Uruguay Civic and Social Education - Third Year of Ciclo Básico (Secondary Education)

The Civic and Social Education program for the third year of Ciclo Básico in Uruguay (as outlined in the 2006 reformulation document: aims to introduce students to key concepts related to social coexistence, government structure, citizen participation, and human rights. The curriculum is designed to encourage critical thinking, responsible citizenship, and an understanding of democratic principles.

The program is structured around four main units:

• Unit I: Social Coexistence: This unit explores human needs as the foundation of social life, including biological, social, economic, and cultural needs. It also covers concepts of social interaction and control, different types of norms (moral, religious, social, and legal), the importance of legal norms, and forms of social interaction with an emphasis on conflict resolution. The unit introduces mechanisms for resolving conflicts, such as mediation, negotiation, conciliation, and arbitration, as well as basic concepts of the formal justice system.
• Unit II: National Political Organization: This unit focuses on the State as a social and political organization, its constituent elements, and its purposes. It introduces the concept of government and the basic principles of a democratic system, including popular sovereignty, separation of powers, free and periodic elections, pluralism, multi-party system, majority rule, and respect for human rights. The unit also covers the structure and function of the three branches of government at the national and departmental levels.
• Unit III: Citizen Participation: This unit explores the concept and forms of citizen participation, including union, political, and student participation. It examines organized participation groups such as unions, student associations, and political parties. The unit also defines citizenship, different types of citizenship, suspension and loss of citizenship, and the rights and obligations of citizens.
• Unit IV: Human Rights: This unit introduces the concept of legal subjects (active and passive), limitations on rights in ordinary and emergency situations, and guarantees for the effective exercise of rights. It analyzes constitutionally enshrined rights such as the right to life, honor, liberty, security, work, property, and equality. The unit also addresses adolescents as legal subjects, focusing on their rights to identity, image, family, health, education, recreation, and decent work. Finally, it covers responsibilities correlated to rights, and the rights to a healthy environment, development, peace, and security, as well as the right to permanent sovereignty over natural resources.