Founded in 1921, National Council for the Social Studies is the largest professional association in the country devoted solely to social studies education. NCSS engages and supports educators in strengthening and advocating social studies. With members in all the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and 35 countries, NCSS serves as an umbrella organization for elementary, secondary, and college teachers of history, civics, geography, economics, political science, sociology, psychology, anthropology, and law-related education. The NCSS membership represents K-12 classroom teachers, college and university faculty members, curriculum designers and specialists, social studies supervisors, and leaders in the various disciplines that constitute the social studies.

Membership in National Council for the Social Studies is open to any person or institution interested in the social studies.

What is Social Studies?

Definition

Social studies is the study of individuals, communities, systems, and their interactions across time and place that prepares students for local, national, and global civic life.

Purpose

Using an inquiry-based approach, social studies helps students examine vast human experiences through the generation of questions, collection and analysis of evidence from credible sources, consideration of multiple perspectives, and the application of social studies knowledge and disciplinary skills. As a result of examining the past, participating in the present, and learning how to shape the future, social studies prepares learners for a lifelong practice of civil discourse and civic engagement in their communities. Social studies centers knowledge of human rights and local, national, and global responsibilities so that learners can work together to create a just world in which they want to live.

Disciplines and Courses

At the elementary level, social studies includes the interdisciplinary study of history, geography, economics, and government/civics and is well-integrated with the study of language arts, the visual and performing arts, and STEM.

At the secondary level, students engage in social studies through singular, disciplinary lenses as well as interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary ones.

States, districts, and schools use various names to identify the disciplines, fields, and subjects of a comprehensive social studies education. As such, creating an all-inclusive list of subject and course titles is almost impossible. Fundamentally, social studies courses include those that study the array of human experiences and the spaces in which we interact as humans.

Social studies can include but is not limited to, disciplines and courses such as:

• History, including local and state history, United States history, world history and global studies, African American history, and women’s history as well as other courses about the history of specific groups, regions, and eras; 
• Geography, including physical, environmental, cultural, and human geography as well as courses related to the application of geographic tools (i.e. GPS and GIS); 
• Economics, including general economics, macroeconomics, microeconomics, and international economics; 
• Government and Citizenship, including civics, citizenship education, political science, local, state, tribal, and United States government, international relations, comparative government, and law and legal studies; 
• Social Sciences, including psychology, sociology, anthropology, archaeology, gender studies, LGBTQ+ studies, and religious studies; 
• Ethnic Studies, including African American studies, Asian American and Pacific Islander studies, Indigenous studies, and Latin American studies; 
• Human Rights and Social Justice, including human rights education, social justice issues, international organizations, and genocide studies; 
• Financial Literacy, including personal finance (NCSS recognizes financial literacy as an important course for students, but financial literacy is distinct from and is not a replacement for economics and economic education); and 
• Contemporary Issues, including courses in current events and the study of one or more social studies topics in current contexts.

Statement on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion guide the policies, procedures, and educational practices of NCSS as we engage in collaborative action that values differences and includes underrepresented voices to promote a holistic understanding of humanity, cultures, and the world around us.

Diversity is the acknowledgment, acceptance, and appreciation of human differences from a broad range of characteristics and traits, including but not limited to race, gender, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, language, religion, (dis)ability, age, national origin, ethnicity, or political perspectives.

Equity is creating and enacting policies, educational practices, and attitudes that ensure equitable power, access, opportunities, and outcomes for all.  

Inclusion is shared decision-making by authentically and intentionally welcoming the diversity of human differences to recognize and value everyone’s agency and experiences.