How Social Studies Teachers Reflect their İmmediate Environment: Kırıkkale Case

Abstract

The study aimed to investigate how social studies teachers give information about the immediate environment in lessons and determine course objectives through non-formal school activities. The study sample consisted of 38 social studies teachers working in Kırıkkale province in the 2018-2019 academic year. The data were analyzed with content analysis methods. The data were collected with a semi-structured interview form, were processed in SPSS 17 and Microsoft Excel software and interpreted in relation to the relevant the literature. In the interview form, the teachers were grouped by certain variables: gender, professional experience, and settlement type of school. The study concluded that social studies teachers did not have adequate knowledge about the immediate environment and thus they could not transfer it to students. Although participant social studies teachers claimed to give information and examples during the course, their students expressed that their teachers did not give any examples. The study results also indicated that teachers did not sufficiently organize non-formal school activities to teach the immediate environment. Thusly, it is suggested that social studies teachers should be assisted in learning the immediate environment and should participate in training on non-formal teaching methods. © 2020, Ozgen Korkmaz. All rights reserved.