About NCSS


Social studies educators teach students the content knowledge,intellectual skills, and civic values necessary for fulfilling theduties of citizenship in a participatory democracy. The mission ofNational Council for the Social Studies is to provide leadership,service, and support for all social studies educators.

Membership in National Council for the Social Studies is open to any person or institution interested in the social studies. Comprehensive Membership dues are $70. Regular Membership dues are $59; Student/Retired Membership dues are $33 (instructor certification required for full-time student status). All memberships include the newsletter The Social Studies Professional. Members can choose as a benefit either a full subscription to Social Education (seven issues) or a full subscription to Social Studies and the Young Learner, which includes the September and May/June issues of Social Education. Comprehensive members also receive all bulletins. The annual subscription rate for members, included in membership dues, is $35. Single copies are $7.95. Subscriptions to Social Education are $64 and institutional. Additional subscriptions are not available to individuals (members or non-members). To join NCSS or subscribe as an institution, send check to NCSS, PO Box 79078, Baltimore, Maryland 21279-0078, call 1 800 296-7840, or visit our Membership information page at http://www.socialstudies.org/membership/.

Foundedin 1921, National Council for the Social Studies has grown to be thelargest association in the country devoted solely to social studieseducation. NCSS engages and supports educators in strengthening andadvocating social studies. With members in all the 50 states, the Districtof Columbia, and 69 foreign countries, NCSS serves as an umbrellaorganization for elementary, secondary, and college teachers ofhistory, geography, economics, political science, sociology,psychology, anthropology, and law-related education. Organized into anetwork of more than 110 affiliated state, local, and regional councilsand associated groups, the NCSS membership represents K-12 classroomteachers, college and university faculty members, curriculum designersand specialists, social studies supervisors, and leaders in the variousdisciplines that constitute the social studies.

NCSS defines social studies as “the integrated study of the socialsciences and humanities to promote civic competence.” Within the schoolprogram, social studies provides coordinated, systematic study drawingupon such disciplines as anthropology, archaeology, economics,geography, history, law, philosophy, political science, psychology,religion, and sociology, as well as appropriate content from thehumanities, mathematics, and natural sciences. In essence, socialstudies promotes knowledge of and involvement in civic affairs. Andbecause civic issues—such as health care, crime, and foreignpolicy—are multidisciplinary in nature, understanding these issues anddeveloping resolutions to them require multidisciplinary education.These characteristics are the key defining aspects of social studies.

The Council published Expectations of Excellence: Curriculum Standards for Social Studieswhich provides an articulated K-12 social studies program that servesas a framework for the integration of other national standards insocial studies, including U.S. and world history, civics andgovernment, geography, global education, and economics. NCSS standardsensure that an integrated social science, behavioral science, andhumanities approach for achieving academic and civic competence isavailable to guide social studies decision makers in K-12 schools.

The NCSS framework consists of ten themes incorporating fields of studythat correspond with one or more relevant disciplines. The organizationbelieves that effective social studies programs include experiencesthat provide for the study of:

  • Culture
  • Time, Continuity, and Change
  • People, Places, and Environment
  • Individual Development and Identity
  • Individuals, Groups, and Institutions
  • Power, Authority, and Governance
  • Production, Distribution, and Consumption
  • Science, Technology, and Society
  • Global Connections
  • Civic Ideals and Practices