Examining students' perceptions on geography concepts in social science teaching program

The purpose of this study was to determine how 8th grade students perceive geographic concepts (region, geographical position, environment, map, scale, tourism, climate, natural sources, population, migration, disaster, and direction) which were involved in social sciences teaching program for 6 and 7th graders. Therefore, metaphors and pictures/cartoons that students formed and drew for each of the concepts and interviews conducted with students about the related concept were examined. This qualitative study designed in survey model used data research techniques such as collecting data via metaphors, semi-structured interview, and document analysis under triangulation method. Considering the data supplied by Turkish Statistical Institute (TES) about Socio-Economic Status (SES), a total of 433 (197 female - 234 male) 8th graders chosen by maximum variation sampling method from 9 primary schools located in low, middle, and high socio-economical areas of central districts of Karabük in 2012-2013 educational year participated in the study. Content analysis was conducted to analyze and interpret the data of the study. Results indicated that without regarding the difference of SES, most of the participants perceived the concept of region as "something having differences, departing from each other with certain borders, inclusive, refresher." Another result about the concept of region was that participants perceived this concept as "branch and precious." Without regarding the difference of SES, participants stated that they perceived geographical position as "something changing, guiding, determining, giving value of another thing, and representing abstractness." Without regarding the difference of SES, participants stated that they perceived environment as "something changing depends on the value given to it, indispensible, relaxing, something possible to give a negative expression, open to change, didactic, and endless." Without regarding the difference of SES, participants stated that they perceived map as "something guiding, varying in itself, changing, giving information and taking different form according to the situation." Without regarding the difference of SES, participants stated that they perceived scale as "helping profiling, helping making decisions, illustrative, systematic, changing according to the situation, and obligatory." Without regarding the difference of SES, participants stated that they perceived tourism as "a classical perception, something including the historical and cultural values, enabling financial gain, informative, inviting, and residence." Without regarding the difference of SES, participants stated that they perceived climate as "something varying, continuous, an expression of change and science, determiner, changing according to the situation, and source of happiness." Without regarding the difference of SES, participants stated that they perceived natural sources as "something practical, protecting its purity, indispensible, existing without exerting effort, and finite." Without regarding the difference of SES, participants stated that they perceived population as "changing depending on the situation, potentially creating negativities, a systematical structure including certain differences." Without regarding the difference of SES, participants stated that they perceived migration as "something appearing obligatorily, potentially creating negativities, changing depending on the time, continuous, and encouraging innovations." Without regarding the difference of SES, participants stated that they perceived disaster as "something leading to extinction, creating negativities, unrecoverable, and coincidental." Without regarding the difference of SES, most of the participants stated that they perceived direction as "something guiding, leading happiness when the right way has been determined, and informative." Keywords: Concept, pictures/caricature, metaphor, qualitative study, social sciences