that school subjects are important sources for studying about the
society and problems in it.
The central purpose of
schooling is to meet the current and future manpower needs of a society by
training youth to become contributing members of society. Schooling is primarily an instrument for
solving social problems (inequalities, injustice, poverty, etc.) and cause
social reform and reconstruction.
Social
justice
Social justice is the concept of fair and just relation
between the individual and society. This is measured by the explicit
and tacit terms for the distribution of wealth, opportunities for personal
activity and social privilege.
Social justice means ensuring equality in all aspects which
affect people in the community, society, nation and the around the globe.
Social justice is a concept which fights for the right of every individual for
the opportunities available in the society, no matter the class, age, gender,
race or ethnic origin. Social justice in modern day education is aligned to the
dominate ideology of democratic liberalism. This is about the examination of
the hyper individualism emergence which results into the dominance of the
educational system and social justice.
Definition
Social justice is
defined as "... promoting a just society by challenging injustice and
valuing diversity."
Meaning
Social justice is a complex issue. It is
based on the premise that all people are entitled to the same basic rights and
freedoms as everybody else. Social
justice is connected with issues of equality and equity.
It refers to an ideal of society, where
"justice" refers to economic status rather than to the administration
of laws. It is based on the idea of a society which gives individuals and
groups fair treatment and a just share of the benefits of society. It is giving
people their due, what they deserve.
Main focus of Social
justice
·
It is equal
participation of all groups in a society that is mutually shaped to meet their
needs
·
Equality: efforts to
treat everyone in a similar way.
·
Equity: attempts to
ascertain that treatment is just and fair.
·
Equity refers to how
fair the system is to persons who pass through it.
Social justice in Tamil subject
Tamil is the mother tongue of Tamil people of Tamil Nadu and
is the oldest language in the world which is still used by its native speakers
in their day to day life. It was announced as
Classical Language (Semmozhi) by the government of India. Generally the
Tamil Subject was divided into Poetry, Prose, Grammar and supplementary reader.
The Tamil Poetry
constitute the Sangam poetry like the Thirukurral, Thrikadugam, Tholkappiyam
-The oldest and first grammer book, Nannool and the recent poetry of
Bharathiyar, Barathithasan are states the social justice, human harmony, human
welfare , honesty, self control and
truthfulness.
The Tamil Prose in the
school contains Biography, Auto biography, moral stories, Citizenship
requirements, general welfare, best leadership qualities and skills.
The supplementary
reader of Tamil Subject maximum
contains life oriented small stories that induce the students to know the value
of life, significance of knowledge, importance of self control and self
confidence. The grammar part developed the language skill and less promote the
social justice
Like that the Tamil
language promote Social justice through its
Poem, Prose and supplementary reader.
Social justice in English Subject
Like the Tamil
language, the English language also promotes social justice as well as the
knowledge.
The English Poetry
constitute the human rights and duties, time management and perseverance.
The English Prose in
the school contains leadership quality, diligence view, team work, hard work
and skills.
The supplementary
reader of English Subject maximum
contains life oriented small stories that induce the students to know the value
of life, significance of knowledge, importance of self control and self
confidence. The grammar part developed the language skill and less promotes the
social justice.
Like the English
subject also divided like the Tamil language and promote Social justice through its Poem, Prose and supplementary
lesson.
Social justice in Mathematics subject
Mathematics is the
study of topics such as quantity, structure, space and change. Mathematics is essential in many
fields, including natural science engineering, medicine, finance and social
sciences.
We
could use math to defend our rights and realize the injustices around us. With
Mathematics we can try to make the world a better place
The
Mathematics subject not only teaches the calculation but also the Social
justice. The following are the lessons of social justice through Mathematics
subject:
Numerical
Mathematics a part of the Mathematics subject teaches the time management and
accurate values.
We
learnt team work and helping tendency from Algebra. Mensuration teaches us our duties and the
value of team work.
The
geometry teaches the time management and perseverance. Life Mathematics touches
the hard work and self control
Thus the Mathematic
subject supported Social justice through
its Numerical Mathematics, Algebra, Mensuration Life Mathematics and
geometry.
Social justice in science subject
Science is a systematic enterprise
that builds and organizes knowledge in
the form of testable explanations and predictions about
the universe. Contemporary science
is typically subdivided into Botany, Zoology, Chemistry and Physics.
The
Science subject not only focuses on the scientific research and discovery but
also focused the idea of social justice. Research in the field of science
education has shown that science learning is related to the social, economic,
and cultural status of children. The following are the
concept of Social justice in the Science subject:
Importance
of preservation and saving the natural environment from degradation is focused
in the Botany subject. The social environment is constructed by human beings
will be emphasized
Science
is for the benefit of the society. Chemistry is a creative science that is
practiced in both fundamental and applied arenas in a sustainable and ethical
manner for the benefit of society. chemistry
as a discipline that encourages positive, inclusive dialogue for developing
solutions to global issues, and move the chemist from the laboratory toward the
front lines of justice as a means of participating in a greater, social endeavour.
Physics
is the natural science that
involves the study of matter and
its motion and
behavior through space and time,
along with related concepts such as energy and force.
One of the most fundamental scientific disciplines, the main goal of physics is
to understand how the universe
behaves. Though physics deals with a wide variety of systems, certain theories
are used by all physicists. Each of these theories were experimentally tested
numerous times and found to be an adequate approximation of nature.
Social
justice in Social Science
Social
sciences will include the disciplines of political science, geography, history,
economics, sociology, and psychology. Commerce may include business studies and
accountancy. Social sciences subject make an aware of the social issues like
poverty, child labour, illiteracy, and caste and class inequalities, in rural
and urban areas.
History,
the contributions of various sections/ regions to India’s freedom struggle can
be studied, as well as other aspects of recent history, in the context of
developments in the modern world.
Aspects
of Geography should be taught keeping in mind the need to inculcate in the
child a critical appreciation for conservation and environmental concerns.
In
Political Science, the focus should be on discussing the philosophical
foundations that underlie the value framework of the Indian Constitution, i.e.
an in-depth discussion of equality, liberty, justice, fraternity, dignity,
plurality, and freedom from exploitation.
As
the discipline of Economics is being introduced to the child at this level, and
it is important that the topics discussed should be from the perspective of the
masses. For example, the discussion of poverty and unemployment should no longer
be undertaken in terms of statistics, but instead should derive from an
understanding of the elitist functioning of many economic institutions and the
inequality sustained by economic relations.
Civics is the study of the theoretical, political and
practical aspects of citizenship, as well as its rights and duties, role
of citizens, Civil law and civil code. It encourages ethical behavior and
personal responsibility.
Sociology offers a distinctive and enlightening way of
seeing and understanding the social world in which we live and which shapes our
lives.
Psychology is the science of behaviour and mind, embracing all aspects of conscious and unconscious experience as well as thought. It emphasizes affective
rather than cognitive outcomes. It focused on human values.
Thus the Social justice
is sensitised and developed through the School subjects like Tamil, English,
Mathematics, Science and Social Science.
