An examination of middle school students' map literacy skill levels in terms of various variables

Social studies is a multifaceted subject that enables people to become good citizens by understanding the society and the world they live in. This discipline utilizes different scientific fields such as history and geography to help people live in harmony with their environment and acquire social skills. The aim of this research is to determine the map literacy skill levels of middle school students and to examine these skill levels in terms of various variables. A cross-sectional survey design, a quantitative research method, was used in the study. The study group consisted of 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students attending five public schools in a province during the 2024-2025 academic year. 403 students participated in the study. The Map Literacy Skill Scale and a Personal Information Form, developed by the researcher, were used as data collection tools. For the validity studies of the Map Literacy Skill Scale, Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was conducted first, followed by Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). To determine the reliability of the scale, Cronbach's Alpha internal consistency coefficient was calculated. To determine the map literacy skill levels of middle school students and to examine them in terms of various variables, t-tests and ANOVA were applied. SPSS 21.0 and AMOS 21.0 software packages were used to interpret the findings and perform the analyses. The results of the study showed that the Map Literacy Skill General Scale scores differed significantly according to grade level; the general map literacy level of 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students was significantly higher than that of 5th grade students (6, 7, 8 > 5). This finding indicates that map literacy skills develop gradually and that grade level is an important determinant.