Teacher and student views on the use of current events in primary education 6th grade social studies course

The objective of education is to create a permanent change of behavior in the individual. There are several approaches and methods in education to achieve this goal. The aim of social studies education is to train citizens who serve their country, homeland and humanity, and especially the self. Several education-instruction methods and techniques are used to achieve this goal. One of these methods is current events. Social studies course is a fundamental course that includes social topics and subjects derived from life as the name reflects. Thus, the use of "current events" in social studies courses is more common than other classes. The use of current events in the educational environment is not only related to the structure of the social studies course but also closely related to several basic principles of education, especially the "from the concrete to the abstract", "from the known to the unknown", "vitality" and "topicality" principles. The present study was conducted due to the fact that use of current topics in the educational environment is extremely important and that there are not sufficient number studies on the subject matter. The objective of the present study was to assess teacher and student views on the use of current events in primary education 6th grade social studies course and to determine the level of awareness of teachers and students on the topic and to reveal the significance of the topic to a certain extent. The aim of the study is also to try to determine the contribution of current events to the educational environment. For this purpose, semi-structured interview method, one of the qualitative research methods, wasutilized. The study was conducted in ten schools and two schools were selected in each of the five educational districts in central Elazığ province. The study was conducted with 100 students who attended these schools and 32 social studies teachers working in these schools. In the study, two sets of 10 questions were asked to teachers and students. Initially, information about the study was presented to the participant and only volunteering participants were included in the study. The questions were first directed to the participant via the interview form in writing and then the same questions were posed to the participants and their responses were recorded with a video camera. Data analysis was conducted with NVIVO 8 software. It was determined that several teachers who participated in the study followed the current affairs and considered that the use of current events in the social studies course contributed to the achievements, an effective and efficient course, and permanent learning by facilitating the activity of the student in the learning environment. It was observed that most Social Studies teachers were positive about the inclusion of current events in textbooks and thought that when current events are included in the textbooks, the book was more attractive to the students and helped the student to comprehend the topics better. It was determined that a large number of Social Studies teachers considered that students would benefit from increasing the rate of current events in the Social Studies textbooks. It was determined that some of the current information in Social Studies textbooks were outdated, this information was not clear enough, and was not attractive for the student and that the content was not comprehensive. It was determined that most of the students who participated in the study closely followed the national and international events. It was determined that the students who participated in the study considered inclusion of current events in the social studies course had a positive effect on the course, and they thought that current events should occupy a larger space in social studies textbooks. Different findings were obtained with regard to the recommendations to include the current events in the Social Studies course and Social Studies textbooks in a more effective manner. Accordingly, attention should be paid that current events are suitable for the developmental period of the student, for the topics and achievements, and they should include current events that could attract the interest and attention of the students. Furthermore, it was suggested that the hours of social studies courses should be increased.