Social Studies and Love of Art: Students and Teachers Enlighten the Connections

Abstract

Art and artistic activities that play a significant role in the lives of both children and adults, are an important requirement for all individuals. Cultures develop, expand, and enrich through artistic activities, which are important for the development of visual literacy, especially in social studies. The present study aims to determine the reflection of various artistic branches in social studies course and the student interest and love that art considered to evoke in the context of the social studies course. In the study, qualitative research methods and techniques were used to review relevant documents and to determine the participant views about the role of art in social studies. First, the current Turkish social studies curricula and textbooks were analyzed. Then, an interview form developed by the authors was applied to 80 students attending all grades in a public middle school and 3 teachers employed in these schools in one of the major cities in Turkey. The attributes employed by the teachers and students in the interview form were analyzed with thematic/content analysis. The study findings demonstrated that that the curricula and textbook achievements that allow activities in several art branches were limited. However, despite the limitation, the study findings demonstrated that the students were interested in different art branches and evidenced the support of the social studies to the development of interest and love for certain learning areas.