An Analysis of Social Studies Instructional Applications for the Development of Astronomy Literacy in 7th Grade Students

The European Astronomical Union (EAU) designated the year 2019, as the “Year of Astronomy Literacy,” prompting countries worldwide to place greater emphasis on space and astronomy education and to adjust their curricula accordingly. Integrating astronomy literacy into the social studies curriculum is particularly crucial, as the course aims to educate citizens who are able to adapt to evolving national and global conditions and who possess strong problem-solving capabilities. The purpose of this study is to equip the seventh-grade students with cognitive, affective and behavioral competencies related to astronomy literacy within the context of the social studies course. The Astronomy Literacy Scale developed by Özdemir was administered as both a pre-test and a post-test. The research was conducted in Yenişehir district of Bursa, one of Turkey’s provinces, during the first semester of the 2023-2024 academic year. The study employed a quasiexperimental design involving 22 students in the experimental group and 22 in the control group. The instructional application was implemented over a five-week period, with two class hours per week. Data were analyzed using the SPSS statistical software package. Following the application, ‘t was found that there were statistically significant differences between the experimental and control groups across the cognitive, affective and behavioral domains, consistently favoring the experimental group. The findings indicated that the instructional practices integrated into the social studies course contributed meaningfully to the students’ astronomy literacy and improved their cognitive, affective and behavioral astronomy-related skills.