Lesson Design for Social Studies Based on Liberalism: Focusing on the Universalist Position

This study briefly reviews the theory of liberalism and explores its connections with social studies education. The perspectives of liberals on citizenship education in social studies can be categorized into four positions: the multicultural position, the monistic position, the market position, and the universalist position. Among these, this study adopts the universalist position in approaching social studies education. Prior to designing specific lessons, the study identifies essential qualities of citizenship that should be central to social studies education—fundamental knowledge as democratic citizens, rational decision-making skills, and desirable political participation including voting and elections—based on previous research. Furthermore, the study emphasizes the necessity of learner-centered instruction in constructing classroom activities and reflects this in the design of social studies lessons. Specifically, it proposes a six-stage instructional flow grounded in liberalism: identifying issues and setting positions, establishing listening rules, clarifying problems, expressing positions, setting decision criteria and making decisions, and concluding. For each stage, the study outlines required activities and considerations for implementation. Additionally, it provides a lesson case applying this framework to the 2022 revised social studies education curriculum to enhance understanding. The significance of this study lies in demonstrating what kind of social studies education is possible from the perspective of Liberalism by presenting a concrete lesson design built upon theoretical review.