An investigation of the social studies curriculum program in terms of teaching natural disasters: From 1968 to the present

Teaching about natural disasters is of great importance for societies to be prepared for disasters and to become resilient in the face of these situations. For this reason, examining how natural disasters are handled in social studies curricula is seen as a critical step for the development of educational policies and practices. The vision that all countries want and work hard to achieve is that their citizens are responsible, conscious and law-abiding. Intensive studies are being carried out for this purpose in our country. Many improvements have been made regarding education in Turkey in the past. In our country, a draft curriculum for the Social Studies course was prepared in 1962, and in 1968, the Social Studies course began to be taught legally in schools in the country. Many changes have been made at the primary and secondary education levels until today. In particular, the changes made in 1968, 1971, 1985- 1990- 1998, 2005, 2017 and 2024 covered a wide area. Turkey is a country vulnerable to natural disasters due to its location, and the subject of natural disasters taught in schools is of great importance in order to raise conscious individuals. The issue of natural disasters, which is among the changes made and improved in the curriculum, is an issue that needs to be emphasized. This research is a qualitative research and the strengths and weaknesses, suitability for its purpose and achievements of the subject "Natural Disasters" in the Social Studies Course Curriculum were examined through document analysis