Social Studies Teachers' Views on Learning outside the Classroom.

Abstract

AbstractLearning outside the help students interpret their society, nature, and the world through concrete experiences. Although outside the is usually used for environmental education, it is very important for the social studies course which aims to train students as active members of democratic society. The purpose of this study is to understand social studies teachers' views on outside the re- garding the social studies course. 15 social studies teachers from low, middle, and high socio-economic levels schools in Eski sehi r parti ci pa ted in this qualitative study. The data of the study were obtained from semi - struc- tured interviews and analyzed using descriptive analysis. According to findings of the study, the social studies teachers believed that content of the social studies course was suitable for outside the classroom. History and geography topics, local administrations, environmental issues, cooperation, and professions were mentioned as the main subjects for outside the classroom. Outside activities were exempli- fied as organizing trips in and out of province, and going to the cinema, interviewing with experts and resource people, or inviting them to the school. Teachers experienced problems about time and students' behaviors as well as economic problems, and bureaucratic obstacles regarding outdoor learning.Key WordsSocial Studies Course, Learning Outside the Classroom, Social Studies Education, Social Studies Teacher, Teachers' Views.Social studies help students develop necessary knowledge, skills, and values to be active members of their society. Ozturk (2009, p. 4) defines social studies as a teaching program which integrates knowledge and methods of the social sciences and humanities to train active citizens who decide based on knowledge and solve problems in changing conditions. The primary purpose of social studies is to develop knowledge based rational decision making skills of the young people as democratic citizens (National Council for the Social Studies [NCSS], 1994). Students gain democratic citizenship skills such as problem solving, social participation, and media literacy through the social studies course (Deveci, 2008).Students can acquire knowledge, skills, and values of the social studies course if they continue social studies outside the classroom. Outdoor education is multidimensional process which presents study of constructed activities in outside places as community and natural settings (Bunting, 2006). Priest (1986, p. 13) defines outdoor education as an experiential method of by doing, which takes place primarily through exposure to the out-of-doors. Outdoor education can be understood as integrating life and in all educational stages. Learning outside the which reflects broad approach that examines relationships within the context of natural environment and human life should be perceived as the integration of with life at all levels of education. John Dewey, whose thoughts comprise one of the intellectual foundations of outdoor education, sees school as model of small democratic society. Students are prepared to their democratic responsibilities in their local community (Boss, 1999; Gilbertson, Bates, McLaughlin, & Ewert, 2006; Ford, 1986).Outdoor education is based on experience. It includes relationship between natural environment and human, and requires experiential learning, using all senses, and focusing on interdisciplinary subjects (Priest, 1986). Outdoor education includes comprehensive and long process. In this study, learning outside the classroom term is adopted to explain which occurs in outside environment and resources related with the social studies course. Knowledge selected from social science disciplines as history, geography, psychology etc. is presented in holistic structure to train effective citizens in the social studies course (Safran, 2008). …

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