Abstract:

One of the most prominent subjects in the social studies course is without a doubt, teaching of history subjects. The teaching of history topics has different features than the teaching of other subjects of the social studies course due to their characteristics. That is why the opinions of teachers regarding teaching of history topics in social studies course and the methods they use in teaching such topics are very significant. That is why the opinions of teachers regarding teaching of history topics in social studies course and the methods they use in teaching such topics are very significant. In the study, it was aimed to determine the opinions of social studies teachers regarding the teaching of history topics in the social studies course, the methods they use while teaching these topics and their opinions on such methods. Qualitative research method was used in the study. Participants were recruited using the criteria sampling method. As a criterion, being a social studies teacher for at least 5 years, being active in social studies and gender were taken into account. Interviews were performed with 10 social studies teachers, 5 of whom were male and 5 were female. The interview form was developed by the researchers through applying to opinions of experts. Descriptive analysis method was used in the analysis of the interviews. In the study, it was determined that opinions of teachers regarding the sufficiency of history topics in social studies courses were different. While some teachers emphasized that history topics were sufficient, some teachers defined them as insufficient. Most of the teachers mentioned problems with the order and sequence of history topics in the social studies curriculum. In the study, while half of the participant teachers found the removal of Atatürk Principles and Revolutions from the fifth grade appropriate, the other half did not. It is concluded that teachers prefer different methods and techniques in teaching history topics. Moreover, it has been determined that most of them prefer direct instruction method and question-answer method. Teachers declared that the methods and techniques which allowed actively participation of students to the lessons were effective in learning the subjects, increasing interest in historical events, and also learning by having fun. As the most basic problem they faced during teaching history topics, teachers defined low level of students, irregularity of the subjects, crowd of classes, abstraction of the subjects, complexity of the topics, prejudices of students towards history subjects, their indifference, insufficient course hours, financial problems and rote learning. Most of the teachers stated that the methods and techniques they use in teaching history topics differ from the methods and techniques they use while teaching other subjects. Teachers indicated that content and characteristics of the subjects, age level of students, their needs, interest, experiences, point of views were effective for determining methods and techniques they applied in the courses. In addition, it was determined in the study that most of the social studies teachers did not take undergraduate or graduate courses on teaching history subjects and did not read the books published in this field.

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