Social Sciences

Kaipara College Social Sciences

Business Studies - Commerce - Geography - History - Tourism

The social sciences learning area is about how societies work and how people can participate as critical, active, informed, and responsible citizens. Contexts are drawn from the past, present, and future and from places within and beyond New Zealand.

Commerce

Commerce is the use and exploration of accounting, economic, and business concepts and models to make sense of society and solve problems. In this subject, ākonga will build the knowledge, skills, and values they need to navigate, and participate in, theeconomic world. They will learn how participants in the economic world make decisions, and they will analyse how these decisions impact on sustainability. Ākonga will learn that decision-making is necessitated by scarcity and that decisions are informed by a variety of cultural perspectives and lenses. Learning and assessment will examine Māori, Pacific, and different approaches to commerce, and business models from whānau and organisation contexts.

Business Studies

Ākonga in Business Studies will learn the fundamental concepts viable businesses use to make decisions and improve business operations over time to become sustainable and successful. Sustainability and success in business involves aspiring to meet the multiple bottom line: people, planet, profit, and purpose. Through innovation, informed decision-making, critical and creative problem-solving, effective communication, and whakawhanaungatanga, ākonga will understand how businesses balance and prioritise each aspect of the multiple bottom line in order to respond and adapt to internal and external factors.

By allowing ākonga to apply business knowledge and theory to practical, hands-on learning that draws from their personal strengths and abilities, Business Studies aims to equip them with essential life skills that foster an innovative and entrepreneurial mindset. The subject helps to build financial literacy, interpersonal skills, written and verbal communication, and resilience, as well as encouraging curiosity and creativity to find better ways of doing things for the benefit of all. Ultimately, businesses are about people, and whether they be the customers who generate profit or the employees who drive production, these stakeholders should be at the forefront of all business planning and decision-making. With this knowledge, ākonga will recognise how their businesses can contribute to the economic, social, environmental, and cultural wellbeing of Aotearoa New Zealand.

Geography

Geography is the study of te taiao and the interconnections within. We consider the question "What Is Where, Why There, and Why Care?" (Charles F. Gritzner (2002), Journal of Geography, 101:1, 38-40) so we can make sense of place. Te taiao consists of all things that make up the surrounding environment. This includes features such as rivers, mountains, people, buildings, and infrastructure. Te taiao can exist at different scales and can be located wherever we place ourselves. Features of te taiao are all closely interconnected, including people. We stand in te taiao and are intrinsically part of it. Therefore, in Geography, we attempt to consider geographic issues holistically.

Geographic thinking

• Geographic thinking considers where features of te taiao are located, how these features interconnect, and how te taiao can change over time. In Geography, ākonga carry out first-hand investigations of te taiao and the human activity within them. To do this, ākonga draw from multiple perspectives, including te ao Māori and Pacific perspectives.
• Ākonga learn to think spatially and to use maps, visual images, inquiry processes, and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to obtain, analyse, and present information. Through geographic thinking they develop understandings related to patterns, processes, relationships, interactions, and change.

Geography kete

• Ākonga draw from a Geography kete, which contains the tools for doing Geography. The kete also holds multiple perspectives, knowledge systems, and tikanga, which help ākonga to select the tools for geographic inquiry.
• In Geography, there is an intentional effort to ensure that contexts in Aotearoa New Zealand and the Pacific are explored with te ao Māori and Pacific perspectives and knowledge systems.

Our tikanga includes manaakitanga, whakawhanaungatanga, partnership, and participation. Bringing tikanga into geographic inquiry supports robust stakeholder engagement. The skills developed by undertaking inquiry through tikanga strengthens career pathways into many sectors.

These perspectives, knowledge systems, and tikanga inform a collaborative approach to using geographic tools (eg, graphs and maps) through wānanga and talanoa. These collaborative approaches help ākonga to develop robust geographic inquiry skills that include:

• asking questions about te taiao
• collecting data using relevant methods
• visualising and analysing data using technology
• thinking critically and conceptually to make meaning about te taiao
• sharing understandings about te taiao.

History

History provides an opportunity for ākonga to understand how our historical narratives are shaped and how they influence our understanding of both ourselves and the world around us. Through whanaungatanga, vā, and fonua, ākonga are able to grow as confident, questioning, and empathetic individuals, with a developing understanding of their own place in, and their connection to the world around them.

History is a research-led discipline where ākonga are able to engage through pūrakau and pakiwaitara from our origin stories and nurture a growing awareness of Te Tiriti o Waitangi – its principles, values, and ongoing relevance. Ākonga will have the opportunity to look at causes and effects, as well as the continuity and change of historical narratives. When engaging with sources, ākonga will be able to critique the historical narratives and the various perspectives around them by considering whose narratives are missing and whose have taken dominance, and the historical factors that contribute to shaping these narratives, including omissions and 'myth-takes'.

Ākonga will develop their understanding of the nature of historical inquiry and will apply culturally appropriate methodologies when conducting research. They will learn how to ask and answer important questions based on their engagement with a range of sources and substantiate their arguments and judgements. When critiquing the construction of historical narratives, ākonga are able to look at the strengths and limitations of sources used in their construction and how they can be contested. Ākonga will learn ways to determine the significance of the history that they learn and be able to debate that significance in different ways.

History presents ākonga with the dilemmas, choices, and beliefs of people in the past. Ākonga build on their understanding of differing perspectives and contested historical narratives. They learn to apply whakapapa as a framework to connect to whānau, hapū, iwi, communities, Aotearoa New Zealand, and the wider world - building connections with their own identities and sense of place. This encourages a greater level of critical thinking and engagement with sources of knowledge.

Exploring the shaping of identity in history can illuminate the space, relationships, and connections between people and te taiao. This is where the concept of vā can be applied as a powerful method of teaching and learning about place and identity within History. It is a concept from across the Pacific Islands which can be widely understood as 'relational space', where both personal and collective wellbeing is facilitated through sharing, giving, creating, and navigating space.

History prepares ākonga for the future because it equips them with knowledge and skills, such as the ability to articulate ideas and make them clear to others, that are valuable and useful throughout life and a wide range of careers. History also supports ākonga in exploring the significance of tūrangawaewae to Aotearoa New Zealand and in growing an informed understanding of its diverse society. It also provides space to explore the concept of fonua by highlighting the importance of belongingness and connectedness to both people and place, as well as the importance of having “a place to stand” where people feel secure, safe, respected, and accepted for who they are. Ākonga will understand the significance of the whakapapa of places, peoples, and events. They will learn how to think critically about local, national, and global historical narratives.

Tourism

Tourism derives from the Social Sciences Learning Area and is a social, cultural, political, environmental, and economic phenomenon which is studied from a holistic perspective through multi- and transdisciplinary lenses. Studying Tourism through a variety of perspectives and contexts invites ākonga to analyse past and present practices, look towards possible future practices, and supports them to develop a range of transferable skills and key competencies in preparation for further study and/or the world of work and lifelong learning. Ākonga will learn about the role and impact of tourism within local, regional, national, and global communities. The relationship between culture, society, environment, economics, politics and power, and tourism is a critical focus in Tourism, given the significant role tourism plays in Aotearoa New Zealand, the Pacific, and the rest of the world. Tourism will also require ākonga to understand the practical and strategic nature of tourism as a business and its explicit links to industry.

https://ncea.education.govt.nz/

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