Opinions of pre-service social studies teachers about using historical environment

Abstract

This research aimed to identify the knowledge, attitude and skill levels of pre-service social studies teachers about using historical environment in teaching. Based on this aim it can be included in the scope of the survey research. Participants of the research which was realized in 2015-2016 academic year were 75 senior grade pre-service teachers in the department of social studies teaching of a university from the north of Turkey. In the research, qualitative approach was followed in data collection. A questionnaire including open-ended questions and semi-structured interview technique were used. The data were analyzed according to the content analysis method. As the result of the study, it was identified that pre-service social studies teachers had knowledge to a certain extent about the definition of the historical environment, elements of it, educational attainments it might provide and the method and techniques which can be applied to use it. Moreover, they did not have enough knowledge about the nearby historical environment. Furthermore, it was propounded that attitude levels of the participants about using historical environment in social studies teaching were high whereas the skill levels were low.

Keywords

• Social studies teaching
• Historical environment
• Pre-service teacher