Educational - Ozean Publications

European Journal of Educational Studies 2(2), 2010METHODParticipantsThis national study involved a population of all social studies teachers in basic education schools of thesecond cycle (grades 5-10). This population comprised 538 teachers (236 males and 302 females) distributedin 119 schools around the country. It needs to be pointed out that a basic education school of the second cycleconsists of grades from five to 10 in one school building. Social studies teachers in basic education schoolsthat did not include a complete set of grades from five to 10 were excluded from participation in this study.Data about teachers and their schools were obtained from a database provided by the Ministry of Education.InstrumentationA survey was utilized in collecting data for this study. The survey was a four-point scale consisting of 41items. It included four parts asking respondents about (1) demographic data, (2) degree of importance andimplementation of nine social studies goals, (3) degree of importance and implementation of 16 social studiescontent areas, and (4) challenges that may hinder the implementation of social studies goals and content areas.In order to develop a list of social studies goals, I reviewed major perspectives that are often discussed insocial studies literature (Barr et al., 1977; Brubaker et al., 1977; Dynneson & Gross, 1982; Janzen, 1995;Kniep, 1986; Martorella, 2001; NCSS, 1994; Newmann, 1977). The following is a brief description of majorperspectives: Citizenship transmission is mainly concerned with transmitting basic knowledge, values,norms, and beliefs of society. Reflective inquiry emphasizes reflective thinking and inquiry process. Social science focuses on teaching basic knowledge and skills from history and socialscience disciplines. Community participation provides opportunities for students to participate in variousactivities of their community. Student-centered education provides students with meaningful learning experiences relatedto their interests and needs. Global education provides students with learning experiences about global interdependence. Cultural diversity focuses on teaching about various cultural aspects of Oman, includingarts, popular dance, music, and other cultural activities that represent all Omani provinces. Science, technology, and society provide experiences “for the study of relationships amongscience, technology, and society” (NCSS, 1994, p. 43).Overall, these perspectives provided the foundation for developing an array of broad social studies goals. Interms of social studies content, I included the fundamental social science disciplines and other related contentareas, including career education, environmental education, family life education, current events (Dynneson& Gross, 1982), law-related education (Newmann, 1977), and public issues (Oliver & Shaver, 1966).Challenges included in this study were based on my teaching and administrative experiences in Oman. Someitems were developed from social studies literature.A panel of educators with specialties in social studies, teacher education, and research methods reviewed thesurvey. Based on their recommendations and suggestions, modifications were made to the survey. The surveywas pilot tested with a group of 20 teachers in six schools in Oman. Participants in the pilot study agreed thatdirections and items were clear, and scales were easy to use. Their responses were positive about the contentof the survey. The internal consistency of the survey was evaluated for each subscale using Cronbach’s alpha.The alpha values ranged from .723 to .861. The resulting alpha value for the whole scale was .886, whichindicated sufficient internal consistency reliability (George & Mallery, 2009).178