THE ROLE OF CONSTRUCTIVISM IN THE ENHANCEMENT OF SOCIAL STUDIES EDUCATION

Abstract

Constructivism can be defined as a style of teaching that prioritizes the student as an agent of knowledge acquisition and understanding. As Bada and Olusegun (2015) have noted, the approach is deliberately learner-centric, encouraging students to contribute in active ways to their education, rather than simply listening to and absorbing information passively. Constructivists can be roughly divided into two camps: those who focus on the psychological angle, and those who are more sociologically minded. The psychological constructivist (such as Jean Piaget) regard the process of learning as being one that involves the transformation and (re)organization of knowledge that the student already possesses. For the social constructivist, on the other hand, an emphasis is placed on the beneficial nature of social interaction in the formation and absorption of knowledge (see particularly the work of Lev Vygotsky). In teaching the social studies, however, a greater emphasis needs to be placed on creating interactive teaching-learning environments in which student learning is enhanced. A progressive approach to teaching social science should embrace and promote a range of pedagogical elements, including aesthetic understanding, critical reasoning and creative thinking. In the discussion which follows, the constructivist approach to teaching and learning will be analyzed, providing an overview of both social and cognitive constructivist theory, before considering the connection between social studies education and constructivism. From there, the nature of the constructivist learning environment itself will be discussed, with attention paid to the instructional techniques that can be employed.