Elementary Teacher Candidates' Views on Global Citizenship in Social Studies
Course
Journal Name:
- Eğitim Bilimleri Araştırmaları Dergisi (EBAD)
Keywords (Original Language):
Author Name | University of Author | Faculty of Author |
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Abstract (2. Language):
Introduction
Globalization has brought the necessity of training global citizens who are aware of
the world’s problems and who can produce solutions for these problems. Global citizenship
consists of principles such as making decisions in social, economic, cultural and political
areas at the national and international scale; promoting gender, racial, ethnic, national and
religious equality; and making sacrifices for common interests. Oxfam (2006) defined global
citizens as individuals who are aware of their own responsibilities as citizens of a broad
world, value diversity and respect it, and react to social injustice. It is also stated that global
citizens are individuals who take responsibility and act to make the world a fair and
sustainable place. Training people who can take responsibility on a global scale and thus
have a global perspective is only possible through effective global citizenship education.
"Global citizenship education" requires training active and responsible individuals as world
citizens. The Social Studies course plays an important role in training active citizens and is
aimed at training individuals to be equipped with both national and global values (Kan,
2012). In this sense, revealing future teachers' perceptions related to global citizenship
education is of great importance in terms of shaping the practices in the area. In particular,
there is a need for revealing the views of elementary teachers who would teach at elementary
schools as being a prominent part of improving the training of basic life skills.
This study purposed to examine elementary teacher candidates' views on global
citizenship in the Social Studies course. The following research questions were addressed
based on this purpose: 1) What are elementary teacher candidates' views on global
citizenship? 2) What are elementary teacher candidates' views on the function of the Social
Studies course in global citizenship education? 3) What are elementary teacher candidates'
suggestions related to global citizenship education in the Social Studies course?
Method
A qualitative approach was adopted in this descriptive study. The participants of the
study consisted of 78 fourth-year students studying elementary education at the Anadolu
University Education Faculty. The criteria for the selection of the participants included
having taken social studies teaching, having school experience and teaching practicum
courses, and having observed an elementary school environment as teacher candidates. The
primary reason for these criteria was that the teacher candidates should have an idea of
existing practices. The data were gathered through an open-ended survey developed by the
researchers. The open-ended survey included two sections. The first section consisted of
questions related to the students' gender, the state of having Internet connection at home, the
websites that they regularly visit, and the state of being a member of a non-governmental
organization. The second section included four questions towards identifying the students' views on global citizenship education. In the analysis of the qualitative data obtained from
the open-ended survey, a descriptive analysis technique was employed. In this regard, the
open-ended survey forms were firstly examined, and the empty forms were excluded. Then,
the remaining survey forms were numbered. While the data were analyzed, the themes for
the research questions were created. In this scope, the data obtained from each question were
analyzed separately, and raw codes were revealed. As a result of relating the codes to each
other, categories were formed. The researchers conducted the process of revealing the codes
and themes in the form of discussion. The necessary revisions and relations were done
together, and the themes were finalized.
Findings and Conclusions
The findings obtained in the study are presented under the headings of "global
citizenship", "the characteristics of global citizenship", "the contribution of the Social Studies
course to global citizenship education" and "suggestions for effective global citizenship
education in the Social Studies course".
The elementary teacher candidates' views on global citizenship were related to the
conceptual, individual and national dimensions. The conceptual dimension of citizenship
was regarded as the transformation of one's concept of citizenship and the reasons one gives
for citizenship. The transformations in the concept of global citizenship were described as
world citizenship and environmental citizenship. In the study, it was emphasized that in the
scope of environmental citizenship, today's citizens should be conscious of the environment
and be aware of their responsibilities. Related to this aspect, in Özdemir-Özden's study
(2011), Science and Technology teachers, Social Studies teachers and 6th, 7th and 8th grade
students pointed out that environmental citizenship put a set of responsibilities on
individuals; thus, its education starts in the family. In that study, the findings related to
environmental citizenship education at primary schools are in parallel with the current
study. Another emphasis regarding the conceptual transformation in the concept of
citizenship was on the concept of world citizenship. World citizenship is based on principles
such as equality, justice, harmony and shared decision-making (Yaşar, 2008). Therefore, the
teacher candidates thought the concept of citizenship should go beyond national borders,
and individuals should see themselves as citizens of the world and take responsibility in this
respect. It can be argued that this view is consistent with literature.
The teacher candidates referred to immigration, change in life conditions and
technological developments with regard to the transformations in the concept of citizenship,
which was in parallel with what globalization has brought. In this regard, it can be argued
that globalization has a directly positive or negative effect on the concept of citizenship.
Similarly, in Gül's study (2008), teachers provided views such as the increase in technological
developments, removal of borders and different life conditions as being familiar concepts.
Bozkurt's study (2013) revealed that different views--including the removal of different
borders as a part of globalization--and an increased level of awareness can be reached with
technological developments. In this regard, the current study is consistent with Gül (2008)
and Bozkurt (2013) regarding the results related to the effect of technological developments
on human life and how conditions are changing compared to the past. With respect to the
characteristics of global citizens, different characteristics such as knowledge and
understanding, skills, values and attitudes towards being a global citizen were revealed
based on the teacher candidates' views. Therefore, it was found that global citizens should
have a high level of awareness, high-order thinking skills, openness to novelties, a high level of participation skill and a set of values. In Lee and Leung's study (2006), the teachers in
Shanghai and Hong Kong had views related to global citizenship education in the
dimensions of knowledge, skills and values.
In their answers regarding the contribution of the Social Studies course in global
citizenship education, some of the candidates perceived the course as sufficient, some
thought it was insufficient, and a small number of students did not have any opinions in this
respect. The teacher candidates who thought that the course was sufficient in terms of global
citizenship education referred to course objectives, content and structure as competency
dimensions. The teacher candidates regarding the competency dimension in terms of the
course objectives stated that the course was sufficient in terms of teaching knowledge, skills,
values and citizenship competencies that overlapped with the course objectives. This
corresponds with Ersoy's study (2007), where the elementary teacher candidates stated that
individuals gain a set of knowledge, skills and values regarding global citizenship in the
Social Studies course.
The teacher candidates' suggestions towards conducting global citizenship education
were related to the course structure, objectives, and content and learning-teaching process.
Some of the teacher candidates did not have any views in this regard. For effective global
citizenship education, the teacher candidates’ views indicated that global issues should be
included in the Social Studies course, different cultures should be introduced, the subdiscipline
of global citizenship should be included, values education should be given and the
scope of global citizenship should be introduced. This result is also consistent with the
findings of Lee and Leung (2006) related to different religious and cultural beliefs,
environmental issues, international relations and cooperation, conflicts, citizenship issues,
global issues, international awareness, and economy. It can be argued that the teacher
candidates who provided views on both the conceptual dimension of global citizenship and
its education did not have sufficient knowledge, skills and awareness compared with those
in Lee and Leung's study (2006).
It was revealed that the results related to global citizenship and the contribution of
the Social Studies course in global citizenship education are consistent with the results of the
studies conducted in literature. However, it was also found that some revisions were needed
in the Social Studies' teaching program and implementation for effective global citizenship
education, and the stakeholders should work together in this respect. The following
suggestions can be offered based on the findings revealed in the study: 1) Training on global
citizenship can be given to the stakeholders. 2) Values education can be emphasized in the
Social Studies course. 3) Teaching activities can be organized, considering technological
developments. 5) Global problems can be pointed out in the Social Studies lessons. 5) Studies
revealing elementary teachers' views on global citizenship can also be conducted.
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Abstract (Original Language):
Bilgi ve iletişim teknolojilerinin hızla geliştiği günümüzde öğrencilerden kazanması
beklenen beceriler de değişmektedir. Bu becerilerin kazandırıldığı derslerden biri de Sosyal
Bilgiler Dersidir. Geçmişten günümüze Sosyal Bilgiler Dersi öğrencilere vatandaşlık
becerilerini kazandırmaya çalışmaktadır. Ancak, küreselleşen dünya ile birlikte öğrencilerin
küresel bilgi, beceri ve değer sahibi olmaları da büyük önem kazanmıştır. Bu bağlamda,
çalışmanın amacı sınıf öğretmenliği öğretmen adaylarının Sosyal Bilgiler Dersinde küresel
vatandaşlık eğitimine ilişkin görüşlerini ortaya koymaktır. Araştırma nitel verilere dayalı
betimsel bir çalışmadır. Araştırmanın katılımcılarını Anadolu Üniversitesi Eğitim Fakültesi
Sınıf Öğretmenliği Programı dördüncü 4. sınıfta öğrenim gören 78 öğretmen adayı
oluşturmaktadır. Araştırma verileri araştırmacılar tarafından geliştirilen yapılandırılmış
görüşme formu kullanılarak toplanmıştır. Toplanan nitel verilerin analizinde betimsel analizi
tekniği kullanılmıştır. Araştırmada toplanan verilerin analiz sonuçlarına göre sınıf öğretmeni
adaylarının küresel vatandaşlıkla ilgili görüşleri vatandaşlığın kavramsal boyutu, birey
boyutu ve ülkeler boyutu olmak üzere üç tema altında toplanmıştır. Öğretmen adaylarının
küresel vatandaşın sahip olması gereken özelliklerine ilişkin görüşleri incelendiğinde,
küresel vatandaşın sahip olması gereken özellikleri “bilgi ve anlayış, beceri, değer ve tutum”
olmak üzere üç boyutta ele aldıkları belirlenmiştir. Öğretmen adaylarının büyük bir bölümü
küresel vatandaşlık eğitimine Sosyal Bilgiler dersinin katkı sağladığını düşünmektedir.
Sosyal Bilgiler dersinde etkili küresel vatandaşlık eğitimine yönelik öğretmen adayları dersin
yapısına, amacına, içeriğine ve öğretme-öğrenme sürecine yönelik öneriler sunmuşlardır.
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