The Awareness of Social Studies Teacher Candidates’ Regarding Special Area Competencies and The Overlap Level of These Competencies With Social Studies Degree

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to determine the social studies teacher candidates’ opinions about to what extend they have Social Studies Teacher Special Field Competencies (SSTSFC). This research also aims to discover possible relationship between the Public Personnel Selection Examination (KPSS) Teaching Area Knowledge Exam and the Social Studies Degree Program. The authors made use of qualitative research design with semi-structured interviews for data collection purposes in this study to determine social studies teacher candidates’ opinions about SSTSFC. The participants of the study consisted of 8 (6 male, 2 female) social studies teacher candidates who took all content knowledge courses in 2014-2015 academic year at Bartın University. The authors applied content analysis method to analyze the data. The results of the study showed that social studies teacher candidates evaluated themselves as inadequate in content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, and teaching competencies, which composed SSTSFC. Teacher candidates also stated that they feel inadequate in monitoring and evaluating skills for both theoretically and practically. In addition, participants classified themselves as inadequate in managing and organizing teaching process. They also stated that social studies teacher education program should more focus on practicing.