Investigation of social studies teachers' opinions about social studies teaching approaches and their in class practices

This research aims to determine what social studies teachers' views are on social studies teaching approaches, which of the social studies teaching approaches they apply in the classroom environment, and whether they apply strategies appropriate to the social studies teaching approach they adopt in the classroom. The case study model, one of the qualitative research designs, was used in the research. The data source of the study consists of 11 social studies teachers working in different schools in Kayseri, affiliated with the Ministry of National Education. In the first stage of the research, a semi-structured interview form consisting of five (5) items was used to determine the thoughts of social studies teachers about the social studies teaching approaches they use within the basic framework of "Social Studies Teaching Approaches". In the second stage of the research, the classroom observation form was used to observe classroom practices and to determine the fifth sub-goal of the research. The data obtained from the interviews were tabulated thematically using the maxquda qualitative analysis program. Related data are divided into themes, categories and codes according to each sub-problem. Progress was made by constantly checking the data to ensure validity and reliability. In the second stage of the research, social studies teachers' classroom practices were observed. In order to ensure validity in the research, the printouts and voice recordings of the interviews were obtained with permission, and the in-class observations were confirmed by the teachers who were interviewed and observed by obtaining permission and recording the voice. The data obtained as a result of the observations were tabulated and interpreted depending on the classroom practices of teachers who adopted different social studies teaching approaches. As a result of the research, it was concluded that social studies teachers see the social studies approach as citizenship transfer as a traditional teaching approach in which the teacher is at the center, and they see the social sciences teaching approach as social science and the social studies teaching approach as reflective thinking as contemporary approaches in which the student is at the center. It has been determined that social studies teachers mostly prefer the social studies teaching approach as citizenship transfer. It has been determined that social studies teachers give different answers regarding the purpose of the course, what content the course should have, and the measurement and evaluation approaches that should be taken, depending on the social studies teaching approaches they adopt. Within the scope of the study, it was concluded that the participants generally used a social studies teaching approach as a transfer of citizenship and taught lessons in line with the approaches adopted in classroom practices. At the end of the research, the following suggestions were made to social studies teachers: They should use teaching strategies in the classroom, whichever social studies teaching approach they adopt, that they should receive postgraduate education in the field of social studies, and that they should take separate courses on social studies teaching approaches.