Social Studies Teacher Candidates Research Articles

A Study on the Levels of Adoption of Cyberculture and Global Citizenship among Social Studies Teacher Candidates

The research utilized the descriptive survey model, a quantitative research method, with a study group consisting of 172 social studies teacher candidates (131 females, 41 males). As data collection tools in the study, the Cyberculture Adoption/Development Level Scale developed by Koçak (2019) and the global citizenship scale (Global Citizenship Scale –GCS) developed by Morais and Ogden in 2010 were used. The Turkish adaptation, validity, and reliability study of the global citizenship scale was conducted by Tutkun (2019). In addition, a personal information form prepared by the researcher was used. The data analysis involved the use of the Independent Samples t-test, to determine the relationship between participants' scores on the cyber culture adoption level scale and the global citizenship level scale concerning the gender variable. For situations where differentiation was observed based on class, social media usage purpose and internet usage frequency, the One-Way ANOVA was employed for unrelated Samples. The findings of the research indicate that there is no statistically significant difference in the levels of cyberculture adoption and global citizenship among teacher candidates concerning gender and class variables. When examining the variable of social media usage purpose, a statistically significant difference is observed in the global citizenship levels of teacher candidates. In contrast, no statistically significant difference is found in the levels of cyberculture adoption. Regarding the daily internet usage duration variable, no impact is observed on the global citizenship levels of teacher candidates. In contrast, a statistically significant difference is found in the levels of cyberculture adoption.

Developing Political Literacy of Social Studies Teacher Candidates for Citizenship Education

In the rapidly developing and advancing world, citizens are expected to be involved in politics and help to their administrators/politicians. Although the concept of political literacy has an old history, it has become popular today. It has been included as a skill in 2018 and 2023 social studies curriculums in Türkiye. Considering the relevant national literature and the results of the needs analysis conducted within the scope of this research, it is seen that social studies teachers and teacher candidates don’t know political literacy and don’t have political literacy knowledge, skills and values as necessary. They, expected to raise politically literate individuals, have to be politically literate citizens/teachers in order to be successful. In this research, produced from a doctoral thesis, it was aimed to improve the political literacy of social studies teacher candidates. So, a political literacy education program was prepared within the scope of action research, one of the qualitative research designs, and political literacy education was given to improve the political literacy of teacher candidates. After the training, lasting about three and a half months, the effectiveness of the program in developing political literacy and the views of teacher candidates on it were tried to be revealed.
 
 Keywords: Citizenship education, Political literacy, Social studies, Teacher candidates

Determining the Perceptions of Social Studies Teacher Candidates on the Subject of Political Geography by Word Association Test (WAT)

This research aims to investigate the cognitive structures of social studies teacher candidates regarding political geography with the word association test. The scanning method was used in the research. 4th-grade social studies teacher candidates at a state university in Turkey in the 2022-2023 academic year participated in the research. We conducted the research with 26 teacher candidates, selected using the criterion sampling method, one of the purposeful sampling methods. The Word Association Test (WAT) form obtained the research data. “Political geography, geographical necessity, dominance theory, continental shelf, problematic region, a form of government, international power struggles, conflict zones, geopolitics, and Turkey's neighbors” were keywords in the WAT form. Prospective teachers formed concepts regarding each keyword, and we created a frequency table for these concepts. Then, we prepared concept network maps based on this frequency table. We used the breakpoint technique in the preparation of the concept network maps. As a result of the research, social studies teacher candidates formed 561, a concept about political geography. When the sentences made by social studies teacher candidates about political geography concepts were examined, it was determined that the number of sentences containing scientific information was 161, and the number of sentences containing non-scientific or superficial information was 86. As a result of the research, the word association test is an important tool in determining prospective teachers' perceptions of certain concepts. It is recommended that social studies teacher candidates be given training to improve their cognitive levels on the subject.

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 Investigation of Social Studies Teacher Candidates' Views on the Lesson Study Model

In this research, it is aimed at examining the opinions of the Social Studies teacher candidates about the Lesson Study Model carried out in the Teaching Practice course. The research was designed as a case study. The participant group of the research consists of three pre-service teachers selected by the criterion sampling method: the social studies teacher of the practice school, the students of the practice class, and the researcher. The data obtained was analyzed using the content analysis method. This model applied in the research was found to be very beneficial for teacher professional development, intra-group communication and collaboration, and students' learning and development. The negative reactions from the students to the seriousness of the research lesson and the thought that the lesson plan prepared in collaboration with the team could not be well reflected in the lesson by the teacher were considered disadvantages regarding the model in the research. At the end of the research, it was seen that the Lesson Study Model is applicable in education. In the light of the findings, it is recommended that the model be applied and disseminated both in other fields and in the field of social studies education in Turkey.

Investigation of Social Studies Teacher Candidates' Spiritual and Emotional Intelligence

Bu çalışmayla sosyal bilgiler öğretmeni adaylarının ruhsal ve duygusal zekâları ile akademik başarıları arasındaki ilişkiyi belirlemek ve ayrıca ruhsal ve duygusal zekâ düzeylerini çeşitli değişkenlere göre incelemek amaçlanmıştır. Bu doğrultuda nicel araştırma yöntemlerinden biri olan genel tarama deseni kullanılmıştır. Araştırmanın katılımcılarını 2022-2023 akademik yılı güz döneminde Kilis 7 Aralık Üniversitesi’nde öğrenim gören 169 sosyal bilgiler öğretmeni adayı oluşturmaktadır. Araştırmanın sonucunda sosyal bilgiler öğretmeni adaylarının akademik başarının iyi, ruhsal ve duygusal zekâ düzeylerinin ise yüksek düzeyde olduğu belirlenmiştir. Ayrıca katılımcıların akademik başarıları ile ruhsal ve duygusal zekâ düzeyleri arasında istatistiksel olarak anlamlı bir ilişkinin olduğu tespit edilmiştir. Katılımcıların ruhsal ve duygusal zekâ düzeylerinin cinsiyete göre anlamlı bir farka sahip olduğu; duygusal zekâ düzeylerinin sınıf düzeyine göre anlamlı bir fark gösterdiği ancak ruhsal zekâ düzeylerinin sınıf değişenine göre anlamlı bir farka sahip olmadığı belirlenmiştir. Bunların yanı sıra katılımcıların ruhsal ve duygusal zekâlarının yaş, sosyoekonomik durum, ebeveyn eğitim düzeyi, internette geçirdikleri süre, TV izleme süresi ve doğup büyüdükleri yerleşim yeri değişkenlerine göre anlamlı bir fark göstermediği sonuçlarına ulaşılmıştır.

Investigating the Locus of Control and Epistemological Beliefs of Social Studies Teacher Candidates in Turkey

Today, the concepts of “epistemological belief” (EB) and “locus of control” (LOC) have become important in education. It is considerable to investigate these concepts on teacher candidates who are the teachers of the future. This study aimed to examine the LOC and EB of social studies teacher candidates. The research, which adopted a survey model, was conducted with five hundred and fifty social studies teacher candidates studying at seven state universities in Turkey. The Locus of Control Scale and the Epistemological Belief Scale were used to collect research data. Descriptive statistics, independent samples t-test, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), the Scheffe test, and correlation analysis were employed in the data analysis process. When evaluating the research results, it was determined that female teacher candidates have a higher external LOC. No significant difference was observed in social studies teacher candidates’ LOC regarding their parents’ educational grade level. It was observed that there was a significant difference in the EB of social studies teacher candidates regarding gender. It was revealed that female teacher candidates had underdeveloped/immature EB. No significant difference was found in the EB of social studies teacher candidates based on their parents’ educational levels or grade. It was observed that there is a weak but positive significant relationship between the social studies teacher candidates’ LOC and EB and their sub-scales.

Opinions of Social Studies Teacher Candidates on Teaching Practice Process

The aim of this study is to reveal the views of pre-service social studies teachers about the teaching practice process. The data of this research, which was conducted as a qualitative study, were obtained from interviews with 13 volunteer pre-service social studies teachers selected by criterion sampling method in 2021-2022. The research data were collected with a 10-question interview form prepared by the researchers. Content analysis method was used to analyse the data obtained. The findings obtained as a result of the data analyses were presented under four headings: prospective teachers' expectations from the teaching practice process, prospective teachers' relations with the stakeholders of the teaching practice process, problems of the teaching practice course and suggestions for solving the problems encountered in the teaching practice course. Tables related to coding and categories are given under the headings and some of the opinions that are the source of these codes are presented as cross-sections. As a result, it was determined that pre-service teachers expected the teaching practice process to prepare them for the teaching profession, but this expectation was not fully met. Reasons such as insufficient time, indifference of the stakeholders of the process, and lack of co-operation between the university and the school were cited as reasons for this. In line with the findings obtained as a result of the research, suggestions were made to increase the duration of the teaching practice process and to strengthen stakeholder communication.

Investigation of Social Studies Teacher Candidates’ Attitudes Towards Renewable Energy Sources

This research was prepared in order to examine the attitudes of social studies teacher candidates towards renewable energy sources in terms of various variables. Convenient sampling, one of the purposeful sampling methods, was preferred in the research and the sample group of the research consists of 250 teacher candidates, who are the last level students of universities who teach social studies. In the research, the data were collected by taking the necessary permissions and transferring the scale used to the online environment, taking into account the cost and economic conditions. The Attitude Scale Towards Renewable Energy Sources developed by T. Güneş, K. Alat, and A. İ. C. Gözüm, was used after obtaining the necessary permissions. In addition, the demographic information form prepared by taking the necessary expert opinion within the scope of this research was used as a data collection tool in the research. The Attitude Scale Towards Renewable Energy Sources used in the research was prepared in a 5-point Likert type consisting of 26 items. The causal comparison design, which is among the quantitative methods, was preferred in the research. The data obtained in the study were analyzed using independent groups t-test and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA).

The Reasons of Social Studies Teacher Candidates' Preference for the Teaching Profession and Their Attitudes towards the Profession: The Example of Ağrı Province

The Reasons of Social Studies Teacher Candidates' Preference for the Teaching Profession and Their Attitudes towards the Profession: The Example of Ağrı Province

Intercultural Competence: Attitudes and Comprehension of Social Studies Teacher Candidates

In the 21st century, citizens live in an increasingly interconnected world that imposes intercultural communication. Contemporary and democratic society necessitates the peaceful coexistence of different cultures. In most societies, people with different perspectives, and origins come together on the street, at school, or at work. Each individual should have the chance to live peacefully, cooperate and develop a sense of responsibility for the well-being of society. Social studies are essential in teaching future citizens knowledge, skills, and values related to cultural differences. This research aims to reveal the attitudes and comprehension of social studies teacher candidates (TCs) toward different cultures. Present paper aim to contribute the literature by documenting the attitudes and comprehension of TCs regarding the people of different cultures especially from the countries that have face conflicting issues. The research, carried out with a basic qualitative research design, covers the data collected during the activities carried out to improve the attitudes and comprehension of TCs toward intercultural communication. 32 TCs, 25 women and seven men, took part in the study. Data collection tools used in the research are individual interviews, focus group interviews, and documents. The contents of 8 individual interviews and three focus group interviews, as well as performance assignments and evaluation articles prepared by the participants, were analyzed using by content analysis technique. The results indicate specific patterns in TCs attitudes and comprehension toward different cultures. The demonstrates that TCs define culture with its formalistic features, do not realize that culture may be related to worldview, are insufficient in researching cultural concepts, and generalize superficially about culture.

Investigation of Disaster Awareness Levels of Social Studies Teacher Candidates

Son yıllarda afet sayılarında ve afetlere bağlı yaşanan can ve mal kayıplarında yaşanan artış bireylerin afetler konusundaki farkındalıklarının önemini arttırmıştır. Bireylerde afet bilinci oluşturmada eğitim ve sosyal bilgiler dersi önemli bir misyon üstlenmektedir. Bu nedenle ileride sosyal bilgiler öğretimi görevini üstlenecek olan sosyal bilgiler öğretmen adaylarının afetler konusundaki farkındalıklarının belirlenmesi önemli görülmektedir. Bu bağlamda araştırmanın amacı, sosyal bilgiler öğretmen adaylarının afet farkındalık düzeylerinin belirlenmesidir. Araştırma tarama modelinde gerçekleştirilmiştir. Araştırmanın örneklemini 2019-2020 eğitim-öğretim yılında İç Anadolu Bölgesi’ndeki devlet üniversitelerinde öğrenim gören, kolay ulaşılabilir örneklemeye göre belirlenmiş 254 sosyal bilgiler öğretmen adayı oluşturmaktadır. Veriler, Kırıkkaya ve Gerdan (2019) tarafından geliştirilen Afet Farkındalık Ölçeği ile toplanmıştır. Ölçekten elde edilen veriler, normal dağılım koşulunu ve diğer varsayımları sağlaması sebebiyle bağımsız örneklemler t-testi ve tek yönlü varyans analizi (ANOVA) ile analiz edilmiştir. Araştırma sonucunda sosyal bilgiler öğretmen adaylarının afet farkındalık düzeylerinin orta seviyede olduğu belirlenmiştir. Ayrıca öğretmen adaylarının afet farkındalık düzeyleri cinsiyete, anne eğitim düzeyine, baba eğitim düzeyine, daha önce bir afet deneyimi yaşama ve afet temalı bir etkinliğe katılıp katılmama değişkenlerine göre anlamlı farklılık gösterirken; aile gelir düzeyine göre ise anlamlı farklılık göstermediği sonucuna ulaşılmıştır.

Skill hierarchies of teacher candidates: An analysis in the context of skills included in the social studies curriculum in Turkey

This study aimed to examine the opinions of Social Studies (SS) teacher candidates on the skills in the 2018 Social Studies Curriculum (SSC) and reveal their skill hierarchies with justifications. For this purpose, we used the basic qualitative research design widely used in education. The participant group of the research consists of SS teacher candidates. We used criterion sampling, a purposeful sampling method, to determine the participant group. The 57 SS teacher candidates participated in the study. The data were collected through online interviews and written answers through an interview form consisting of open-ended questions. The content analysis approach was used in the analysis of the data. The results revealed that the skills considered most significant by the majority of the teacher candidates were communication, empathy, innovative thinking, critical thinking, and problem-solving. In contrast, the least significant ones were financial literacy, media literacy, legal literacy, perception of space, and digital literacy. Finally, it was determined that the participants mostly wished they added to the curriculum were leadership, creative thinking, interpretation, adaptation, intercultural communication and participation, self-confidence, and time management. This result also shows a difference of opinion about creative thinking skills.

Investigation of Sustainable Development Awareness Levels of Social Studies Teacher Candidates

The fact that the social studies course has an intense content for sustainable development makes it important to reveal the awareness of social studies teacher candidates on this issue. From this point of view, in this study, it was tried to determine the sustainable development awareness levels of social studies teacher candidates in terms of various variables. The study group of the research conducted in the survey model consists of 304 social studies teacher candidates studying at different universities in the fall semester of the 2020-2021 academic year. The Sustainable Development Awareness Scale developed by Atmaca, Kiray and Pehlivan (2019) was used as a data collection tool in the research. The Cronbach Alpha value of this scale, which consists of social sustainability, environmental sustainability and economic sustainability sub-dimensions, was calculated as .91. In the analysis of the data, tests such as Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal Wallis H were used as well as descriptive statistics. As a result of the research, it was determined that the scores of female participants in both social and environmental sustainability dimensions and the overall scale were higher than men. For all other analyzed variables, no significant difference was determined for both the dimensions of the scale and the overall scale. Based on the findings obtained from the research, various suggestions were presented based on the examination of the gender-related difference in other studies.

Effectiveness Of Social Studies Teaching With Storıes According To Social Studies Teacher Candidates

Sosyal bilgiler dersi kapsamında öykü gibi edebi eser kullanımı, dersi destekleyici öğretim materyali olarak değerlendirilmektedir. Bu nedenle, sosyal bilgiler öğretmen adaylarının meslek yaşantılarından önce derslerinde öykü kullanımına yönelik pratik kazanmaları önemlidir. Bu araştırmanın amacı sosyal bilgiler öğretmen adaylarının öykü kullanımına ilişkin görüşlerini belirlemektir. Nitel araştırma desenlerinden durum çalışmasına göre tasarlanan araştırmanın örneklem grubunu 2020-2021 eğitim-öğretim yılı bahar yarıyılında Türkiye’de bir devlet üniversitesinde öğrenim gören 20 sosyal bilgiler bölümü ikinci sınıf öğretmen adayı oluşturmaktadır. Araştırmada veri toplama aracı olarak yarı yapılandırılmış mülakat formu kullanılmıştır. Araştırma kapsamında toplanan veriler betimsel analiz yöntemiyle çözümlenmiştir. Araştırma sonucunda sosyal bilgiler öğretmen adaylarına göre öykü kullanımının ders içeriğindeki çeşitli kavramların öğretimi ve öğretim programında belirlenen değerlerin ve becerilerin kazandırılması şeklinde hem ders sürecine hem de bireysel anlamda birçok kazanım sağladığı tespit edilmiştir. Araştırmada, sosyal bilgiler öğretmenliği lisans programında öğrenim gören öğretmen adaylarına meslek yaşantılarında kullanabilecekleri nitelikli öyküler tavsiye edilerek ilgili lisans derslerinde öykü kullanımına ilişkin inceleme ve değerlendirmeler yapma imkânı sağlanması önerilmiştir.

Relationship between Social Studies Teacher Candidates’ Digital Literacy Self-Efficacy Levels and Information and Communication Technology Competencies

This research aims to determine the relationship between social studies teacher candidates’ digital literacy self-efficacy levels and their information and communication technology competencies. The research was conducted using the relational survey model, which is one of the quantitative research methods. The study group of the research consists of 187 pre-service teachers (137 female and 50 male) studying in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th grades of Social Studies Education Department in the Faculty of Education at Niğde Ömer Halisdemir University. The data of the research were collected through “Digital Literacy Self-Efficacy Scale of Pre-Teacher Teachers” that was developed by Ocak and Karakuş (2018), a Personal Information Form that was prepared by the researchers and “Candidate Information and Communication Technologies Scale” that was developed by Tondeur et al. (2017) and adapted into Turkish by Gökçearslan et al. (2018). It was concluded that there is a positive, moderately significant relationship between social studies teacher candidates’ information and communication technology competencies and digital literacy self-efficacy levels.

Views of Teacher Candidates on Distance Education in the COVID-19 Pandemic Process

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to determine the reflection of the faculty of education science and social studies teacher candidates in the emergency distance education process (their motivation for education, educational activities, purposes and preferences of social media use) during the COVID-19 pandemic process. Design/Methodology/Approach: This research is a qualitatively prepared study. As a research design, it is a descriptive research that is also included in qualitative studies. The research group of this study total consists of 120 science (N = 42; 38 females, 4 males) and social studies (N = 78; 60 females, 18 males) teachers candidates. An open-ended survey was used as a data collection tool in the study. The data collection tool was applied within the scope of the "Instructional Technologies" course, which is common in the program of the students of both departments. The data obtained from the survey were subjected to content analysis. Findings: As a result of the study, it was concluded that the social media environment most used by science/social studies teacher candidates during the COVID-19 pandemic process was WhatsApp. Highlights: It has been determined that the COVID-19 epidemic process offers significant opportunities science/social studies teacher candidates to explore the digital learning world. Considering the positive effects of the digital literacy of candidates during the COVID-19 epidemic process, it is recommended that teachers, teacher candidates, curriculums and textbooks are developed in terms of digital competencies.

Social Studies Teacher Candidates’ Views on Environmental Justice

Environmental justice, which is related to the concept of social justice; It can be defined as the equal protection of everyone from harmful environmental influences, regardless of their age, culture, ethnicity, gender and race. Therefore, the right to live in a safe and healthy environment is the main emphasis of environmental justice. In addition, the participation of citizens in the decisions to be taken on environmental issues and taking into account their concerns about the environment are important aspects of the concept of environmental justice. The focus of the social studies course on daily life, its geographical, human and social analysis of environmental issues and its aim of citizenship education carry this course to an important place in gaining the understanding of environmental justice to individuals. For this reason, social studies teachers are expected to be aware of the concept of environmental justice and to carry out activities that can improve this concept in their students. The aim of this research is to determine the environmental justice views of social studies teacher candidates. The data of this study, which was carried out in the basic qualitative research design, were obtained through semi-structured interviews. The data were analyzed inductively. It is seen that social studies teacher candidates define environmental justice as fair distribution of resources, protection of natural resources and animals, high quality of life and being equidistant from dangers. Pre-service teachers who stated that environmental justice education will raise conscious and environmentally friendly individuals think that this concept is directly related to social studies. In line with the results of the study, pre-service teachers suggest placing the concept of environmental justice in the social studies curriculum and creating examples of activities that teachers can benefit from in line with this concept.

An Investigation of the Relationship Between Digital Literacy Levels of Social Studies Teacher Candidates and Their Attitudes Towards Distance Education

The relationship between the digital literacy levels of Social Studies teacher candidates and their attitudes towards distance education was investigated in this study. In addition, attitudes of teacher candidates towards distance education and their digital literacy levels were compared in terms of gender, year of education and income variables. The sample of this study, in which the general screening model was used, consisted of 260 social studies teacher candidates studying at state universities in the Central Anatolia Region of Turkey in the 2020-2021 academic year. “Digital Literacy Scale” developed by Bayrakçı (2020) and “Distance Education Attitude Scale” developed by Ağır (2007) were used in the data collection process. Kolmogorov-Smirnov normality test was run for data normality and after data normality was provided, regression and Pearson correlation analyzes, independent sample t-test, one-way ANOVA test and Post Hoc analysis were performed. The findings of the current study showed that the digital literacy levels of teacher candidates did not differ significantly depending on gender and grade levels, but the digital literacy levels of male teacher candidates were higher. It was observed that the attitudes of teacher candidates towards distance education significantly differed based on gender and year of education. It was determined that teacher candidates with high-income had a more positive attitude towards distance education and had higher levels of digital literacy compared to teacher candidates with low- and middle-income levels. The findings of the present study also showed that there was a positive and moderately significant relationship between digital literacy levels of teacher candidates and their attitudes towards distance education, and it was concluded that digital literacy levels of teacher candidates significantly predicted their attitude scores toward distance education.

The Use of Fundamental Rights as Active And Responsible Citizens: Tendencies of Social Studies Teacher Candidates

This study aimed to determine the tendencies of social studies teacher candidates, whose primary purpose is to raise active and responsible citizens, towards the use of fundamental rights. The study adopted a survey methodology and reached a total of 356 students studying in the Social Studies Teacher Education undergraduate program at 7 universities in different regions of Turkey. The data collected from these students with a Likert-type survey of ten dimensions, consisting of 48 items and five options, were analyzed using the SPSS 22.0 package program. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test and ANOVA. The analysis of the collected data showed that the scores obtained from the sub-factors of the survey, access to court and exercising consumer rights, differed significantly in favor of women, and conscious citizenship and taking responsibility differed significantly in favor of men. While none of the scores obtained from all sub-dimensions of the survey differed significantly according to the place of residence of the students, the right to petition, the right to lockout, the right to access court and conscious citizenship and taking responsibility differed according to the undergraduate class level. The overall assessment of the results is that the tendencies towards the exercise of fundamental rights do not differ significantly by students’ gender, class level and place of residence, and the overall tendencies in exercising these rights are above average, but not very high.