Huseyin EROL
Adıyaman University, TURKEY
DOI: 10.14689/ejer.2020.88.3

ABSTRACT

Purpose: Events that occur around the world may cause a global impact in a short time. Therefore, it is important to not only understand the underlying causes and analyze their relationship but also know the location where they arise. This study investigated whether eighth-grade students have the ability to position Turkey and the neighboring countries on the map.

Method: This study was designed on a descriptive scanning method basis. In this study, 206 students in the eighth grade of three private and three public schools comprised the study sample. A question form developed by the researcher was used to collect the data.

Findings/Results: The findings obtained in this study showed that the eighth-grade students had positioning skills on the map at a low level. It was determined that some of the students participating in this study could not locate the country they live in on the map. It was found that the least known country was the location of Armenia on the map. One of the striking results that emerged in this study was that most of the students participating could not locate the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and Azerbaijan, which have intense commercial, social, cultural and political relations with Turkey.

Implications for Research and Practice: In this study, the geolocating skills of the male students, the students educated in the public schools, the students whose parents got higher education levels, whose family had higher monthly income, and the students with atlas were higher. To develop the positioning skills of students, maps should be used frequently in social sciences and the Turkish Republic Revolution History and Kemalism courses. Maps in interactive boards can be used effectively. Students can be assigned to draw maps as homework. The number of activities related to maps in textbooks can be increased.

Keywords: Secondary school, student, social studies, location