L3SOC

Level 3 Social Studies

Course Description

Teacher in Charge: Ms M. Osborne.

You will learn how societies work and how you can participate in your community as active, informed, critical and responsible citizens. The overall focus of Level 3 Social Studies is to learn about varying ideologies, how people respond to these and ways that ideologies impact on societies. 

L3 Social Studies covers knowledge and skills that have proven to be sound preparation for a range of post-school destinations. Understandings of how society works and the differing ideologies present links to both Sociology and Anthropology courses in the tertiary sector. Students typically are interested in people centred careers such as 


Course Overview

Term 1
After an introduction to key concepts and skills, students will work in a small group to plan and implement a campaign of social action to create policy change. The issue and policy will be co-determined between teacher and students.

Term 2
The focus of Term 2 will be the completion of the final two internally assessed achievement standards, initially be exploring through the social inquiry process, the impact on society of an ideology of the students choice. Following this, students will investigate and explain a campaign of social action. There will be flexibility around the campaign, the context and the method of investigating this.

Term 3
For Term 3 we return to learning about ideologies in preparation for the one external NCEA standard. Depending on NZQA specifications, we will focus on either how ideologies shape society or how individuals and groups respond to these ideologies. The context is likely to be international and past topics have included gun control in the USA and the conflict in Afghanistan. Learning will be assessed in the PNGHS school examinations towards the end of this term.

Term 4
The focus of this term is preparing for the NCEA examination of the term 3 unit.

What should I have already done?

You may have studied L2 Social Studies or any other Social Sciences subject.

Pathway

This is a University Entrance approved course. You will develop skills that will be valuable in both your personal life and career. Senior Social Studies links to careers in diplomacy, law, journalism, research, teaching, social work, anthropology, sociology and a range of health sciences. Additionally, the ability to conduct research, understand social processes of change and to think critically about contemporary society is valuable to a wide range of other subjects and disciplines. An emphasis on critical and evaluative thinking is developed throughout the course.

Career Pathways

Disclaimer

Courses will only run based on minimum entries

Selecting a course does not guarantee entry into this course

You may apply for an exemption if you do not meet the prerequisite of a course or if the course requires this for entry

Standards offered can be altered at the discretion of the HOD of the Department

Some standards in NCEA courses might be optional depending on student strengths

Course contribution may vary slightly by the start of 2025