The middle years of schooling are an emerging area of interest to teachers, academics, teacher-educators and curriculum developers. It is argued that the middle school curriculum should be both integrated and discipline-based. In Queensland, the Studies of Society and Environment (SOSE) curriculum uses an outcomes approach which draws from a range of social science disciplines including history, geography, economics, politics, sociology, law, and ethics and studies, such as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander studies, Asian studies, environmental education and civics and citizenship. As such, SOSE fits preferred models of curriculum in the middle school. However, given the wide scope of the Queensland SOSE curriculum, teachers’ knowledge of subject content knowledge is critical. One potential area for research is SOSE teachers’ conceptions of the significance of content knowledge in their teaching. As part of a wider phenomenographic study of conceptions of subject content knowledge among middle school SOSE teachers, this paper will examine the literature on subject content knowledge among social science teachers. It is argued that particularly among early-career teachers, confidence in subject content knowledge increases competence and innovation in the classroom, thus laying the foundation for teacher professionalism based on content as well as pedagogical and curricular knowledge
