The anxietys of secondary school students towards social studies course: A scale development study

This study has two goals. The first is the development of anxiety scale that will determine the level of anxiety of the students going to sixth and seventh grades on the Social Studies course. The second one is to determine the anxiety scale developed and the anxiety levels of the 6th and 7th grade students in the Social Studies course. In the cross-sectional survey model, 350 students studying in 6 secondary schools in Denizli province and Merkezefendi province during the 2016-2017 academic year constitute the sample of the research. Social sciences anxiety scale developed by the researcher was used in the research. As a result of the research, Social Studies Lesson Anxiety Scale was developed. Subsequently, anxiety levels of the social studies lesson of middle school students were determined and analyzed in terms of various variables. In the study, demographic information, content and instructional dimension of 6th and 7th grade students, and their concerns about participation in the course were examined. As a result of the research, Social Studies Course Anxiety scale, which consists of 10 items which are valid and reliable (Cronbach's Alpha =, 867) and which has two dimensions called "Participation" and "Content and Instructional Activity" has been developed. In addition, in the results of the research, in terms of content and instructional efficiency, female students' It was found that 7th grade students were more anxious than 6th grade and the last low income students were more worried than the high income students. In the participation dimension of the course, only the income situation variable was found to be different and the students with low income status were found to be more anxious. Key Words: Social Studies Course, Anxiety Scale, Secondary School Students