The Impact of ICT on Pupils’ Achievement and Attitudes in Social Studies

Abstract

The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of teaching social studies with the help of CT on pupils’ achievement in social studies. A history, geography and culture oriented theme was selected from the social studies curriculum for the research, Turks on the Silk Road. A multimedia CD, documentaries, PowerPoint and so on were used to teach social studies to 6th graders. The research design of the study is quasi experimental. Three different research tools were used to collect data: an academic achievement test, an attitude measurement scale on social studies education and an attitude measurement scale on ICT. When achievement post test scores were treated as dependent variable in blockwise regression analysis the followings are found: Pupils’ attitudes towards the subject and ICT do not have an effect on their post-test achievement scores. However, their prior knowledge on the subject and the treatment i.e. teaching social studies with ICT have a positive effect on their achievement. Teaching social studies with ICT do not have any statistically significant effect on pupils’ attitudes toward social studies lesson. Thus, it is recommended that teachers and policy makers should find ways to formulate effective ICT integration applications for social studies.