Author(s): Yavuz AKBAS, Saliha TOROS
The spatial thinking ability that we often use unconsciously in everyday life is cover as the ability to perceive/think space in the Social Science Curriculum of 2005. The ability to perceive/think space include the skills of recognizing space relations; drawing and interpreting maps, plans, sketches, graphics, diagram; and using spheres. The educational use of spatial technologies created by integrating skill-related materials (maps, sketches, graphics, spheres, etc.) with computer technology today makes a significant contribution to the development of students’ spatial thinking ability. Effective use of these technologies in teaching processes is achievable if teachers and preservice teachers have the ability to use these technologies. The purpose of this study is to analyze preservice social science teachers’ perceived self-efficacy for spatial technologies according to a set of variables including gender, the time spent at the computer, the number of digital devices owned, and academic average. The study sample was composed of 201 3rdand 4th-grade preservice social science teachers studying at Karadeniz Technical University and Atatürk University in the academic year of 2016-2017. The data was collected using the Spatial Technologies Self-Efficacy Scale and analyzed using t-test, descriptive statistics, and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). The research results indicated that the preservice social science teachers had a low level of perceived self-efficacy for spatial technologies. The variables gender, the time spent at the computer, and the number of digital devices owned led to a significant difference in their perceived self-efficacy for spatial technologies, while the variable academic average did not lead to a significant difference.
The Journal of International Social Research received 8982 citations as per Google Scholar report
