Abstract:

The purpose of this study was to describe social studies teachers' teaching style by investigating the teaching methods and teaching practices that they preferred in their classrooms for their students within the context of social studies instruction. The design of the study was based on a survey research method. The participants consisted of 72 social studies teachers working in middle-schools in Kahramanmaraş province in Turkey. The data of the study were gathered through a 30-point Likert-type questionnaire. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. As a result, it was found that the majority of the teachers participating in this study adopted a traditional teaching approach within the context of social studies instruction. This was because they integrated the content-area topics and text information with passive learning methods (i.e. the teacher lecturing from notes) in half or more of the course time. These teachers tended to focus on a teaching style that reflected the transfer of knowledge through the teacher-oriented methods and activities rather than interactive, independently supported student-centered learning activities in the learning-teaching process.

Keywords: