Pre-service Social Studies Teachers Research Articles

As Teachers Not Tourists: Creating Knowledge During a Short-Term Study Abroad Program

Here, I address the call for teacher education programs to feature international elements to help pre-service teachers craft powerful classroom instruction and successfully work with students from culturally diverse backgrounds. I share a qualitative investigation of participants’ experiences during a short-term study abroad program in Japan that explored contemporary disaster preparedness as a result of the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami. The program sponsors, the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, hoped participants would develop an appreciation for the people and culture of Japan while they learned about disaster preparedness. I wondered if collecting curriculum items during a short-term study abroad program could help social studies pre-service teachers create—not just receive—historical domain knowledge? In Japan, participants collected items to use as featured resources around which they designed classroom activities for secondary students. Their activities demonstrated three levels of second-order historical domain knowledge and two elements of civic competence. This study suggests that pre-service teachers with no previous international experience may require explicit modeling and scaffolding to translate their short-term study abroad participation into dynamic learning. Another implication is that participants need strong support to consider the photographs they capture as artifacts of contemporary material culture.

Seeking the masculine with the feminine: P-6 pre-service teachers’ views on teaching about the 2020 US presidential election

As democracies have deteriorated worldwide, understanding preservice teachers’ perceptions regarding teaching about the 2020 US presidential election helps teacher educators better guide them to make informed and intentional pedagogical decisions for democratic education. Through a survey study, we found that early childhood and elementary preservice social studies teachers did not express a strong degree of comfort teaching about the presidential election and were most comfortable teaching about matters of literacy and of political agreement.

Preservice Social Studies Teachers’ News Consumption Habits and Perceptions of News Media and News Media Literacy

As the landscape of news media continues to evolve, preservice teachers today may have a unique set of understandings of what it means to be news conscious; may engage with different forms of news media than previous generations; and may have different reasons for including (or not) news media in their classroom. This qualitative study utilizes semi-structured interviews and artifact data to explore the news consumption habits of preservice social studies teachers, how their habits reflect their perceptions of news media, and their ideas for incorporating news media and news media literacy in the social studies classroom. Findings indicate that, although there were variances in their news consumption habits, the preservice teachers exhibited similarities in their engagement with and perceptions of news media. While they see the importance of news media literacy, they do not feel prepared to tackle such practices with their future students. This study indicates the need for a dedicated space in social studies teacher preparation for preservice teachers to interrogate their news media habits and perceptions to better prepare them for engaging with and navigating the evolving news media landscape with their future students.

A practical example for pre-service teachers for a more qualified sustainable development education

The purpose of this research was to reveal the impact of sustainable development education (SDE) prepared and implemented by researchers on pre-service teachers, on the level of awareness of sustainable development, and to identify the views of pre-service teachers regarding the education they receive. The study group consisted of 59 social studies pre-service teachers studying at a state university in Turkey during the fall semester of the 2019–2020 academic year. In the research, a mixed-method approach was used, which involved the use of both quantitative and qualitative methods. The research findings indicate that after the 15-week SDE, the awareness level of pre-service teachers regarding sustainable development had increased. It was observed that pre-service teachers gained awareness about the concept of sustainable development, and they provided positive feedback on the education they had received. Based on the findings it can be said that it is important for pre-service teachers in all disciplines to gain awareness of sustainable development before beginning their teaching careers.

AWARENESS LEVELS OF SOCIAL STUDIES PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS REGARDING METAVERSE USE

In today's Technology Age, where communication technologies are gaining momentum, social, cultural, and technological competencies draw attention from individual and societal perspectives. Along with technological innovations, transformations are experienced in the societal development process in many areas, including education, communication, language, culture, economy, etc. In this context, innovative technologies in today's science and technology-oriented society bring applications of artificial intelligence and the virtual universe, exploring the interaction between humans and space and beyond. Metaverse stands out as a structure among these virtual universe applications. Metaverse, one of the popular artificial intelligence applications of recent times, emphasizes creating a virtual social environment beyond time with the understanding of space and beyond. Metaverse is a permanent three-dimensional world where many situations that we cannot experience in the real world can be experienced and where communication can be established with other people or virtual people. It is thought that it may be beneficial to support a course such as social studies, which includes many disciplines and aims to raise well-equipped citizens with technology. The social studies course is also noteworthy as an area focusing on developing digital competence and skills. In this direction, this research aims to reveal the awareness levels of pre-service social studies teachers about metaverse usage from various variables. The experimental scanning method from quantitative research methods was utilized during the research process. According to the results of the study, while the awareness of the pre-service teachers about the application of metaverse as a current, popular technology and communication source is not found to be significant in terms of variables such as gender, age, and class level, it is significant regarding the university they attend, frequency of internet use, thoughts about using the internet/technology in education, digital environment and metaverse themed education, certificate program, and participation in courses.

Developing the STEAM Awareness Scale for Pre-Service Social Studies Teachers and Determining the STEAM Awareness of Pre-Service Teachers

Bu çalışmanın iki amacı bulunmaktadır. Birincisi; sosyal bilgiler öğretmeni adayları için “sosyal bilgiler eğitiminde STEAM farkındalık ölçeği” geliştirmek. İkincisi ise; geliştirilen ölçekle sosyal bilgiler öğretmeni adaylarının sosyal bilgiler eğitiminde STEAM farkındalıklarını belirlemektir. Çalışmanın katılımcılarını Türkiye’nin güneybatısı, batısı ve kuzeybatısında bulunan beş farklı üniversitede öğrenim gören 466 sosyal bilgiler öğretmeni adayı oluşturmaktadır. Birinci amaç doğrultusunda ölçeğin yapı geçerliği için açımlayıcı faktör analizi (AFA) ve doğrulayıcı faktör analizi (DFA) kullanılmıştır. AFA sonucu ölçeğin 25 madde ve 2 faktörden oluştuğu ve toplam varyansın %55.9’unun açıklandığı belirlenmiştir. Faktörler “genel bilgi” ve “sosyal bilgiler eğitiminde STEAM düşüncesi” olarak isimlendirilmiştir. DFA sonucunda ise elde edilen yapının uyum indekslerinin iyi düzeyde olduğu belirlenmiştir (χ2/sd= 1.86, RMSEA= .067, CFI= .96, TLI= .95, SRMR= .038). Ölçeğin toplam madde korelasyonları .36 ile .70 arasında değişmektedir. Ölçeğin Cronbach Alfa iç tutarlılık katsayısının .96 ve test tekrar test güvenirliğinin .83 olduğu saptanmıştır. Ayrıca çalışmanın hipotezleri Mann-Whitney U ve Kruskal-Wallis H testi ile çözümlenmiştir. Sonuçlara göre sosyal bilgiler öğretmeni adaylarının sosyal bilgiler eğitiminde STEAM farkındalıklarının cinsiyet ve sınıf düzeyi değişkenlerine göre anlamlı farklılık göstermediği görülmüştür. Sonuçlar, sosyal bilgiler eğitiminde STEAM düşüncesinin gelişmesine ışık tutmaktadır.

Investigating the Relationship between Pre-service Social Studies Teachers Professional Knowledge and Motivational Orientation in Nigerian Universities

This research examines the relationship between the professional knowledge and motivational orientation of prospective Social Studies educators in South-South Nigerian public universities. Employing a survey design, the study encompasses a population of 866 pre-service Social Studies teachers across state and federal universities within the South-South geopolitical zone. A sample of 446 participants was drawn from the population. Data collection involved an achievement test measuring content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge, alongside a "Social Studies Pre-Service Teachers’ Motivational Orientation Questionnaire" comprising self-efficacy and interest sections. Descriptive statistics including mean and standard deviation addressed the research questions raised in the study, while the hypothesis formulated was analyzed using Pearson Product Moment Correlation (r). Results unveiled a moderate, significantly positive correlation between professional knowledge and motivational orientation among pre-service Social Studies teachers. As an implication, the study underscores the potential predictive utility of professional knowledge in determining motivational orientation. This study makes significant contributions to the existing body of knowledge. One key finding is that pre-service Social Studies teachers in universities located in South-South Nigeria exhibit both high levels of professional knowledge and a strong motivational orientation. Furthermore, the study aligns with prior research by confirming a notable correlation between professional knowledge and motivational orientation.

Pre-Service Social Studies Teachers’ Knowledge of and Attitudes to Democratic Values in Osun State, South-West. Nigeria.

Pre-Service Social Studies Teachers’ Knowledge of and Attitudes to Democratic Values in Osun State, South-West. Nigeria.

A case study on the effectiveness of local history activities on pre-service social studies teachers

Merkezine sıradan insanı alan yerel tarih, bugün Türkiye dâhil dünya üzerindeki birçok ülkede, öğrencilere önemli yeterlilikler kazandırabilme potansiyelinden dolayı, bir öğretim yöntemi olarak sosyal bilgiler/tarih öğretimi programlarında yer almaktadır. Ancak yerel tarihin sağlayacağı yeterlilikleri gerçekleştirebilmek için öğretmen adaylarının lisans eğitimleri sırasında bu yönteme yönelik uygulamalı etkinlikler yaparak tecrübe kazanmaları çok önemlidir. Bu araştırmada; sosyal bilgiler öğretmen adaylarının yerel tarih öğretimi özelinde gerçekleştirdikleri etkinliklerle ilgili görüşleri ortaya koymak istenmiştir. Araştırmanın katılımcılarını Balıkesir Üniversitesi Necatibey Eğitim Fakültesi Sosyal Bilgiler Eğitimi Anabilim Dalı’nda öğrenim gören 55 öğretmen adayı oluşturmaktadır. Durum çalışması modeliyle gerçekleştirilen araştırmanın verileri açık uçlu anket, öğrenci günlükleri, etkinlik değerlendirme formu ve araştırmacı gözlem notlarıyla elde edilerek içerik analizi yöntemiyle analiz edilmiştir. Katılımcılar gerçekleştirmiş oldukları yerel tarih etkinlikleri sırasında en çok yaptıkları görüşmelerden haz aldıklarını belirtirken, en fazla zorluğu kaynak bulma ve bilgi edinme konularında yaşadıklarını ifade etmişlerdir. Yaptıkları etkinliklerin kendilerine kişisel/sosyal gelişim ve öğretmenlik mesleği açısından birçok katkı sağladığını dile getiren katılımcılar, Yerel Tarih Araştırmaları dersinin ve etkinliklerinin daha etkili olarak gerçekleşebilmesi için yapılacak sonraki uygulamalarda özellikle öğrencilere daha fazla rehberlik yapılması önerisini ön plana çıkarmışlardır. Araştırma sonucunda elde edilen bulgular doğrultusunda sosyal bilgiler öğretmen adaylarına başta yerel tarih öğretimi konusunda teorik ve uygulamalı eğitimler verilmesi olmak üzere bazı önerilere yer verilmiştir.

“And then I check to see if it looks legit” – digital critical competence in teacher education

This study investigates pre-service teachers’ understanding and use of their own digital critical competence. In the Norwegian teacher training programmes, pre-service teachers at all levels are required to develop critical reflection skills and learn basic digital skills. They have to be able to communicate digitally and at the same time be able to reflect on how developments in technology entail a growing need for critical assessment of digital media. Through a qualitative approach, we interviewed 17 social studies pre-service teachers at UiT The Arctic University of Norway and asked how they understand and use digital critical competence. Our study shows that the students’ understanding of digital critical competence as a concept in the early stage of their education is mainly linked to source criticism and can largely be classified as a procedural understanding. A procedural approach means acting without any consideration of the underlying intentions; it requires little thought, and cognitive operations are ignored. More experienced pre-service teachers can link digital critical competence more clearly to the teaching profession and the school context and can reflect on didactic perspectives. They have a more norm-critical approach and question how information and knowledge are established. We find that they have developed a more critical and reflexive approach. The implication for teacher education is that digital critical competence should have a space in all subjects, not just social studies. This will help improve the quality of education and equip the pre-service teachers for everyday life as critical and reflexive teachers.

Examining the Factors Related to the Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge Levels of Preservice Social Studies Teachers

Technological pedagogical and content knowledge (TPACK) is a pedagogical tool that can provide teachers and preservice teachers opportunities to receive enhanced lesson input, engage in classroom interactions, and improve learning outcomes. This study aims at examining the factors related to the TPACK skills of preservice social studies teachers. Participants consisted of 368 preservice teachers studying at the social studies teacher education department of a university located in the Central Black Sea Region of Turkey. Participants completed the TPACK scale and personal information form. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, one-way multivariate analysis of variance, and one-way analysis of variance. The results of the study reveal that gender is associated with the preservice teachers’ technological knowledge, content knowledge, and pedagogical knowledge; education year is associated with technological knowledge and technological pedagogical knowledge; high school type is correlated with technological knowledge, technological pedagogical knowledge, technological content knowledge, and technological pedagogical and content knowledge; home computer ownership is associated with technological knowledge; and average weekly time spent using a computer is associated with technological knowledge and technological pedagogical and content knowledge. Finally, technical computer skills are correlated with technological knowledge, content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, technological pedagogical knowledge, and technological pedagogical and content knowledge. The current study may contribute to determining culturally specific and cross-cultural correlates of TPACK skills among preservice teachers.

Self-Leadership Levels of Pre-Service Social Studies Teachers

The aim of this study is to determine the level of self-leadership behaviors of pre-service social studies teachers. In this direction, it was tried to determine the self-leadership levels of the students in Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University, Faculty of Education, Department of Social Studies Education, by applying a questionnaire, which is one of the quantitative methods. In this study where the survey model was used. The survey application planned to be made on 200 students was completed with 165 students. The findings obtained as a result of the research completed with a participation rate of 82.5 %, it has been revealed that the sub-dimension of imagining successful performance by setting goals only for oneself has a positive and significant relationship with other dimensions. It is seen in the conclusion section self-talk (r=0.66; p

The Effect of Fear of Missing Out and Organizational Indiffirence on Cyberloafing Behavior: A Study on Pre-Service Social Studies Teachers

The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of fear of missing out and organizational indiffirence on cyberloafing behavior. For this purpose, data were collected from 167 students of Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University, Faculty of Education, Department of Social Studies Education by convenience sampling method in the period covering February-March 2023. In the questionnaire used in the research, the fear of missing out scale developed by Przybylski (2013) and consisting of 10 statements; the organizational indiffirence scale developed by Fard et al. (2011) and consisting of 13 statements; and the cyberloafing scale developed by Blanchard and Henle (2008) and consisting of 20 statements were used. In the study, quantitative research correlational survey model, one of the designs, was used. T-test, ANOVA, reliability analysis, factor analysis, correlation and regression analyses were performed on the collected data. According to the results of the analysis, both fear of missing out and indifference behaviors affect cyberloafing behaviors. In addition, fear of missing out, organizational indifference and cyberloafing behaviors differ according to the gender and grade of the students. With this study, it was tried to explain from a scientific perspective the cyberloafing, fear of missing out and organizational indifference behaviors observed by academics and lecturers during teahchingment.

Satisfaction Levels of Social Studies Teacher Candidates with Regard to Distance Education

This study aimed to examine the satisfaction levels of pre-service social study teachers regarding distance education. Based on this purpose, survey and causal comparison models, which are among the quantitative research approaches, were preferred together. The study population consists of students in the Social Studies Teaching undergraduate program. The sample consisted of 238 pre-service Social Studies teachers studying in the Social Studies Teacher Education program at İnönü University, who were selected from the population using the simple random sampling method. The data of the study were obtained by using the "satisfaction scale" developed by Ilgaz (2008). The data collected with the satisfaction scale used to determine the satisfaction of pre-service social studies teachers with distance education were examined for normality before being analyzed. In this direction, skewness and kurtosis values were examined (Gürbüz Şahin, 2017). It was determined that the skewness and kurtosis values obtained because of the analysis were within the "±1.5" range determined according to Tabachnick and Fidell (2013). The determined values show that the scale data meet the normal distribution criteria. Therefore, unrelated samples t-test and ANOVA, which are parametric tests, were used in the analysis because of the research, it was concluded that the satisfaction levels of pre-service teachers regarding distance education were high.

An In-Depth Review on Teaching Practice: The Case of Social Studies

The aim of this study is to review the teaching practice course, conducted to prepare pre-service teachers studying in faculties of education for the teaching profession in terms of practical as well as theoretical knowledge, within the framework of different variables. The study was conducted by adopting the principles of qualitative study method. A semi-structured interview form prepared by the researchers was used to collect data required. In this regard, the study included 10 pre-service social studies teachers who taking the teaching practice course, 10 social studies teachers working in the practice schools, and 10 secondary school students studying in the practice class. Descriptive analysis and content analysis methods were used to analyze the data obtained as a result of the interviews. At the end of the study, we found that the pre-service teachers experienced feelings of excitement, happiness, pride, inadequacy, disappointment and fear during the lecturing processes. Moreover, we have revealed that the mentor teachers that they mostly considered the pre-service teachers inadequate in terms of content knowledge and pedagogical knowledge. The students is carried out find pre-service teachers adequate in terms of classroom management and lecturing, but the fact that pre-service teachers mostly use narration and question and answer methods stands out as a negative situation.

Impact of Scaffolding Learning Strategy on Pre-Service Teachers’ Attitude to Cybercrime Prevention

The study investigated the impact of scaffolding learning strategy on pre-service teachers’ attitude to cybercrime prevention. The study adopted the quasi-experimental research design of the survey type. The following instrument was developed by the researcher and used for the study, namely: Scaffolding Learning Strategy Guide and Lecture Note (SLSG), Conventional Method Guide and Lecture Note (CMG), Attitude to Cybercrime Prevention Scale (ACPS) and Computer Literacy Test (CLT). The participants for this study were selected using multistage sampling procedure. The first stage involved the use of simple random sampling technique to select three universities (one university for each learning strategy) in the region i.e. Southwest, Nigeria. This was followed by the use of purposive sampling technique to select the department of Social Studies education in each of the universities was selected. Consequently, intact class in each of the selected universities was used alongside three research assistants and three lecturers of the department. The data obtained through the administration of the instruments was analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. All the hypotheses were tested and decisions were taken at 0.05 level of significance. The findings of the study revealed that Scaffolding Learning Strategy (SLS) has no effect on the attitude of Social Studies Pre-service Teachers’ attitude to cybercrime prevention, teachers’ gender does not affect their attitude towards cybercrime prevention and computer literacy does not influence the attitude of social studies pre-service teachers to cybercrime prevention. Therefore, it was recommended that the use of instructional strategies should be well articulated so as to bring about change in the attitude of the learners, gender of the learners should not be seen as factor affecting the attitude of learners towards learning. Hence, during teaching, teachers should give room for gender disparity among the learners and emphasis should be place on the computer literacy of learners. That is, learners should be encouraged to have knowledge of the use of computers in teaching and learning process.

Learning Local History and Culture Through Museum Visits

This study described how social studies preservice teachers learn local history and culture through museum visits. It employed a qualitative descriptive research design involving ten social studies preservice teachers selected through purposeful sampling. Data were collected through a written interview and analyzed using thematic analysis. Through museum visits, social studies preservice teachers learned the following: visual driven through images, relics and artifacts, and multimedia presentation; audio/oral driven through curator explanation and peer discussion; text driven through text description; and actual experience-driven through applying learning from exhibits, giving a point of view from the past, and wearing traditional attire. Preservice social studies teachers can learn about local history and culture by visiting museums. This study emphasizes the value of museums in preserving and promoting local heritage and culture, as well as how they can be a valuable resource for learning about local history and culture.

Analysis of Environmental Literacy Levels of Social Studies Pre-Service Teachers

For a sustainable environment, raising future generations as environmentally literate individuals is vital, and this responsibility falls on the shoulders of teachers. Because the construction of future generations is the duty of teachers, to carry out this responsibility, teachers and pre-service teachers, from education faculties to the schools where they work, must first be environmentally literate individuals themselves. In this case, the study aims to examine the environmental literacy of social studies pre-service teachers in a versatile way. For this purpose, the descriptive survey model was used in the study, and the collected quantitative data were analyzed. In order to investigate the environmental literacy levels of pre-service teachers, a 4-dimensional scale developed by Kaplowitz and Levine (2005) and adapted by Teksöz, Şahin, and Ertepınar (2010) according to Turkish education and Turkish conditions was used in this study. Within the scope of the research, the relevant scale was applied to a total of 376 pre-service teachers studying in the Social Studies Teaching program of Erciyes University and Süleyman Demirel University in Turkey. According to the results, a significant difference was found between the pre-service teachers' environmental knowledge and environmental literacy and their beliefs on whether environmental education in Turkey raises environmentally literate individuals. Moreover, statistically, significant differences were found between the environmental literacy and gender of the pre-service teachers in favor of female pre-service teachers. In light of the findings, suggestions were presented to experts and other researchers.

PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS’ OPINIONS ON THE ROLE OF MUSEUMS IN VALUE TRANSMISSION

The transmission of values through social studies education remains a central subject of interest. The search for alternative resources to foster and sustain this transmission process has recently intensified. 'Museums', recognized as alternative spaces within out-of-school learning contexts in social studies, are increasingly acknowledged as crucial in facilitating value transmission. This research seeks to elucidate the role of museums in this process, primarily through the perspectives of pre-service social studies teachers. The study employed qualitative research methods and was constructed within a case study design framework. Data collection relied on focus group discussions with the pre-sercive teachers, with the subsequent content analysis used for data interpretation and explanation. Through dialogues with the participants, it became apparent that the transmission of values in social studies, a fundamental course for life learning, was a predominant concern. Out-of-school learning experiences are deeply integrated with social studies due to their interdisciplinary and multifaceted nature. In light of this, the participants’ perspectives and recommendations concerning the role of 'museums' as alternative venues for value transmission within the scope of social studies were predominantly positive. Keywords: Case study, out-of-school learning, the role of museums, social studies, value transmission.

Examining Pre-Service Social Studies Teachers’ Perceptions of Gender Roles in Relation to Their Understanding of Family

Examining Pre-Service Social Studies Teachers’ Perceptions of Gender Roles in Relation to Their Understanding of Family