Question 1

What is NCEA AS 91039 about?

Accepted Answer

This standard asks you to explain how and why cultures change over time. You need to describe what changed, who was involved, what different people thought about it, and use relevant social studies ideas to back up your explanation. As you move toward higher grades, you'll dig deeper into *how* change happened and show that different groups had opposing views about whether the change was good.

Question 2

What do students need to do for AS 91039?

Accepted Answer

1. Identify a specific cultural change (what behaviour or practice changed in a society) 2. Explain which individuals, groups, or whole societies were involved in or affected by the change 3. Describe different points of view — show what different people or groups believed or thought about the change 4. Apply social studies concepts to explain your example (such as globalisation, legislation, marketing, colonisation, assimilation, or technology) 5. For Merit and Excellence, explain the processes or steps that led to the change happening, and show contrasting (opposing) viewpoints

Question 3

What's the difference between Achieved, Merit, and Excellence for AS 91039?

Accepted Answer

Achieved: You give a straightforward account of a cultural change, name the groups involved, mention different opinions about it, and use at least one social studies concept to explain it. Merit: You go deeper by explaining the actual processes or steps that caused the change to happen, and you clearly show that different groups had conflicting views about the change. Excellence: You comprehensively explain the processes that led to the change AND explain why those processes mattered — what difference did the change make for the people, groups, or societies involved.

Question 4

What mistakes do students typically make in AS 91039?

Accepted Answer

1. Describing the change itself but forgetting to explain the different points of view held by different groups 2. Using vague or everyday language instead of actual social studies concepts (like 'trends', 'globalisation', 'legislation', or 'assimilation') 3. Stopping at surface-level description instead of explaining the processes or steps that actually caused the change

Cultural change

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