Ways of social studies teachers and students use textbooks

In this study, it is aimed to examine secondary school 5th, 6th and 7th grade social studies textbooks according to the opinions of teachers and students, to reveal their deficiencies, if any, in line with the findings and to contribute to the literature by offering suggestions. The study group of the research is 50 students studying in the 5th, 6th and 7th grades in seven secondary schools affiliated with the Adana Provincial Directorate of National Education and 20 social studies teachers teaching in these schools. The case study method, which is a qualitative research method, was used in the research. With the case study method, it was aimed to reveal the opinions of teachers and students about the social studies textbook. Participants were interviewed with a semi-structured interview form developed by the researchers. As a result of the research, while teachers use the social studies textbook as an auxiliary resource in terms of preparatory studies and auxiliary materials, they find it lacking in terms of scientific content, language and expression, visual order, physical structure and the elements it should include, but they state that it is sufficient in terms of measurement and evaluation content. Students are attracted to the social studies textbook in terms of the topics it covers, and while students find the textbook understandable in terms of its usage and narrative language, they state that there are terms they do not know. Considering the importance of the social studies course, it is recommended that the social studies textbook be prepared in a way that is richer in terms of activity and scientific content, simpler in terms of language and expression, and more visually striking.