Teachers' opinions on the teaching of spatial citizenship in social studies

Spatial citizenship is expressed as a type of citizenship which aims to make individuals aware of their duties and responsibilities related to citizenship by using geographical information. This research was carried out in Kastamonu city center in the fall semester of 2018-2019 with social studies teachers in order to examine teachers' views about teaching spatial citizenship in social studies course. Qualitative research method is used in this study. Data were collected by using semi-structured interview form. Teachers were asked 11 open-ended questions that are created based on expert opinions. The data were analyzed through content analysis by Nvivo 11 program, which is a qualitative data analysis program. The results obtained from this research; social studies teachers perceived space as a place to live, and they considered the knowledge of the space as important, in terms of gaining a sense of belonging to the place where they lived. It can be said that teachers are close to the definition of spatial citizenship, which is interpreted by the nature of social studies' values and skills. Teachers evaluated the relationship between social studies and spatial citizenship within the scope of social studies and some participants defined this relationship linearly. Teachers have linked spatial citizenship to people and places learning area and expressed that patriotism value and detecting space skill as the most relevant to spatial citizenship. Teachers stated that spatial citizenship knowledge would facilitate the daily life of the student. Difficulties faced by teachers on the teaching spatial citizenship were that the inadequacy of application issues and the abstraction of the subjects. Teachers have suggested some solutions such as organizing activities based on practice, increasing the current course hours of social studies, making the curriculum more suitable for students' learning. This research is important in order to draw attention to the place and importance of spatial citizenship in social studies. Teachers' opinions on spatial citizenship were revealed and their suggestions were presented about spatial citizenship. Key Words: Social Studies, Citizenship, Geography, Spatial Citizenship, Social Studies Teachers 2018, 136 pages Science Code: 6041