An analysis of the cognitive patterns of the eighth-grade students about the treaties that ended the Ottoman Empire through the WAT

Abstract

The course History of Revolution and Kemalism is significant in understanding the conditions when the Republic of Turkey was established. This study has attempted to reveal the cognitive patterns of the eighth-grade students concerning the Armistice of Mudros and the Treaty of Sèvres which ended the Ottoman State. Phenomenology, one of the qualitative research methods, was used in the study. The participants were selected using the criterion sampling technique. They were 116 eighth-grade students. The data were collected through the word association test (WAT). Additionally, the participants were also asked to write a statement about their perceptions of these two treaties. The data obtained were examined using content analysis. The findings from the WAT indicate that the students produced the statements about the Armistice of Mudros of which 85% are valid. It is 76% for the Treaty of Sèvres. Therefore, it can be stated that the participants have much more active perceptions about the Armistice of Mudros in contrast to the Treaty of Sèvres. The WAT data also reveal that the participants have a common cognitive understanding about these treaties which are categorized into five groups: the situation following the treaties, the reasons for the treaties, reactions in regard to these treaties, psychological situations about them, and a group of entities in regard to the treaties such as space, time, figures and countries involved. The analysis of the key terms produced by the participants indicates that 70% of them are scientific terms, 26% of them superficial terms, and 4% misconceptions. Therefore, it is possible to state that the students who participated in the study have a sufficient cognitive understanding of these two treaties. The study is one of the attempts to reveal the cognitive understanding of the students about historical events in social studies courses.