Determining the professional competency levels of social studies teachers: A study of scale development and application

Abstract

The aim of the study was to determine the areas of teachers’ needs for their professional development, and to develop a scale for assessing the competency levels of social studies teachers. The participants of the study were composed of social studies teacher who were selected using convenience sampling method. In the study, a mixed research method was preferred. While, the quantitative dimension of the research was conducted with 480, the qualitative dimension was conducted with 8 social studies teachers. The data were collected via the Social Studies Competency Scale, an observation form and a semi-structured interview form developed by the researcher. The data were analyzed using SPSS 23.0, AMOS 23.0, rubric, and content analysis. The findings obtained from the Social Studies Competency Scale showed that the competency levels of teachers were generally high. However, in-class observations revealed that teachers had a medium level of competence in planning and generating the teaching process, knowledge on the field and education, and in areas such as methods, techniques and equipment, and that they showed a low level of competence in some performance indicators of those areas. In this respect, it was concluded that supporting the quantitative findings obtained during the determination of professional development needs with qualitative findings was of crucial importance for an accurate determination of the areas of need.