The Evaluation of Fourth and Fifth Grades Social Studies Course Curriculum in Terms of Curriculum Elements: Bolu Case
Journal Name:
- Amasya Üniversitesi Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi
Keywords (Original Language):
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Abstract (2. Language):
Problem Statement: In today's world, the characteristics of people and their skills they are required to have has changed with needs of society and individuals. Therefore, people are expected to have skills such as solving problems, thinking critically, using ICT effectively, working cooperatively. These skills, along with individual needs and interests, are considered as the objectives that curricula desires to achieve. In this regard, it is believed that social studies lessons at the primary school level have an important function in order for students to acquire and to have effective citizenship skills, connect the past with the future and analyze the cause and effect relationships between them. Additionally, social studies is considered as an important asset from the view point of providing an individual with the perception to interpret and participate in social situtaions. The aim of this course is to educate and train people to be effective and responsible individuals. In Turkey, creating and forming a democratic society through formal educational institutions is considered to be the task of social studies courses in primary schools. Within this framework, teaching social studies courses has become an important and distinctive subject area, as it determines whether or not a society is formed by individuals who have democratic attitudes and values, have problem solving and decision making skills and are productive and participating members. To this end, it can be said that social studies is an important and necessary course. When the social studies curriculum, developed on the basis of constructivist approach, is examined, it can be said that the expectation of achieving necessary information and producing new information in order to solve problems encountered instead of transferring and transmitting of information to individuals is emphasized.
Meanwhile
, it is believed that the conscious citizens educated based on this will take part in decisions about their societies effectively, fulfill their rights and responsibilities in the society and contribute to the development of democracy. There are various curriculum evaluation studies on the renewed primary school curriculum that has been implemented for six years, including the social studies course curriculum. When these studies are observed, it is seen that these studies focused on the perceptions of teachers on the renewed curriculum and the difficulties they face during the implementation of the curriculum and the recommendations they make to eliminate these difficulties. When the literature is examined, it is seen that even though teachers believed that the social studies curriculum within the renewed primary school curriculum is functional; they stated the existence of some problems in the implementation and implied that they are still under the influence of the traditional approach.
Purpose of the Study: The aim of the study is to evaluate primary school 4th and 5th grade social studies curriculum elements (objectives, content, learning-teaching process, evaluation) on the basis of the perceptions of the teachers. In this regard, "What are the perceptions of classroom teachers about the elements (objectives, content, learning-teaching process, evaluation) of 4th and 5th grades social studies course curriculum?" is the question of the present study. The following sub-problems were answered in the study:
1. What are teachers' perceptions of the elements (objectives, content, learning-teaching process, evaluation) of 4th and 5th grades social studies curriculum?
2. Do teachers' perceptions of 4th and 5th grades social studies curriculum differ in terms of:
a) their gender b) the place where they work c) their education levels d) years of teaching experience in teaching and e) the number of students in their classrooms.
Method(s): In the study, a survey model (Karasar, 2005) was used. The quantitative data was collected from (n=235) classroom teachers. Two data collection instruments were used to collect quantitative data: "Personal Information Form" and "Social Studies Curriculum Scale", developed by Bulut (2006). For analysis, SPSS 15 program was used. Through this program, the mean and standard deviation scores were calculated and t - Test and Kruskall Wallis H Test were used.
Findings and Discussions: The findings of the study indicated that while 4th and 5th grade classroom teachers' perceptions about the objectives, content and evaluation elements of social studies course curriculum are at "moderate level", teachers' opinions about the learning - teaching process element of social studies course curriculum is at "more level". Also, no significant differences were found between the opinions of teachers and their genders,the place where they work, their education levels, years of experience in teaching and the number of students in their classrooms.
Conclusions and Recommendations: Based on these findings, the following can be recommended: social studies course books need to be revised to reflect and the opinions of teachers, in learning-teaching process, different strategies need to be used, the objectives of social studies curriculum need to be revised in terms of their clarity and intelligibility characteristics.
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Abstract (Original Language):
Bu araştırmanın amacı dördüncü ve beşinci sınıf sosyal bilgiler dersi öğretim programının kazanım, kapsam, eğitim durumu ve değerlendirme ögelerini sınıf öğretmenlerinin görüşleri doğrultusunda değerlendirilmektir. Veriler 2010-11 eğitim-öğretim yılında "Kişisel Bilgi Formu" ve Bulut (2006) tarafından geliştirilen "Sosyal Bilgiler Dersi Öğretim Programı Ölçeği" ile elde edilmiştir. Veriler Bolu ilinde görev yapan 4. ve 5. sınıf 281 öğretmenden toplanmıştır. Araştırmadan elde edilen verilerin analizinde t-testi ve Kruskall Wallis H testi kullanılmıştır. Araştırma sonucunda dördüncü ve beşinci sınıf öğretmenlerinin sosyal bilgiler dersi programının kazanım, kapsam ve değerlendirme ögelerine ilişkin görüşlerinin "orta" düzeyde, eğitim durumu ögesine ilişkin görüşlerinin ise "çok" düzeyinde etkili olduğu saptanmıştır. Ayrıca öğretmenlerin görüşleri ile cinsiyet, görev yapılan yerleşim yeri, öğrenim durumu, mesleki hizmet yılı ve sınırlarındaki öğrenci sayısı değişkenleri arasında anlamlı bir farklılık olmadığı saptanmıştır.
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