Teacher Education Programs In Turkey Research Articles

Pedagogical tact in the English language teacher education programme

AbstractThis study fills a major gap in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teacher education by examining the integration of pedagogical tact (PT) in an EFL teacher education programme in Turkey. Through an in‐depth examination of the programme and semi‐structured interviews, this study investigated to what extent PT, including empathising with and motivating learners, effective classroom management, differentiated instruction and support for meaningful decision‐making, is integrated. The qualitative content analysis of the programme demonstrated that many courses in the EFL teacher education programme are consistent with aspects of PT. However, there were a few areas where the programme could be further enhanced to better include all aspects of PT. This includes offering courses on effective communication and decision‐making. The interviews conducted with 21 pre‐service EFL teachers also revealed that most of them acknowledged that the programme is based on their potential teaching needs and challenges. However, they offered suggestions to improve the programme such as adding more technology courses and practice‐based implementations. Throughout the study, recommendations are provided regarding how EFL teacher education programmes could be developed and implemented with more emphasis on PT. Hence, the study's findings have important implications for teacher education programme developers in Turkey and international contexts.

The Experiences of The Practicum Dyad: A Meta-Synthesis From Turkish EFL Case (2012-2022)

Purpose: The practicum component of teacher education programs and its active participants, mentor teachers (cooperating teachers) and student teachers, have a special place in teacher education programs. With a focus on the experiences of this practicum dyad, this meta-synthesis aims to describe a broader picture of practicum practices in the Turkish EFL context. 
 Design/Methodology/Approach: It investigates the recent qualitative studies published between 2012 and 2022 through a meta-synthesis 
 Findings: The synthesis identified three main themes: (1) challenges, (2) expectations, and (3) appreciation of both members, which were further categorized as practicum-based, profession-based, and school-based. 
 
 Highlights: The results provided not only valuable data to inform a mentor training program but also uncovered the concerns experienced by all three groups, which should be carefully examined, and necessary actions should be taken accordingly. Through a review of in-depth qualitative studies related to the experiences of the EFL practicum dyad, it provides a broader lens for the practicum studies conducted in language teacher education programs in Turkey and raised issues to be addressed by supervisors, mentors, student teachers, and policy makers, which could also lead to further inquiries for other teaching contexts.

Beden Eğitimi ve Spor Öğretmeni Yetiştirme Programlarının Karşılaştırmalı Olarak İncelenmesi: Türkiye – Çekya Örneği

Bu çalışma, Türkiye ve Çekya’daki Beden Eğitimi ve Spor Öğretmeni yetiştirme programlarının karşılaştırılması amacıyla yapılmıştır. Bu bağlamda, Palacky Üniversitesi ile Muğla Sıtkı Koçman Üniversitesi’nin Beden Eğitimi ve Spor Öğretmenliği bölümlerinin öğretim programları, benzeyen ve farklılaşan yönler bakımından, müfredatta yer alan dersler incelenerek analiz edilmiştir. Araştırmada, çalışmanın Türkiye ve Çekya ayağını oluşturan programlarındaki mevcut dökümanlar incelenmiştir. Araştırmada elde edilen bulgulara göre, her iki müfredatta yer alan teorik dersler açısından, anatomi, iletişim, İngilizce, hukuk, psikoloji, sporun temelleri, beden eğitimi ve spor tarihi, ilk yardım, beslenme, araştırma yöntemleri gibi konulardaki derslerin benzerliği görülmektedir. Diğer taraftan uygulamalı dersler açısından, cimnastik, takım sporları, atletizm, ritim eğitimi, yüzme, savunma sporları, eğitsel oyunlar, öğretmenlik uygulaması gibi konulardaki derslerin benzerliği ortaya çıkmaktadır. Türkiye’de Beden Eğitimi ve Spor Öğretmenliği programından mezun olma şartı en az 240 AKTS iken Çekya’da 180 AKTS’dir. Türkiye’deki seçmeli ders sayısı Çekya’daki seçmeli ders sayısından fazlayken, zorunlu derslerin oranları ise Türkiye’de %68,66; Çekya’da ise %60,23 olarak tespit edilmiştir. Diğer taraftan, Türkiye’de Beden Eğitimi ve Spor Öğretmeni adayı bir öğrencinin program müfredatında yer alan derslerin %75,44’ü teorik eğitim ders saatlerinden meydana gelirken, bu oran Çekya’da %51,23 olarak bulunmuştur. Bu noktadan hareketle, teorik ve uygulama ders saatlerinin Çekya’da birbirine çok yakın oranlarda olduğu, ancak Türkiye’de büyük çoğunluğunu teorik ders saatlerinin oluşturduğu söylenebilir. Sonuç olarak, her iki ülkenin Beden Eğitimi ve Spor Öğretmenliği programlarında yer alan hem seçmeli hem de zorunlu alana özgü bazı temel derslerin benzer ya da farklı isimler altında da olsa içerik, derslerin amaçları ve kazanımları bakımından benzerlik gösterdiği söylenebilir.

When less expected problems become critical: first-year teaching in early childhood classes

ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to explore preservice early childhood education (ECE) teachers’ expectations and concerns before they started their careers and the challenges they faced in the first year. Sixteen preservice ECE teachers from the same teacher education programme in Turkey were interviewed about their expectations for their first year before their graduation. Then, they were interviewed at the end of the first and the second semesters about their experiences and difficulties of teaching in public schools, and the positive aspects of their work. Although participants were aware of many difficulties in public schools, some of the challenges they faced in disadvantaged school settings, such as infrastructural inadequacies, non-curricular tasks, and material shortages, were beyond their initial anticipation and not in line with their teacher education programme experiences. Teacher education programmes should provide pre-service teachers with experiences in disadvantaged school settings to be better prepared.

Intercultural citizenship and pre-service teacher education

Abstract This article explores the concept of intercultural citizenship and the significance of involving culturally sensitive issues in English language teaching and teacher education curriculum to train future global citizens. Before exploring ways to implement intercultural citizenship education from K-12 to university level, it is necessary to emphasize the need to integrate “intercultural citizenship education” into teacher education programs. In other words, English language teachers should become intercultural citizens themselves so that they can help their students to become intercultural citizens. In this paper, we emphasize the importance of training interculturally sensitive future teachers of English. In this respect, we report the findings of studies on intercultural telecollaboration projects involving cultural exchange between students in pre-/in-service teacher education programs in Turkey and abroad. We also suggest ways of increasing these intercultural citizenship courses and modules in training teachers to gain intercultural communicative competence and intercultural citizenship skills.

Comparing English language teacher education programs in Turkey and Finland

The quality and qualifications of teachers reflect the quality of education and the success of students accordingly, and particular attention needs to be given to pre-service teacher training as it is the primary step towards professionalization. Keeping this point in mind, English language teacher education programs (ELTEPs) seem to be a worthwhile research area. There is an increasing number of studies addressing ELTEPs in Turkey. Yet, comparative data on Turkey’s ELTEPs and those of other countries remain relatively limited. Reasoning from the mentioned reasons, the study aims to analyze ELTEPs in Finland and Turkey based on five criteria; student selection, curriculum, practicum hours, graduation prerequisites and recruitment of teachers. Comparative in essence, the data were composed of documents indicating ELTEPs in both countries. For this qualitative research, basically, document analysis and content analysis were applied. As for the findings, one can count student selection, pre-service teaching practice and recruitment of teachers different from each other. More significantly, teachers in Finland are highly respected, trusted and have a high degree of autonomy in their work from the start of their profession. In the light of such comparative studies, Turkey needs to establish its unique model and enhance the quality of teacher education by taking the strengths of ELTEPs in different countries.

Relationships between university instructors’ and preservice teachers’ content knowledge

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between instructors’ common content knowledge, knowledge of instructional tasks, and knowledge of student errors and preservice teachers’ common content knowledge and knowledge of instructional tasks in gymnastics, soccer, and volleyball. Participants were 23 university instructors and 819 preservice teachers enrolled in 9 physical education teacher education programs in Turkey. Common content knowledge and knowledge of student errors were measured using validated gymnastics, soccer, and volleyball knowledge tests. Knowledge of instructional tasks was measured by content maps and assessed using a specialized content knowledge index for each sport. A Spearman's rank correlation coefficient was used to measure the degree of relationships. There were significant positive relationships between instructors’ and preservice teachers’ common content knowledge levels of gymnastics ( r = 0.82, p < 0.01), soccer ( r = 0.94, p < 0.01), and volleyball ( r = 0.85, p < 0.01) and instructors’ knowledge of student errors and preservice teachers’ common content knowledge levels of gymnastics ( r = 0.87, p < 0.01), soccer ( r = 0.94, p < 0.01), and volleyball ( r = 0.93, p < 0.01). A significant positive relationship between instructors’ knowledge of student errors and preservice teachers’ gymnastics knowledge of instructional tasks was found ( r = 0.77, p < 0.05). There was no statistically significant correlation between instructors’ and preservice teachers’ knowledge of instructional tasks. Physical education teacher education and professional development programs should focus on increasing instructors’ and preservice teachers’ knowledge of student errors and knowledge of instructional tasks.

Attrition of Oral Communicative Ability among English Language Graduates in Turkey

This study explored the relationship between the period of Turkish EFL (English as a Foreign Language) graduates’ not using English as well as their ages with the attrition of their oral communicative ability. The study also indicated the language maintenance strategies the Turkish EFL graduates pursue to prevent the attrition of their oral communicative ability. To investigate the issues, the present study used a quantitative design and the convenience sampling. The participants included 153 Turkish graduates majoring in English fields. A test of oral communicative ability as well as a checklist including 20 ‘Language Maintenance Strategies’ were used to collect the required data. The results showed that the longer the period of language non-use, the more likely the attrition of oral communicative abilities of Turkish EFL graduates will occur. As for the language maintenance strategies, the item ‘watching movies with its corresponding subtitle in English’ was the most frequent, followed by ‘listening to English songs’, whereas ‘speaking in English with Turkish friends’ was the least frequent one, and this was followed by ‘speaking in English with foreigners’. The study highly recommends enhancing the conditions and quality of the EFL teacher education programs in Turkey.

Okul Öncesi ve Sınıf Öğretmenliği Lisans Programlarının Çocuğun Bütünsel Gelişimi Açısından Değerlendirilmesi

Gelişimsel olarak aynı dönemde bulunan ve örtüşen yaş gruplarındaki çocuklara öğretmenlik yapan okul öncesi ve sınıf öğretmenlerinin ortak mesleki temel yeterlikler ile birlikte birbirini tamamlayan mesleki donanımlara sahip olmaları beklenir. Bu çalışma, erken çocukluk dönemi çocukları ile çalışacak olan okul öncesi ve sınıf öğretmeni adaylarının, çocukların farklılıklardan doğan potansiyellerini fark edip ihtiyaçlarını karşılayabilmeye yönelik muhtemel yeterliklerini, 2018-2019 öğretim yılında uygulamaya konulan yükseköğretim öğretmenlik programları ekseninde incelemiştir. Bu inceleme sürecinde, çocukların çok yönlü ihtiyaçlarını karşılamayı önceleyen bütünsel çocuk yaklaşımları rehber olarak kullanılmıştır. Araştırma sonucunda, iki programın çocuğu tanıma ve çocuğun çok yönlü ihtiyaçlarını karşılama alanlarında farklılaştığı ve gelişimsel olarak aynı dönemde olan çocuklara hitap ediyor olmalarına rağmen, bu benzerliğin ders içeriklerine yansımadığı sonuçlarına ulaşılmıştır. Bu durum ışığında lisans öğretmen yetiştirme programları için önerilerde bulunulmuştur.

Views of Prospective Teachers and Supervisors on a Practicum Program: A Case Study

Practicing what has been learned throughout the teacher education programs in Turkey is accepted as the end point of the preservice teaching career. This period of practice teaching serves as the time to implement theory into practice under the supervision of faculty members. In this study, the major purpose was to investigate the views of supervisors and preservice teachers regarding the practice teaching program which was redesigned by the department academics to overcome some limitations of the current one. As a second purpose, the commonalities and differences between the self-reflections of preservice teachers and feedback provided by the supervisors on a specific practice teaching session in the final term were also investigated. To gather data, six preservice teachers majoring in language teaching and two faculty members as supervisors were assigned to respond to two different written guidelines provided with these purposes. Written responses were analyzed through content analysis and open-coding. Results showed that both preservice teachers and supervisors think that redesigned program has many strengths such as time allocated to practice and feedback sessions. However, they also believe that, active practice teaching only in the final year is the weakness of this new program. The analysis of the written documents after the practice teaching of prospective teachers showed that prospective teachers gained a great reflective perspective throughout their education. And with this ability, they reflected on many common issues regarding their strengths and weaknesses with their supervisors. There are also some differences in their reflections and feedback from supervisors about the use of materials, planning and use of methods. This study has specific implications for language teacher education programs and teacher trainers.

EFL Teachers’ Writing Assessment Literacy, Beliefs, and Training Needs in the Context of Turkey

Teachers’ assessment literacy and beliefs contribute to encouraging or undermining students’ learning; therefore, investigating such literacy to fulfill the teachers’ training needs is essential. This quantitative survey study investigated the current level of 152 English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers’ writing assessment literacy (WAL) in Turkey and identified their training needs in this area by means of a questionnaire. Further, this research explored the teachers’ beliefs about different writing assessment methods, general assessment issues in writing classrooms and then scoring accuracy in writing assessment. Although 80.9% of the teachers stated that they had already received prior training in WAL, a vast majority of the participants (over 90%) stated they need to receive training in all the investigated WAL areas. The training need areas which stood on the highest six ranks included “Using pre-designed integrated writing tasks”, “Designing integrated writing tasks”, “Giving feedback to students based on information from tests/assessment”, “Designing good writing tasks/tests”, “Using the scoring rubrics”, “Designing the scoring rubrics”, “Using self-assessment”, “Using peer-assessment”, and “Using assessment portfolio”. The detailed findings regarding the teachers’ beliefs in the above-mentioned issues are explained and discussed in the paper. To improve the situation, the shortcomings in the language teacher education programs in Turkey should be addressed.

The views of ELT student-teachers on initial teacher education programme in Turkey through EPLTE

The views of ELT student-teachers on initial teacher education programme in Turkey through EPLTE

A corpus linguistic investigation into online peer feedback practices in CALL teacher education

AbstractThis study investigates the online peer feedback practices of teacher trainees who are engaged in designing CALL materials. The participants are 111 pre-service English language teachers enrolled in a teacher education programme in Turkey, who post the materials they produce to an online course blog and then evaluate each other’s materials. The data come from the compilation of blog posts produced to provide online peer feedback, forming the Corpus of Online Peer Feedback in Teaching. The data are analysed using corpus linguistics, drawing on frequency, collocation, concordance, and keyword analyses. Our findings show that the participants highlight particular features of CALL materials such as student-centeredness, learner interest, and visual aspects by using constructive peer feedback with hedged evaluations, which brings data-based evidence for their knowledge on and beliefs about CALL materials. This research makes a methodological contribution to the study of online data in the field of language teacher education by employing the analytical lense of corpus linguistics. More importantly, the findings reveal that such an analytic approach can bring new insights into understanding the technological and pedagogical knowledge and beliefs of teachers in relation to language teaching materials design and development. The implications of the findings for research on CALL teacher education as well as on feedback and reflection practices are discussed.

A Comparative Analysis of English Language Teacher Education Programs in Turkey and Malaysia

This paper reports on findings from a comparative study that attempted to identify the differences and similarities between the English Language Teacher Education Programs employed in Turkey and Malaysia. Employing a qualitative case study research design, a document analysis method was chosen to compare the programs in terms of several points. To this end, information related to each program was gathered from the relevant webpages of the programs and then subjected to content analysis. The analysis of the data revealed that the ELTEPs differ from each other in two main aspects, i.e. course-related and non-course related. In terms of course-related aspects, the programs vary across course contents, total credits, types of courses, with the Malaysian ELTEP having non-secular courses in the curriculum. Concerning non-course-related issues, it has emerged that differences lie in the length of the programs, the school types student-teachers can be appointed to after graduation, overseas experiences, length of field experience and career prospects. Finally, drawing on the differences and similarities between the two programs, suggestions are made to improve the programs by bearing in mind the strong sides of each program.

Blended learning at pre-service teacher education in Turkey: A systematic review

The literature shows an increase in blended learning implementations (N = 74) at faculties of education in Turkey whereas pre-service and in-service teachers’ ICT competencies have been identified as one of the areas where they are in need of professional development. This systematic review was conducted to find out the impact of blended learning on academic achievement and attitudes at teacher education programs in Turkey. 21 articles and 10 theses complying with all pre-determined criteria (i.e., studies having quantitative research design or at least a quantitative aspect conducted at pre-service teacher education programs) included within the scope of this review. With regard to academic achievement, it was synthesized that majority of the studies confirmed its positive impact on attaining course outcomes. Likewise, blended learning environment was revealed to contribute pre-service teachers to develop positive attitudes towards the courses. It was also concluded that face-to-face aspect of the courses was favoured considerably as it enhanced social interaction between peers and teachers. Other benefits of blended learning were listed as providing various materials, receiving prompt feedback, and tracking progress. Slow internet access, connection failure and anxiety in some pre-service teachers on using ICT were reported as obstacles. Regarding the positive results of blended learning and the significance of ICT integration, pre-service teacher education curricula are suggested to be reconstructed by infusing ICT into entire program through blended learning rather than delivering isolated ICT courses which may thus serve for prospective teachers as catalysts to integrate the use of ICT in their own teaching.

An Analysis of Music Courses Offered in the Primary School Teacher Education Programs in Turkey

The aim of this study was to analyze music courses applied within the scope of compulsory courses in the primary school teacher training model in Turkey. Being qualitative in nature, the current study utilized document analysis method. Towards the stated aim, four approaches were discussed. The first one is related to the titles of the music courses stipulated in the primary school teachers training process and the credits/hours allocated for the music courses during the university schooling period in Turkey since 1974. The second one covers the preparation and general quality of the music course standards applied up to now. The third one is related to music course standards and appearance of these standards in the current teaching program, and the last one is related to the analysis of “music and “music teaching curriculum framework” in terms of the expected behavior stated in the music teaching programs. In program analysis, three approaches were applied: Designed program analysis, conducted program analysis, and actualized program analysis.

English

In this study, general culture and general education courses within the scope of knowledge categories in undergraduate teacher education programs in Turkey and the USA are comparatively analyzed. The study is a comparative education study and uses a descriptive model. In the study, the general culture - general education courses taught in the elementary teacher education curriculum at the education faculties of Gazi, Ankara, Hacettepe, Anadolu and Marmara Universities in Turkey and Central Florida, Delaware, Utah State and Indiana Universities in the USA were examined. In the study, the document review method was used and the data were analyzed through the document analysis technique. The results of the study reveal that the general culture courses that are compulsory in Turkey were determined by The Council of Higher Education (YOK) and they are applied in all of the undergraduate programs at education faculties. Yet, there are no explanations about what criteria are taken into consideration while determining these nine compulsory general culture courses. While YOK puts emphasis on a teacher candidate being trained in a sophisticated manner, the results of the study ascertain that these compulsory courses within undergraduate teacher education programs are not diverse enough to serve the intended purposes. On the other hand, some universities suggest some elective general culture courses within knowledge categories; however, some of these are professional teaching knowledge and major courses. The compulsory courses within the category of general education in the USA are determined by the universities themselves whereas this is done centrally by The Council of Higher Education (YOK) in Turkey, and the compulsory courses of each university vary in terms of content and number. However, the elective courses are grouped under certain themes and these themes are related to certain disciplines. It is compulsory for students to elect certain amounts of courses within each theme. This blocks electing similar courses under the same themes and directs the students to elect different courses. Key words: Higher education, teacher education programs, elementary teacher education curriculum, general culture, general culture courses, general education, general education models.

Turkish Pre-service Teachers’ Reflective Practices in Teaching English to Young Learners

The course 'Teaching English to Young Learners' is the first stage where pre-service teachers are introduced to a child's world, developmental characteristics, needs, interests as well as teaching and learning techniques for these learners in English language teaching pre-service teacher education programmes in Turkey. This action research study identifies the gap that pre-service teachers experience between the theoretical considerations and realities of teaching, and the problems they face in this course. It provides the opportunity for monitoring and evaluating themselves in a pre-service teacher education programme in Turkey. Hence, this piece of research aims to promote reflective practice at the preservice level in teaching English to young learners through video recorded microteaching sessions, reflective journals, and lesson plans of pre-service teachers. The study reports on the results by highlighting the contribution of these reflective tools to pre-service teachers' professional development, self- and peer- reflections and the preparedness to teach English to young learners. Finally, insights and recommendations concerning teacher educators and pre-service programmes are offered to promote reflective practice and make methodology courses more beneficial before pre-service teachers embark on their practicum experience.

Connection between the theory and practice in pre-service teacher education programs in turkey

Connection between the theory and practice in pre-service teacher education programs in turkey

The examination of courses in the teacher education programs in terms of multicultural education

Purpose – The aim of this study is to examine the pedagogy courses of teacher education programs implemented in two universities in Turkey and the USA in terms of multicultural education. The teaching practices in the pedagogy courses of teacher education programs in the USA might have multicultural education principles, and they could be models for teacher educators in Turkey. In addition, this study can contribute to the cross-cultural studies on teacher education between the USA and Turkey. Design/methodology/approach – Ten teacher educators participated in the study; all of them had experience in teaching pedagogy courses in the early childhood teacher education program. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews. The open-ended questions were related to objectives, content, teaching methods and activities. Assessment procedures and methods were also asked from the participants to evaluate their teaching experiences in terms of multicultural education. Thematic analysis was used to examine data of the study. Findings – The results of the study revealed that there were differences between the objectives, content, teaching process and assessment methods of the courses in the teacher education programs in Turkey and the USA in terms of multicultural education. The results of this study revealed that the objectives, content, teaching process and assessment methods planned and implemented by teacher educators in the USA are more multicultural and multiethnic when compared with their counterparts in Turkey. Originality/value – This study can contribute to the cross-cultural studies on teacher education between the USA and Turkey.