The Recent History of Social Studies Education in Turkey: 23 Years of Experience (1998-2022)

In: International journal of new approaches in social studies: IJONASS = Uluslararası Sosyal Bilgilerde Yeni Yaklaşımlar Dergisi

Abstract

This research aims to evaluate the developments in the recent history of the social studies course in Turkey (1998-2022) through the curricula. Since 1998, 2005, and 2018 social studies curricula and literature studies were used as data sources, the research conducted with the document analysis method. The data were evaluated by the thematic analysis method. At the end of the research, it was determined that the 1998 curriculum, which was first prepared with a behavioral approach, did not fully reflect the understanding of contemporary social studies. Secondly, the 2005 curriculum, which was prepared with a constructivist approach, emphasized individual identity instead of social identity, unlike the curricula prepared until that time. Furthermore, the 2005 curriculum brought many innovations such as learning strands, sub-disciplines, skills, concepts, values, activity recommendations, and assessment and evaluation elements that did not exist in previous curricula. Moreover, while sub-disciplines, skills, concepts, and activity recommendations were not included in the 2018 curriculum, some values were removed and some new values were added instead. Finally, it has been seen that the 2018 curriculum includes various competencies and literacy, unlike the 2005 curriculum. Based on these results, it can be suggested that the 2018 curriculum be updated in more detail to guide teachers.