Social Science

What are the Social Sciences all about?

In the social sciences, students explore how societies work and how they themselves can participate and take action as critical, informed, and responsible citizens.

The social sciences 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.

Why study the Social Sciences?

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.

How is the learning area structured?

Social studies is taken by all students from Year 7-10. This provides a base for the study of separate social science disciplines offered in the senior secondary school. At Years 11-13, students are able to specialise in one or more of these, depending on the choices offered in the timetable.

Geography

YEAR 11 GEOGRAPHY

Two important themes for the year are natural and cultural environments and understanding how people interact with these.

We will study:

• The Earth: Forces that shape our landscape and our communities
• Let’s go Galapagos! Sustainable tourism in this island archipelago
• Too many people? U.S.A, China and New Zealand
• Pushchair or Zimmer Frame: Population patterns in global communities
• Climate change? A local Leeston study
• What’s it like to be a Geographer? Essential skills and concepts

History

Year 11 History:

The Year 11 History course is all about studying events that are of significance to New Zealanders. It is about us as a country- who we are, where we’ve come from, and what the events are that have defined us as a Nation.

Through studying this course, students will aim to meet the following two broad objectives. We will aim to:

• Understand how the causes and consequences of past events that are of significance to New Zealanders shape the lives of people and society.
• Understand how people’s perspectives on past events that are of significance to New Zealanders differ.

Essentially we will be studying New Zealand’s journey as a nation through the Twentieth century.

Year 12 History:

The Year 12 History course is all about studying events that are of significance to New Zealanders. It is about the world we live in and what forces have shaped the world we live in. It has a global context and will examine some of the major world events in the Twentieth Century that have shaped the world that New Zealand is in.

Through studying this course, students will aim to meet the following two broad objectives. We will aim to:

• Understand how historical forces and movements have influenced the causes and consequences of events of significance to New Zealanders.
• Understand how people’s interpretations of events that are of significance to New Zealanders differ.

Essentially we will be studying the major influences that have shaped the world that we live in during the Twentieth century. These will include:

Nationalism

Imperialism

Militarism

Democracy

Facism

Communism

The Cold War

Year 13 History:

In order to understand the world we live in today it is often necessary to go back to the past. During this year students will go back to the past to see how studying British Society at a time of tremendous political, economic and social change helps us to understand the world we have inherited in New Zealand. During this year we will aim to:

• Understand how trends over time reflect social, economic, and political forces.
• Understand that the causes, consequences, and explanations of historical events that are of significance to New Zealanders are complex and how and why they are contested.

Students will examine what English society was like from the 1550’s to the 1660’s and will examine the social, economic and political forces that changed the country over that time. Modern England, out of which New Zealand came, was born during this time period. Many of the institutions, traditions, values, laws and practices that we came to inherit in New Zealand took shape during this time period.

The course is a study based around England in the 16th and 17th Centuries, with particular regard to the Tudor and Stuart Monarchies of Elizabeth I, James I, Charles I and Charles II.

Students will come to understand the causes and consequences of a range of events that have come to be significant to New Zealanders.

The Year 13 History course is designed to recognise the developing maturity and perception of students at this level and requires students to explore issues in depth with more historical insight than at earlier levels.

Tourism

Tourism at Ellesmere College involves the students studying towards the National Certificate in Tourism, Introductory Skills [Level two].

Tourism studies is intended to provide students with a basic level of knowledge and skills that will enable them to progress further in Tourism studies at a Polytechnic or other Private Training Organisation [P.T.O.]. 

The course is controlled through the ATTTO [Aviation, Tourism and Travel Training Organisation].

The ATTTO provides the core of the course content which is provided by student workbooks which the teacher works from and uses in conjunction with the teachers own knowledge and expertise.

Staff