The use of newspapers as a tool in history teaching and students’ approaches to newspaper research studies

Many different tools are used in history teaching. One of these tools is newspapers. Newspapers are common tools that are cheap, effective, useful and easy to access, which can be used both in and outside the class. Newspapers, one of the sources where students can improve their research skills, can broaden their horizons. In this study, newspapers have been examined as a tool in the use of history lessons teaching. The perceptions, views and opinions of the students towards the use of newspapers as a tool in education were revealed and evaluated. The study also examined how students used newspapers as primary sources. The research was carried out with 151 students who were studying at the 11th grade of Fatih Gelenbevi Anatolian High School in the district of Fatih in Istanbul. Newspapers published in Turkey Aksam, Cumhuriyet, Hürriyet, Milliyet, Sabah, Turkiye, Ulus and Zafer from 1929 until 2000 were examined in this study. Open-ended questionnaire was used as a data collection tool. Qualitative research approach has been adopted in this study. Descriptive analysis method was used in the research. The numerical breakdown and comparison of the data was done. Anxiety and prejudice were observed in the majority of students, especially for the use of newspapers in the teaching of history lessons. However, at the end of the research study, it was determined that there was a big change in the negative views of the students.