Sosyal Bilgiler Lisans Programındaki Uygulamalı Derslere Yönelik Öğretmen Adayı Görüşlerinin İncelenmesi

An Investigation into Teachers Opinions concerning Practical Courses within the Social Studies Undergraduate Program

Abstract: The practical courses within the social studies undergraduate program are based upon the cognitive and behavioural development of the candidate teachers. As well as contributing to the candidate teachers professional competency, these courses are powerful instruments for competency in content knowledge, which is why these courses are conducted by experts in different areas. The aim of this study was to determine the issues in the practical courses in the social studies education program, and to discover according to the social studies education candidate teachers opinion, the effects of these problems upon professional competencies. This qualitative study was designed as a case study. A total of 10 teacher candidates from the social studies education program participated in the study, selected in accordance with purposive sampling. The collected data was analyzed by content analysis. From the results obtained, the candidate teachers reported they encountered problems relating to credit incompatibility, in the content of the practical courses, the structure of the program, and issues relating to the faculty staff. It was found that these problems played a role in the candidate teachers professional competencies. Moreover, the candidate teachers provided some recommendations to remove these problems. Keywords: Social Studies, Practical Courses, Professional Competency

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