Social studies is the "integrated study of the social sciences and humanities to promote civic competence," as defined by the National Council for the Social Studies.  Social studies is most commonly recognized as the name of a course or set of courses taught in primary and secondary schools or elementary, middle, and high schools, but may also refer to the study of particular aspects of human society at certain post-secondary and tertiary schools around the globe.

At the elementary school level, social studies generally focuses first on the local community and family. By middle and high school, the social studies curriculum becomes more discipline-based and content-specific. It includes various fields which involve past and current human behavior and interactions, such as sociology, history, political science, economics, religion,geography, anthropology, and civics.

- Wikipedia