摘要：The aim of this study is to determine the views of Turkish social studies teacher candidates about history lessons, as taught in the social studies teacher education program of the Faculty of Education at Karadeniz Technical University. Survey research based on a qualitative research methodology was used in this study. An open-ended questionnaire and semi-structured interviews were used in the research as data collection instruments. 100 final-year teacher candidates participated in the questionnaire and 12 candidates were interviewed. The data collected showed that the history lessons they were taught did not provide them with enough benefits, because of insufficient time and because of teacher-centered approaches. Apart from this, more than half of the teacher candidates thought that the education they were given gave them adequate ability to teach history topics in the social studies curriculum effectively in social studies lessons when they became teachers. History lessons about Turkish history, especially the Seljuks, Ottomans and the Turkish Republic, were seen as the most important lessons. Teacher candidates thought that these lessons were important for transmitting knowledge of Turkish history and culture, which reflects the classic history teaching tradition in Turkey.
