Democracy in Social Studies Curricula (2005-2018) from the Perspective of Teachers: A Qualitative Study

The main purpose of this study is to examine the extent of the objectives, gains, learning areas, skills and values related to the subject of democracy in 2005 and 2018 Social Studies Curriculum. Basic qualitative research that is one of the qualitative researches was chosen in the study. The data source and study group of the research consisted of 2005-2018 Social Studies Curricula and 15 social studies teachers. Document analysis technique and semi-structured interview technique were used as data collection tools in the study. In the analysis of the data obtained as a result of document review in the study, descriptive analysis method based on deductive coding approach was used. In the analysis of the data obtained from the semi-structured interviews, content analysis method based on inductive coding approach was used. Some of the results obtained from the study are as follows: In both curricula, it was found that the objectives related to democracy were maintained in the same way. It was determined that the subjects related to democracy were included more heavily in the learning areas in the 2018 curriculum. In the 2005 curriculum, the gains related to democracy were included in the 5th grade the most and in the 4th grade the least. In the 2018 curriculum, the gains related to democracy were included in the 6th grade the most and in the 4th grade the least. Most of the skills in the 2005 curriculum are related with democracy. In 2018 curriculum, close to half of 27 skills is related with democracy again. More than half of values in the 2005 and 2018 curriculum are related with democracy. In addition, teachers' opinions about the curricula were presented in the study.


Introduction
Democracy is a life style, which is also defined as a form of government of countries (Tezcan, 1994;Gözütok, 1995). Therefore, people form their perception of democracy as a result of their experiences from an early age forward (Büyükkaragöz & Çivi, 1999).
There are some principles democracy is based on. These consist of equality, justice, freedom and respect for individuals (Büyükdüvenci, 1990). But the democratic consciousness was sometimes misunderstood, and democracy was considered as the ability to do The expectation from educational systems and primarily schools in democratic countries is the teaching and implementation of the concept of democracy. For this reason, it is necessary to consider how individuals comprehend democracy regardless of their races, genders and opinions in order to prepare a democratic educational program (Gökçe, 2005).
Accordingly, the objectives, skills, values and achievements in the curricula of the courses given in educational institutions should be prepared in a way that students comprehend democracy in the best way (Aydemir & Aksoy, 2010).
As a result of the democracy education, individuals also become aware of their responsibilities against others while recognizing their own rights and freedoms. For this reason, the desire to live in a society dominated by democracy is under the main responsibility of education (Gözütok, 1995). Individuals who receive democracy education can be raised as individuals who can think and express their opinions freely, can exhibit respectful, honest and critical behaviors towards others, solve problems, research and respect (Büyükkaragöz, 1990;Karakütük, 2001;Gömleksiz & Çetintaş, 2011).
Democracy education in the Turkish education system was discussed in the National Education Council in 1949 for the first time. Tahsin Banguoğlu, the Minister of Education of the period, referred to democracy as a new idea and a new educational matter by saying "The administration of democracy is a new matter of discipline; it is the cost of a new idea." One of the principles mentioned in the Basic Law of National Education enacted in 1973 under the title "Basic Principles" of Education was democracy education. Within the scope of this principle, the significance of raising individuals who were free in their ideas and knowledge was specified in terms of the development of democracy and the competencies individuals would gain. Besides, it was emphasized that Atatürk's principles and reforms had an indispensable significance for democracy education, and raising individuals according to these principles and reforms was important. Considering the legislative operations on democracy in the Turkish Educational System, an attempt was made to turn the democracy culture into a lifestyle via "the MNE Democracy Education and School Council Directives" issued in 2004. These operations on democracy education specifically emphasized the significance of the school and teachers in democracy education. In this aspect, it was emphasized that the courses to be given were important (Okutan, 2010).
There are many courses in our educational system to provide the students with democracy education. One of these courses is Social Studies. This course is one of the most 160 political science and law. Information is given about the duty of institutions and social organizations in the society. It is attempted to provide people with consciousness regarding what ways the social problems should be solved with and how to be included in social services. Through this learning domain, it is aimed to teach individuals subjects such as individuals' interaction with social organizations, the role of the state sovereignty in ensuring the social order, the importance of national sovereignty in solving the problems in the society, symbols of sovereignty, individual rights and freedoms and development of democratic attitudes by enabling participation in administrations in public institutions and organizations (MoNE, 2018). Factors providing active citizenship in the dimensions of skills, concepts, values and general objectives are included in Social Studies education (Kara, Topkaya & Şimşek, 2012). When the curricula are examined, it is discovered that active citizenship is included in the general objectives of Social Studies. The reason behind it can be said to be the consideration of the individual profile the state desires to raise (Safran, 2012).
The Social Studies course aims at enabling individuals to live in harmony with the society as citizens who have accepted the democratic values and providing them with competencies by which they will be able to use the knowledge and experiences they have gained in this matter within the daily life. From this perspective, this course makes significant contributions to individuals' fulfillment of their duties and responsibilities as universal persons in the development and spread of citizenship, human rights and democracy (Tezgel, 2008). Moreover, the Social Studies course contributes to facilitating individuals' social lives by aiming at raising individuals who can make logical decisions based on information and solve problems for the public interest. Individuals who are raised in this way will both contribute to the solution of social problems and will play a key role in the progress of democracy by developing democratic practices (MoNE, 2018).
In the field of Social Studies, there are studies which are related to democracy and citizenship education and present the attitudes of teachers and students towards these areas.
Considering that the most important reason behind the emergence of the Social Studies course was to raise efficient citizens, it will be seen that the profile of the individual who will be raised with democratic knowledge, skills and values is of significance at this point. Democracy constitutes one of the most important pillars of raising efficient citizens. In this research, which was executed in consideration with the importance of the Social Studies course in this respect, the subjects of democracy were examined in the Social Studies Curricula (2005Curricula ( -2018

Method
The study was conducted as qualitative research. Qualitative research is a type of research which examines a study subject, an event and a situation in detail and tries to systematically bring out the reason for this situation and how it emerges (Sözbilir, 2009).
Qualitative research is "the research which uses the methods of qualitative data collection such as observation, interview and document analysis, and follows the process for the manifestations of perceptions and events in a realistic and holistic way in their natural environments" (Yıldırım & Şimşek, 2006, 39).
A great many sources are used while collecting the qualitative data. Observations, interviews, official documents, records, drawings, e-mail messages constitute the sources of the qualitative data. While these sources are used, it is important to obey the ethical rules and test their applicability (Gay, Mills & Airasian, 2012).
The basic qualitative research, one of the qualitative research types, was preferred in the research. In the basic qualitative research, the prime purpose of the researcher is to reveal and interpret how people make sense of their lives and worlds. The data are collected through observation, interview or document analysis. By keeping the theoretical framework of the study in mind, it is determined which questions will be asked, what is observed or which documents are examined. In data analysis, recurrent patterns are identified by characterizing the data. Findings are formed with the themes supported by recurrent data.
On the other hand, the interpretation means that the researcher understands the phenomenon or the event he is interested in (Merriam, 2015).

Study Group
The study group of the research consists of 2005 and 2018 Social Studies Curricula and 15 Social Studies teachers. The criterion sampling method was used to specify the Social Studies Curricula included in the study group. The criterion sampling method is the case in which the criteria previously designated by the researcher are fulfilled. Everything that is the subject of the research can be defined as criteria (Marshall & Rossman, 2014). Social Studies Curricula for 2005 and 2018 prepared and implemented in the study group in line with the constructivist approach, are determined as criteria.
The maximum variation sampling method was used in determining the teachers who participated in the study group to obtain the opinions of the teachers about the 2005-2018 Social Studies Curricula. The maximum variation sampling is the determination of different situations resembling the existing problem and the execution of a study on this situation (Büyüköztürk et al., 2015). According to Patton (1987), using the maximum variation sampling has two important benefits such as the explanation of every situation in the sampling within itself and the emphasis of the common points between different situations in it. For the determination of the study group in this research, the maximum variation sampling was employed to select the Social Studies teachers working in different cities (Ağrı, Siirt, Konya and Van) and to ensure that the professional experiences of the participants were different from each other. The data related to the demographic information of the teachers included in the study group are presented in Table 1. When Table 1 is viewed, it is seen that 4 of the teachers who participated in the study were women and 11 of them consisted of men. 8 teachers have 1-5, 6 teachers have 6-10, and 1 teacher has 10 years or more professional experience. 8 of the teachers who participated in the study were between the ages of 20-30, and 6 were between the ages of 31-40. The teachers in the study group were chosen from the teachers working in Ağrı, Siirt, Konya and Van provinces.

Data Collection Tools
Document analysis technique and semi-structured interview technique were used as data collection tools in the research. Document analysis technique is the data collection technique, named as the collection of various documents as the data collection sources, their examination and analysis through certain methods and also known as documentary observation (Çepni, 2010). Semi-structured interviews were held to obtain the opinions of the Social Studies teachers regarding the curricula. In the semi-structured interview technique, the researcher prepares the interview and the interview questions. Some flexibility may be observed in this research technique according to the course of the research (Tekin, 2012). The semi-structured interview form used in the research was developed by the researchers. There were 2 questions in the first version of the form. The prepared interview form was applied on 3 Social Studies teachers as a pilot implementation during the 2018-2019 academic year.
The form developed following the pilot implementation process was again presented for the expert opinion, and then the number of the questions was increased to 6. The latest version of the interview form was applied on the teachers in the study group within the fall semester of the 2018-2019 academic years.

Data Analysis
In the study, the descriptive analysis method based on the deductive coding approach was employed in the analysis of the data obtained as a result of the document analysis. In the descriptive analysis method, the information obtained following the data collection was organized according to the previously determined plan and then analyzed.
For this reason, direct quotes are used to clearly reveal the opinions of the individuals in this analysis method (Sözbilir, 2009;Creswell, 2015). In the descriptive analysis method, direct quotes are also stated to fully convey the opinions of the individuals who participated in the research (Yıldırım & Şimşek, 2006). The content analysis based on the inductive coding approach (Miles andHuberman, 1994/2015;Creswell, 2015) was used for the analysis of the data which were obtained from the semi-structured interview. In the content analysis or inductive coding approach, the data obtained during the research are coded and classified into meaningful classes. Afterwards, the classes are named by the researcher, that is, coded.
Briefly, the data obtained later by considering the code list formed of pre-data are analyzed (Miles & Huberman, 1994/2015Creswell, 2015).
The descriptive analysis method was preferred in the document review stage of this study, because the approaches were shaped by the themes (objectives, learning domains, achievements, values, skills) previously determined from the curricula. In the interview stage, content analysis was preferred, since the data were analyzed by creating codes in line with the data obtained from the opinions of the teachers. In the document review and analysis of the interview data, the analysis results were assessed by obtaining the opinions of the experts in the field apart from the researcher. Thus, an attempt was made to provide the validity and reliability of the analysis results.

Findings
In this section of the study, the objectives, learning domains, achievements, skills and values in the 2005-2018 Social Studies Curricula were evaluated through document analysis and the findings were supported by the opinions of the teachers.

Findings Related to the First Sub-Problem
The data regarding the objectives related to democracy, which are directly or indirectly included in the 2005-2018 Social Studies Curricula, are presented in Table 2. 2.They grow up as citizens who love their homeland and nation, know and use their rights, fulfill their responsibilities and have national consciousness as the citizens of the Republic of Turkey. 3. They comprehend the importance of Atatürk's principles and reforms in the social, cultural and economic development of the Turkish Republic; they are willing to carry on the secular, democratic, national and contemporary values. 4. They know with all the reasons that the rules of law are binding for everyone and all the people and organizations are equal before the law. 5. They believe in the significance of participation and express their own views for the solution of personal and social problems. 6. They comprehend the historical courses of the concepts of human rights, national sovereignty, democracy, secularism and republic and their effects on today's Turkey, and regulate their living according to the democratic rules.
1.It is aimed to help them become citizens who love their homeland and nation, know and use their rights, fulfill their responsibilities and have national consciousness as the citizens of the Republic of Turkey, 2. Comprehend the importance of Atatürk's principles and reforms in the social, cultural and economic development of the Republic of Turkey, and be willing to carry on the secular, democratic, national and contemporary values, 3. Know with all the reasons that the rules of law are binding for everyone and all the people and organizations are equal before the law, 4. Believe in the importance of participation and express opinions for the solution of personal and social problems 5. Comprehend the historical courses of the concepts of human rights, national sovereignty, democracy, secularism and republic and their effects on today's Turkey, and regulate their living according to the democratic rules, 6. They notice their physical and affective characteristics, interests, desires and talents as free individuals. When Table 2 is examined, it is seen that 6 out of 17 general objectives in the 2005 Social Studies Curriculum are related to democracy. 35.2% of these 17 general aims include the subjects of democracy. In the 2018 Social Studies Curriculum, it is seen that 6 out of 18 general objectives are related to democracy. 32% of these 18 general objectives include the subjects of democracy. In both curricula, no change was observed in the objectives related to the subjects of democracy. The same clauses continued their presence in both curricula. The findings about the learning domains related to democracy, which are directly or indirectly included in the 2005-2018 Social Studies Curricula, are presented in Table 3. When Table 3 Table 4.    Table 5.  They discuss the effect of the technological use on socialization and social relationship. SS.5.5.6. They use their rights as conscious consumers. SS.5.6.1. They correlate individual and social needs with the institutions rendering services to fulfil these needs. SS.5.6.2. They explain the main duties of the administration units of the place they live in. SS.5.6.3. They explain the basic rights and the significance of using these rights. SS.5.6.4. They value our Flag and the National Anthem, which are among our symbols of national sovereignty and independence.   Table 6.  1.4. They argue that solutions found for a problem should be based on rights, responsibilities and freedoms. SS.6.1.5. They notice the contribution of Social Studies to their development as active citizens of the Republic of Turkey. SS.6.3.7.They make inferences about the political, social and cultural characteristics of the first Turkish-Islamic states by paying attention to the lives of the statesmen and Turkish elders of the period. SS.6.4.3.They defend the necessity and importance of paying taxes as the responsibility of the citizens in terms of its contribution to the economy of the country. SS.6.5.3.They evaluate our cultural, social, political and economic relationships with Turkish Republics, neighboring countries and other countries in terms of Atatürk's understanding of the national foreign policy. SS.6.6.1. They compare the different forms of administration in terms of the basic principles of democracy. SS.6.6.2. They discuss the historical development of the understanding of democratic administration in different periods and cultures. SS.6.6.3. They assert that the right to live, the right to physical integrity, freedom of religion and conscience and freedom of thought should be possessed in democratic administrations. SS.6.6.4. They analyze the developmental course of human rights on the basis of historical documents. SS.6.6.5. They interpret the examples related to women's position in Turkish history in respect of the development of women's rights. SS.6.7.4. They assert that products, the copyright and patent rights of which are reserved, should be procured legally.
SS.6.1.3. They question the prejudgments on the differences to live in harmony in society. SS.6.1.4. They participate in the activities which support social solidarity and cooperation in the formation of the social unity. SS.6.1.5. They argue that solutions found for a problem should be based on rights, responsibilities and freedoms. SS.6.2.1. They make inferences about the geographical, political, economic and cultural characteristics of the first Turkish states founded in Central Asia. SS.6.2.3. They notice the changes occurring in the political, social and cultural spheres with the acceptance of Islam by the Turks. SS.6.4.4. They assert that products, the copyright and patent rights of which are reserved, should be procured legally. SS.6.5.4. They defend the necessity and importance of paying taxes as the responsibility of the citizens in terms of its contribution to the economy of the country. SS.6.6.1. They compare the different forms of administration in terms of the basic principles of democracy. SS.6.6.2. They explain the relationship between legislative, executive and judicial powers in the Republic of Turkey. SS.6.6.3. They analyze the factors affecting the decisionmaking process of the administration. SS.6.6.4. They explain the importance of democracy in our social life. SS.6.6.5. Explains that their rights and responsibilities as an active citizen of the Republic of Turkey are under constitutional guarantee. SS.6.6.6.They notice the value given to women in social life by considering the      Table 8.  grades at the least. In the 2018 curriculum, the achievements related to democracy were provided to 6th grades at the most and to 4th grades at the least. The data regarding the skills related to democracy, which are directly and indirectly included in the 2005-2018 Social Studies Curricula, are presented in Table 9.   Social Studies Curricula, are presented in Table 10.    Table 11 presents the opinions of Social Studies teachers about the objectives related to democracy in the curricula. When Table 11 is examined, it is seen that the objectives in the curriculum are mostly evaluated in respect of content (34.6%), adequacy (27.5%), level compliance (27.5%) and

Findings Related to the Second Sub-Problem
practice (10.2%). Teachers who participated in the study expressed their opinions on the content as appropriate for building democratic consciousness (6), not clear and understandable (3) and clear and understandable (1). They found the objectives inadequate (3) and adequate (5) in terms of adequacy, appropriate (6) and inappropriate (2) in terms of level compliance and appropriate for daily life (2) and applicable (1) in terms of practice.  When Table 12 is examined, it is seen that teachers mostly expressed their opinions about adequacy (46.6%). This is respectively followed by the content (33.3%) and level compliance (20.1%). Opinions of the teachers were as follows: inadequate (9) and adequate (5) in terms of adequacy, intensive (3), not applicable (2), oriented to high-level thinking skill (1), clear and understandable (1), inadequate for their class-based distribution (1) and appropriate for democratic consciousness (2) in terms of content, and appropriate (4) and inappropriate (2) in terms of level compliance. Table 13 presents the opinions of Social Studies teachers about the learning domains related to democracy in the curricula.   When Table 14 is examined, it is seen that the teachers mostly expressed their opinions about the skills (51.2%) and the adequacy of these skills (38.4%) in the Social Studies Curricula. Other subjects about which opinions were expressed were content (7.8%) and level compliance (2.6%), respectively. The teachers expressed their opinions about social participation (6), political literacy (4), research (2), questioning (2), decision-making (2), perception of time and chronology (1) and problem-solving (1) skills regarding democracy; when it came to the adequacy of these skills, they found them adequate (10) and adequate (5).  In Table 15 inappropriate (1) in terms of level compliance. Table 16 presents the opinions of Social Studies teachers about the suggestions related to democracy in the curricula. According to Table 16, mostly the following suggestions were proposed by the teachers regarding democracy: should be practice-oriented (40%), relationship should be established between the courses (15%), course hours should be increased (15%) and should be concretized (10%).

Discussion and Conclusions
As a result of the research, it was determined that the objectives related to democracy continued to exist the same way in the 2005 and 2018 Social Studies Curricula. According to results obtained from data, it is determined that close to half of aims are included democracy concept. In their study, Kara, Topkaya and Şimşek (2012)  More than half of these values are related to democracy. In this case, it was concluded that more values of democracy were included in the 2018 curriculum. In a study, Görmez (2018) touched upon the decision-making processes of the individuals working in administration units, symbols and importance of national sovereignty and the importance of having social responsibility in the 2018 curriculum, and concluded that attention was paid to these values.
In their study, Berkant and Atmaca (2013) concluded that values such as justice, peace, equality and freedom, legal concepts such as right, law, code, constitution and court, constitutional rights such as freedom of thought, freedom of religion, belief and conscience, right to physical integrity, right to individual application and social security and basic concepts, which we may encounter at any stage of life, such as right to live, educational opportunity, democracy, citizenship and human rights should be used more often and significantly through activities in 6 and 7th-grade coursebooks. In their study, Yalçın and Akhan (2019) concluded that values such as patriotism, giving importance to unity of family, solidarity and helpfulness are addressed, an emphasis is placed on concepts such as culture, cultural heritage, national consciousness, society and values, moreover, the elements such as the awakening of national consciousness via national and religious holidays, important days and weeks developing the historical sensitivity in the 2018 curriculum. These studies in the literature have similar results with the study conducted.
Teachers who participated in the study evaluated aims included both of curriculums, in terms of content, adequacy, level compliance and practice. In objectives related to democracy, opinions were mostly expressed about the content subject. Teachers stated that the objectives included in the curricula were appropriate for raising awareness of students on democracy, and they were clear and understandable in terms of content.
The teachers who participated in the study evaluated the learning subject included in the both curriculums, in terms of adequacy, learning domain, level compliance and content.
Opinions were mostly expressed about adequacy in the learning domains related to democracy. About adequacy, the teachers stated that the learning domains in the curriculum were mostly adequate and the learning domain of Active Citizenship had a very significant role in this matter.
The teachers who participated in the study evaluated achievements included in the both curriculums, in terms of adequacy, content and level compliance. Opinions were mostly expressed about adequacy in the achievements related to democracy. The teachers stated that the achievements related to democracy in the curriculum are generally inadequate in terms of adequacy, and the class-based distribution was unbalanced, but they were capable of providing students with democratic consciousness with respect to content.
The teachers who participated in the study evaluated the skills included in the both curriculums, in terms of curriculum skills, adequacy, content and level compliance.
Opinions were mostly expressed about the curriculum skills in the skills related to independence, freedom, peace, responsibility, patriotism, sensitivity and helpfulness. In their study, Emir and Kaya (2004) asserted that democracy first starts in family and gives the individual a sense of responsibility. In their studies, Emir and Kaya (2004); Sağlam and Hayal (2015) stated that values like equality, justice and freedom are given importance in schools. Accordingly, these studies in the literature have similar results with the study conducted.
The teachers who participated in the study made suggestions about the inclusion of the subject of democracy in the curriculum. They made evaluations about the suitability of this subject for practice, establishment of a relationship between the courses, increase in course hours, its concretization, compliance with class level, inclusion of current issues, increase in learning domains and development of physical facilities. In the suggestions related to democracy, opinions were mostly expressed about the fact that it should be practice-oriented. In the study conducted by Topkaya and Şimşek (2015), it was concluded that giving the lessons with educational comics positively affected the attitudes of the students towards citizenship and democracy education. This supports the opinions of the teachers in terms of indicating the importance of the lack of practice emphasized by the teachers. In line with the findings of the research, the following suggestions can be made: Today, democracy exists in all the stages of the human life. All the courses, and specifically, the Social Studies course have great duties in order to raise individuals competent in knowing the concept of democracy, understanding and applying it in the daily life and acquiring democratic awareness. The content related to democracy should be increased in respect of objectives, learning domains, achievements, skills and values, and the necessary sensitivities should be shown in this regard.
Within the scope of the research, teachers expressed that lack of practice makes it difficult to properly teach the subjects of democracy. For this reason, practical activities that will help students easily understand the concept of democracy will contribute to the comprehension of the subject and learning it in a permanent way.
Physical facilities of the school should be improved in order to simplify the practices regarding the in-class activities related to democracy.