PAMANTASAN NG CABUYAO

COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, ARTS AND SCIENCES

OUTCOMES-BASED TEACHING AND LEARNING PLAN

SSM117: TRENDS AND ISSUES IN SOCIAL STUDIES

University Vision
A premier educational institution of higher learning, developing globally competitive and
value-laden professionals and leaders instrumental to community development and nation
building.

University Mission
As an institution of higher learning, PNC is committed to equip individuals with
knowledge, skills and values that will enable them to achieve their professional goals and
provide leadership and service for national development.

Educational Objectives for the College of Education

Within the five years after graduation, the graduates of education program shall be:
1. Productive professionals committed to improve the society and uphold the standards of
ethical behavior
2. Strive to be excellent in their discipline through continuous upgrading of their knowledge,
skills, and attitudes
3. Assume progressively supervisory, leading, and influential roles in their organizations
and communities
4. Pursue further studies for professional growth and development.

SSM117 TRENDS AND ISSUES IN SOCIAL STUDIES

Page 1 of 13
COURSE CODE: SSM117
COURSE TITLE: TRENDS AND ISSUES IN SOCIAL STUDIES
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course will explore the trends and issues in social studies within the context of a rapidly
changing world and will employ multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches in discussing
and exploring the various trends and issues in the Social Studies/ Science. It covers the various
challenges (e.g. geographical, political, economic, cultural, social, and technological
landscapes) affecting the social science curriculum.

CREDIT UNIT: 3
CONTACT HOURS: 3 hours every week for 18 weeks or 54 hours in a semester
PRE-REQUISITE: -

Course Intended Learning Outcomes:

At the end of the course, students should be able to:
1. understand the scope of conditions currently considered global trends and issues
addressed by the experts
2. acquire knowledge on the different conceptual approaches to the study of trends and
issues; and
3. relate that the trends and issues in social studies are interconnected and that every
individual living in our society is in some way implicated.

SSM117 TRENDS AND ISSUES IN SOCIAL STUDIES

Page 2 of 13
LEARNING PLAN:

Assessment
Module Topics CILO
Task
(Discussion of University Vision and Mission Written Output
Program outcomes, Course outcomes, Course Oral Presentation
1 1-3
orientation and policies) Quizzes
Map of the Future
Trends Transforming the Global Landscape Written Output
• The Rich are Aging, the Poor are Not Oral Presentation
• The Global Economy is Shifting Quizzes
• Technology Complicates the Long-Term
Outlook
• Technological Innovation Accelerates Progress
2–4 but Leads to Discontinuities 1-3
• Ideas and Identities will Exclude
• Governing is Harder and Harder
• The Nature of Conflict is Changing
• Climate Change Looms
• Converging Trends will Transform Power and
Politics
Near Future: Tensions are Rising Written Output
5 • Growing Terrorism Threats 1-3 Oral Presentation
• Future International Order in the Balance Quizzes
PRELIM EXAMS WEEK
Written Output
Three Scenarios of Distant Future: Islands, Orbits,
6 1-3 Oral Presentation
Communities
Quizzes
Written Output
What are the Scenarios Teach Us: Fostering
7 1-3 Oral Presentation
Opportunities for Resilience
Quizzes
The Next Five Years by Regions Written Output
• East and Southeast Asia Oral Presentation
• South Asia Quizzes
8 – 10 1-3
• Middle East/ North Africa/ Sub-Saharan Africa
• Russia and Eurasia
• Europe
MIDTERM EXAMS WEEK
The Next Five Years by Regions Written Output
• North America Oral Presentation
11 – 12 • South America 1-3 Quizzes
• Arctic and Antarctica
• Space
Key Global Trends Written Output
• People Oral Presentation
• How People Live Quizzes
• How People Create and Innovate
13 – 15 • How People Prosper 1-3
• How People Think
• How People Govern
• How People Fight
• Terrorism
FINAL EXAMS WEEK
SSM117 TRENDS AND ISSUES IN SOCIAL STUDIES
Page 3 of 13
PRIMARY PUBLICATION:
National Intelligence Council (2017). Global Trends: Paradox of Progress.
https://www.dni.gov/files/documents/nic/GT-Full-Report.pdf

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
Written outputs (research paper/ essays), oral presentations, quizzes, and major examinations

GRADING SYSTEM:

Assessment Item Grade Source Percentage

Quizzes (20%)
PRELIM GRADE Written Outputs (30%) 30%
Term Exam (50%)
Quizzes (20%)
MIDTERM GRADE Written Outputs (30%) 30%
Term Exam (50%)
Quizzes (20%)
FINAL GRADE Written Outputs (30%) 40%
Term Exam (50%)
TOTAL 100%
Passing Grade: 60%

COURSE POLICIES:
Class Attendance – as per CHED policy on attendance, a student who misses a maximum of
20% of the total contact hours will be given a grade of failure due to absences.
Academic Dishonesty – is a deliberate attempt to misinterpret, fabricate or otherwise tamper
with data, information, records, or any other materials that is relevant to the student’s
participation in any course, laboratory, or other academic exercise or function. This may include
but not limited to:
a. Falsification, forgery, alteration, unauthorized possession, or misuse of school official
documents, records, or identification, or knowingly furnishing false information to the
university or to a university official.
b. Unauthorized accessing of electronic information of the university and securing,
soliciting, and holding a copy of an examination or a portion thereof, that is yet to be
administered.
c. Plagiarism or copyright infringement
Course requirements must be submitted on-time.
The Syllabus and Modules are Subject to Change. Reasonable Notice will be Given.

SSM117 TRENDS AND ISSUES IN SOCIAL STUDIES

Page 4 of 13
Module 1
MAP OF THE FUTURE
• Required readings:

Please refer to Global Trends: Paradox of Progress book page 3

• Introduction:

Our story of the future begins and ends with a paradox: The same global trends
suggesting a dark and difficult near future, despite the progress of recent decades, also
bear within them opportunities for choices that yield more hopeful, secure futures. In the
pages to come, we use multiple time horizons to help explore the future from different
perspectives, to illustrate the risks for sudden discontinuities and deep, slow-moving shifts,
and to flag decision points.

We start with an exploration of “Key Trends” that are changing the global
landscape and illuminate today’s paradox. We discuss as well how these trends are
“Changing the Nature of Power, Governance, and Cooperation” as a way to diagnose why
and how global dynamics have become more challenging in recent years.

Absent very different personal, political, and business choices, the current
trajectory of trends and power dynamics will play out in a “Near-Future of Rising Tensions.”
Vietnamese children walking home from school. Shifting gears, we explore trajectories for
how the trends could unfold over a 20- year horizon through “Three Scenarios for the
Distant Future: Islands, Orbits, and Communities.” Each scenario identifies decision points
that might lead to brighter or darker futures and develops implications for foreign policy
planning assumptions.

Finally, we discuss the lessons these scenarios provide regarding potential

opportunities and tradeoffs in creating the future, rather than just responding to it.

• Assessment:

1. Create an infographic that encompasses all the social issues present in the
Philippines.

SSM117 TRENDS AND ISSUES IN SOCIAL STUDIES

Page 5 of 13
Module 2 – 4
TRENDS TRANSFORMING THE GLOBAL LANDSCAPE
• Required Readings:

Please refer to Global Trends: Paradox of Progress book pages 5-28.

1. The Rich are Aging, the Poor are Not

2. The Global Economy is Shifting
3. Technology Complicates the Long-Term Outlook
4. Technological Innovation Accelerates Progress but Leads to Discontinuities
5. Ideas and Identities will Exclude
6. Governing is Harder and Harder
7. The Nature of Conflict is Changing
8. Climate Change Looms
9. Converging Trends will Transform Power and Politics

• Introduction:

The post-Cold War era is giving way to a new strategic context. Recent and future
trends will converge during the next 20 years at an unprecedented pace to increase the
number and complexity of issues, with several, like cyber-attacks, terrorism, or extreme
weather, representing risks for imminent disruption. Demographic shifts will stress labor,
welfare, and social stability. The rich world is aging while much of the poorer world is not
and is becoming more male to boot. More and more people are living in cities, some of
which are increasingly vulnerable to sea-level rise, flooding, and storm surges. So, too,
more people are on the move drawn by visions of a better life or driven by horrors of strife.
Competition for good jobs has become global, as technology, especially mass automation,
disrupts labor markets. Technology will also further empower individuals and small groups,
connecting people like never before. At the same time, values, nationalism, and religion
will increasingly separate them. At the national level, the gap between popular
expectations and government performance will grow; indeed, democracy itself can no
longer be taken for granted. Internationally, the empowering of individuals and small
groups will make it harder to organize collective action against major global problems, like
climate change. International institutions will be visibly more mismatched to the tasks of
the future, especially as they awkwardly embrace newly empowered private individuals
and groups.

Meanwhile, the risk of conflict will grow. Warring will be less and less confined to
the battlefield, and more aimed at disrupting societies–using cyber weapons from afar or
suicide terrorists from within. The silent, chronic threats of air pollution, water shortage,
and climate change will become more noticeable, leading more often than in the past to
clashes, as diagnoses of and measures to deal with these issues remain divisive around
the globe.

SSM117 TRENDS AND ISSUES IN SOCIAL STUDIES

Page 6 of 13
• Assessment:

1. Oral Presentation
2. In-depth written analysis

SSM117 TRENDS AND ISSUES IN SOCIAL STUDIES

Page 7 of 13
Module 5
NEAR FUTURE: TENSIONS ARE RISING
• Required Readings:

Please refer to Global Trends: Paradox of Progress book pages 29-44.

1. Growing Terrorism Threats

2. Future International Order in Balance

• Introduction:

These global trends, challenging governance and changing the nature of power,
will drive major consequences over the next five years. They will raise tensions across all
regions and types of governments, both within and between countries. These near-term
conditions will contribute to the expanding threat from terrorism and leave the future of
international order in the balance.

Within countries, tensions are rising because citizens are raising basic questions
about what they can expect from their governments in a constantly changing world.
Publics are pushing governments to provide peace and prosperity more broadly and
reliably at home when what happens abroad is increasingly shaping those conditions.

In turn, these dynamics are increasing tensions between countries—heightening

the risk of interstate conflict during the next five years. A hobbled Europe, uncertainty
about America’s role in the world, and weakened norms for conflict-prevention and human
rights create openings for China and Russia. The combination will also embolden regional
and nonstate aggressors—breathing new life into regional rivalries, such as between
Riyadh and Tehran, Islamabad and New Delhi, and on the Korean Peninsula. Governance
shortfalls also will drive threat perceptions and insecurity in countries such as Pakistan
and North Korea.

• Assessment:

1. Oral Presentation
2. In-depth written analysis

SSM117 TRENDS AND ISSUES IN SOCIAL STUDIES

Page 8 of 13
Module 6
THREE SCENARIOS FOR THE DISTANT FUTURE: ISLANDS, ORBITS,
COMMUNITIES
• Required Readings:

Please refer to Global Trends: Paradox of Progress book pages 45-62.

• Introduction:

Thinking about the future beyond the next five years involves so many
contingencies that it is helpful to consider how selected trends, choices, and uncertainties
might play out over multiple pathways—as told through a set of short stories, commonly
known as scenarios. While no single scenario can describe
the entirety of future global developments, scenarios can portray how the foremost issues
and trends might characterize the future, much like the terms “Cold War” and “Gilded Age”
defined the dominant themes of past eras. For us, the three primary uncertainties shaping
the next 20 years revolve around:

(1) Dynamics within countries. How governments and publics renegotiate their
expectations of one another and create political order in an era of heightened
change, marked by empowered individuals and a rapidly changing economy;

(2) Dynamics between countries. How the major powers, along with select groups
and individuals, work out patterns of competition and cooperation; and

(3) Long-term, short-term tradeoffs. To what extent will states and other actors
prepare in the near-term for complex global issues like climate change and
transformative technologies.

The three scenarios—” Islands,” “Orbits,” and “Communities “—explore how critical
trends and choices might intersect to create different paths to the future. These scenarios
postulate alternative responses to near-term volatility—at the national (Islands), regional
(Orbits), and substate and transnational (Communities) levels. The scenarios also
consider alternative US responses to these trends—for instance, ranking US domestic
and economic issues over foreign relations, engaging globally to defend US interests
overseas, or adjusting governing practices to take advantage of the proliferation of
influential actors. While no single outcome is preordained, the following scenarios
characterize the types of issues that will confront policymakers in the years ahead.

• Assessment:

1. Oral Presentation
2. In-depth written analysis

SSM117 TRENDS AND ISSUES IN SOCIAL STUDIES

Page 9 of 13
Module 7
WHAT ARE THE SCENARIOS TEACH US: FOSTERING
OPPORTUNITIES FOR RESILIENCE
• Required Readings:

Please refer to Global Trends: Paradox of Progress book pages 63-69.

• Introduction:

Examining the trends across the three scenarios makes vivid that the world will
become more volatile in the years ahead. States, institutions, and societies will be under
pressure from above and below the level of the nation-state to adapt to systemic
challenges— and to act sooner rather than later. From above, climate change, technology
standards and protocols, and transnational terrorism will require multilateral cooperation.
From below, the inability of government to meet the expectations of their citizens,
inequality, and identity politics will increase the risk of instability. Responding effectively
to these challenges will require not only sufficient resources and capacity but also political
will. Moreover, the extent of these challenges might overwhelm the capacity of individual
states and international institutions to resolve problems on their own, suggesting a greater
role for a wide range of public and private actors.

The scenarios also highlight, however, that the very same trends heightening risks
in the near term can enable better outcomes over the longer term if the proliferation of
power and players builds resilience to manage greater disruptions and uncertainty. In a
world where surprises hit harder and more frequently, the most successful actors will be
those that are resilient, enabling them to better adapt to changing conditions, persevere
in the face of adversity, and act quickly to recover after mistakes.

• Assessment:

1. Oral Presentation
2. In-depth written analysis

SSM117 TRENDS AND ISSUES IN SOCIAL STUDIES

Page 10 of 13
Module 8 – 12
THE NEXT FIVE YEARS BY REGIONS
• Required Readings:

Please refer to Global Trends: Paradox of Progress book pages 89-158.

1. East and Southeast Asia

2. South Asia
3. Middle East and North Africa
4. Sub-Saharan Africa
5. Russia and Eurasia
6. Europe
7. North America
8. South America
9. Arctic and Antarctica
10. Space

• Introduction:

Continued instability and significant political, economic, social, and environmental

adjustments will mark the next five years worldwide. Although important differences will
distinguish the world’s regions, all will experience urbanization; migration; and stresses
related to environmental, ecological, technological, and climate changes. Many societies
will not succeed completely in efforts to lock in the development achievements of the past
two decades—especially for the new members of their middle classes—highlighting
governance shortfalls for rich and poor countries alike. Advanced information technology
will amplify differences over inequality, globalization, politics, and corruption, while
perceived humiliation and injustice will spur protests and violent mobilization. Structural
shifts in the world’s economies—from technology and finance that create wealth without
creating jobs to growing debt that burdens future growth—will fuel these changes.
Discontent will drive many societies to populist, nativist, or nationalist leaders; others may
soberly reevaluate what citizens owe one another when facing unsustainable costs.
Fragmentation of regions and states is possible—even likely—if multiple centers of
geopolitical power emerge.

Economic stress
The most significant global economic uncertainty of the next five years will be
China’s growth: how successfully Beijing maintains economic growth and foreign
investment, and how effectively—even whether—it manages an overdue transition from
an export- and investment-driven economy to one based on consumer-led growth. China’s
economy expanded from 2 percent of global GDP in 1995 to 14 percent in 2015, and it
has been the greatest source of global growth for several years; a sharp economic
deceleration in China would undermine growth elsewhere and slow worldwide progress
on poverty reduction. During such a slump, many governments would face increasing
SSM117 TRENDS AND ISSUES IN SOCIAL STUDIES
Page 11 of 13
 public pressure for reforms that promote employment and inclusive growth, changes that
might threaten their control and ability to provide benefits to political supporters.

Political stress
Few governments are poised to make such political and economic reforms, and
many states simply lack the capacity to address the challenges they face. In the Middle
East and North Africa, such shortcomings will combine with societal and geopolitical forces
to produce— or prolong—turmoil and violence. In the developed West, public disillusion
will find expression in populist or reformist voices that seek to address wealth and power
imbalances. In East and South Asia and Latin America, dissatisfaction with corruption,
crime, and environmental, health, and urban stresses will continue to stoke activism and
demands for government response.

Societal stress
Societal confrontation and polarization—often rooted in religion, traditional culture,
or opposition to homogenizing globalization—will become more prominent in a world of
ever-improving communications. The new technologies are also likely to continue fueling
political polarization and increasing the influence of extreme or fringe groups by improving
their presence and reach. Militant extremist and terrorist groups will continue to have a
transnational presence, still fragmented but sharing ideas and resources with
organizations in Africa, the Arab world, and South and Southeast Asia. The spread of
existing or emergent infectious diseases will remain a risk for all nations and regions, but
particularly for governments that lack the capacity to prepare for such a crisis.

Geopolitical stress
Major-power competition and the risk of conflict will intensify in the next five years,
reflecting a fraying of the current international system and the ambitions of China and
Russia for greater status and influence. States and nonstate actors alike will wield new
and nontraditional forms of power, such as cyber capability and social networks, to shape
outcomes and create disruption. The emergence of multiple, rival power centers is
possible in the next five years if regional aggression and flouting of international norms go
unchecked.

Environmental stress
Scientists report that 2016 was the hottest year recorded since the instrumental
record began in 1880, and 16 of the 17 hottest years have occurred since 2000. Although
predicting temperature trends over short intervals is difficult because of internal climate
variability, the baseline global temperature clearly will be higher over the next five years.
This warming has implications for storms and rainfall, melting ice, rising sea level, and the
general conditions under which people live. The impact of the change will be especially
acute for the substantial share of the world population concentrated in climate-vulnerable
areas, such as coastal cities and urban centers with strained water resources.

• Assessment:

1. Oral Presentation
2. In-depth written analysis

SSM117 TRENDS AND ISSUES IN SOCIAL STUDIES

Page 12 of 13
Module 13 – 15
KEY GLOBAL TRENDS
• Required Readings:

Please refer to Global Trends: Paradox of Progress book pages 161-223.

1. People
2. How People Live
3. How People Create and Innovate
4. How People Prosper
5. How People Think
6. How People Govern
7. How People Fight
8. Terrorism

• Introduction:

The People
In 2035 the world’s population will be larger, older and more urban than today, but
change will progress unevenly across regions, with rapid growth in many promising but
still-developing economies offset by stalled growth—or even shrinking populations—in
many developed countries. These trends will challenge the former to provide infrastructure
and opportunities for their growing populations and the latter to use technology to minimize
their need for new workers and to smoothly integrate migrant from developing countries
who seek improved prospects.

o By 2035, world population will have increased by almost 20 percent to 8.8 billion,
while the global median age will have risen from 30 in 2015 to 34 years.
o By then, more than three-fifths of the world’s population will likely live in urban
areas, an approximate 7-percentage point increase from 2016.

• Assessment:

1. Oral Presentation
2. In-depth written analysis

SSM117 TRENDS AND ISSUES IN SOCIAL STUDIES

Page 13 of 13