Future of Social Studies Education in Turkey
Keywords:
social studies, standardized test, assessment, TurkeyAbstract
Social studies education [Sosyal Bilgiler] in Turkey has defined as an integrated field of study after the curriculum reform in the last decade. This interdisciplinary notion of the social studies education is established in the curriculum as a result of the modeling NCSS standards. This new social studies movement in Turkey has taken a thematic approach and focused on skills and values in the curriculum. Unlike the former curricula, this new curriculum has adapted alternative assessment methods such as portfolio, self and peer evaluation, projects, poster presentations, and rubrics while Turkish educational system has been dominated by the standardized testing. On the other hand, there has been discussions in the United States regarding high-stakes testing’s influence on diminishing the instructional time of social studies and instructional decisions in these classes. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to compare and discuss the influence of standardized testing on social studies education both in Turkey and the United States. I believe this discussion convey us to redefine and restructure social studies education and even considering the defragmentation of the field as it has been one of the major trends in the last two decades.