The effect of using current events in social studies course on the media literacy levels of secondary school students

The main purpose of this research is to investigate the effect of using current events in Social Studies course on the media literacy levels of middle school students. In the research, a quasi-experimental design with pre-test-post-test control group was used, which is one of the quantitative research methods. The study group of the research consisted of 5th grade students studying in a state middle school in a province in the 2023-2024 academic year. A total of 43 students, 22 students in the experimental group and 21 students in the control group, participated in the research. A personal information form, media literacy scale and checklist were used as data collection tools in the research. In addition, during the research process, applications were carried out in line with the lesson plans structured by the researcher. The data obtained at the end of the application were transferred to the electronic environment and analyzed using JAMOVI and SPSS programs. In the research, independent samples t-test, mixed design ANOVA, Kruskal Wallis H test, one-way analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) and related samples t-test were applied to the pre-test and post-test scores of the students in the experimental and control groups from the media literacy scale. As a result of the analysis of the obtained data, it was determined that using current events in Social Studies course had a statistically significant effect on the media literacy levels of middle school students. As a result, it was concluded that using current events improved the media literacy skill levels of middle school 5th grade students. Based on the results of the research, it is recommended that Social Studies teachers use current events to develop students' media literacy skills. Keywords: Social Studies, Current event, Media literacy