Literacy in the social sciences and humanities

Preparing students to be literate within the Social Sciences and Humanities depends heavily on the decisions and choices made by curriculum designers, and interpreted and implemented by teachers. The initial response by experienced teachers is that you have to "žknow it all"Ÿ. This same response is the fear of students who undertake study within the specialised subjects contained within the parameters of the field. In order to ease this tension, this chapter aims to provide one approach in dealing with the diversity of subjects that assists in targeting literacy strategies for both the specialised subjects and the field of Social sciences and humanities in general. The approach involves four key components that enable teachers and students to understand the depth and breadth of possible combinations of literacy strategies within the field. First, the approach identifies the breadth of the field of study of Social Sciences and Humanities as incorporating seventeen possible subject areas. Then by dividing the threshold concepts into field-based and subject-based, the approach allows a range of curriculum frameworks that teachers may to within teaching and learning. Next, consideration of seven literacy types found within the field adds to the diversity of choice made by teachers in constructing literacy strategies. Finally, the approach raises the significance of questioning in successfully designing, implementing and achieving learning outcomes.