Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine pre-service Social Studies teachers’ social problem solving levels based on different variables. A total of 247 preservice Social Studies teachers (103 females (41.7%) and 144 males (58.3%)) from Erzincan University, Faculty of Education, Department of Social Studies Teaching participated in the study. The descriptive model was used in the study. The Social Problem Solving Inventory (SPSI), developed by D’Zurilla and Maydeu-Olivares in 1995 and 1996, revised by D’Zurilla, Nezu and Maydeu-Olivares in 2002 (SPSI-R), and adapted into Turkish by Eskin and Aycan and the “Revised Social Problem Solving Inventory (Tr-SPSI-R)” were used in the study as the data collection instruments. According to the analyses, positive problem orientation (PPO) scores decrease as negative problem orientation (NPO) scores increase; NPO scores decrease as rational problem solving style (RPSS) scores increase; PPO scores decrease as impulsive-careless problem solving style (ICPSS) scores increase; RPSS scores decrease as ICPSS scores increase; PPO scores decrease as APSS scores increase. According to the classroom variable, there is a significant difference. According to this study, there is a significant difference between preservice teachers’ NPO and Avoidant Problem Solving Style (APSS) scores based on gender.

Key words: social problem solving, social studies, preservice teacher, problem solving skills.