Utilizing Family Involvement Activities in a Social Studies Course: An Action Research Study

Abstract

In the social studies course, which has the function of preparing individuals for social life, it is very important to benefit from social resources. The family is an important social resource that can be used to channel the lives of students into the social studies classroom environment. This study explores how family involvement can be utilized in a social studies course, and examines the views of students, families and teachers for the use of family involvement activities in a social studies course. In the study, action research design, which is a recognized qualitative research method, was employed. The study was conducted with the participation of 5th grade students of a public middle school in the fall semester of the 2016–2017 academic year, along with the parents and social studies teachers of these students. The data for the study were collected from personal information forms, semi-structured interviews, focus group interviews, observations, student anecdote notebooks, family cooperation notebooks, a research diary and voice records of the validity committee, and was subjected to a descriptive data analysis. As a result of the research, it was found that it is possible to teach social studies lesson with activities based on various family participation at home, school and outside school. In the research, it was concluded that teaching social studies lesson with activities based on family participation provides various benefits to students, families and social studies teachers. Family involvement activities at home, at school and outside school as part of such were course were found to strengthen family-child relationships, to help family members spend quality time together, to strengthen relationships between the family, the student and the teacher, and to give families the opportunity to observe the classroom environment. Based on these findings, the study was concluded by making various recommendations for further research and implementation.