TURKISH ADAPTATION OF THE TRANSACTIONAL PRESENCE SCALE AND AN EXAMINATION OF ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH PERCEIVED LEARNING

Abstract

The main purpose of this study is to establish a valid and reliable Turkish version of the Transactional Presence Scale. The study also aims to determine whether learners’ personality structures, age, sex, previous experiences of distance education and perceptions of transactional presence are significant predictors of their perceived learning. The study sample consisted of 467 students who received pedagogical formation training at Sakarya University and agreed to participate in the study. The study used the relational survey model, a general survey model based on the quantitative research paradigm. Data were collected using the Transactional Presence Scale, the Perceived Learning Scale and TIPI-Ten Item Personality Inventory. First, the transactional presence scale was adapted for use in Turkish. Following the validity and reliability tests of the Turkish version of the transactional presence scale, a multiple linear regression analysis was performed to determine whether learners’ personality traits, age, sex, previous experience of distance education and perceptions of transactional presence were significant predictors of their perceived learning. The results showed that only institutional transactional presence was a significant predictor of perceived learning. Transactional presence perceptions of the learners in the study explained 29% of the total variance of their perceived learning.