Problems faced by Social Studies teachers in education of Social Studies (Bitlis province example)

Education is a phenomenon that can only be productive when all shareholders act with a sense of responsibility. Teachers, students, parents, school administration, program makers and implementers, and official education authorities must act in a joint and planned manner so that the education provided can be efficient. Failure of even one of these will cause difficulties in bringing education to the targeted and desired level. The aim of this research is to identify the problems faced by Social Studies teachers in teaching Social Studies and to offer solutions. This study was conducted in accordance with qualitative research. The phenomenology pattern was used as the research design. The participants in the study were determined using the criterion sampling method, one of the purposeful sampling methods. The study group consists of 20 volunteer Social Studies teachers working in 15 different secondary schools in Tatvan district of Bitlis province in the 2022-2023 academic year. To obtain the data, semi-structured interview technique, one of the data collection techniques used in qualitative research methods, was used. The analysis of the veri was done by content analysis, which requires detailed analysis. The aim of the study is to reveal the problems that Social Studies teachers encounter in teaching Social Studies and to offer solutions. According to the opinions of the participants in the study, what Social Studies teachers encounter; the effects of problems related to units and subjects, appropriateness to student level, physical equipment, socio-economic environment, problems related to students, parents, teachers, school administration and central exams on Social Studies teaching were analyzed. Problems in the study; findings were found that there are no smart boards, there is no Social Studies class, the necessary materials cannot be provided, financial inadequacies, the subjects and units are abstract, the subjects are disconnected, and the course hours are insufficient. In this context, reducing and simplifying the units and topics in the Social Studies course by examining them by relevant people, concretizing them to a level that students can understand, and eliminating the deficiencies of schools regarding physical equipment may be effective in increasing the effectiveness of the course. In addition, in the context of increasing the effectiveness of the Social Studies course, it is important to meet the financial needs of the students, to eliminate the negative judgments of parents, students, school administration and society about the course and the course teacher, to improve the current position of the teachers, and to solve the problem of the number of floors of the course.