Active and Democratic Citizenship Education and its Challenges in Social Studies Classrooms

Abstract

Problem Statement: Turkey's passive and task-oriented approach to citizenship education, which has endured since the Ottoman Empire period, has begun to change into more active and democratic citizenship education since Turkey joined the European Union. Identifying the practical problems as well as describing the challenges when practicing the Social Studies curriculum will contribute to citizenship education and its development, both in Turkey and in similar countries. Purpose of Study:The purpose of the present study is to explore the active and democratic citizenship education procedures in Social Studies course in Turkey and to determine the challenges encountered in active citizenship education. Methodology:The study was conducted using a holistic, multiple-case study design. Data were collected through interviews, classroom observations and documents. In this study, extreme or deviant case sampling was used. The study was conducted in two schools: a state school with a low socioeconomic background and a private school with high socioeconomic background. A total of six volunteer teachers and 30 students from both of the schools participated in the study. Findings:The study found that the citizenship perceptions, political views and educational backgrounds of the teachers had an effect on the citizenship education in their lessons. Furthermore, the age, maturity level, gender and social environment of the students had an effect on implementing citizenship education. Also, the test-centered educational system, traditional school organizations and culture, and the relevant legislations and regulations limited the ability of teachers to handle

Students as Change Agents in the Community: Developing Active Citizenship at Schools

“…In the studies carried out by Ersoy (2014) and Memişoğlu (2014), the results revealed that social studies teachers in Turkey mostly apply teacher centered practices in citizenship education such as direct explanation, question and answer method, and narration techniques, which poses a challenge to the active citizenship education. As Çayır (2002) suggests, an effective citizenship education needs to promote inquiry and action with the aim of creating behavioral and attitudinal changes rather than limiting itself to the cognitive domain.…”

“…As Child-to-Child approach encourages the active participation of students in the teaching and learning process by providing them with the opportunity to take actions in the community, students could contribute to the solution of social problems in their school and the community. Several researchers (e.g., Akşit, 2009;Ersoy, 2014;Keser et al, 2011;KaramanKepenekci, 2005;Mısırlı-Özsoy, 2010;Som & Karataş, 2015;Şensoy, 2014;Ülger, 2013) also underline the positive impact of authentic and extra-curricular activities on the development of active citizenship and the promotion of active citizenship values and competencies in Turkish schools. In particular, as Keser et al (2011) argue, these extra-curricular activities enable students to develop an active citizenship perception, social accountability, intercultural awareness, awareness of democracy and human rights, thinking and research skills, and interaction and intrapersonal skills which comply with the findings of this study.…”

“…Active participation of students in solving the community problems around their school would also contribute to the development of in-school democracy, which is crucial in developing the competencies for active citizenship. Yet, it is still a shortfall in most Turkish schools (Engin-Demir et al, 2014) which could be attributed to several reasons such as the use of traditional teaching methods (Ersoy, 2012a(Ersoy, , 2014Memişoğlu, 2014), the lack of necessary instructional materials (Akşit;Çayır, 2002), the lack of appropriate curricula and textbooks (Başaran, 2007;Çayır & Bağlı, 2011;Er et al, 2013;Keleş & Tonga, 2014;Tonga & Uslu, 2015;Ülger, 2013;Ünal, 2012), and the traditional school culture (Ersoy, 2014). Given the existing social, political, cultural, and economic context of Turkish society, the improvement of those elements might facilitate the development of in-school democracy (Şişman, Güleş, & Dönmez, 2010), and in the long run, might also contribute to the improvement of the existing hybrid democracy.…”

“…However, many studies still point out the need for the improvement of the textbooks and the curriculum to become compatible with the notion of "democratic and active" citizenship (e.g., Akşit, 2009;Başaran, 2007;Çayır, 2002Çayır & Bağlı, 2011;Er, Ünal, & Özmen, 2013;İnce, 2012;Karaman-Kepenekci, 2005;Keleş & Tonga, 2014;Tonga & Uslu, 2015;Ülger, 2013;Ünal, 2012). Similarly, a number of studies addressed the need for the improvement of student outcomes (e.g., knowledge, skills, and attitudes) in relation to democratic citizenship and human rights (e.g., Akengin, 2008;Bağlı, 2013;Dolmacı & Kuşat, 2015;Keser et al, 2011;Sadık & Sarı, 2012) and others stressed the need for the improvement of teaching democratic citizenship and human rights by improving knowledge, skills and attitudes of teachers and teacher candidates (e.g., Doğanay, Çuhadar, & Sarı, 2007;Ersoy, 2012aErsoy, , 2014Gündoğdu, 2011;Memişoğlu, 2014). It is not surprising that there are such pitfalls in democracy and human rights education in Turkey considering the general trend in the country that Turkish democracy has been categorized as a hybrid democracy.…”

Psychometric Characteristics of the Social Justice Scale's Turkish Form and A Structural Equation Modeling

“…On the other hand, a study conducted by Tomul, Celik, and Tas (2012) revealed that according to prospective teachers, in-service teachers behave in a discriminative way in terms of students' socio-economic features, political views and beliefs. In a similar study by Ersoy (2014), it was detected that, since teachers do not have adequate knowledge and experience concerning effective and democratic citizenship education, primary students belonging to lower socio-economic levels cannot exercise their rights adequately compared to those who come from higher socio-economic levels. Thomas (2007) in his study argues that teachers who intend to maintain social justice implementations are not supported enough.…”