Teachers' Perceptions of Critical Thinking: A Study of Jordanian Secondary School Social Studies Teachers

This study aims to: (1) know the teacher's understanding about the concept of Geography as a platform in Social Studies learning; (2) know the teacher's understanding about geography literacy as a platform in Social Studies learning; and (3) study the right literacy concept as platform for Social Studies lesson. This research uses survey method. The subjects of the study were Social Studies teachers in Surakarta City. Sampling using startified random sampling. The results showed: 1) 76% of respondents do not understand about Geography as a platform in Social Studies learning; 2) 80% of respondents have not understood geography literacy; 3) Edelson's geography literature which consist of interaction, interconnection, and implication components can be used as an alternative to the implementation of Geography policy as a Platform in Social Studies.

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Læreplan og demokrati

Nordic Journal of Comparative and International Education (NJCIE) ◽

10.7577/njcie.2440 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 3 (1) ◽

pp. 3-18

Author(s):

Emil Sætra ◽

Janicke Heldal Stray

Keyword(s):

Social Studies ◽

Secondary School ◽

Democratic Citizenship ◽

Social Studies Teachers ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Democratic Citizenship Education ◽

Subject Specific ◽

The Subject ◽

General Part ◽

Empirical Material

In this article, we examine how social studies teachers’ say they interpret and use different parts of the curriculum in order to teach for democracy. The empirical material of the study is based on a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews with teachers in secondary school in Norway. We present three main find-ings. A first finding is that most social studies teachers plan their instruction based on the subject-specific competence aims. For most teachers, the general part of the curriculum, where democratic education is highlighted, does not constitute an articulated part of instruction. Some teachers feel, however, that they still work in accord with this part of the curriculum, but in a way better described as tacit. A second finding is that teachers agree that the subject-specific competence aims are comprehensive and that many teachers agree they are too comprehensive. A third finding is that the teachers disagree about whether conditions for democratic citizenship education are adequate or not. We suggest two inter-related reasons for this disa-greement. One reason is somewhat different interpretations of and emphasis put on the mandate to teach for democracy by different teachers. A second reason is differences in pedagogy and school culture.

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Critical Thinking as a Dimension of Constructivist Learning in Social Studies Education: A Study of Teachers’ Attitudes in Secondary Education

Journal of Studies in Education ◽

10.5296/jse.v10i2.16763 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (2) ◽

pp. 1

Author(s):

Ali Emad Muhammad

Keyword(s):

Critical Thinking ◽

Social Studies ◽

Instructional Strategies ◽

Thinking Skills ◽

Critical Thinking Skills ◽

Social Studies Teachers ◽

Self Assessment ◽

Constructive Learning ◽

Teachers Attitudes ◽

Self Learning

This study examined social studies teachers’ attitudes towards critical thinking as a dimension of constructive learning. The purpose of this study was indeed to develop a better understanding of the use of instructional approaches by experienced teachers to enhance critical thinking skills and improve student learning of social studies. The study was conducted in the city of Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan with 20 experienced social studies teachers in 8 public secondary schools. Qualitative approach was preferred for this study. The interview with each of the 20 teachers was conducted individually and their social studies classes are observed separately. The results of this study revealed that teachers have little knowledge and understanding of instructional strategies that foster critical thinking. The teachers believed that students can benefit from using self-learning, self-assessment, involving in peer learning, meaningful and reasonable response process and express curiosity through questioning how and why. This study also explored some obstacles when teachers practice instructional strategies that enhance critical thinking in learning social studies.

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Leadership Styles of Social Studies Teachers and Academic Achievement of Junior Secondary School Students in Social Studies in Calabar Metropolis, Cross River State Nigeria

Global Journal of Educational Research ◽

10.4314/gjedr.v20i2.1 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 20 (2) ◽

pp. 97-105

Author(s):

Edward Ogar Odey ◽

Esther Edward Odey

Keyword(s):

Academic Achievement ◽

Social Studies ◽

Secondary School ◽

Leadership Styles ◽

Social Studies Teachers ◽

School Students ◽

Cross River State ◽

Junior Secondary School ◽

Junior Secondary ◽

Laissez Faire

This study was carried out to determine leadership styles of Social Studies teachers and academic achievement of junior secondary school students in Social Studies in Calabar Metropolis, Cross River State-Nigeria. Ex-post facto research design was adopted. The simple random sampling technique was used in selecting the six public secondary schools used for the study. A sample of two hundred junior secondary school three students (JSS 3) was drawn from the population and used for the study. Three research questions and hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. Data were collected using two researcher made instruments tagged “Social Studies Teachers Leadership Styles Questionnaire (STLSQ) and Social Studies Achievement Test (SOSAT) The Data Collected was analysed using the Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and the Fisher Least Square Difference (SLD) was used in the multiple comparism. The findings of the study revealed significant differences in the academic achievement of students based on their teachers’ leadership styles. Students taught by teachers with autocratic and laissez-faire leadership styles had a lower LSD value compared to students taught by teachers with democratic leadership styles. Students taught by teachers with democratic styles performed academically higher than those taught by teachers with either autocratic or laissez-faire leadership styles. Based on this, it was recommended amongst other things that Social Studies teachers imbibe more of democratic rather than autocratic or laissez faire leadership styles in their classroom and that educational administrator should organize workshop and seminars for teachers on proper classroom management.

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