Qualities of Ideal Teacher Educators

Abstract

Abstract Generally, the relationship between the teacher educators' qualities and the quality of teacher education has not been discussed extensively in the literature. At the same time, various studies can be found in the eastern literature examining the characteristics of faculty members at the education faculties. The effect of teacher educators over teacher candidates has not been explored, and in this sense, there is limited number of studies examining faculty members at education faculties in Turkey. Mostly employing quantitative research designs, these studies have focused on faculty members in terms of various characteristics However, which qualities that faculty members should have as a whole have not been studied. However, faculty members, as well as teachers who are a matter of debate in terms of the qualities they are supposed to have should be examined in research studies. In this context, this study aims to identify the qualities that an ideal teacher educator should have from the perspective of education faculty students as future teachers. The current research is a qualitative study in phenomenology design. The participants of the study are third and fourth year 214 pre-service teachers from the departments of Science and Technology Teaching, Pre-School Teacher Education, Classroom Teacher Education, Social Studies Teaching and Turkish Language Teaching. Criterion sampling was used for participant selection. The data gathering tool consisted of an open-ended question that would reveal the qualities that an ideal teacher educator should have based on teacher candidates’ views. Junior and senior teacher candidates’ views were asked and the data were analyzed according to content analysis approach. As a result, the qualities that an ideal teacher educator should have been gathered under five main themes including ‘professional roles and responsibilities, professional values, personal characteristics, professional ethic principles and social responsibilities’. Keywords: Ideal teacher educator, teacher candidates, qualities of teacher Oz Dunyada ogretmen egitimcilerinin niteligi ile ogretmen yetistirmenin kalitesi arasindaki iliski yeterli duzeyde tartisilmamaktadir. Bununla birlikte, Bati alan yazininda egitim fakultelerindeki ogretim uyelerinin ozelliklerini inceleyen cesitli arastirmalara rastlanmaktadir. Ogretmen egitimcilerinin ogretmen adaylari uzerindeki etkilerinin bilinmedigi Turkiye’de ise egitim fakultelerindeki ogretim elemanlariyla ilgili sinirli sayida arastirma bulunmaktadir. Cogu nicel arastirma yaklasimiyla desenlenen bu calismalarda, ogretmen egitimcilerinin bazi ozellikleri acisindan degerlendirildikleri dikkat cekmektedir. Ogretmen egitimcilerinin, bir butun olarak hangi ozelliklere sahip olmalari gerektigi ise arastirma konusu olmamistir. Oysa sahip olmasi gereken ozellikler acisindan surekli tartisma konusu olan ogretmenler kadar ogretmen egitimcileri de arastirma konusu olmalidir. Bu gerekceden hareketle arastirmada, gelecegin ogretmenleri olan egitim fakultesi ogrencilerinin bakis acisiyla ideal bir ogretim uyesinin sahip olmasi gereken niteliklerin belirlenmesi amaclanmistir. Arastirma, olgu bilim (fenomonoloji) deseninde nitel bir arastirmadir. Arastirmanin katilimcilarini, Fen ve Teknoloji Ogretmenligi, Okuloncesi Ogretmenligi, Sinif Ogretmenligi, Sosyal Bilgiler Ogretmenligi ve Turkce Ogretmenligi programlarinda, ucuncu ve dorduncu siniflarda ogrenim goren toplam 214 ogretmen adayi olusturmaktadir. Arastirma verileri, yapilandirilmis gorusme tekniklerinden acik uclu anket ile (29 Nisan-18 Mayis 2013) toplanmistir. Arastirmada elde edilen veriler, NVivo8.0. Paket Programi kullanilarak icerik analizi yaklasimina gore analiz edilmistir. Arastirmada ogretmen adaylarinin gorusleri dogrultusunda ideal ogretim uyesinde bulunmasi gereken nitelikler “mesleki rol ve sorumluluklar, mesleki degerler, kisisel ozellikler, mesleki etik ilkeler ve toplumsal sorumluluk” olmak uzere bes ana tema altinda toplanmistir. Ogretmen adaylarinin ideal bir ogretim uyesinde bulunmasi gereken nitelikler arasinda en cok vurgu yaptiklari nitelik “mesleki rol ve sorumluluklar” iken; en az vurgu yaptiklari nitelik ise “toplumsal sorumluluklar” olmustur. Anahtar Sozcukler: Ideal ogretmen egitimcisi, ogretmen adaylari, ogretmen egitimcisinin nitelikleri