The aim of this study is to determine the effect of using strategies that improve metacognitive skills on the acquisition of values and attitudes toward the course of Social Studies in primary school 4th grade. This quasi-experimental study was conducted according to the pretest-posttest nonequivalent groups design. In the study, a two-stage sampling method was used while establishing the sample group design. The purposive cluster sampling method was utilized initially, followed by the appropriate (convenience) cluster sampling method. In the first semester of the 2015-2016 academic year, the sample group consisted of one school from each of the five educational regions in the city center of Elazığ and two classes from each school, one experimental and one control group. In the study, 138 students were in the experimental group and 137 students were in the control group, totaling 275 students. In the experimental group, the IMPROVE method based on metacognitive strategies for the acquisition of values in Social Studies course was employed, while in the control group, Social Studies course was taught according to the current curriculum. In the study, the Success Test for “I know myself” Unit developed by the researchers and consisting of 14 open-ended questions, the Tolerance Attitude Scale, the Junior Metacognitive Awareness Inventory Version A and the Attitude Scale of Primary School Students toward Social Studies Course were used as data collection tools as pretest and posttest. A computer-aided quantitative data analysis program was used for social sciences to analyze the data. The mixed intragroup and intergroup analysis of covariance, mixed intragroup and intergroup multivariate analysis of covariance and univariate tests were used. The results of the study demonstrated that the IMPROVE method had a practical effect on the respect for thoughts subscale of the tolerance attitude scale. It was also concluded that the IMPROVE method brought a positive attitude toward the Social Studies course.

Values education, tolerance value, IMPROVE, social studies course, teaching based on metacognitive strategies.