Seventh-Grade Students’ Perspective on Non-Governmental Organization

Individuals can encounter non-governmental organizations (NGOs), one of the most significant experiences of citizenship, during the early stages of their education. Individuals with foundational experiences at the primary school level, as they reach the middle school level, gain the opportunity to better understand the meaning and importance of NGOs through social studies and equivalent courses. Determining how students perceive NGOs at the end of this educational period is crucial in shaping education about NGOs and citizenship education. This study aimed to reveal the middle school 7th-grade students’ point of view on the NGO and NGO-citizen relationship. The study was carried out as a qualitative study. The qualitative study sample consisted of 39 (20 females, 19 males) 7th-grade students selected with purposive sampling methods. The data collected with open-ended questions were analyzed with content analysis. As a result of the study, it was determined that the students considered NGOs in terms of helping people and volunteerism. On the other hand, it was also seen that the students did not mention the political characteristics of the NGOs. It was found that students have a perspective of looking out for mutual benefit in the relationship between the NGO and the citizenship. In addition, all the students emphasized the responsibility to support the NGOs. Nevertheless, this mentioned support was more financial, and there was not enough emphasis on the support provided by social and political participation

Anahtar Kelimeler:

Citizenship education, social studies education, students’ perspective, NGO

Seventh-Grade Students’ Perspective on Non-Governmental Organization

Keywords:

Citizenship education, social studies education, students’ perspective, NGO,

PDF

___

Abiddin, N. Z., Ibrahim, I., & Abdul Aziz, S. A. (2022). Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and their part towards sustainable community development. Sustainability, 14(8), 43-86. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14084386 Akar, H., & Keser-Aschenberger, F. (2016). Students’ civic knowledge and perceptions of civic concepts in a private school: A comparative international perspective. Uluslararası Eğitim Programları ve Öğretim Çalışmaları Dergisi, 6(12), 115-132.
Akatay, A. (2019). Non-governmental organization (NGO) education: Analysis of the situation in the Turkey and the other countries. Route Educational and Social Science Journal, 6(11), 762-774.
Bengiç-Çolak, G. (2015). The role of service-learning approach in citizenship education in the social studies course [Doctoral dissertation, Marmara University]. Council of Higher Education Thesis Center. https://tez.yok.gov.tr/UlusalTezMerkezi/giris.jsp
Creswell, J. W. (2013). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Değirmenci, Y., & Eskici, B. (2019). Öğretmen adaylarinin etkin vatandaşlik algilarinin incelenmesi [Examination of pre-service teachers' perceptions of effective citizenship]. OPUS–Uluslararası Toplum Araştırmaları Dergisi, 11(18), 232-256.
Demirhan-Işık, E. (2018). Altıncı sinif öğrencilerinin sivil toplum kuruluşu algiları [Sixth grade students’ perceptions of non-governmental organizations]. Journal of Innovative Research in Social Studies, 1(1), 11-22.
Dere, İ., & Akdeniz, Ş. (2021). Active citizenship and volunteerism perceptions of social studies teacher candidates serving society. Başkent University Journal of Education, 8(2), 352-367.
Egüz, D., & Kafadar, T. (2020). Active citizenship from the perspective of pre-service social studies teachers. Elementary Education Online, 19(2), 565-579. http://doi.org/10.17051/ilkonline.2020.690003
Ersoy, A. F. (2014). Sosyal bilgiler öğretmen adaylarinin etkin vatandaşlik deneyimleri: Sivil toplum kuruluşlari örneği [Social studies teacher candidates’ experiences of active citizenship: The case of non-governmental organizations]. Ankara Üniversitesi Eğitim Bilimleri Fakültesi Dergisi, 47(2), 65-88.
Faiz, M. (2020). The volunteering activities of social studies teachers in NGOs and their perception of volunteering. International Journal of Psychology and Educational Studies, 7(4), 61-72. https://doi.org/10.17220/ijpes.2020.04.007
Finley, A. (2011). Civic learning and democratic engagements: A review of the literature on civic engagement in postsecondary education (ED-OPE-10-C-0078). United States Department of Education. http://healthclass.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Civic-Learning-and-Democratic-Engagements.pdf
Hall-Jones, P. (2006, May). The rise and rise of NGOs. Global Policy Forum. https://archive.globalpolicy.org/component/content/article/176-general/31937.html
Kallioniemi, A., Zaleskiené, I., Lalor, J., & Misiejuk, D. (2010). Towards active citizenship: Corporation between universities and NGO in developing curriculum. Socialinis Ugdymas, 12(23), 5-20.
Kara, T. (2022). Development of ADDIE instructional design model based social participation skills in secondary school students [Doctoral dissertation, Uludağ University]. Council of Higher Education Thesis Center. https://tez.yok.gov.tr/UlusalTezMerkezi/giris.jsp
Karataş, İ. H. (2013). Türk eğitim sisteminde sivil toplum kuruluşlarinin konumlari ve işlevlerine yönelik okul yöneticilerinin görüşleri [School administrators' views on the positions and functions of non-governmental organizations in the Turkish education system]. Milli Eğitim Dergisi, 43(198), 196-218.
Keser, F., Akar, H., & Yildirim, A. (2011). The role of extracurricular activities in active citizenship education. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 43(6), 809-837. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220272.2011.591433
Khandpekar, N. (2016). The role of NGOs in education system. Episteme: An Online Interdisciplinary, Multidisciplinary & Multi-cultural Journal, 5(3), 30-47.
Kızılay, N. (2015). Sosyal bilgiler öğretmenim: Bana göre iyi vatandaş [My social studies teacher: good citizen for me]. Journal of Turkish Studies, 10(11), 987-1006. https://doi.org/10.7827/TurkishStudies.8468
Ministry of National Education [MoNE] (2018). Sosyal bilgiler dersi öğretim programı [Social studies curriculum]. Ankara: MoNE
Naylor, R., & Ndaruhutse, S. (2015). Non-government organizations as donors to education. In Education for all 2000-2015: Achievements and challenges - education for all global monitoring report (ED/EFA/MRT/2015/PI/48). UNESCO. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000232479
NCSS (National Council for the Social Studies). (2016). A vision of powerful teaching and learning in the social studies. Social Education, 80(3), 180-182.
Park, Y. S. (2006). The provision of citizenship education through NGOs. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 37(3), 417-420.
Patton, M. Q. (2002). Qualitative research and evaluation methods (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Pecnikova, J. (2016). Volunteering and activism as forms of active citizenship: A case study. Teorija in Praksa, 53(5), 1236-1245.
Ribeiro, A. B., Caetano, A., & Menezes, I. (2016). Citizenship education, educational policies and NGOs.” BERJ British Educational Research Journal, 42(4), 646–664. https://doi.org/10.1002/berj.3228
Ribeiro, A. B., Rodrigues, M., Caetano, A., Pais, S., & Menezes, I. (2012). Promoting active citizens: The critical vision of NGOs over citizenship education as an educational priority across Europe. International Journal of Progressive Education, 8(3), 32-47.
Robson, C. (2015). Bilimsel araştırma yöntemleri gerçek dünya araştırması [Scientific research methods real world research] (Ş. Çınkır, & N. Demirkasımoğlu, Trans.). Ankara: Anı Publications.
Schreier, M. (2014). Qualitative content analysis. In U. Flick (Ed.), The sage handbook of qualitative data analysis (pp. 170-183). London: Sage Publications.
Selanik-Ay, T. (2016). Sınıf öğretmeni adaylarinin eğitimde sivil toplum kuruluşlarindan yararlanmaya ilişkin görüşleri [Views of preservice classroom teachers about the involvement of non-governmental organizations in education]. International Journal of Eurasia Social Sciences, 7(23), 50-68.
Stromquist, N. P. (2002). NGOs in a new paradigm of civil society. Current Issues Comparative Education, 1, 62-67.
Taylor, L. (2019). The role of non-governmental organizations in global education: a case study on SubSaharan Africa [Honors Thesis, University of Mississippi]. https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis/1154/
TDK. (2022). Sivil toplum kuruluşu [non-governmental organization]. Retrieved September 26, 2022, from https://sozluk.gov.tr/
Willetts, P. (2002). What is a non-governmental organization? Conventions, Treaties and Other Responses to Global Issues, 2(11), 229-248.
Xiong, Y., & Li, M. (2017). Citizenship education as NGO intervention: Turning migrant children in Shanghai into new citizens. Citizenship Studies, 21(7), 792-808. https://doi.org/10.1080/13621025.2017.1353741