Studying Level of Awareness of Teachers in Terms of their Lifelong Learning Skills

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to find out perceptions of the teachers about lifelong learning abilities and levels of using social media tools. Lifelong learning capability of teachers is a factor which supports career development of teachers. The model of the research was descriptive survey. The research was carried out with 184 teachers who participated in the summer seminar organized by the Turkish Ministry of National Education for primary school teachers in 2011 summer. Questionnaires were used to collect data. Lifelong Learning Scale were developed by researchers. Validity of the survey was ensured by consulting to expert opinion. Cronbach's alpha reliability of lifelong learning scale of these research was .823. Concerning the analysis of data, average, percentage, t test and one-way ANOVA, Tukey HSD and Mann-Whitney U test were used as statistical technique. According to the results of the survey, teachers didn’t utilize enough information technologies. Only a few teachers used computer to prepare lessons and improve themselves in professional terms. Yet, it was understood that young teachers made endeavor to improve themselves. Organizational support was also required to ensure professional development of teachers.