Social Studies Education Major

Learn to share your fascination for history, geography, government, or economics with our Social Studies Education major. You will be trained to instill an understanding of complicated systems and subjects of our world into young minds. With such diverse subjects, from American government to macroeconomics, we focus on making these topics accessible and interesting to middle and high school students.

Our Social Studies Education program will teach you how to discipline, assess, and manage your own classroom. You will begin observing and assisting in the classroom during your freshman year and continue gaining more responsibility until your student teaching experience, where you will teach at two different schools and grade levels during your senior year.

By graduation, you will be equipped with the top-notch tools necessary to teach social studies and feel comfortable in your own middle school or high school classroom.

Social studies courses cover in-depth American and world history, international and domestic politics, and global geography. You will examine unique topics, such as ethnic and minority issues and cultural anthropology, and make connections between historical events and political, economic, sociological, and cultural factors. Along with education courses that will help you improve your teaching methods, you’ll take adolescent and education psychology classes to learn about mental development and effective teaching practices.

Social Studies Education majors take additional history electives and complete one of the following required concentrations:

• Economics: Learn how economics works on the local, national, and international levels and discover how it interacts with other areas of society.
• Geographical Perspectives: Learn how geography has impacted history and the development and expansion of civilization.
• Government and Citizenship: Gain an understanding of governmental functions and citizens’ roles and responsibilities.
• Psychology: Study the inner workings of the mind and learn how it affects human behavior. Students choosing this concentration can earn additional certification to teach psychology in secondary schools even though this is not a psychology education degree.
• Sociology: Study the building blocks of societies—culture, philosophy, family structure, etc.—and how societal differences impact inter-societal relations.

Social Studies Education Curriculum & Degree Options

• Bachelor of Science in Social Studies Education

Students interested in course descriptions and academic policies can check out our Undergraduate Catalog here.

Contact the History, Global & Political Studies Department

Dr. Kevin Johnson, Chair of the Department of History, Global & Political Studies
765-998-5302
kevin_johnson2@taylor.edu

Desirae Crouch, History, Global & Political Studies Program Assistant
765-998-5275
desirae_crouch@taylor.edu

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