Is the socialization purpose of a social studies course being realized?: A Q-method research investigating secondary school students' socialization perceptions

Abstract

This research examined how effectively the social studies course achieves its intended purpose of socialization. The research was conducted using the Q-method. The participant group of the research was formed by the criterion sampling method. The participant group consisted of a total of forty-eight students, with sixteen from the fifth grade, sixteen from the sixth grade and sixteen from seventh grade, who were studying at secondary schools in the center of a province in Turkey. Data were collected with a list and a Q-matrix was developed by the researcher and analyzed using the PQ-Method 2.35 program. At the end of the research, it was determined that secondary school students' socialization perceptions were grouped under seven factors and were all different from each other. As a result, it was revealed that the purpose of the social studies course was not realized. Based on the results and limitations of the research, recommendations were developed to examine secondary school students' socialization perceptions with larger participant groups.