Abstract
The present study aimed to examine an effective mathematics teacher's qualifications from the perspectives of secondary school students. The study was a qualitative one carried out with the descriptive model. The study was carried out with 40 students from all the four grades of a secondary school (10 students from each grade) in Turkey in the academic year of 2017-2018. The participants were determined using the purposeful sampling method. As the data collection tool, semi-structured interview questions were used, and the interviews were audio-recorded to avoid any data loss. For the analysis of the data, first, the interviews were transcribed and then analysed using the content analysis method. The results revealed that according to the students' views, the qualifications of an effective mathematics teacher were grouped under four categories: personal traits, communication skills, class management and teaching methods and measurement-evaluation. It was also seen that regardless of the school type they would choose for their high school education, all the students had an idea about the qualifications of a mathematics teacher and that it was not much easy to become an effective mathematics teacher. In addition, it was found that there were differences between the views of the 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th grade students with respect to their cognitive levels and needs. In line with the qualifications examined, various suggestions were put forward to increase the effectiveness of the mathematics teachers and of the process of mathematics teaching.
Highlights
In the 21st century, an era which requires information use, rapid changes and developments like globalization and restructuring have brought about renovations in the field of education [1]
In order for educational institutions to carry out these duties, it is necessary to increase the quality within the education system [3]
Studies on increasing the quality of the education system make it compulsory to introduce comprehensive reforms to teacher training programs [4]. The teacher and his or her qualifications, which constitute the basis of the education system, become prominent [3,4,5,6,7]
Summary
In the 21st century, an era which requires information use, rapid changes and developments like globalization and restructuring have brought about renovations in the field of education [1]. In order to keep up with these changes, individuals who are in their education process are expected to have such effective qualifications as researching, questioning, problem solving, critical thinking, making use of technology, expressing one’s thoughts and producing information [2]. It is the educational institutions’ duty and responsibility to meet the requirements of this era. Studies on increasing the quality of the education system make it compulsory to introduce comprehensive reforms to teacher training programs [4] In this respect, the teacher and his or her qualifications, which constitute the basis of the education system, become prominent [3,4,5,6,7]. This situation shows that the qualifications mentioned in related studies should be taken into account in education systems as well as in teaching training institutions
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