Teachers' views on the use of out-of-school learning environments in social studies education (Isparta province example)

The purpose of this research is to try to determine the use of out-of-school learning environments by Social Studies Teachers. Qualitative research method was used in this study. Social Studies Teachers working in public and private schools in Isparta in the 2020-2021 academic year constitute the study group of this research. The study group includes 40 social studies teachers working in secondary schools affiliated to the center. An interview form was prepared in order to collect information about the use of out-of-school learning environments by social studies teachers. Expert opinions were consulted during the preparation phase. The data of the research were collected with the "Interview Form". Descriptive analysis was used in the analysis of the collected data, and frequency and percentage were used in the analysis of the data. According to the results of the research, it is seen that social studies teachers generally organize out-of-school activities. Teachers' views on the organization of out-of-school activities vary according to their gender. Male teachers perform more out-of-school activities than female teachers. Another finding obtained in the study is that the opinions of the teachers on the organization of out-of-school activities also differ according to their seniority, and it was determined that the teachers who completed the "11-25" years did more extracurricular activities. Suggestions were made for social studies teachers to include more out-of-school learning environments in their lessons. Keywords: Out-of-school Learning, Social Studies Education, Social Studies Teaching