In what ways are issues important in SOSE?
Issues are integral to studies in SOSE.  They provide the personal tensions upon which learning is most effectively based.

Issues may be those relating to current events or debates, or may be of a more local or personal nature, such as litter problems in the playground or disputes over the use of resources in the classroom.  By seeking to understand and act upon issues, students learn to think critically and develop values relating to participatory citizenship.

An important consideration when studying issues is to help students link the issue being examined and their own behaviour and actions.

An issues-based approach to SOSE can build the concepts of personal and shared responsibility and interdependence that are crucial to participation in a diverse democratic society.

A range of strategies can be used to broaden understanding of issues, evaluate positions and move forward to action.  They include problem-solving approaches, ways of exploring values, thinking strategies such as Six Hats and CoRT thinking, critical reflection questions, and issues forums.  Students may also wish to follow the Group Investigation model,  or undertake a negotiated investigation to build their understanding of the issues.

Ways of examining issues in the classroom
Decisions can be made as to whether the issues could be discussed in a: