Social Science
The Social Science Learning Area is about how societies work and how people can participate as critical, active, informed, and responsible citizens. Contexts are drawn from the past, present, and future and from places within and beyond New Zealand.
Through the social sciences, students develop the knowledge and skills to enable them to: better understand, participate in, and contribute to the local, national, and global communities in which they live and work; engage critically with societal issues; and evaluate the sustainability of alternative social, economic, political, and environmental practices.
Students explore the unique bicultural nature of New Zealand society that derives from the Treaty of Waitangi. They learn about people, places, cultures, histories, and the economic world, within and beyond New Zealand. They develop understandings about how societies are organised and function and how the ways in which people and communities respond are shaped by different perspectives, values, and viewpoints. As they explore how others see themselves, students clarify their own identities in relation to their particular heritages and contexts.
Courses available in Social Science
Click on the individual courses for course content
The Social Sciences offer a broad range of career pathways, below are some of the possibilities, click on each one to see more specific information related to that career.
Secondary School Teacher, Archivist, Historian, Barrister, Urban/Regional Planner, Elected Government Representative, Psychologist, Community Development Worker, Solicitor, Judge, Economist, Records Adviser, Human Resources Adviser, Librarian, Library Assistant, Market Research Analyst, Policy Analyst, Youth Worker, Social Worker, Court Registry Officer, Psychotherapist, Support Worker, Journalist. Communications professional, Museum Curator, Clinical Psychologist, Foreign Policy Officer, Cartographer, Immigration Policy Analyst, Urban or Regional Planner