Evaluation of the curriculum of sociology lesson in terms of meeting secondary education competencies

Competencies are basic skills supporting the personal development of individuals, effective integration of them into society as responsible individuals, and employment of them. The sociology curriculum aims to provide active participation of individuals into daily life by analyzing society. The purpose of this study is to determine the level of meeting requirements of secondary school education competencies in the sociology curriculum. The research was carried out with 91 philosophy teachers/candidate teachers and 330 high school students having a sociology course as an elective course in the 2019-2020 academic year at Düzce province. A mixed-method approach was considered in the research. Quantitative data were collected via the "Sociology Curriculum evaluation in terms of qualification of Secondary School Level of Competency" questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, parametric tests (t-Test, ANOVA), non-parametric tests (Mann-Whitney U, Kruskal-Wallis H) and Pearson Correlation Test were employed. Qualitative data collected through a semi-structured interview form and interpreted through a descriptive analysis method. Results reveal that the sociology curriculum is sufficient to meet secondary education competencies both directly and indirectly at a high level, according to teachers. For instance, "communication in the mother tongue" is prominent, and "social and civic competences" is partially sufficient competencies that are considered directly. Besides, "communication in a foreign languages", "mathematical competences and basic competences in science and technology", "digital competence", "learning to learn", "sence of initiative and entrepreneurship", and "cultural awareness and expression" competencies are indirectly met, but not at a sufficient level. Furthermore, teachers' views do not differ significantly according to personal characteristics. According to the students, the sociology curriculum does not meet secondary education competencies both directly and indirectly at a sufficient level. Student views do not differ significantly according to personal characteristics, apart from the book-reading frequency. Teacher and student views are not correlated. It is suggested that participation in social responsibility projects and in-school activities should be considered within the scope of the sociology course to accomplish secondary education competencies for students. Thus, this lesson can serve as a bridge between life and school.