Identifying and validating the desirable features of the four elements of the curriculum based on problem-solving skills in Social Studies Instruction in the bachelor course of elementary education

The present research was conducted with the aim of identifying the desirable features of the four elements of the curriculum based on problem-solving skills in teaching social studies in the elementary education bachelor course of Teacher Training University which was operationalized with a mixed research method, i.e. sequential exploratory design (qualitative-quantitative). First, by analyzing the qualitative content of 53 internal and external sources (1970-2022) related to the research topic, as well as 23 semi-structured interviews with experts who were purposefully selected the characteristics of the elements were identified. Then, based on these findings, a necessary questionnaire was prepared and validation was done with the participation of 36 experts and the validity of the questionnaire was calculated by Lawshe's method (CVI = 0.80) and its reliability was calculated by Cronbach's alpha (CAC= 0.98). As a result, the objectives 22 characteristics, content 24 characteristics, teaching-learning strategies 17 characteristics, and evaluation 18 characteristics were approved by experts. Based on this, it could be said that the curriculum with these features can play a significant role in improving the problem solving skills and professional training of student elementary teachers.