Research Article

Developing Gender Awareness in the Social Studies Course: An Action Research

Volume: 58 Number: 2 August 16, 2025
TR EN

Developing Gender Awareness in the Social Studies Course: An Action Research

Abstract

One of the primary aims of social studies is to cultivate active and participatory citizens within a democratic society. In line with this goal, social studies seeks to foster a critical and questioning perspective by centering on social issues. Integrating gender into the social studies education can contribute to the realization of social equality and justice—key foundations of democratic citizenship—at a societal level. This study was conducted to foster gender awareness among 7th-grade students in a Social Studies lesson. To achieve this aim, the study was designed as an action research, one of the qualitative research methods. The research was carried out at a public school in a district of Konya, where the researcher also works as a social studies teacher. The study group consisted of 18 seventh-grade students (10 girls and 8 boys). The action plan, prepared beforehand, was implemented over a 6-week period, with three 40-minute class sessions per week. Qualitative data collection tools such as interviews, observations, student journals/products, and focus group interviews were employed. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. The findings reveal that the students demonstrated development in their gender awareness. It was observed that female students showed greater awareness than their male peers, and students with higher academic achievement developed more awareness compared to those with lower academic performance. Moreover, the study yielded significant outcomes in terms of teacher education. As seen in the students’ interviews and reflective notes, their realization that gender equality was not addressed in other subjects is a noteworthy result. This finding not only underscores the influential role of teachers in education but also highlights the importance of incorporating gender education into teacher training programs.

Keywords

Project Number

1919B012216220

Ethical Statement

Graduate Thesis Information This study is derived from the first author's 2024 master’s thesis at Ankara University Institute of Educational Sciences, supervised by Dr. Serdar Malkoç (thesis no: 896056). The thesis title is "Promoting awareness of gender quality in social studies: An action research. Authors’ Contributions In the study, the implementation of the action plans and the data collection process were carried out by the first author, while both authors contributed equally to the data analysis, interpretation of the findings, and the discussion. Conflict of Interest The authors declare that they have no competing interests relevant to the content of this article. Ethical Approve The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Ankara University with the decision dated 17/07/2023 and numbered 2023/16-173.

References

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Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Social Studies Education, Gender, Sexuality and Education

Journal Section

Research Article

Publication Date

August 16, 2025

Submission Date

February 6, 2025

Acceptance Date

July 10, 2025

Published in Issue

Year 2025 Volume: 58 Number: 2

APA
Çakar, K. N., & Malkoç, S. (2025). Developing Gender Awareness in the Social Studies Course: An Action Research. Ankara University Journal of Faculty of Educational Sciences (JFES), 58(2), 865-932. https://doi.org/10.30964/auebfd.1634910
AMA
1.Çakar KN, Malkoç S. Developing Gender Awareness in the Social Studies Course: An Action Research. JFES. 2025;58(2):865-932. doi:10.30964/auebfd.1634910
Chicago
Çakar, Kübra Nur, and Serdar Malkoç. 2025. “Developing Gender Awareness in the Social Studies Course: An Action Research”. Ankara University Journal of Faculty of Educational Sciences (JFES) 58 (2): 865-932. https://doi.org/10.30964/auebfd.1634910.
EndNote
Çakar KN, Malkoç S (August 1, 2025) Developing Gender Awareness in the Social Studies Course: An Action Research. Ankara University Journal of Faculty of Educational Sciences (JFES) 58 2 865–932.
IEEE
[1]K. N. Çakar and S. Malkoç, “Developing Gender Awareness in the Social Studies Course: An Action Research”, JFES, vol. 58, no. 2, pp. 865–932, Aug. 2025, doi: 10.30964/auebfd.1634910.
ISNAD
Çakar, Kübra Nur - Malkoç, Serdar. “Developing Gender Awareness in the Social Studies Course: An Action Research”. Ankara University Journal of Faculty of Educational Sciences (JFES) 58/2 (August 1, 2025): 865-932. https://doi.org/10.30964/auebfd.1634910.
JAMA
1.Çakar KN, Malkoç S. Developing Gender Awareness in the Social Studies Course: An Action Research. JFES. 2025;58:865–932.
MLA
Çakar, Kübra Nur, and Serdar Malkoç. “Developing Gender Awareness in the Social Studies Course: An Action Research”. Ankara University Journal of Faculty of Educational Sciences (JFES), vol. 58, no. 2, Aug. 2025, pp. 865-32, doi:10.30964/auebfd.1634910.
Vancouver
1.Kübra Nur Çakar, Serdar Malkoç. Developing Gender Awareness in the Social Studies Course: An Action Research. JFES. 2025 Aug. 1;58(2):865-932. doi:10.30964/auebfd.1634910

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