Analysis of social studies teacher candidates' attitudes towards immigrants

The purpose of this study is to determine the attitudes of pre-service Social Studies teachers towards migrants. In line with this purpose, the research question was formulated as: "What is the level of pre-service Social Studies teachers' attitudes towards migrants?" To address this question, the study employed a quantitative research design, specifically the survey model. As noted by Creswell (2012), survey models can be conducted in either cross-sectional or longitudinal formats. Given that the aim of this research was to identify the current situation at a particular point in time (the 2024–2025 academic year), a cross-sectional survey model was adopted. The universe of the research consists of teacher candidates studying in the Social Studies teaching program of İnönü University, Adıyaman University, Erzurum Atatürk University, Erzincan Binali Yıldırım University, Kahraman Maraş Sütçüimam University and Elâzığ Fırat University in the 2024-2025 academic year. The research sample consists of 343 teacher candidates who were selected using the "Disproportionate stratified sampling" method among the teacher candidates studying in the Social Studies teaching program of the universities in the universe. Two different data collection tools were used in the study: a Personal Information Form developed by the researcher and the Attitude Scale Towards Migrants developed by Çalışkan Sarı and Yalçınkaya Alkar (2018). The data obtained through the data collection tool in the study were analyzed using the appropriate analysis program. The findings of the study revealed that the overall attitudes of pre-service Social Studies teachers towards migrants were at an indecisive level. This suggests that the participants did not develop a clear positive or negative stance toward migrants and tended to adopt a neutral or cautious approach. Moreover, they exhibited a hesitant attitude when it came to perceiving migrants as part of the social structure. Analysis of the sub-dimensions showed that attitudes varied depending on the specific aspect of the issue. In terms of attitudes related to crime, pre-service teachers generally avoided establishing a direct link between migrants and criminal activity. However, they also did not demonstrate an entirely positive stance on this issue. This ambivalence may suggest that certain prevailing societal prejudices associating migrants with security concerns might still have a limited influence on the perspectives of pre-service teachers.