English abstract
This study aimed to identify the level of readiness of the Sultanate of Oman schools to employ new technologies in teaching social studies from the teachers' point of view for the second cycle of basic education and grades eleventh and twelfth for post-basic education. To achieve the study's goal, the descriptive approach was used in which the researcher prepared the study tool. It is a questionnaire that consisted of (63) statements divided into five areas, after verifying the validity and reliability of the tool, the researcher applied it to the study sample, which was (583) social studies' teachers in Muscat and South Al Batinah governorates. To answer study questions, the average, standard deviation and T test were used.
The study results showed that the level of readiness of the Sultanate of Oman schools to employ new technologies in teaching social studies from the teachers' point of view for the second cycle of basic education and for grades eleventh and twelfth for post-basic education came at a high level in the two axes; the readiness of the educational platform and the competencies of teachers in the use of global network and electronic applications, while it came at a medium level in the two axes; the competencies of teachers' recruitment for electronic assessment processes, and the readiness of the school environment. The study also revealed that there were statistically significant differences at the level of significance (0.05≥ α) at the level of readiness of the Sultanate of Oman schools to employ modern technologies in teaching social studies depending on the variables: Gender, qualification and educational stage in all axes except the axis of school environment readiness, and the differences were foe the benefit with teachers holding a bachelor's degree, the second cycle teachers, and Muscat governorate, and the results showed that there were statistically significant differences in relation to the experience variable in all axes and in favor of those with less experience, except for the school environment readiness axis which the differences were for the benefit of those with greater experience.
The results also revealed that the level of difficulties facing the readiness of the Sultanate of Oman schools to employ modern technologies in teaching social studies came with a medium difficulty level, and the results showed that there were no statistically significant differences at the significance level (0.05≥ α) to the level of difficulties facing the readiness of the Sultanate of Oman schools to employ modern technologies in teaching social studies depending on the variables: gender, qualification, experience, educational stage and governorate.
In light of the study results, a set of recommendations were presented, which are: Providing training programs and workshops that enable teachers of social studies to employ modern techniques in teaching the subject and raise their efficiency in using the global network and electronic applications, employing electronic evaluation methods, and working to provide all the technical equipment that the school needs to enable it to employ modern technologies in teaching social studies.
