Difficulties experienced by social studies teachers while teaching abstract concepts and solution suggestions (Tokat province example)

The aim of this study is to examine Social Studies teachers' perceptions of teaching abstract concepts, the difficulties they encounter in this process, and the instructional approaches they adopt to overcome these difficulties. Within this scope, how teachers define abstract concepts, how their perceptions shape the teaching process, and how these perceptions are reflected in classroom practices were examined from a holistic perspective. This study was conducted within the framework of a qualitative research approach using a case study design. The study group consists of Social Studies teachers selected through convenience sampling. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and document analysis. Within the scope of document analysis, the Social Studies curriculum and related instructional materials were examined in order to support the data obtained from teacher interviews. The collected data were analyzed using the thematic analysis method, and codes, themes, and sub-themes were generated during the analysis process. The findings reveal that Social Studies teachers generally perceive abstract concepts as difficult for students to understand, challenging to concretize, and prone to misconceptions. It was determined that these perceptions directly influence teachers' instructional preferences and classroom practices related to abstract concept teaching. Teachers stated that they experience various difficulties in teaching abstract concepts due to factors such as students' cognitive development levels, lack of prior knowledge, limited course hours, and the density of the curriculum. The study also found that teachers frequently prefer student-centered instructional approaches such as using examples from daily life, visual and concrete materials, drama and role-playing activities, storytelling, and analogies in order to cope with these difficulties. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that Social Studies teachers' perceptions of abstract concept teaching, the difficulties encountered in the instructional process, and the instructional approaches employed are closely interrelated. The findings are expected to provide guidance for Social Studies teachers in making abstract concept teaching more effective and to contribute to curriculum development efforts as well as future research in the field.