Problem Solving Skills in Social Studies Education and Problem Solving Skills of Social Studies Teachers

Abstract

Problem solving skills are mentioned among the skills which need to be acquired in the Social Studies course. In this study, how the social studies teachers perceived problem solving skills was examined by emphasizing the importance of having individuals acquire problem solving skills through social studies teaching. The sample of the study was composed of social studies teachers. In order to evaluate the preservice teachers' perceptions in relation to problem solving skills, the "Problem Solving Inventory" developed by Heppner and Petersen (1982) and adapted by Şahin, Şahin and Heppner (1993) into Turkish was used. In the analysis of the data, firstly if the obtained data distributed normally was tested with Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. Since the data obtained from the problem solving inventory showed normal distribution, the Independent Samples T test was used for paired comparisons and One-Way ANOVA was used for multiple comparisons. It was found that the teachers' problem solving skills did not differ significantly according to the variables of gender, age, marital status, length of service and educational status, satisfaction from school of service, frequency of experiencing problems at their schools and the teachers' problem solving skills were at sufficient level.