The Silk Road in the context of the past and present in social sciences education

The concept of the Silk Road is a very important concept used in teaching historical subjects. The social studies course aims to make the individual an active citizen, and thanks to the different disciplines it includes, it prepares the individual for life with the information it provides to students at the secondary school level. Since generations that do not know their past cannot develop by falling into repetition, it has become necessary for an individual to understand and recognize his past, history and culture for the decisions he will make and the problems he will solve in the future. The Silk Road, which is an important concept to help students gain historical empathy, think critically, do research, arouse curiosity, establish cause-effect relationships, and understand the present by making inferences from the past, should be used in social studies teaching. With this concept, students learn the cultural, political and economic activities of people who lived in the past and realize the changes between the present and the past. This helps individuals acquire and develop the ability to perceive change and continuity, as well as the ability to perceive time and chronology. A literature review was conducted using studies on the past and present of the Silk Road. In addition, since the use of the Silk Road in social studies teaching from past to present will be examined, document analysis method, which is a qualitative data analysis method, was used. By examining the 2005-2018 social studies curriculum and textbook, the change and teaching of the Silk Road concept from past to present was discussed, and the use of the Silk Road in social studies teaching in the context of past and present was touched upon by consulting teacher opinions in order to support and strengthen the research.