Kuwaiti Teachers' Satisfaction with the Social Studies Curriculum and Their Performance in the Classroom

This study investigated Kuwaiti teachers' satisfaction with the structure of the social studies curriculum and their performance in the classroom. It aimed to answer two main questions through a twenty-two-item questionnaire applied to a sample of 132 social studies teachers. The results have shown moderate satisfaction in this regard among those teachers. There were no effects of teacher gender, experience, or various school districts on the satisfaction of social studies teachers and their performance in the classroom. The researcher called for reevaluating the curriculum by its developers to pinpoint and rid it of the causes that obstruct higher teachers' satisfaction and performance, mainly its inadequacy to students' interests, needs, skills, creativity, individual differences, and practical learning activities, and up-to-date teaching methods. Received: 9 September 2021 / Accepted: 5 December 2021 / Published: 3 January 2022

The Awareness of Social Studies Pre-Service Teachers About the Concept of Environmental Waste Recycling and Acrostics Trials

Due to globalization and the impact of industrialization and urbanization, natural resources are wasted, and popular consumption leads to environmental waste. The problem of waste that deteriorates individual and social life is a prominent current issue. Recycling, described as the remanufacturing, production and employment of collected material, is an important solution to that problem. The present study aimed to determine the awareness of pre-service social studies teachers about the concept of environmental waste recycling and to analyze acrostic poems written by the participants. The study findings included the views of the pre-service social studies teachers. A semi-structured interview form was developed by the authors under expert supervision and employed to collect the views of the pre-service teachers. The pre-service teachers included in the study sample were assigned with simple random sampling technique and the study group included 162 pre-service social studies teachers. The descriptive survey model was employed in the study, the data were analyzed with content and descriptive analysis techniques to determine thematic codes. Furthermore, an acrostic poem authoring activity on the concept of recycling was conducted with the participants. The poems authored by the participants are presented as a category in a table in the findings section. The study findings revealed significant results on the recycling concept and processes. It was determined that the views of the participating pre-service social studies teachers reflected a high level of awareness on the concept of recycling and exhibited various perspectives on the implementation.

The Reality of Teaching According to the Problem-Solving Method from the Perspective of Social Studies Teachers in Kalar City

The purpose of the study was to identify the reality of teaching according to the problem - solving method from the perspective of social studies teachers in Kalar city، Thirty samples (male and female) teachers have been taken in the general directorate of educational / kalar،the study used for preparing descriptive approach، drawing on the study tool، a questionnaire consist of (30) question divided into five themes. Which are (strongly disagree، disagree،neither agree nor disagree، agree، strongly agree)، meeting the scores(1، 2، 3، 4، 5) respectively، then calculated its Validity and Reliability، The most important statistical means applied in the study are (fischer) and person correlation coefficient)،which resulted that، the reality of teaching according to the problem solving method by teachers to a medium degree، and the study shoed that the teachers' obstacles is medium degree، and includes " do not have enough time to apply problem –solving method" " teaching aids available is not appropriate to use the method of solving problems" " it is difficult to apply problem solving method because of the large number of students in class".based on the result، asset of proposals and recommendations have been presented.

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

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.

More than a matter of qualification: Teachers’ thoughts on the purpose of social studies and history teaching in vocational preparation programmes in Swedish upper-secondary school

The aim of this article is to increase our understanding of how history and social studies teachers in vocational preparation programmes (VET) in Sweden relate to the obligation of preparing students for their future lives as citizens. Previous research on VET programmes has primarily emphasised predetermined roles of education. Different critical perspectives have established how different VET practices contribute to reproducing specific values and a type of knowledge that leaves less room for students to act as independent subjects. In part, the findings of this article contribute to problematising such a description. In a series of interviews, teachers expressed what can best be described as a clear will to prepare students for a future as broadminded and tolerant citizens. The multi-perspective approach emphasised by these teachers not only illustrates the socialisation and qualification functions of education, it also gives prominence to the importance of student subjectification. Furthermore, this article stresses that the teachers do not view the question of the purpose of their subjects in terms of either/or. Rather, it suggests they see their obligations as a matter of professional judgment and customised responses to unique didactic situations.

Strategi Guru Ilmu Pengetahuan Sosial dalam Mengoptimalkan Aspek Afektif Peserta Didik di SMPN 8 Pamekasan

The teacher's strategy in optimizing the affective aspects of students is a very important thing in education because the affective aspects will relate to the interests and attitudes of students in learning. This study aims to determine the strategies of social studies teachers in optimizing the affective aspects of students at SMPN 8 Pamekasan, to determine the impact of implementing the social studies teacher strategies in optimizing the affective aspects, and the supporting and inhibiting factors in the social studies teacher strategies in optimizing the affective aspects of students. This study uses a qualitative approach to the type of phenomenological research. From this research, it is known that there are several strategies that social studies teachers use in optimizing the affective aspects of students, starting from pre-learning, during learning and post-learning, all of which is done in order to get optimal learning outcomes from students at school.

The Influence of Professional Competence, Work Motivation & Learning Motivation on the Competency Test Results of Social Studies Teachers

The teacher plays a role in students' cognitive, affective and psychomotor maturation through the teaching and learning process by transferring knowledge, personality and skills to students. The achievement of student learning outcomes is inseparable from professional competence, work motivation, and learning motivation possessed by the teacher in the learning process. Looking at this, it is necessary to design an instrument to measure professional competence, work motivation, learning motivation on the results of social studies teacher competency tests at junior high school level in public schools in Pontianak City. This study uses a quantitative approach, with a population of 119 social studies teachers, a total sample of 82 social studies teachers with propotionate stratified random sampling technique, which is found in 28 junior high schools in 7 sub-districts of Pontianak. Problem solving uses Multiple Linear Regression with a pathway hypothesis model (beta) pathway in Multiple Linear Regression. The results of the study show that: (1) professional competence has a direct positive effect on the results of the social studies teacher competency test; (2) work motivation has a direct positive effect on the results of the social studies teacher competency test; (3) learning motivation has a direct positive effect on social studies teacher competency test results; & (4) professional competence, work motivation, learning motivation simultaneously have a direct positive effect on the results of the competency test of social studies teachers in Pontianak City. Keywords: Professional Competence, Work Motivation, Learning Motivation, Competency Test Results.

Creative Thinking Skills in Social Studies Written Exam Questions

In this study, Social Studies teachers tried to examine the questions in their exams according to their creative thinking skills. In the study document analysis and semi-structured interview methods were used for this purpose. A total of 2,065 questions were examined from the examinations prepared by 61 teachers working in 20 different schools in Ortahisar, which is in the central district of Trabzon. The exam questions were examined in terms of the question types commonly used in education, their class levels and their status for creative thinking skills according to their subjects. The SPSS program was used in the analysis of the questions and the findings were presented using frequency and percentage tables and graphs. Interviews with teachers were analyzed by descriptive analysis method. The themes were created from the data obtained from the interview answers. The themes were reflected on the tables according to the frequency of the teachers’ answers. For better understanding of the findings, examples of the teachers’ exam questions and direct quotations from teachers’ answers are given under the tables and graphics. As a result of the research, it was determined that the exam questions prepared by the social studies teachers were inadequate to develop and measure the creative thinking skills of the students.