A Phenomenological Study on Student Selection for Departments of Primary Education and Appointment of Primary School Teachers in Türkiye

Abstract

The primary purpose of this study is to identify the opinions of faculty members, who are experts in their fields, on student selection for teacher training institutions for primary education and on the problem of non-appointed primary school teachers in Türkiye. The study is based on phenomenological design, one of the qualitative research methods. The study sample consists of thirty faculty members selected using the criterion sampling technique from twenty-nine faculties of education including the department of primary education. The data in the study were collected using a semi-structured interview form and analysed through the content analysis method. As a result of the analyses, five themes were created regarding the opinions of the faculty members on student selection for teacher training institutions for primary education. In this context, various codes were listed under the themes of “student selection procedures”, “student characteristics”, “quotas”, “source of students” and “incentives”. Considering the field experts’ opinions on non-appointed primary school teachers, three themes were identified, and various codes were listed under the themes of “employment opportunities”, “quantity” and “appointment procedures”. The findings revealed that the main policies considered necessary by the faculty members in selecting students for primary school teacher training institutions included planning the student resources starting from secondary education and selecting eligible individuals through objective interviews, in addition to central examination. It was also concluded that the main policies to be pursued in solving the problem of non-appointed primary school teachers included making a needs-based arrangement in quotas in faculties of education and ensuring a sufficient number of graduates, as well as improving retirement conditions and conducting merit-based appointments for vacancies arising from retirements by excluding out-of-field teachers.