Civics and Economics has been developed as a course that provides a framework for understanding the basic framework of American democracy, practices of American government as established by the United States Constitution, basic concepts of American politics and citizenship and concepts in macro and micro economics and personal finance. The essential standards of this course are organized under three strands . Civics and Government, Personal Financial Literacy and Economics. The Civics and Government strand is framed to develop studentsf increased understanding of the institutions of constitutional democracy and the fundamental principles and values upon which they are founded, the skills necessary to participate as effective and responsible citizens and the knowledge of how to use democratic procedures for making decisions and managing conflict. The Economic and Personal Financial Literacy strands are framed to provide students with an understanding of the role economic factors play in making economic decisions, the ability to reason logically about key economic issues and the knowledge and skills needed to manage personal financial resources effectively for lifetime financial security.
The essential standards and clarifying objectives of this course build on the civic and economic strands taught in grades kindergarten through eight and align with the National Standards for Civics and Government, the National Standards for Economics and the National Standards of Personal Financial Literacy. The standards of this course seek to address key provisions in North Carolina Public School Law G.S. 115C-81 that call for all students to learn about the governments of the United States and North Carolina, the free enterprise system and the manner in which it is actually practiced and to pass an End-of-Course exam. Additionally, this course seeks to address the Session Law 2005-276, Section 7.59 amendment to G.S. 115C-81 that requires public schools to provide instruction in personal financial literacy for all high school students and the North Carolina State Board of Education’s decision that personal financial literacy standards be integrated into the Civics and Economics course.
The essential standards in themselves are not intended to be the curriculum, nor do they indicate the whole of the curriculum that will be written by an LEA. The essential standards have been developed to serve as the minimum baseline standards that will guide each local school district in the development of their standard and honors level Civics and Economics courses. The essential standards for Civics and Economics have been written conceptually and identify the most critical knowledge and skills that students need to learn in this course. The Essential Standards for this course have been written to the levels of cognitive processing outlined in the Revision of Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives (RBT). The use of RBT as well as conceptually written standards are a combination that will help to ensure students successfully achieve the mission of the North Carolina State Board of Education: ”every public school student will graduate from high school, globally competitive for work and post-secondary education and prepared for life in the 21st century.” Through the study of Civics and Economics, students will acquire the skills and knowledge necessary to become responsible and effective citizens in an interdependent world.
The essential standards and clarifying objectives of this course build on the civic and economic strands taught in grades kindergarten through eight and align with the National Standards for Civics and Government, the National Standards for Economics and the National Standards of Personal Financial Literacy. The standards of this course seek to address key provisions in North Carolina Public School Law G.S. 115C-81 that call for all students to learn about the governments of the United States and North Carolina, the free enterprise system and the manner in which it is actually practiced and to pass an End-of-Course exam. Additionally, this course seeks to address the Session Law 2005-276, Section 7.59 amendment to G.S. 115C-81 that requires public schools to provide instruction in personal financial literacy for all high school students and the North Carolina State Board of Education’s decision that personal financial literacy standards be integrated into the Civics and Economics course.
The essential standards in themselves are not intended to be the curriculum, nor do they indicate the whole of the curriculum that will be written by an LEA. The essential standards have been developed to serve as the minimum baseline standards that will guide each local school district in the development of their standard and honors level Civics and Economics courses. The essential standards for Civics and Economics have been written conceptually and identify the most critical knowledge and skills that students need to learn in this course. The Essential Standards for this course have been written to the levels of cognitive processing outlined in the Revision of Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives (RBT). The use of RBT as well as conceptually written standards are a combination that will help to ensure students successfully achieve the mission of the North Carolina State Board of Education: ”every public school student will graduate from high school, globally competitive for work and post-secondary education and prepared for life in the 21st century.” Through the study of Civics and Economics, students will acquire the skills and knowledge necessary to become responsible and effective citizens in an interdependent world.