Concepts Underlying the Canadian and World Studies CurriculumThe curriculum in Canadian and world studies is built around a set of fundamental concepts: systems and structures; interactions and interdependence; environment; change and continuity; culture;and power and governance.
Economics, geography, history, law, and politics offer different perspectiveson these concepts. In history, for example, change and continuity may be applicable to the relatively short period covered by the story of a country or a person. In geography, on the other hand, this same concept may be applicable over much longer time periods covering the slow, almost imperceptible, changes in certain physical features.
Although the specific content of programs changes from grade to grade, the conceptual framework within which topics are presented remains consistent throughout the curriculum, from Grades 1 to 12, and gives continuity to students’ learning. As students progress through the curriculum, they extend and deepen their understanding of these concepts and learn to apply this understanding with increasing sophistication. Understanding relationships among concepts is also an important part of student learning. Each of the fundamental concepts listed in the left-hand column of the chart (opposite) can be linked with a number of related concepts (in the right-hand column) that help to explain the concept further.