English abstract
This study was aimed to explore the perceptions of Social Studies Teachers' in public and private schools in the Sultanate of Oman about citizenship education. This study specifically attempted to explore their teachers' perceptions with regard to citizenship meanings, the characteristics of a 'good citizen', the approaches of developing citizenship, content of citizenship education, the social studies teacher's role in developing citizenship, and the encountered difficulties in developing citizenship. In addition, the study examined the influence of several variables in teachers' perceptions, namely, gender, specialization, nationality, experience, and type of school. After checked its validity and readability, questionnaires were administered to the sample of study which consists of 257 social studies teachers (grades 5 up to 12). The study came up with a wide range of interesting findings, which can be summarized as follows:
Citizenship has multiple meanings from the perspective of the study sample, It means first "Allegiance to the state", and secondly "Defend the homeland, heritage and culture." Thirdly, it requires "respect the state constitution." A good" citizen" from the standpoint of the participants is first "Respect rules and abiding by the laws", and secondly "Representation of the country in an honorable way abroad." Thirdly, a 'good' citizen is one who "Knows his/her rights and duties." Citizenship can be developed by positive participation in and interaction with different social, religiousnational or international events. Teacher's character and behavior have great influence on strengthen citizenship values in his/her students. From the viewpoints of the participants, social sciences subjects (Islamic culture, Arabic language, English Language, Social Studies) tend to be more associated with developing citizenship values in comparison to applied sciences subjects. The participants view that the content of citizenship education should be given more attention to citizens' rights and responsibilities. Social studies teachers should by employed practical rather than theoretical methods such as "School activities", "Field visits", "Practical activities on local environment", and "cooperating learning" Administrative tasks are the most difficulty in developing citizenship from the viewpoint of the participants. The study found that teachers' perceptions in some domains of questionnaire were influenced be the variables of gender, specialization (Geography or History), teacher's nationality (Omani or Non-Omani), experience (less than 5, more than 5
years), and type of school (public, private). In the light of the above findings, the researcher recommends that more studies nationally and internationally should be conducted in order to better understanding teachers' perceptions about citizenship Education.
