Multi Directional Investigation of Parents' Views on the Social Studies Course

Abstract

This study was carried out to determine the opinions of the parents of 5th, 6th and 7th grade students about the social studies course. For this, in-depth interview technique, one of the qualitative research methods, was used as the research design. The study group consists of six parents from Adıyaman Gerger Çoban Pınarı Secondary School, four parents from Adıyaman Kahta Kubilay Secondary School, four parents from Adıyaman Kahta Gazi Secondary School, 5 parents from Adıyaman Merkez Biraralık Secondary School and one parent from Istanbul Orhangazi Secondary School. As a data collection tool, four open-ended questions were asked to the parents. For the analysis of the data, the related data were interpreted using the descriptive analysis method. During the interviews, it was stated that the teachers should improve themselves in line with their branches, make the children love the social studies lesson with various activities, organize museum-trip programs, and inform the parents about their children at regular intervals. Expectations have emerged such as exemplifying social studies with every stage of daily life, providing a constructivist education-centered programme, ensuring that they get to know the city by visiting and seeing, raising students in accordance with the accumulation of culture from the past, raising individuals who know the responsibilities brought by their geographical location and protect their homeland and nation. Some of the parents also revealed that their students give the necessary importance to the social studies lesson, love the lesson teacher, put what they have learned into practice, and look forward to the next lesson with excitement. In addition, it has emerged that they see the education-training system only as preparation for exams, the need to increase the weekly course hours and to give the importance given to numerical courses to the social studies course.