Beliefs and motivations of middle school students towards social studies course

Human beings exist with a range of sensory characteristics, among which belief and motivation play crucial roles. These factors not only influence various aspects of human life but also significantly affect an individual's ability to learn, thereby shaping their understanding of themselves, the society they live in, and their immediate environment. One of the principal academic subjects instrumental in shaping an individual's understanding of their socio-cultural and individual context is social studies. This course aims to enable individuals to comprehend the times they live in, foster self-development, and become active citizens. Students' beliefs and motivations influence their learning objectives. Given the role of social studies in contributing to an individual's life and the relationship between learning, belief, and motivation, it becomes imperative to assess the levels of belief and motivation that middle school students have toward this subject. In this context, the aim of the study is to determine the levels of belief and motivation among middle school students with respect to social studies. In this study, a quantitative research approach was adopted, specifically utilizing survey research. The study sample comprised 4,569 middle school students from fifth, sixth, and seventh grades. These students were enrolled in a total of 18 middle schools-9 public and 9 private-in three separate districts within the city of Bursa for the second semester of the 2022-2023 academic year. Data collection was conducted using three distinct instruments: a Personal Information Form, the Social Studies Belief Scale developed by Öztürk, Akyürek Tay, Ergül, and Tay in 2023, and the Social Studies Motivation Scale developed by Gömleksiz and Kan in 2012. Convenience sampling technique was employed to identify the schools where the study's instruments were administered to the student participants. In the process of analyzing the research data, parametric tests were employed. To examine variations in the scores of the Social Studies Belief Scale and the Social Studies Motivation Scale based on dichotomous variables, an independent t-test was used. For variables with three or more categories, an Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was conducted, and the Tukey test was applied to identify the sources of significant differences. Additionally, the Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient (r) was employed to calculate the relationship between scores on the Social Studies Belief Scale and the Social Studies Motivation Scale. Furthermore, regression analysis was carried out to ascertain the predictive power of the variables under study. The study found that students exhibit high levels of belief and motivation towards their social studies courses. While significant differences were observed in students' levels of belief in social studies based on variables including grade level and the socio-economic composition of the districts where schools are located, no significant differences were discerned when considering variables including gender, parental educational attainment, and type of school. As for the students' motivation levels in social studies, significant differences were found in relation to grade level, maternal and paternal educational attainment, the socio-economic framework of the district in which the school is located, and the type of school. Additionally, gender was identified as a contributing variable in the sub-dimensions of valuing and extrinsic motivation. Another key finding of the research is the moderate positive correlation between students' beliefs and motivations concerning social studies. Furthermore, it was concluded that students' beliefs about social studies serve as a significant predictor of their motivation towards the subject. Keywords: Survey Research, Belief, Motivation, Middle School Students, Social Studies Course