Abstract
The number of teacher candidates is increasing as a result of the excessive quotas given to departments that train teacher candidates and the right to teach different branches with pedagogical formation certificates. Therefore it becomes compulsory to hold selection exams in teacher appointments. The exams carried out during this selection process undergo changes over time both in number and content. While exams containing questions of general knowledge, general ability, and educational sciences were used in teacher appointments in Turkey since 2002, the field knowledge test has also been applied since 2013. Geography is also one of the branches in which the field knowledge exam is applied. This study aims to evaluate the field knowledge exam according to the views of geography teachers. The study conducted in a phenomenology pattern, one of the qualitative research methods, was carried out with 25 geography teachers determined by criterion sampling methods. The data collected through semi-structured interviews were analyzed by descriptive analysis method. Direct quotations are included to increase the reliability of the research. In line with the opinions of the geography teachers, it was determined that as it increases teacher competence, taking the field knowledge exam is important and necessary. The majority opinion is that increasing the number of questions in the field knowledge exam in 2019 increased the content validity of the exam. As it caused changes in the questions, the field knowledge exam duration was considered to be excessive by some participants. According to the views of the geography teachers, undergraduate education did not coincide with the scope of the field knowledge test. It was determined that most of the candidates went to the course in the exam preparation process in order to fill the deficiencies. As a result of the research, it is recommended that the number of questions in the field knowledge test, the content validity should increase further, and the effect of the field knowledge test on the scoring basis for appointment should be further increased.
Highlights
Turkey’s population is 83.1 million as of the end of 2019, and the annual growth rate was 13.9 per thousand
For the question about their opinions regarding the Teaching Field Knowledge Test (TFKT) having a 50% share in the calculation of P121, which is the oral exam entrance score, which is the basis for the contracted teacher appointment, 60% of the participants stated that this ratio is appropriate
Regarding the adequacy of geography teachers’ undergraduate education in terms of meeting the questions in the TFKT exam, 36% of the participants stated that their undergraduate education inadequate, 36% partially adequate, 16% mostly adequate, and 12% adequate
Summary
Turkey’s population is 83.1 million as of the end of 2019, and the annual growth rate was 13.9 per thousand. Depending on the size of the young population and growth rates, the number of students is increasing in Turkey. This situation causes an increase in the need for teachers and schools. According to the data of ÖSYM (Student Selection and Placement Center/SSPC) (2019), 8197 candidates from the branch of Geography took the TFKT (Teaching Field Knowledge Test) exams held in 2019. Despite this number, an average of 100-150 teachers is appointed each year in the Geography branch. It becomes a necessity to make an exam for teacher appointments
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