The Evolution of Social Studies Education in Zambia

Abstract

The field of social studies has been a matter of controversy since the early twentieth century. Even the use of the name Social Studies itself has been a matter of controversy. Despite this, social studies has become established as a core subject in most education curriculum documents across the world, including Zambia. However, the origin and development of social studies education in Zambia has not been documented in chronological order with reasons and rationales for developments and infusion in the education curriculum documents over the years to cover the preand post-independence Zambia. In addressing how social studies has evolved over time, this paper offers a historical account of the origins and development of social studies in Zambia and the why or how social studies came to be part of school curricula. The paper also gives a global perspective to the developments of social studies since its inception in the United States of America in 1916. To achieve this mammoth task, critical document analysis was employed.