Social studies is the study of how people live and organize themselves in society. Social studies is an interdisciplinary subject, incorporating geography, literacy, history, government and current affairs, among other disciplines. Many of these different disciplines have been combined into single subject. The Social studies syllabus has been design using learning outcomes which identify the knowledge, skills, attitude and values that all learners should achieve and demonstrate by the end of year 9.
Learning social studies is important in that it will help learners to gain the knowledge, understanding and values which will lead to active participation in public affairs in their own communities. The primary purpose of social studies is to help young people develop the ability to make informed and reasoned decisions for the public good as citizens of a culturally diverse, democratic society in an interdependent world. It teaches students how to be well-informed, critically thinking citizens of their world. The syllabus build Learners knowledge as they work to integrate new information into their existing cognitive constructs, and engage in processes that develop their abilities to think, reason, conduct research and attain understanding as they encounter new concepts, principles, and issues. Learners also represent what they learn in products that demonstrate their ability to use information accurately, and that reflect the thinking and research skills acquired in the process of learning.
The Social Studies Curriculum for Years 7 to 9 has been organized into learning strands. The five strands in social studies are: History of Solomon Islands and Its Relations with the World, Governance and Leadership, Environment and Population, Resources and Development and Social Issues and Resolution in Solomon Islands. These strands provide the broad learning contexts and are further subdivided into sub strands as unit and topics in the Secondary Social Studies curriculum.