Comparison of Social Studies Teacher Candidates’ Perceptions of Local History in Malatya With Other Cities

In social studies curricula, skills, values, learning outcomes, and areas of learning related to the discipline of history are incorporated with due consideration for students’ developmental characteristics. The training process and readiness levels of teachers—who play a key role in conveying this content to students—are crucial because they influence their professional competence. In the transmission of this content, which follows a path from the near to the far, from the known to the unknown, and from the local to the universal, students are first expected to recognize and make sense of the place where they live. For this reason, the transmission of local history content to students is valuable for the realization of the targeted learning outcomes. To determine the sensitivity of prospective teachers and foster their awareness, it is important to conduct certain studies on local history at the undergraduate level. To this end, and for the purposes of this study, the opinions of a 40-member study group were sought, consisting of first-, second-, third-, and fourth-year students enrolled in the Social Studies Teaching undergraduateprogram at the Faculty of Education, Inönü University, during the 2024–2025 academic year, with participation based on voluntary participation. The study was conducted using qualitative methods,employing a case study model. The research team posed questions to the study group using a semi-structured interview form prepared by the researcher. The responses to these questions were subjected to descriptive analysis, grouped under common themes, and analyzed. The findings of the study were evaluated in terms of similarities and differences with the results of similar studies conducted in other cities. Thus, an effort was made to arrive at general conclusions regarding the perceptions of teachers and prospective teachers regarding local history.