Turkish Pre-service Teachers Research Articles

Descriptive Content Analysis of Digital Literacy Studies in Education in Türkiye

The aim of this study is the descriptive content analysis of digital literacy studies carried out in the field of education in Türkiye between the years 2006-2021.In this research, the descriptive content analysis method, which is one of the content analysis types, was used. A total of 74 studies were examined within the scope of the study. The studies were coded using the Dedoose program according to specific themes. When the findings are examined, there has been an increase in the number of digital literacy studies after 2018. It has been determined that most of the studies consist of articles however quantitative research designs are preferred in studies. We have found that screening and relational screening methods are preferred in research more than other methods. It is seen that the studies carried out in the field of teacher training are carried out more frequently. The number of studies conducted with pre-service teachers, especially Social Studies and Turkish pre-service teachers, is higher. Sample selections in studies are generally determined by a convenient sampling method. It is seen that a single data collection tool was mainly used in the studies, and the sample size consisted of 201-500 participants. Based on the findings, suggestions were made for further research.

The Relationship Between the Emotional Literacy Skills and Communication Skills of Pre-Service Turkish Teachers

The aim of the current study is to determine the relationship between the emotional literacy skills and communication skills of the pre-service Turkish teachers. The population of the study employing the relational survev model based on discriptive model, is comprised of 249 pre-service teachers attending the Department of Turkish Teaching in Mugla Sitki Kocman University while the sample is comprised of 196 pre-service teachers who could be reached from the population without any sampling. As the data collection tools, a personal information form, the “Emotional Literacy Skills Scale (ELSS)” and the “Communication Skills Evaluation Scale” were used. In order to determine the emotional literacy and communication skills of the pre-service teachers, t-test was used in binary comparisons, and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used for comparisons having more than two dimensions. Pearson correlation coefficient was calculated to determine the relationship between the levels of emotional literacy skills and communication skills of the pre-service teachers. In the analysis of the collected data, descriptive statistics such as arithmetic means and standard deviations were used. As a result of the study, it was concluded that the levels of the emotional literacy skills and communication skills of the pre-service Turkish teachers are high. The pre-service teachers’ emotional literacy skills and communication skills were found to be varying significantly depending on gender in favour of the female pre-service teachers, yet, they were found to be not varying significantly depending on grade level. It was also found that with the increasing level of emotional literacy skills, the pre-service teachers’ level of communication skills also increased and that there is a positive, medium and significant correlation between their emotional literacy skills and communication skills.

Entrepreneurship in Preschool Education: Turkish Preservice Teachers’ Entrepreneurship Features, Comparison with their Lecturers’ Views and Suggestions for Development

Learning skills and developing competencies at early ages augment its benefits later in life, and therefore, can be effective in the long run. Starting from this point, the paper argues the need for and importance of enterprise education in preschool education. The paper aims to explore preservice preschool teachers’ entrepreneurship features and make suggestions for implementing enterprise education in teacher education programmes. “The Entrepreneurship for Teacher Candidates Scale” was employed with 184 preservice preschool teachers, followed by interviews with four of their lecturers. Descriptive statistics and two-way ANOVA was used to analyse the quantitative data, and thematic analysis was used for the qualitative data. Overall, the results showed that preservice preschool teachers’ perception of their level of entrepreneurship features was high, which was not agreed by lecturers except for self-confidence. The results of two-way ANOVA did not indicate any significant difference (p>.05) for any of the factors investigated (i.e., gender, year of study, taking entrepreneurship courses previously, and/or having an entrepreneur in the family). This means that participants had similar scores and have similar levels of entrepreneurship features. Having no impact of the year of study and entrepreneurship courses attended previously on participants’ entrepreneurial features may suggest the revision of preschool teacher education programmes and the content development targeting such features. Finally, practice-based, active, and collaborative teaching is suggested rather than theory-based teaching for enterprise education in preschool teacher education programmes. Teacher-academics meetings, seminars and workshops about enterprise education are suggested for professional development of preschool teachers.

The Analysis of the Views of Turkish Pre-service Teachers on Classroom Management Based on Three Movies: The Chaos Class (Hababam Sınıfı), Dangerous Mind and Dead Poets Society 1990

Classroom management is a recurrent topic in the context of teacher education in online, face-to-face and hybrid educational context. The skills of classroom management are one of the most considerable issues of the pre-service teachers. Thus, the teacher educators should make them equip with the classroom management skills. This study focuses on the pre-service teachers’ views on analyzing three movies as The Chaos Class (Hababam Sınıfı), Dangerous Mind and Dead Poets Society according to the freshmen and sophomore students’ view at Faculty of Education in a compulsory course of ‘Classroom Management’. The findings showed that ‘lesson planning’ is mostly identified ones. Moreover, it is clear that Mahmut, Luoanna and John all are role models for the pre-service teachers in terms of their attitudes towards the students and their profession. This study implies that the pre-service teachers need comprehensible and practical knowledge to model for themselves.

A Research about the opinions of pre-service Turkish teachers on the online education process

The Covid-19 virus, which emerged in Wuhan at the end of 2019, spread to the whole world in a short time, and became a pandemic. As a result of the pandemic, infected people were put in the quarantine process, and some people voluntarily got in quarantine. And the online operation is provided in many fields, such as education. This research, designed with the phenomenology method, was conducted to determine the opinions of 72 students (47 Females, 25 Males) about the online education process. The research data consisted of the answers given to the semi-structured interview form of 72 students. The collected data were analyzed as frequencies and percentages by creating codes and themes through content analysis According to the findings obtained from the data, 47% of the pre-service teachers were able to get efficiency from the course online, while 33% said that they could not get efficiency. 20% of the pre-service teachers stated that they did not entirely get efficiency. 80% of the pre-service teachers stated that they believed the lessons would be more productive if it held face-to-face. Pre-service teachers also listed problems such as lack of communication, inability to provide self-regulation and discipline, and internet connection problems as the supreme disadvantages of online education. The study concluded that pre-service teachers preferred face-to-face education due to the limitations of online education (lack of communication and interaction, lack of self-regulation and motivation, lack of technology such as the internet and computer, and so on).

Turkish Pre-service Teachers' Understandings of War, Peace, and Peace Education

Drawing from Nel Noddings’ (2012) framework of peace education and her explanations of evolutionary psychology, this phenomenological research presents an interview study on 43 future-teachers’ understandings of war, peace, and education. Our study focuses on the psychological, social, and educational factors that support the development of future-teachers’ understandings of war and violence, and the contributions of peace education across educational settings. We discuss themes drawn from the beliefs and experiences of the participants including the relationships of war, violence, and peace to understandings and embodiments of militarization, patriotism, gender, and education. The findings show that the lack of peace discourses in schools and the patriarchal Turkish social structure affected participants' understanding of peace. Therefore, participants' definitions of peace and war contained numerous social issues and political crises.

Investigating Turkish Pre-service English Language Teachers’ Virtual Teaching Dispositions

The current study sought to investigate Turkish pre-service English language (EL) teachers’ virtual teaching dispositions (i.e., social, pedagogical, expert/cognitive, and virtual/technical presences) and the extent they are related to gender, age, and teaching status variables. The participants were 84 pre-service EL teachers drawn from a Turkish university, and data were collected through Welch and Napoleon’s (2014) virtual teaching disposition scale (VTDS). The results indicated a significant difference between the scores of male and female pre-service EL teachers in both social and virtual/technical presences. However, the participants did not exhibit a significant difference between pedagogical and expert/cognitive presences. Consequently, a one-way ANOVA was run to explore the role of the age variable on the participants’ virtual teaching disposition, with the results revealing a significant difference for only the pedagogical presence and expert/cognitive presence among the participants, whose ages ranged from 18 to 20, those aged 20-23, and those over the age of 24. Finally, the results revealed a significant difference between the scores in the expert/cognitive presence of the participants who teach English and those who do not. However, no significant difference was identified between the mean scores of the two groups in social presence, virtual/technical presence, or expert/cognitive presence.

Teacher Mindset and Grit: How do They Change by Teacher Training, Gender, and Subject Taught?

This study explored the interplay between teacher mindsets and grit levels of Turkish pre-service teachers taking their year of study into account (i.e., first-year vs the fourth year), gender, and the subject taught in a Turkish higher education setting. Student teachers from various programmes at a public university in Turkey participated in the study (N = 321). The participants completed the Teacher Mindset Scale and Grit Scale online after receiving the approval of the university’s ethics committee and signing the consent forms. The correlations between the components of teacher mindset and grit demonstrated that as growth teacher mindset scores increased, and effort scores also increased significantly. Furthermore, as fixed teacher mindset scores increased, interest scores decreased. First-year pre-service teachers had significantly higher fixed teacher mindset scores than the fourth year. In terms of grit, fourth-year pre-service teachers showed greater effort than the first year. There was no difference between female and male pre-service teachers regarding fixed teacher mindset. However, female pre-service teachers scored significantly higher on growth teacher mindset, interest, and effort scales. As for the subject taught, the Mathematics Education programme showed higher levels of fixed teacher mindset and the English Language Teaching programme showed lower levels of grit. Practical implications of our findings and limitations of the study are shared accordingly.

Öğretmen Mesleki Kimliğini Anlamak: İngilizce Öğretmen Adaylarının Görüşleri

The present qualitative case study aimed to explore Turkish pre-service English language teachers’ perspectives on the elements of teacher professional identity and their understandings of their own professional identity development during practice teaching. An in-depth analysis of interviews and journal entries showed that it was a continuous process for pre-service teachers to consolidate language-related, personal, and pedagogical elements of their teacher professional identities. The findings revealed that pre-service teachers’ identities are grounded on language proficiency, disciplinary and context-relative skills, and awareness about themselves and students. For pre-service teachers, being an English language teacher meant encompassing language-focused, teacher-focused, and learner-focused skills and characteristics. It was further found that there was a transition from individual to institutional perspectives for pre-service teachers in understanding their professional identity development. Their initial comments on their own teacher identities mostly elaborated on their characteristics and role models whereas their final remarks were on the teacher authority and responsibilities. This study suggests that understanding pre-service teacher identities would guide necessary actions in initial teacher education.

The Role of Self-Efficacy and Educational Beliefs in Democratic Values: The Case of Turkish Pre-Service Teachers

The purpose of this study is to examine the role of self-efficacy and educational beliefs in relation to democratic values, while focusing on Turkish pre-service teachers. 382 pre-service teachers from a public university in Turkey have voluntarily participated in this study and responded to a series of research instruments provided by the Educational Belief, Teacher Sense of Self-Efficacy and Democratic Values Scales. The results revealed that higher self-efficacy belief is positively associated with higher democratic values among pre-service teachers who endorse contemporary philosophical approaches to education. Keywords: higher education, democracy, philosophy of education, teacher education

Early childhood preservice teachers' perceptions about art activities: A cross-cultural study

This study aims at identifying American and Turkish early childhood preservice teachers’ perceptions of the purpose of art activities in early childhood education and the relationships between rankings of the participants made through a self-reported importance order survey. A total of 270 preservice teachers studying at the University of North Texas and Kilis 7 Aralık University participated in the study. “Art activities evaluation sheet” was used to collect data. The data were analyzed using median values, Man Whitney U Test, and Kruskal-Wallis H test. The obtained results showed that there are both some similarities and differences in the American and Turkish preservice teachers’ perceptions of the purpose of art activities. Both American and Turkish early childhood preservice teachers gave the highest priority to the same item “Art activities improve creativity”. However, some items were valued differently by American and Turkish preservice teachers. No gender-related differences were observed in the rank orders of both American and Turkish preservice teachers.

Service-based learning experiences of pre-service Turkish teachers: Language teaching to Syrian refugees

With this study we aimed at determining the service-learning experiences of pre-service Turkish language teachers in teaching Turkish to Syrian refugee students. The Community Service Practices course plays an important role in the integration of pre service teachers in the society. A phenomenological design was used in the study in which we investigated the opinions of pre service teachers about the service-learning processes. The study was conducted with 23 pre-service Turkish language teachers in Kilis 7 Aralık University. The community service practice was realised in a state school where Syrian secondary school students receive education. Interviews were conducted to collect data from the participants, and the content analysis method was used to analyse the data obtained from the interviews. Themes were formed by classifying and interpreting the data. In the study, the experiences of pre-service teachers with students, the teaching process, teaching environment, students, and service-based learning process were analysed. The results indicate that pre-service teachers developed their awareness, took social responsibility, attained occupational experience, and improved their communication with the refugees during the Community Service Practices course. Considering the results obtained it could be argued that service-learning practices have significant benefits for pre-service teachers and students.

Metin Değiştirimi Bağlamında Türkçe Öğretmeni Adaylarının Yeniden Yazma Becerilerinin Değerlendirilmesi

The purpose of this study is to evaluate rewriting skills of preservice Turkish teachers in the context of text transformation. The participants of the study consists of 223 preservice teachers attending the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th academic years of the Turkish Language Education Branch of the Department of Turkish and Social Sciences Education in a State University. The students were asked to rewrite two different types of texts, entitled "Text 1" (poor one) and "Text 2" (good one). The data derived from the student texts were analyzed data analysis techniques. In this context, 2 different forms developed by the researchers were used to determine which rewriting techniques were used and to what extent and at which level. 2 different rubric were also utilized by the researcher in order to describe the quality of rewriting techniques, and which revisions were made at word, sentence, paragraph and text levels. According to some results obtained from the research, preservice Turkish teacher made more changes on Text 1. The students generally got 1, 2 and 3 points in all Accuracy, Clarity, Consistency, and Organization dimensions while rewriting the Text 1, when they rewrote Text 2, they usually scored (4) and (5). This has been interpreted as the students' rewritten texts are largely dependent on the original texts.

Critical Thinking Skills and Dispositions of Turkish Pre-service Teachers: A Systematic Review of Research

Critical Thinking Skills and Dispositions of Turkish Pre-service Teachers: A Systematic Review of Research

Implementation of Education for Sustainability in Turkish Pre-Service Teachers’ Practicum

In this study, we explored early childhood education pre-service teachers’ (ECEPTs’) understanding and pedagogical application of education for sustainability (EfS) by critically analyzing EfS implementation during ECEPTs’ practicum. The study examined the challenges and critical aspects of EfS practices in the practicum, and the relationships among mentor teachers, academic mentors, and ECEPTs. A multiple case study methodology was employed involving two purposefully distinct universities with 14 participant students across the two university case study sites. Initially, 22 practicum activity plans for each ECEPT were examined via content analysis; then, the students were individually interviewed about the plans and their implications. Subsequent analysis indicated negligible differences between the two universities’ student activity plans regarding quality (aspects of EfS) and quantity (frequency of EfS activities). The students self-reflected about their EfS understandings and implementation. Additionally, they remarked that academic mentors’ and mentor teachers’ stances influenced them either positively or negatively during their workplace-based learning. They also pointed to the absence of a whole-institution approach, not only at the practicum school but also at the university level.

A Qualitative Exploration into Beliefs of Pre-service EFL Teachers about School Experience

This qualitative study aims to explore the beliefs of Turkish pre-service EFL teachers about their school experiences, and any change in their beliefs during this experience with a view to identifying their professional development as prospective teachers. For this purpose, 10 Turkish pre-service EFL teachers at a state university in central Turkey reflected their experiences for one semester in the process of their teaching practice period for 14 weeks. The results reveal that pre-service teachers hold different beliefs about overall approaches to teaching and learning a foreign language, language use in the classroom, classroom management and teaching grammar. The results also indicate change in their beliefs related to questioning selves as teachers, teaching profession in general, use of technology in the classroom, using teaching techniques, and classroom management. Findings of this study offer suggestions for teacher education programs, particularly for the school experience component.

The Achievement Goals of Pre-Service Turkish Teachers

Başarı; bir işten iyi ve yararlı sonuçlar elde etmektir. Başarı istendiktir, elde edilmesi için bireyin çabası gerekmektedir. Bireylerdeki başarı yönelimlerini açıklığa kavuşturmak amacıyla kuramsallaştırılan 2x2 başarı yönelimleri kuramı; öğrenme-yaklaşma, öğrenme-kaçınma, performans-yaklaşma ve performans-kaçınma alt boyutlarından oluşmaktadır. Bu çalışmanın amacı Türkçe öğretmeni adaylarının başarı yönelimlerine ilişkin görüşlerinin belirlenmesidir. Çalışma nitel araştırma türünde, olgubilimsel desende gerçekleştirilmiştir. Çalışma grubunu 2018-2019 eğitim ve öğretim yılında Fırat Üniversitesi Eğitim Fakültesi Türkçe Öğretmenliği Programında öğrenim gören Türkçe öğretmeni adayları oluşturmaktadır. Çalışmanın etik kurul izni; Fırat Üniversitesi Rektörlüğü Sosyal ve Beşeri Bilimler Araştırmaları Etik Kurulundan, 31.12.2018, 303054 sayılı belge ile alınmıştır. Örnekleme yöntemi olarak katılımcıların Türkçe öğretmeni adayı olmaları, 4. sınıf olmaları ve kadın erkek eşitliğinin sağlanması koşullarına bağlı olarak amaçlı örnekleme türlerinden tipik durum örnekleme yöntemi uygulanmıştır. Çalışma grubu 6 kadın 6 erkek toplamda 12 kişiyle oluşturulmuştur. Çalışmada 10 sorulu bir görüşme protokolü, veri toplama aracı olarak kullanılmıştır. Yarı yapılandırılmış görüşmelerden elde edilen görüşler bilgisayar ortamında yazılı hâle getirilerek içerik ve betimsel analize tabi tutulmuştur. Kodlama sürecinde başlangıç kodlamaya ek olarak odak kodlama işlemi de gerçekleştirilmiştir. Benzer cevaplar bir araya getirilerek cevapların toplam cevaplar içerisindeki frekansları tablolaştırılmıştır. Bulgular tabloların altında yorumlanmıştır. Katılımcı görüşlerinin değerlendirilmesi sonucunda katılımcıların başarı yönelimlerinden baskın olarak öğrenme-yaklaşma yönelimine sahip oldukları söylenebilir.

The Impact of the Erasmus Student Mobility on Turkish Pre-service EFL Teachers: Contributions and Challenges of the Experience

In today’s globalized world, the dynamics of education are changing each day. As a result of this situation, the Erasmus exchange program has made it easier for Turkish students to have study abroad experience. The primary goal of this study was to investigate the perceptions of Turkish prospective EFL teachers regarding the contributions of Erasmus exchange program to their academic, language, social, cultural, personal, and career development as well as the problems that they encountered before, during and after Erasmus mobility. The study was carried out with 37 Turkish prospective EFL teachers. Mixed methods design was adopted in the study. Data were collected via an online survey developed by Önen (2017) and semi-structured interview. The second part of the survey was analysed quantitatively and a qualitative analysis software called MAXQDA 2020 was used for the content analysis of semi-structured interview. Results revealed that the participants believed they benefited from Erasmus program mostly in terms of personal and cultural development. Their language development was mainly related to speaking skills and fluency. It was also found that participants encountered many problems in the Erasmus process. They believed that “pre-Erasmus” was the most problematic process. While a lack of information and paper work were the main problems encountered before the Erasmus, “during the Erasmus process” mainly academic and financial problems were encountered. Some participants experienced “post-Erasmus syndrome” after the Erasmus mobility. Findings are discussed in the light of related literature and suggestions for further research are presented.

A Scoping Review on Practicum of Turkish Pre-Service EFL Teachers during COVID-19

The practicum period is a crucial component of teacher education as it embodies the first phases into "real" teaching and thus provides a leap into professional transformation and growth on the side of pre-service teachers. Nevertheless, the COVID-19 pandemic jeopardized this period and placed the educational contexts at stake in providing that reality. Within this frame, the present study focuses on the research conducted on the practicum period of Turkish pre-service teachers of English during the pandemic. More specifically, the research question that the article addresses is “what is the nature of studies conducted about Turkish pre-service EFL teachers’ practicum period during the COVID-19 pandemic concerning their characteristics, methodologies and contributions to the field?” With the aim of answering the research question, the seven studies conducted in Turkey regarding the practicum during the pandemic were collected and analyzed as to their bibliographic features, methodological orientations, foci and context, with a scoping review methodology. This scoping review demonstrated both positive/beneficial and negative/challenging aspects of the pandemic period for the English language teacher education context of Turkey. The results of the present study displayed a wider lens in perceiving the English language teaching and teacher education settings during both such emergencies and transition from existing to 'new normal'.

Comparison of Pre-service Elementary Teachers’ Mathematical Knowledge in Teaching for Length Measurement: Turkey and the United States

This study investigates pre-service elementary teachers’ mathematical knowledge in teaching for length measurement. More specifically, this study compares the foundation and transformation knowledge of pre-service elementary teachers from Turkey and the United States. The current study examines similarities and differences between them by applying the codes of the Knowledge Quartet model with 40 pre-service teachers selected from Turkey and the United States. This study used a test assessing pre-service teachers’ mathematical knowledge in teaching about the students’ mistakes, difficulties, misconceptions, the reasons for them, and their strategies to overcome them related to the topic of length measurement. The findings indicated that while US pre-service teachers had more secure foundation knowledge in identifying the possible errors, Turkish pre-service teachers showed greater foundation knowledge in identifying the possible reasons for these errors. On the other hand, the pre-service teachers in both countries have similar transformation knowledge to suggest strategies to correct students’ errors. These findings might provide some insights about how pre-service teachers’ mathematical knowledge may be similar or different in different countries. Furthermore, these similarities and differences might help researchers and teacher educators emphasize the importance of the quality of teacher education programs.