eurasian journal of educational research e ğ i̇ t i̇

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EURASIAN JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH
E Ğ İ T İ M A R A Ş T I R M A L A R I
A Quarterly Peer-Reviewed Journal, Year: 13 Issue: 50/ 2013
Üç Ayda Bir Yayımlanan Hakemli Dergi, Yıl: 13 Sayı: 50 / 2013
FOUNDING EDITOR / Kurucu Editör
Veysel Sönmez, Hacettepe University, Ankara, TURKEY
EDITOR / Editörler
Şakir Çınkır, Ankara University, Ankara, TURKEY
CO- EDITORS
Şenel Poyrazlı, Penn State University, PA, USA
Ramazan Baştürk, Pamukkale University, Denizli, TURKEY
Ahmet Aypay, Eskişehir Osmangazi University, Eskişehir, TURKEY
INTERNATIONAL EDITORIAL BOARD / Uluslararası Editörler Kurulu
INTERNATIONAL EDITORIAL BOARD / Uluslararası Editörler Kurulu
Anita Pipere, Daugavpils University, LATVIA
Aslı Özgün Koca, Wayne State University, USA
Beatrice Adera, West Chester University,USA
Birgit Pepin, Sor-Trondelag Univ. College / NORWAY
Cem Birol, Near East University, Nicosia, TRNC
Danny Wyffels, KATHO University, Kortrijk, BELGIUM
David Bridges, Cambridge University /UK
Ekber Tomul, Mehmet Akif Ersoy University, Burdur TURKEY
Erdinç Duru, Pamukkale University, Denizli, TURKEY
Fatma Hazır Bıkmaz, Ankara University, TURKEY
Hasan Hüseyin Aksoy, Ankara University, Ankara, TURKEY
Iordanescu Eugen, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, ROMANIA
Joe O'Hara, Dublin City University / IRELAND
Sven Persson, Malmö University, Malmö, SWEDEN
Theo Wubbels, Univeristiy of Utrecht/ NETHERLAND
Úrsula Casanova, Arizona State University, USA
Yusif Mammadov, Azerbaijan State Pedagogy University, Baku, AZERBIJAN
SAHİBİ VE YAZI İŞLERİ MÜDÜRÜ / Publishing manager
Özer Daşcan
EDITORIAL OFFICE / Yayın Yönetim
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Printing Date / Basım Tarihi: 25.01.2013
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Yayın Türü: Yaygın Süreli Yayın
Cover Design / Kapak Tasarımı: Anı Yayıncılık
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The ideas published in the journal belong to the authors.
Dergide yayınlanan yazıların tüm sorumluluğu yazarlarına aittir
Eurasian Journal of Educational Research (ISSN 1302-597X) is a quarterely peer-reviewed journal published by Anı Yayıncılık
Eğitim Araştırmaları (ISSN 1302-597X) Anı Yayıncılık tarafından yılda dört kez yayımlanan hakemli bir dergidir.
© 2013 ANI Publishing. All rights reserved. © 2013 ANI Yayıncılık. Her hakkı saklıdır.
Eurasian Journal of Educational Research (EJER) is abstracted and indexed in;
Social Science Citation Index (SSCI),
Social Scisearch,
Journal Citation Reports/ Social Sciences Editon,
Higher Education Research Data Collection (HERDC),
Educational Research Abstracts (ERA),
SCOPUS database,
EBSCO Host database, and
ULAKBİM national index.
CONTENTS
REVIEWERS of the 50nd ISSUE
İçindekiler
50. Sayı Hakemleri
20th Century British Colonialism in Cyprus through
Education
İçim Özenli Özmatyatlı & Ali Efdal Özkul...............…1-20
Reviewers of 50th.Issue:
Belgian and Turkish Pre-service Primary School
Teachers’ Metaphoric Expressions about
Mathematics
Çiğdem Kılıç & Tuğba Yanpar Yelken................…21-42
Higher Officials’ Training Needs on Managerial
Competencies in Spanish Universities:
Preliminary Findings
Jesús Rodríguez Pomeda & Fernando Casani.......43-62
Nature of Interactions during Teacher-Student Writing Conferences, Revisiting the Potential Effects of
Self-Efficacy Beliefs
Ayşegül Bayraktar...................................................63-86
Metaphors for the Internet Used by Nursing
Students in Turkey: A Qualitative Research
Emine Şenyuva & Hülya Kaya.............................87-106
Pre-service Science and Technology Teachers’
Mental Images of Science Teaching
Nil Yıldız Duban...................................................107-126
Abdulkadir Maskan
Adnan Kan
Ali Balcı
Arif Altun
Baki Şahin
Cemal Yalçın
Esmahan Ağaoğlu
Göksu Gözen Çıtak
Gönül İçli
Hacı Bayram Kaçmazoğlu
Hasan Demirtaş
İsmail Demircioğlu
Kıymet Selvi
Kürşat Yenilmez
Mehmet Akif Erdoğru
Mehmet Arif Erözbaş
Mukaddes Erdem
Is My Social Studies Teacher Democratic?
Kasım Kıroğlu......................................................127-142
Orhan Karamustafaoğlu
The Crisis of the Sociology of Education and Its
Reflections in Turkey: On the Critique of
Functionalist and Eclecticist Pragmatic Tradition
Ali Esgın..............................................................143-162
Phyllis Underwood
National Standardization of the Occupational Field
Interest Inventory (OFII) for Turkish Culture
According to Age and Gender
Kaan Zülfikar Deniz.............................................163-184
The Relationship between the Perceptions of the
Fairness of the Learning Environment and the Level
of Alienation
Çağlar Çağlar......................................................185-206
A Study of the Epistemological Beliefs of Teacher
Candidates in Terms of Various Variables
Kemal Oğuz Er....................................................207-226
Parents’ Voluntary Contributions to Primary
Schools Which Are Not Directly Monetary
Hüseyin Yolcu.....................................................227-246
Grade Level and Creativity
Füsun G. Alacapınar...........................................227-246
Özlem Taçkıran
Ramazan Baştürk
Ruhi Sarpkaya
Selahattin Turan
Şenel Poyrazlı
Turan Akman Erkılıç
Türkan Argon
Yusuf Cerit
Zülbiye Toluk Uçar
Kaan Zülfikar Deniz
Eurasian Journal of Educational Research, Issue 50, Winter 2013, 1-20
20th Century British Colonialism in Cyprus
through Education
İçim Özenli ÖZMATYATLI
Ali Efdal ÖZKUL
Suggested Citation:
Ozmatyatli, I. O. & Ozkul, A. E. (2013). 20th Century British Colonialism in Cyprus
through Education. Egitim Arastirmalari-Eurasian Journal of Educational
Research, 50, 1-20.
Abstract
Problem Statement: The island of Cyprus, due to its strategic location, was
under the influence of many conquerors throughout the centuries.
Cultural traces of these captors have survived to the present day. This
long, turbulent history has had a profound effect on the Cypriot
educational system, with the most recent influence being the impact of the
British Administration during the 19th and 20th centuries.
Purpose of Study: This article attempts to reveal the influence and
consequences of British Colonial policies on education, focussing on
curriculum and its aims in the 20th century. The emphasis is more on the
opinion of the recipients of education concerning their experience with the
education system and their perception of its success or failure rather than
on the aims and goals as set by the administrators and educators.
Methods: This study encompasses a qualitative research approach to gain
in-depth data based on interviews of Turkish-Cypriots and GreekCypriots of different backgrounds who were students during the colonial
times. The data regarding issues of primary and secondary school
curriculum and its aims, nationalism and religion at schools, identity, and
ties between the two communities and their “motherlands” was recorded,
analysed thematically, and presented in detail.

This article is a summary of a chapter in the book called British Colonial Influence on Cypriot
Education written by Icım Ozenli Ozmatyatlı and published by Lap Lambert Academic
Publishing.

Corresponding author: Phd., Near East University, Department of History Teaching, North
Cyprus, Mersin 10 Turkey, [email protected]

Assoc.Prof.Dr., Near East University, Department of History Teaching, North Cyprus,
Mersin 10 Turkey, [email protected]
With thanks to Eftychia Kourempana for her help with the Greek-speaking portion of the
research
1
2
İçim Özenli Özmatyatlı & Ali Efdal Özkul
Findings and Results: By implementing sometimes extreme measures, the
British followed the tactic of “Divide and Rule” which led the two
communities to ethic division. The authors discern the trends of the British
Colonial policies towards the establishment of a more British society,
which was accomplished by influencing the educational and sociopolitical aspects of life on the island.
Conclusions: The British educational policies helped both Turkish and
Greek Cypriots to create ethno-nationalism, which inspired the
subsequent resistance of both communities. Although it is apparent that
Cypriots placed a high value on education, this development was confined
only within the context of being Greek or Turkish. Indeed, it would
appear that within a curricula context, for the most part, this served as a
forum in which all parties sought to construct national identities. The cost
remains to be seen.
Keywords: British colonialism in Cyprus, educational administration,
curriculum, identity
With the arrival of the British in Cyprus in 1878, the relatively poor and neglected
dominion of the Ottoman Empire was promptly assimilated into British
administrative structures; systems were overturned, constitutive challenges were
introduced to the political and religious authorities, and the process of colonization
began; this was a process that would deeply imprint on the diverse and multifarious
tapestry of Cypriot life to the present day. Certainly, the Cyprus conflict is bound up
in fractious socio-political issues of ethnic conflict, religious and national identities,
and Western dominance, as well as modern processes of secularization and
modernization, all of which will now be examined.
Cyprus was initially colonized by the ancient Greeks and subsequently
conquered by every ruling empire in the surrounding area up to 1571, when the
Ottoman Turks gained control. Since then, the Cypriot conflict has been an identitybased conflict that sits in the center of the binary divide between east and west. Put
simply, Cyprus was a unity, and the inhabitants, who had no real classification of
identity, were subjects, not citizens (Byrant, 2004, p.21). Dependence on the British,
imposed upon the Turkish community, was used to check Greek antagonism and
Hellenic nationalism as well as to guarantee the continuation of the Turkish Cypriot
support for the maintenance of colonial rule (Gazioğlu, 1997, p.13; Reddaway, 1986,
p.14-15). The central issue here is that the ethnic division and system of governance
created by the British colonial administration ultimately coerced individuals to
choose between certain aspects of their identity in order to adhere to the “official”
definition of their prescribed ethnicity, whether they truly identified with it or not.
One field that the British government would never entirely control was
education. Opposition was strong, especially because education in both communities
was a sacred rather than a secular practice (Byrant, 2004, p.124). Indeed, the British
could initially do very little in educational terms without consulting the archbishop
Eurasian Journal of Educational Research
3
and the mufti in charge of the priests and imams who were also teachers of Cypriot
village schools, at least in the first few years of British administration. While British
policy maintained and undoubtedly encouraged the religious division within
education, the divide became increasingly linked to ethnic nationalism. Furthermore,
the discourse of colonial Britain in dividing, ordering, and classifying the schools
actually helped create ethno-religious boundaries that “assisted and in turn was
supported by the emerging Greek and Turkish ethno-nationalisms and their
reifications and violence on the ground” (Constantinou, 2007, p.250). In other words,
the British occupation and the educational policies implemented actually served to
empower means of resistance from both bi-ethnic groups.
In an educational context, both Greek and Turkish Cypriots maintained that
schools were essential for their nationalist futures, not because the schools taught
nationalist histories but due to the way those histories were directed towards the
future of a patriotic life(Bryant, 2004, p.158). The role of policy and curricula in
Cyprus, particularly towards the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th
centuries, fuelled both groups’ nationalistic desires (Philippou, 2009, p.202). While
the British continually attempted to quell national feeling through limiting national
symbols and celebrations, particularly during the 1930s, the curriculum became “a
key forum wherein all parties (the colonial administration, Greek-Cypriot and
Turkish-Cypriot educational authorities) sought to construct national identities”
(Philippou, 2009, p.203). In 1935, aiming to suppress the rising nationalism, the
British government tried to set intercommunal standards concerning education. In
addition, Cypriot schools had to adapt to the British system, and world histories and
European literatures replaced Cypriot regional and nationalist histories and
literatures (Bryant, 2004, p.161).
The expansion of the west has inevitably resulted in the modernization of nonwestern societies (Said, 1978, p.205), but what is more important is the reaction of the
leaders of these societies, in particular the Islamic east. When Ataturk inaugurated
his revolutionary efforts to modernize the new Turkey, he created a society that was
“Muslim in its religion, heritage and customs but with a ruling elite determined to
make it modern, western and one with the west” (Huntington, 1996, p.74). Such
divisions in identity were a continual process and problem in Cyprus. According to
Berger (1969, p.130), when secularizing mechanisms take hold, there tends to be an
institutional separation of church and state. By instigating this crisis of modernity
and identity in Cyprus, the British occupation helped create deeper divisions and
educational segregation—not only within the Greek and Turkish-Cypriot ethnic
groups but within factions of each community, too.
While it is clear to see that education in general was highly regarded by Cypriots,
Byrant (2004, p.127) claims that the ethnic experience of education was directly
linked to ethnic identity. More specifically, “becoming a ‘true’ Greek or a ‘true’
Ottoman (and later a ‘true’ Turk) was something achieved through education”. Thus,
while education was seen as important and vital to one’s growth and development, it
was limited only to the extent that this growth was understood in terms of being
specifically Greek or Turkish. Education keeps identities separate, and there is a
4
severe lack of a united Cypriot identity present in any historical or even current
educational syllabi (Byrant, 2004, p.206). Local context appears to be completely
absent: as was the case with the strategic interests of the colonial power during the
British occupation, the rights and opportunities of the Cypriot people appear to have
been administered and relegated to the limiting scope of international and regional
politics (Mallinson, 2005, p.3).
The fact that even today Cypriot identity continues to be inextricably entwined
with being either Greek or Turkish-Cypriot is not encouraging in the sense of any
development towards facilitating communication or unification between the two
groups. What is fundamentally needed is the very element that has been severely
absent since the British occupation of Cyprus: the Cypriot voice. Philippou (2009,
p.217) argues that the curricula could be used to really examine not only what it
means to be European but what it means to be Cypriot. Furthermore, she would like
to see the ambiguities and complexities of the Cyprus conflict be used as a didactic
tool to promote discussion in the classroom and even to envision solutions.
As we have seen, Cypriot identity is not only absent but inextricably and
abstrusely entwined with national, religious, and global identities. As Fisher (2001)
correctly points out, the Cyprus conflict continues to be on the schedule of the
international community with no resolution. The field of education should examine
new, progressive forms of identities that have or still are developing in post-colonial
and post-modern Cyprus.
Methodology
Sample
The participants in the study comprised 10 Turkish-Cypriots and 10 GreekCypriots. The researchers used the maximum variation as a sampling strategy. As
Patton (1987) suggests, this method enabled the researchers to work with Greek and
Turkish-Cypriot participants with different demographic characteristics such as their
gender, the village they lived in, and the schools they attended during their primary
and secondary education.
The Turkish-Cypriot sample interviewed for the purpose of this article ranged
between the ages of 71 and 93 years. Slightly more than half (60%) were born in
villages, and 40% were born in the urban areas of the time. The overwhelming
majority attended their local primary school, but they continued on to attend the
Victoria Girls’ School in Larnaca, The American Academy for Boys in
Iskele/Larnaca, and The English School.
The Greek-Cypriot sample interviewed for the purpose of this article ranged
between the ages of 64 and 83 years. The vast majority of them (80%) were born in
villages, and only 20% were born in the urban areas of the time. Half of the
interviewees who went on to secondary school attended the Greek Gymnasia, 40%
attended either the English School or the American Academy, and 10% attended a
private Commercial-Vocational College.
5
Data collection and analysis procedures
Two types of human sources were used in this study, namely Turkish and GreekCypriots who were randomly chosen as participants depending on their willingness
to be interviewed. The researchers primarily collected data through semi-structured
interviews to allow the interviewees to focus on the issues under investigation. The
semi-structured interviews took from 20 minutes to 1 hour and 8 minutes, depending
on how much each participant remembered. The researchers tried to elicit
information about the participants’ experiences and perspectives on their primary
and secondary education by asking open-ended questions without imposing a
certain framework and thus threatening validity.
The qualitative method was used in this study. The researchers used interviews
and written sources to collect data, which served to increase reliability. The greatest
emphasis for data collection was placed in the interview data; this was collected
through 10 main interview questions and their sub-questions. The researchers
recorded the interviews and quoted ideas verbatim where relevant to highlight the
nature of the participants’ primary and secondary education.
Findings
Turkish-Cypriots
As far as nationalism in school is concerned, only 10% of the interviewees said
that their school was nationalistic since it was located in a Turkish-only area. The
remaining 90% stated that there was no nationalism in their school; more
particularly, they mentioned that they were just children doing their studies. In
secondary school, all interviewees stated that they were not allowed to display any
national or nationalistic tendencies. The English or American Head Teachers
implemented measures that did not allow any national emblems such as flags,
pictures, or maps of the “motherlands”, i.e. Greece and Turkey. Also, the British
administration had forbidden school textbooks to be imported from the motherlands
in an effort to curb nationalistic feelings in the student population. Finally, students
were not allowed to sing the national anthems of the motherlands. On the contrary,
they were encouraged to sing the British National Anthem, “God Save the
King/Queen”. However, during the last years of British Colonial times in Cyprus,
nationalistic feelings between the Greek-Cypriots and the Turkish-Cypriots began to
manifest in tension within the school environment, usually through nasty teasing.
When asked about the main subjects at primary and secondary school, slightly
different responses from the interviewees were elicited, mainly due to their age and
their hazy memories. However, all these fragments of memory can form a picture of
the curriculum at that time. The main subjects as remembered by the participants
were the following:
a. Turkish language lessons–reading, writing, grammar, calligraphy
b. Mathematics
6
c. History and Geography of Cyprus
d. Physical Education
e. Science
f. English
The secondary education of all the interviewees included all the subjects found in
Primary education. Finally, in the first year of the Lycee, the students of one
community were obligated to learn the basics of the language of the other
community. All subjects were compulsory both in primary and secondary schools
but students could select their GCSEs.
The Cypriot educational system greatly emphasised English under the British
administration. The language was not generally taught at the primary level, with the
exception of the 5th and 6th year classes in large schools in the urban areas. However,
at the secondary level, the lessons ranged from 2 hours per week to daily periods of
instruction. Half of the sample population responded that this emphasis was justified
because “the young students wanted to secure a well-paid job after their graduation and
more specifically to enter the civil sector of the British administration”. Furthermore, 20%
of the interviewees mentioned that the instruction of the English language also
benefitted the British agenda to adapt the Cypriot population to British culture and
nationalistic ideas. Finally, the remaining 30% of the respondents mentioned the
hours of instruction but not the reasons behind this.
Overall, as far as the central aim of the curriculum is concerned, the majority of
Cypriots wanted to receive a good education to be prepared for their future life, and
the goal of 70% was to acquire the knowledge that would lead to a well-paid job,
ideally in the British administration sector. A further 20% stated that the aim of the
curriculum was actually to “divide the Cypriots, and they succeeded as they had done in
other countries they had conquered. You learnt to look upon the British as rulers and you
believed that they were smarter and stronger than you”. However, a very modest 10%
stated that the curriculum was not at all politically influenced by the Administration,
and “it was not designed to make you British.” Finally, 60% of the sample population
claimed that the aim of the curriculum was successful in what it set out to do, even in
its nationalistic direction.
Each community had different roots and sought to maintain ties with their
motherland culture. As previously mentioned, the British administration did not
allow any manifestations of nationalism in the schools. Therefore, 70% of the
participants responded that “there were no celebrations connected with Turkey”, which is
not at all surprising. 30% of the respondents, however, mentioned that there were
some holidays from Turkey, such as Youth Day, which they were allowed to
celebrate at their schools. Half of the sample population stated that the school
children would celebrate British national days, such as the Sovereign’s birthday and
Victoria Day, and they would sing the British National Anthem. As one participant
said, “We didn’t mind, it was something we took for granted. We were children and we liked
the celebrations because that way we would miss lessons”. Finally, 10% of the respondents
7
mentioned that there was punishment if they failed to observe the rules regarding
abstinence from Turkish celebrations and participation in the British ones.
Religious studies represented religion in primary education. Half of the
respondents in the interview mentioned this particular subject, where the students
were taught the basic principles of the Muslim faith and some prayers but, in their
words, “there was no conservatism, no pressure.” However, religion in the secondary
school was differentiated. 20% of the respondents mentioned that they had religious
studies lessons at the secondary level as well. Some of them mentioned that the
lessons aimed to make the students good citizens with ethics and principles. Some
others were more religious in their outlook, and they mentioned both lessons at
school ended with an end-of-the-year exam. In some schools, the subject of religious
studies was stopped but was substituted with weekly visits to the mosque. For some
schools, this was obligatory, with punishment threatened. Others were more relaxed,
and they accepted the students’ sporadic attendance.
Regarding their identity, half of the participants stated that they feel they are
Turkish-Cypriots, whereas 20% claim that they are Cypriots. Only 10% emphatically
stated that they are Turkish and they consider Turkey their motherland. 10% did not
respond to this part of the questionnaire, while a further 10% discounted the identity
label “Cypriot”, maintaining that “it is your background which influences who you are
and how you see life”.
Having shared living space for hundreds of years, the two communities had
formed ties and had learned to live together harmoniously. Therefore, it is not
surprising that 80% of the participants stated that they had friendly relations with the
Greek-Cypriot community both as children and as young adults. For instance, male
participants mentioned the football matches in the streets which both Greek-Cypriot
and Turkish-Cypriot children enjoyed, and female participants mentioned visits to
homes and invitations to weddings. Only 20% of the respondents claimed that they
did not have close relations with the Greek-Cypriot community, either because they
had grown up in a Turkish-only village or “for no reason at all, it just happened.”
The period after the British Administration appears to be greatly changed. Only
20% of the interviewees maintained good relations with the Greek-Cypriot
community due to distance or personal choice. A further 50% of the participants
expressed bitter feelings towards the Greek-Cypriot community as they blame them
for the friction and violent episodes towards the Turkish-Cypriot community.
Among these, there are some respondents who also blame the British, claiming that
they “poisoned the relations between the two communities and achieved the division”.
Finally, 30% either lost contact with the Greek-Cypriots due to the exchange of
populations, or they did not provide an answer to this part of the question.
Upon reflection, 60% of the respondents stated that the education system during
the British Administration was good and that they were happy with it and its results.
In their own words, “We were happy with the system the way it was”, and, “It was a
perfect system […] the British education system is the best in the world”, mentioning that
there was discipline in the school and respect towards the teachers. 20% stated that
8
the system was “OK”, and it was adequate for the needs of the students preparing for
employment in the British Administration. However, a further 20% stated that the
British education system was a bad one for various reasons. First, certain
respondents believed that there were hidden agendas in the curriculum, considering
the measures taken by the British Administration. Also, other respondents
mentioned that the British did not give enough importance to education, and the
“Cypriots started learning when the British left.”
Unanimously, the sample population of this survey responded negatively when
asked about the solution to the Cypriot problem. Replies such as “no light at the end of
the tunnel”, “not confident”, “not optimistic”, “nobody can answer”, and “don’t know, only
God knows” were the norm. The reasons behind these answers varied greatly. 40% of
the respondents blamed the Greek-Cypriot community, whose greater numbers
would turn the Turkish-Cypriot community into a minority. A further 30% accused
the foreign powers of Greece, the EU, or the USA, who created this difficult situation
and perpetuated it for their own interests. Finally, 40% put forward the negative
emotions which currently exist between the two communities. More specifically, the
respondents stated that due to the past bitter experiences and violence which erupted
on the island, the two communities fear and mistrust each other so much so that if
they were put together into one country again, they would begin fighting. Finally,
20% maintained that only by creating two separate states with good relations and
close co-operation would Cyprus be able to solve this thorny issue.
Greek-Cypriots
The vast majority (82%) of the participants said that there were no nationalistic
feelings in school. 45.5% of them emphasized this lack especially in the Primary level,
since the students were very young, and they were only interested in learning their
“letters and doing well at school”. These same participants, though, mentioned that
there were some nationalistic tendencies in the secondary level, with the majority of
them stating that it was due to those politically difficult times. Troubles in the 1950s
influenced the education system greatly; the British shut down the schools, as many
students participated in the fights against the Colonial powers. 30% stated that “there
was a certain nationalistic feeling mainly against the British since the Colonial regime did not
allow national identity emblems either through rules or by force”. Also, some respondents
mentioned the Union with Greece Movement which gave schools a nationalistic
feeling. There was also mention of passive nationalism, where an English-speaking
school emphasized preparation for studies in the UK or the USA and in that way
directed students towards the Western culture and viewpoint.
The Greek-Cypriot respondents gave various answers to question about the main
subjects at school, as they are of advanced age and their memories do not provide
great detail. Similarly to the Turkish-Cypriot sample, the Greek-Cypriot remembered
the following main subjects:
a. Greek language–reading, writing, grammar, calligraphy
b. Mathematics
9
c. History and Geography of Cyprus, Greece, and the East Mediterranean
d. Religious Studies
e. Phytology (Study of the Flora)
f. English
According to the interviewees, all the subjects were set by the Teachers’
Association, and they were compulsory.
The secondary level of education in the Greek-Cypriot community was divided
into two categories. Students could choose to attend the Greek Gymnasium, where
the medium of instruction was the Greek language. The respondents also stated that
the subjects were compulsory but the students were able to choose the direction they
would take in their studies, either Practical – Sciences and Mathematics – or Classical
– Languages and Literature. The second category is that of the English-speaking
schools where the language medium was English, while the native languages were
taught for only a few hours per week.
English was an important addition to the curriculum of schools in Cyprus.
Although small primary schools in rural areas did not teach the language, the larger
ones did so in year five and six for two to three hours per week. In addition, the
Greek Gymnasia offered between three and five hours of English, whereas the
English-speaking schools utilized a basic form of Content Language Integrated
Learning (CLIL) where the students were taught various subjects with English as the
language medium. As a result, not only did the students learn the subject but also
improved their English language skills to a great extent. The reasons given by the
respondents behind such emphatic instruction are varied. Slightly more than half
(55%) claimed that “it was necessary for those who wanted to secure a job by entering the
civil service immediately after graduating Secondary Education”. A further 35% were
more abstract in their viewpoint, saying, “English was an international language that
was used by many people around the world and it would be useful to learn it so that you
could communicate and not be isolated”. Only 10% mentioned that learning English was
useful only for those who wanted to study abroad.
Overall, as far as the central aim of the curriculum is concerned, the participants’
answers varied greatly. The largest percentage of the respondents (30%) replied that
the central aim of the curriculum and their schooling was simply to “learn their
letters” and become educated people, which was largely successful. Another 25%
stated that since they were a British Colony; they were taught in such a way that it
would help them “later to get a job in the British Administration or learn how to
communicate and co-operate with the British Authorities”. They also mentioned that the
curriculum and the schooling aimed to make them good, conscientious citizens. A
further 20% stated that the aim was to prepare the students to study in universities
abroad, which was also a success. Moreover, 10% claimed that due to the ban
enforced by the British Authorities immediately after the Mutiny of 1931 on books
imported from the “motherland countries”, the schooling was not particularly
successful. What is more, 10% stated that the emphasis of the curriculum in the
10
Greek secondary level was on Greek, and especially Ancient Greek, but it did not
have a specific agenda; it was more along the lines of emphasizing the Greek
identity. Finally, 5% mentioned that they had very good impressions of their Englishspeaking schools, and these schools enabled them to be successful later in life.
The strong ties with the two “motherland countries”, Greece and Turkey,
influenced the island’s population and culture. As a result, a strong majority of
respondents (70%) replied that their schools, both at the primary and secondary
level, celebrated national Greek holidays. However, 10% of the interviewees stated
that they were allowed to celebrate National Days in the local Greek primary but not
at the English-speaking secondary. In addition, another 10% mentioned that the
British Administration did not allow Greek National Days celebrations before 1940,
but changed their policies during WWII and afterwards to appease the GreekCypriot population who had joined the war. Finally, a further 10% mentioned that
they only remember the celebration that took place during the coronation of Queen
Elizabeth II in 1953 as it was something out of the ordinary, and there were presents
given to the students in the schools.
In the Greek-Cypriot educational system, religious studies is a compulsory
subject taught both at the primary and the secondary levels. The respondents stated
that religious studies was not influenced by the British Administration but was
actually at the discretion of the Head Teacher of each school. It is for this reason that
we see 20% claiming that religion in primary school was not important, a further 40%
stating that its importance was medium, with the subject mostly being taught in class
and a few visits to the church on holy days, and a final 40% mentioning that religion
was very important in primary school, and any absence from church services would
be punished severely – a mention of a Head Teacher instructing the students to spit
on their “truant” colleague was made. At the secondary level, the situation was more
relaxed. The 50% of the respondents who specifically mentioned their secondary
education religious practices said that they were not important, and they were not
forced to attend church.
Regarding their identity, the majority of the respondents (50%) stated that they
were Cypriots, with 10% of them clarifying that they were Greek-speaking Cypriots.
A further 25% stated that they felt Greek-Cypriot, having been influenced by the
“motherland country” at some point in their lives, while another 25% emphasised
their religion in their identity by stating that they were Christian Orthodox GreekCypriots.
A vast majority, 90%, stated that the relations between the two communities
during the British Colonial times were very good. Most lived in mixed villages or
attended mixed schools, and the interviewees stated that they attended weddings,
bayrams or religious celebrations, family dinners, or barbecues at Turkish-Cypriot
homes. Out of these respondents, 33% maintained that their opinion of the TurkishCypriot community had not changed, and some of them still got together regularly
with their families “to catch up on each other’s news”. However, another 33% stated
that their relationships had changed since there had been so many violent events and
also due to the island’s division limited access to the other community. The
11
remaining 22% did not make any mention of changes in the relationship between the
Greek-Cypriots and Turkish-Cypriots after the British had left. Finally, only 11%
mentioned that due to living in a Greek-only village, they had had no contact with
the Turkish-Cypriots.
Regarding their overall opinion on the education system, the responses were
equally divided. Half of the respondents replied that the education system of their
time was good, and it did not require improvements. Their answers ranged from
“excellent”, “very good overall, just some teachers I did not care for”, “I was happy with it
and I have some good memories from those times”, and “better than it is today”. On the
other hand, the other half of the interviewees stated that the education system of
their time could have been improved. For instance, the best school at the time, the
English School, although academically sound, was reported to be very strict in its
regime; 10% of the participants who had been students there mentioned aloof and
distant teachers. A further 10% reported that their education system actually had
needed more instruction in English and more textbooks for the other subjects as well
as the use of modern teaching methods. Another 10% complained that the schooling
in the Greek Gymnasia was inferior to that of their English-speaking counterparts.
Finally, another 10% stated that the education system had the ultimate goal of
directing the students to Greece if they wanted to do something better in their lives
and discouraged them to stay in Cyprus.
Similarly to the Turkish-Cypriots, the Greek-Cypriots were unanimous in their
responses: they do not see a solution to the Cypriot problem. They all believe that the
outside powers – Greece, Turkey, Britain, and America – were the ones who created
this problem and who continue to support this division of the island. They especially
lay the blame with the Greeks, who betrayed them politically in the early 1970s, and
with the British, who enforced a “Divide and Rule” policy on the island; this was done
to keep the population under control by turning one community against the other.
Also, they believe that Turkey influenced the Turkish-Cypriot population in a
negative way during the peace talks and that this is an extra factor that explains why
a solution has not been achieved before and may not be achieved in the future either.
A minority of the respondents (20%) mentioned that they had been more hopeful
during the Annan 2004 proposal, but they lost hope again when it did not succeed.
They all maintain that the Greek-Cypriots and the Turkish-Cypriots can “arrive to a
solution in two weeks” if they are left alone to work together without outside
influences.
Results: Comparison of the Findings
During the interview process, the authors were able to have access to willing
individuals from both communities of the island of Cyprus; however, the TurkishCypriot sample was of a more advanced age compared to the sample of the GreekCypriot population. Furthermore, while the sample was almost equally divided
between the villages and the urban areas of the time, the Greek-Cypriots were mostly
born and raised in village settings. Finally, the Turkish-Cypriots almost exclusively
attended English-speaking schools during their secondary education, whereas the
Greek-Cypriots were divided between Greek Gymnasia, English-speaking schools,
12
and Commercial-Technical schools. On the other hand, both samples were populated
by individuals who had attended their local primary schools and who all continued
to attend secondary level education.
All the participants did not recall any nationalistic feelings during their primary
level education, which they all attributed to their young age that excluded
preoccupation with matters outside their immediate environment of family, village,
and school. However, in the secondary level, the respondents identified several
nuances of nationalism either on the side of the Greek-Cypriots, the TurkishCypriots, or the British Administration. Both Greek-Cypriot and Turkish-Cypriot
interviewees pointed out the nationalistic tendencies of the British, who imposed
bans regarding the “motherland” countries and thus controlled the formation of a
national identity in the populations of the island. On the other hand, the GreekCypriot secondary schools exhibited nationalistic tendencies due to the Movement of
Union with Greece that manifested in the 1950s. As a result, an atmosphere of
tension was created between the young people of the two communities.
All the participants are senior citizens, which explains why their memories of
their primary education (mostly) and their secondary education (to a lesser degree)
were fragmented. Both communities mentioned the following among others:
a. Lessons on their own language for several hours a week, including reading,
writing, grammar, and calligraphy;
b. History and geography lessons centring on the island of Cyprus, the East
Mediterranean region, Europe, and the World;
c. Mathematics;
d. Religious studies;
e. English for the year 5 and year 6 students of urban area schools with larger
populations and a larger staff;
f. All subjects were compulsory in the primary education level.
In the secondary education level, the subjects were approximately the same as
those of the primary education level; however, some differences are apparent. The
Turkish-Cypriot sample consisted of individuals who attended English-speaking
schools where, though the subjects were compulsory, the students had the freedom
to choose their GCSEs. The Greek-Cypriot students had the freedom to choose the
direction their studies would take by opting for a classical or a practical secondary
school if they continued in a Greek Gymnasium.
Both the Turkish-Cypriot and the Greek-Cypriot interviewees recalled that rural
primary schools did not teach the English language, whereas their urban
counterparts did so in the fifth and sixth year for two to three hours a week. In the
secondary education, the Greek-Cypriots who continued in the Greek Gymnasia
attended English language lessons for three to five hours per week. On the other
hand, the Greek-Cypriot and Turkish-Cypriot students who continued on to the
English-speaking schools were instructed in the language intensively. Both
communities pointed out the fact that knowledge of the English language was
imperative if they wanted to obtain a post in the British Administration; this
guaranteed a good salary, and thus a comfortable living and a certain status in the
13
community. Some individuals of the Greek-Cypriot sample also mentioned that
instruction of the English language was justified since it was, and is, an international
language and necessary for those who wanted to study abroad. However, some
individuals of the Turkish-Cypriot sample mentioned that teaching English to the
Cypriots was actually part of the British political colonial agenda.
Overall, the majority of the Turkish-Cypriot sample stated that the curriculum
was designed to prepare the students to find a well-paid job, as opposed to 30% of
the Greek-Cypriot sample who identified this as the central aim. The majority of the
Greek-Cypriots stated that the main aim of the curriculum was to “teach children
their letters” and “to make them good citizens”, and they found it to be partly
successful in that endeavour. On the other hand, the Turkish-Cypriots identified the
division of the two communities as another aim of the curriculum, and they
considered it successful in this aim.
Neither the Turkish-Cypriots nor the Greek-Cypriots were allowed to celebrate
national days of the “motherland” countries by the British Administration. However,
the Turkish-Cypriots recall celebrating some innocuous Turkish National Days
which did not have any nationalistic nuances, such as Youth Day and so on. The
Greek-Cypriot, nevertheless, state that during the Second World War and afterwards
they were granted permission to celebrate the National Days of Greece as a reward
for participating in the war effort on the side of the Allied Forces. As a result, this
explains why the Turkish-Cypriots mostly remember British National Days and the
consequences if they did not celebrate them, while the Greek-Cypriots remember
Greek National celebrations.
In the primary level of education, both communities had religious studies in their
curriculum, but the importance of that subject and other manifestations of religious
life were different in the two populations. Nearly half of the Turkish-Cypriot
maintained that they did not feel pressure in that area, whereas only 20% of the
Greek-Cypriot stated the same. The majority of the Greek-Cypriot stated that they
felt medium to great pressure to conform to Christian Orthodox practices. However,
in the secondary level of education, both the Turkish-Cypriot and the Greek-Cypriot
described varied approaches based on their head teacher’s relationship with religion.
Half of the Turkish-Cypriot sample consider themselves to be Turkish-Cypriots,
whereas nearly half of the Greek-Cypriots identify themselves as Cypriots only. A
much smaller percentage of the Turkish-Cypriot sample state that they are Cypriots
only, and an equally small percentage of the Greek-Cypriots state that they are
Greek-Cypriots. There is also emphasis on the Christian Orthodox element on the
part of certain individuals in the Greek-Cypriot sample and a smaller but equally
powerful emphasis on the Turkish element on the part of certain individuals in the
Turkish-Cypriot sample.
Despite the friction due to historical events, the overwhelming majority of both
the Greek-Cypriot and Turkish-Cypriot samples expressed positive feelings towards
the other community during the British Administration. However, approximately
half of these people stated that their feelings changed towards the negative after the
division. Smaller percentages mentioned that since they had grown up in singlecommunity villages, they had no contact with the other community and therefore
14
could not form an opinion. Also, some other smaller percentages had lost contact
after the division and could not say whether their feelings had changed.
More than half of the Turkish-Cypriot and half of the Greek-Cypriot samples felt
that the educational system of their time was good, and they could not identify any
areas that could have been improved. However, the remainder of the interviewees
stated that the system could have been better in several areas. Firstly, the TurkishCypriots stated that there was political influence which does not belong in education.
Secondly, the Greek-Cypriots stated that the system was very strict and regimented,
which created distance between the teachers and the students. Finally, students who
attended the Greek Gymnasia mentioned that their system was inferior to that of the
English-speaking schools.
Both communities gave a unanimous “no” to the “Solution” question. As reasons,
the Turkish-Cypriots put forward the Greek-Cypriot attitude (40%), the influence of
Greece, Europe, and the USA (20%), and, finally, the negative emotions which exist
between the two communities due to the history of the island (40%). They also state
that the two communities cannot live together since there is no trust, and if they are
once more united into one country, they will fight again. On the other hand, the
majority of the Greek-Cypriot accused the outside powers, and especially the British
and the Greeks, for creating this situation and the Turkish for the continuation of the
division and the impasse in the negotiations. They believe that the Cypriots can find
the solution if they are left alone.
Discussion and Conclusions
The current citizens of the island of Cyprus, Greek-Cypriots and TurkishCypriots, are the product of many cultures merging throughout the centuries, and
more recently of the British Administration and its colonial policies as they were
implemented through the Education system in the 19th and 20th centuries. Divided
and conflicted, they were forced to side with ethnic identities which occasionally
failed to accurately define them. It is the view of the writers that one can discern the
trends of the British colonial policies towards the establishment of a more British
society on the island.
Although the participants of the research are of predominantly rural
backgrounds, they were encouraged by their families and their communities to
pursue higher studies (for that time). This was done in an effort to improve their
lives since a better education could lead to better career prospects, with one of the
most popular career choices being a well-paid position within the British
Administration.
Another popular choice at that time was to attend the English-speaking schools;
these offered a higher standard of education and gave the students the opportunity
to study in the academic institutions of Britain, thus opening more doors in their
future. This, combined with the fact that the Greek Gymnasia offered what was
perceived as an inferior quality education, can lead us to believe that for many
individuals, success and improvement belonged to British-educated people.
Finally, the British Administration implemented measures which deprived the
two communities educational contact with their cultures by banning the import of
15
textbooks from Greece and Turkey and by forbidding the use of national symbols or
the celebration of National Days–though the latter measure was relaxed when the
need for support towards the Allies became stronger than the need to anglicise the
population.
This research was by no means exhaustive—more qualitative research with new
research methods is needed in the field of educational administration, as also
suggested by Aydın, Erdağ, and Sarıer (2010, p.38)—but it shows the trend of
popular opinion of the citizens who were raised in a British Colony and now live
with the consequences of those policies regarding education, society, and Politics.
Still conflicted, still divided.
Appendix 1- The Table Showing Details About The Turkish-Cypriot Sample
Whose Ages Ranged Between 71 and 93
Rural/
Urban
Urban
Relationship
with Others
Good relations–
no racism
Solution
in Cyprus
No
Nicosia Kıbrıs
Islam Lycee
Rural/
Urban
No
Kirni&Ayia
Sofia Primary
Schools
Victoria Girls’
School
Rural/
Urban
Cypriot
Larnaca
Primary School
Urban
Male
Turkish
Cypriot
Limassol
Primary School
American
Academy–
Iskele
Limassol
Lycee
Good as children
– different
towards the end
Good as
children–
Coldness
afterwards
Good at first–
distant later
No
Male
Cypriot
Larnaca
Primary School
American
Academy–
Larnaca
Urban
Male
Turkish
Cypriot
Lapta Primary
School
Nicosia Boys
School
Rural/
Urban
Female
Turkish
Cypriot
Tatlısu Village
Primary School
( Mari
Kingdom)
Victoria Girls’
School
Rural /
Urban
Male
Turkish
Cypriot
Nicosia
Turkish Lycee
Rural/
Urban
Male
Turkish
Cypriot
Messaria
Village Primary
School
Famagusta
Primary School
The English
School–
Famagusta
Urban
Good at first–
British destroyed
it
Good at first–
changed
afterwards.
Personally
stayed friends.
Mixed
village/friends–
changed
afterwards
Single
community
village – Met a
Greek Cypriot
abroad but lost
contact
Mixed Village–
had friends–have
not changed
No nationalism
at first–changed
afterwards
Gender
Identity
Primary
Secondary
Female
Cypriot
Nicosia Ayia
Sofia Mosque
Primary School
Lefke Primary
School
Victoria Girls’
School
Male
Turk
Female
Turkish
Cypriot
Male
Urban
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
16
Appendix 2- The Table Showing Details About The Greek-Cypriot Sample
Whose Ages Ranged Between 64 and 83
Urban
Relationship
with Others
Solution
in
Cyprus
Urban
Good
No
Nicosia
English
School
Urban
Still friends –
get together
often
No
Primary
School–
village
outside
Limassol
Greek
Gymnasium
Famagusta
Rural/
Were friends –
British
No
Greek
Cypriot
Agios
Ermolaos
Primary
School
PanCyprian
Gymnasium
Rural/
Greek
Cypriot
Christian
Primary
School–
village in
Karpaz
Nicosia –
English
School
Rural/
Female
Greekspeaking
Cypriot
St John’s
Primary
School
Famagusta
Girls’
Gymnasium
Famagusta
Male
Cypriot
Athiyenou
Primary
School
Orthodox
Christian
Greek
Cypriot
Gender
Identity
Primary
Secondary
Female
Cypriot
Larnaca
Primary
School
Greek
Gymnasium
Male
Greek &
Cypriot
Primary
School –
Village
outside
Famagusta
Male
Cypriot
of Greek
origin
Male
Male
Female
Male
Female
Rural/
Larnaca
Urban
divided us
Friends –
feelings did not
change
No–
disappoi
nted
Primary
school–Turks
the enemy but
in English
School made
friends
No
Urban
Friendships –
changed
afterwads
No
American
Academy
Rural/
Friendships –
later
relationships
cooled
No light
in tunnel
Athiyenou
Girls’
Primary
School
PanCyprian
Gymansium
Rural/
Before 1960
good – after
1960 changed.
Very
difficult
Cypriot –
mother
tongue
Greek
Athiyenou
Boys’
Primary
School
PanCyprian
Gymnasium
Rural/
Good relations
–British made
us fight
If left
alone,
yes
Greek
Cypriot
(but feels
closer to
Cyprus)
Athiyenou
Girls’
Primary
School
Pallaris
Trade
Commercial
College
Rural/
All-Greek
village
If Turkey
says
“yes”–
British
separate
d us
Urban
Urban
Urban
Urban
Urban
Urban
17
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Field of Educational Administration in Terms of Topics, Methodologies and
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37-58.
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“Cyprus Problem”. Cooperation and Conflict; 42, 247-270.
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New York, Simon & Schuster: The Free Press.
Gazioğlu, A. C., (1997). Two equal and Sovereign Peoples, Nicosia:Cyrep.
Mallinson, W. (2005). Cyprus: A Modern History. London, New York: I. B. Tauris.
Özmatyatlı, İ.Ö. (2012). British Colonial Influence on Cypriot Education: Turkish and
Greek Cypriot Curricula and Identity (1878-1960), Germany:Lambert Academic
Publishing.
Patton, M. G. (1987). How to use qualitative methods in evaluation. California:Sage.
Philippou, S. (2009). What Makes Cyprus European? Curricular Responses of GreekCypriot Civic Education to Europe. Journal of Curricula Studies, 41(2), 199-223.
Reddaway, J. (1986). Burdened with Cyprus, The British Connection, London.
Said, E.W. (1978). Orientalism. London and Henley: Routledge and Keegan Paul.
18
20. Yüzyıldaki İngiliz Sömürgeciliğinin
Kıbrıs’taki Eğitim Üzerindeki Etkisi
Atıf:
Ozmatyatli, I. O. & Ozkul, A. E. (2013). 20th Century British Colonialism in Cyprus
through Education. Egitim Arastirmalari-Eurasian Journal of Educational
Research, 50, 1-20.
(Özet)
Problem Durumu: Kıbrıs adası Akdeniz’deki özel konumundan dolayı yüzyıllar
boyunca birçok devlete ev sahipliği yapmıştır. Onların kültürlerini yansıtan izlerin
bazıları günümüze kadar gelmeyi başarmışlardır. Kıbrıs’ın uzun ve fırtınalı tarihinde
19. ve özellikle 20. yüzyılda adaya hâkim olan İngilizlerin uyguladıkları eğitim
politikaları adalılarda derin izler bırakmıştır.
Araştırmanın Amacı: Bu araştırmanın amacı 20. yüzyılda İngiliz yönetiminin Kıbrıs’ta
uyguladığı sömürge politikasının Kıbrıslı Türk ve Rumların eğitiminin üzerindeki
etkileri araştırmaktır. Temel amaç eğitimin alıcı tarafında bulunun Kıbrıslı Türk ve
Rumların ilkokul ve ortaokul seviyesindeki eğitimleri hakkında derinlemesine bilgi
toplayarak geçtikleri eğitim sistemi hakkındaki düşüncelerini, bu eğitim sistemi ve
müfredatlarla ilgili başarılı ve başarısız buldukları noktaları, kendi düşünce ve bakış
açılarından yola çıkarak incelemektir. Araştırmada verilen eğitimin daha sonra
Kıbrıslı Rum ve Türk kimliklerini nasıl etkilediği incelenmiştir. Bundan dolayı bu
araştırmada, Kıbrıs eğitim yönetimde söz sahibi olan İngilizlerin ve eğitimcilerin
belirleyip takip ettiği müfredat ve bu müfredatların öğrencilerde yaratması
beklenilen etki, amaç ve kazanımlardan çok bu eğitim sürecinden geçen Kıbrıslı Türk
ve Rumların İngiliz eğitim yönetimi hakkındaki düşünce ve yorumlarına
değinilmiştir.
Araştırmanın Yöntemi: Bu araştırma, nitel araştırma özelliği taşımaktadır.
Araştırmada, veri toplama yöntemi olarak rastgele seçilmiş, konuşmaya istekli 10
Kıbrıslı Türk ve 10 Kıbrıslı Rum ile görüşmeler yapılmıştır. Görüşme yapılan Kıbrıslı
Rum ve Türklerin hepsi İngiliz yönetiminde öğrenci olup Kıbrıs’ın farklı köy ve şehir
okullarında eğitim almışlardır. O zamanlarda yüksek bir eğitim seviyesi olarak
görünen ilk ve özellikle orta öğrenimden geçen bu katılımcılar hatırladıkları
noktalara göre en az 20 dakika ve en çok 1 saat 8 dakika arasında süren
görüşmelerde araştırmacılara bilgi vermişler. Bu görüşmelerde katılımcılara esas
olarak ilk ve orta okullardaki müfredat ve amaçları, okullarındaki milliyetçilik ve
dini unsurlar, kimlik, anavatana bağlılık ve toplumlar arası ilişkiler hakkındaki
düşünceleri şeklinde yarı yapılandırılmış sorular sorulmuştur. Araştırmadaki bilgiler
katılımcıların sorulara verdikleri yanıtlar ve bakış açılarından elde edilen veriler
toplanıp tematik olarak derlenmesinden elde edilmiştir.
19
Araştırmanın Bulguları: Katılımcılar, ilkokul seviyesinde ilgi alanının aile ve yakın
çevreleri ile sınırlı olmasından dolayı milliyetçi duyguların gelişmediğini fakat
ortaokul seviyesinde İngilizlerin anavatanlardan gelme kitapları engellemelerinden
doğan milliyetçi akımların olduğunu anlattılar. Ayrıca katılımcılar ilkokullarda
okutulan derslerin kendi dillerinde okuma, yazma, Kıbrıs-Akdeniz-Avrupa ve
Dünya tarihi ve coğrafyası, matematik, din, İngilizce (şehirdeki okulların 5. ve 6.
sınıflarında) olduğunu ve seçmeli derslerinin olmadığını söylediler. Ortaokulda
Kıbrıslı Türkler İngilizce eğitim veren okullarda eğitim almalarından dolayı GCSE
konularını seçebileceklerini belirttiler. Buna karşın Kıbrıslı Rumlar klasik ve pratik
eğitim veren okullardan birini veya İngilizce eğitim veren okullardan birini
seçebilmekteydiler. Katılımcılar her iki toplum için İngilizce derslerinin ağırlıklı,
önemli ve zorunlu olduğunu belirtmişlerdir. Hatta katılımcılar bir statü sembolü
olarak, İngiliz yönetiminde İngilizce bilmenin yaşam standartlarını yükselteceğini ve
iyi bir iş sahibi olunmak isteniyorsa Kıbrıs Sertifika sınavlarına girerek başarılı
olunması gerektiğini savundular. Her iki topluma göre okullardaki müfredatın esas
amacı İngiliz yönetiminde “iyi vatandaşlar” yetiştirmek ile “iyi bir iş sahibi” olmaktı.
Ayrıca Kıbrıslı Türkler müfredatın iki toplumun arasını daha da açmak için yapılmış
olduğunu savunmalarına karşın genelde okullarda verilen eğitimden memnun
oldukları anlaşılmaktadır. Kıbrıslı Rumlardan Rum okullarına gidenlerin İngilizce
eğitim veren okullarda okuyanlara göre daha az fırsata sahip olduklarının farkında
oldukları ortaya çıkmıştır. İngilizler hem Kıbrıslı Türklere hem de Kıbrıslı Rumlara
anavatanlarının özel ve milli günlerini kutlamak için izin vermedikleri gibi
anavatanlardan kitap yollanmasına karşı çıkmaları milliyetçi akımların artmasına yol
açmıştır. Her iki toplumun okullarında din dersleri olmasına rağmen dinin okulda
Kıbrıslı Rumlar için Kıbrıslı Türklere göre çok daha baskın ve önemli olduğu
anlaşılmaktadır. Kıbrıslı Türklerin yarısının kendilerini Kıbrıslı Türk ve Kıbrıslı
Rumların yarısının kendilerini Kıbrıslı olarak tanımlarken, sadece Kıbrıslı Rumların
küçük bir kısmının kimliğine Kıbrıslı Ortodoks Rum olarak tanımlamalarına karşın
Kıbrıslı Türklerin kimliklerine dini hiç karıştırmamış olmaları ve Kıbrıslı Türklerin az
bir bölümünün kendilerini Kıbrıslı, Kıbrıslı Rumların az bir bölümünün kendini
Kıbrıslı Rum olarak tanıtması ilginç verilerdendir. Kıbrıslı Türklerle Rumların
çoğunun İngiliz yönetimi sırasında birbirleriyle arkadaş oldukları ama bu
düşüncelerinin İngiliz döneminde başlayan ve sonra İngilizlerin adadan ayrılmasıyla
devam eden bölünmüşlükle beraber daha sonra olumsuz duygulara dönüştüğünü
anlattılar. Katılımcılar tüm Kıbrıslı Rum ve Türkler yakın bir zamanda Kıbrıs
sorunun çözümüne ilişkin inançlarının kalmadığını belirtmeleri ilgi çekici
noktalardandır. İngilizlerin “böl ve yönet” politikasının iki toplumun etnik
bölünmüşlüğünü ve İngilizleşmeyi arttırdığı, ama kitapların anavatanlardan
gelmesini engellemek gibi tedbirlerin İkinci Dünya Savaşında kendi çıkarları için
İtilaf Devletlerine destek aramak amaçlı rahatlattığı ortaya çıkmıştır. Bütüne
bakıldığında, İngilizlerin genel yaşamın eğitim ve sosyo-politik öğelerini etkilemeyi
başardıkları ortaya çıkmıştır.
20
Araştırmanın Sonuçları: Kıbrıs’ta uygulanan İngiliz eğitim politikasının esasında her
iki toplumun etnik-milliyetçiliğini arttırarak her iki toplumun müteakip direnişlerini
canlandırdığı ortaya çıkmıştır. Hem Kıbrıslı Türklerin hem de Kıbrıslı Rumların
eğitime önem verdikleri açıkça belli olmasına rağmen, eğitimdeki gelişmenin sadece
Türk ve Rum olmakla sınırlı kalması ve özellikle müfredat ve amaçları açısından
Kıbrıs’ta etkin olan gerek İngiliz, gerek Kıbrıslı Türk ve Rumların kendi
milliyetçiliklerini aşılamak için bir ortam olduğu ortaya çıkmıştır. Bunların
sonuçlarının etkileri yaşanmıştır ve yaşanmaya devam edecektir.
Anahtar Sözcükler: Kıbrıs’ta İngiliz sömürgesi, eğitim yönetimi, müfredat ve kimlik
Belgian and Turkish Pre-service Primary School
Teachers’ Metaphoric Expressions about
Mathematics
Çiğdem KILIÇ
Tuğba YANPAR YELKEN
Suggested Citation:
Kilic, C. & Yelken Yanpar, T. (2013). Belgian and Turkish Pre-Service Primary School
Teachers’ Metaphoric Expressions about Mathematics. Egitim ArastirmalariEurasian Journal of Educational Research, 50, 21-42.
Abstract
Problem Statement: Recent studies in education have focused on how to
handle metaphors as research and evaluation tools. Metaphors have many
advantages for researchers, educators and learners with the most
important being that they can help educators understand pre-service
teachers’ thinking and belief systems of mathematics. A study of previous
literature in this area has shown that metaphors are used as explicit
explorations of teachers’ personal views of mathematics and their
understanding of new images within mathematics, which can contribute
to their own personal mathematical views. In this respect, comparing the
metaphors used by teachers in different countries can yield many
advantages.
Purpose of Study: This study aims to investigate Belgian and Turkish preservice primary school teachers’ metaphoric expressions about
mathematics. Particularly, the focus is on what types of metaphors are
used to express mathematics and whether differences exist between the
two countries.
Methods: A written questionnaire was presented to 79 pre-service primary
school teachers (37 Belgian and 42 Turkish). This questionnaire asked the
pre-service teachers to provide a sentence explaining their own metaphor
about mathematics and then draw an illustration to accompany the
statement. Next, they were asked to explain the reasons for their written
metaphors. The data-analysis process consisted of five sequential phases

Correponsing author, Mersin University Primary Mathematics Education Department,e mail:
[email protected]

Mersin University, Educational Sciences Department, e mail: [email protected]
21
22
Çiğdem Kılıç & Tuğba Yanpar Yelken
(listing, coding-reorganizing, categorizing, labelling and calculating interrater reliability). The inter-rater reliability was found to be 98%.
Findings and Results: In this study, four different categories of metaphors
emerged (gesture, animate, inanimate and emotion). In addition,
differences were discovered to exist between the Turkish and Belgian
participants’ metaphors. The range of metaphoric expressions produced
by the participants was extensive. The Turkish participants mostly wrote
gesture and emotion metaphors, while the Belgian participants preferred
animate metaphors for expressing mathematics.
Conclusions and Recommendations: The wide range of metaphoric
expressions gathered could be explained by the pre-service teachers’
experiences with mathematics; the way that mathematics is taught based
upon geographic location; geographic and cultural differences at the
national and international level and background experiences in regard to
family,; and social and educational areas of interest. After further
examining the information collected, the results showed that the major
reason for the differences was the pre-service teachers’ background
experiences in education and culture.
Keywords: Metaphor, mathematics, mathematics education, pre-service
primary school teacher
In order to develop effective teacher training, the belief system of pre-service
teachers needs to be investigated. Previous studies have shown that the metaphor is
a cognitive tool by which to understand pre-service teachers’ thinking and belief
systems in regard to mathematics. To this end, it is important to answer the
following questions: What is a metaphor, and what does it mean to the individual
using it? Previous studies have provided several definitions of the term metaphor,
each slightly different from the last. However, one point has remained consistent: the
components of the word. As indicated in Presmeg’s article (1998), metaphor is
derived from the Greek, metaphora, meaning to ‘transfer’ or ‘carry over.’ She also
defined metaphor as an implicit form of an analogy. On the other hand, metaphor
was defined by Leavy, McSorley and Bote (2007) as:
Metaphors have a coherence and internal consistency, which provide insights into ideas
that are not explicit or consciously held. They can also be evocative, stimulating both
self and others to tease out connections, which might not be made use of by direct
questions (p. 1220).
Metaphors are not just figures of speech, but instead constitute an essential
mechanism of the mind (Martinez, Sauleda, & Huber, 2001) pervasive in everyday
life, not just in language but in thought and action as well (Lakoff & Johnson, 2003).
Reasoning with metaphors is considered a fundamental method of human thinking
and communication, as can be seen in our everyday use of abstract concepts, such as
time and change (English, 1997). Metaphors are a type of mapping between target
and source domains. They also introduce new elements into a target domain. For
23
example, the concept of love is known to be a partnership, which is a type of
metaphor. This metaphor creates a mapping between love and partnership (Lakoff &
Nunez, 2000). Demirtaş (2011) asserted that metaphor is a powerful mental tool for
understanding and explaining a highly abstract, complex or conceptual
phenomenon.
It can be assumed that a metaphor is employed when one wants to explore and
understand something esoteric, abstract, novel or highly speculative. As a general
rule, the more abstract or speculative a concept is, the greater the variety of
metaphors needed to grapple with it (Yob, 2003). Our conceptual system--the terms
in which we think and act--is fundamentally metaphorical in nature (Lakoff &
Johnson, 2000). If our conceptual system is structured by metaphorical relationships,
then it is logical that we should also understand our belief and thinking systems by
means of metaphors. Saban (2004) asserted that the metaphors that we use not only
represent the way that we perceive the world and reality but also shape our
professional ideas, attitudes and practices. Metaphors, long thought to be figures of
speech, have recently been shown to be the central process in everyday thought.
They are not embellishments but are the basic means by which abstract thought is
made possible (Lakoff & Nunez, 2000).
Metaphors have many advantages for learners, researchers and educators. For
example, they help researchers to understand pre-service teachers’ beliefs in regard
to interpreting their professional world and personal lives (Mahlios & Maxson, 1998);
play a central role in conceptualizing and reflecting upon the nature of teaching and
learning; make connections between personal beliefs and educational theories
(Leavy, McSorley, & Bote, 2007); invite researchers to explore comparisons, notice
similarities and use a situation as an image of another; act as a lens, screen or filter
through which a subject is (re)viewed; and become a mental model for thinking
about something in light of another (Saban, Kocbeker, & Saban, 2007). As such,
metaphors can be used to help teachers become aware of the questions, assumptions
and values that they bring to teaching; promote a reflective approach (Michael
&Katerina, 2009); exert powerful influences on the processes of analyzing and
planning in education; profoundly affect teachers’ thinking about teaching and
learning (Martinez, Sauleda, & Huber, 2001); and show relationships between
teachers and mathematics (Sterenberg, 2008).
Metaphors are forms of comparison that directly compare two unlike items.
“Mathematics is a company” can be given as example of that definition (Reeder,
Utley, & Cassel, 2009). In this metaphor, mathematics as a phenomenon is being
explained by means of a company, which is unlike and has no prior relationship to
mathematics. As summarized in a study conducted by Saban (2004), the
characteristics of a metaphor are like a mirror of one’s reality, a mechanism of the
mind, a sense-making tool, a medium of reflection, an instructional tool, and a tool
for evaluation.
Previous literature has created general metaphorical images of pre-service
teachers or teachers about a concept--such as that of a student (Saban, 2009; Inbar,
24
1996) or teacher (Inbar, 1996; Gillis & Johnson, 2002; Saban, Kocbeker, & Saban, 2007;
Cerit, 2008; Seferoğlu, Korkmazgil, & Ölçü, 2009;)--and specific content beliefs, such
as mathematics (Lim, 1999; Noyes, 2004; Sterenberg, 2008; Reeder, Utley, & Cassel,
2009) and other disciplines (Güven & Güven, 2009). Several classifications of
metaphors exist that are used to express mathematics. Reeder, Utley and Cassel
(2009) coded metaphors as production, journey and growth. In Sterenberg’s (2008)
study of elementary school teachers’ metaphors about mathematics, metaphors were
coded as a battle, mountain, bridge and language. In a study conducted by Noyes
(2004), metaphoric statements used by students were coded as language, toolkit,
structure and journey. In Lim’s (1999) study, they were coded as journey, skill, game
and puzzle. Therefore, it can be concluded that metaphors can be used to examine
pre-service teachers’ content beliefs in order to better understand their mathematical
belief system and compare different countries’ pre-service teachers’ metaphorical
thinking as taught by their educational systems.
In Belgium, the primary teacher training program is a three-year program. No
entrance exam exists for this program. Instead, at the end of each year, the students
must take and pass an exam to advance to the next year. Within this program,
mathematics is taught every year and pedagogical skills are taught in the second and
third years (www.katho.be/reno/documents/Primary.pdf, 2010). In Turkey, high
school students enter the university depending on their scores on the university
entrance examination test (UEE), administered by the Student Selection and
Placement Centre (ÖSYM). The education program is a four-year program taught
based on a standardized curriculum signed into law by the Higher Education
Council (YÖK, 2007). In the first term, the students take the Basic Mathematics I
course. In the second term, they take the Basic Mathematics II course. In the fifth
term, they take the Mathematics Teaching I course, and in the sixth term, they take
the Mathematics Teaching II course. While the number of years of training is
different between the countries, the mathematics courses seem similar.
The purpose of this study was to compare Belgian and Turkish pre-service
primary school teachers’ metaphorical thinking about specific content in
mathematics. Comparing the teachers’ metaphorical thinking is a good means by
which to understand the differences and similarities between two countries’ teacher
education programs and how they affect the students’ metaphorical thinking skills.
The main questions presented in the study are as follows: “What types of
mathematical metaphors are used by Belgian and Turkish teachers, and do any
differences exist in regard to the metaphors used within each country?”
Method
Data collection
As indicated in a study conducted by Reeder, Utley and Cassel (2009), metaphors
are often used as a tool by which to gain insight into pre-service teachers’
conceptualizations of mathematics. For this study, data were collected in March 2010
in Belgium and, one week later, in Turkey. In this study, the data was collected via
25
written and visual expressions of mathematical expressions. Opinions of field experts
were taken using an open-ended questionnaire, whether the answers were
understandable or not.
Before beginning the data collection phase, the researchers decided that the
questionnaire should contain an explanation of a metaphor, but not a definition of
mathematics, in order to keep from biasing the data. Prior to giving each participant
a questionnaire, metaphor examples were discussed. Then, the one-question, openended questionnaire was distributed. On the questionnaire, each participant was
asked to construct a metaphor about mathematics in their own words and then
explain their reasoning for using this metaphor. Participants were given 30 minutes
to answer this questionnaire. In the questionnaire, participants were asked to
construct their metaphors for mathematics and draw a picture of the metaphor that
they constructed.
Participants
In this study, 79 (37 Belgian and 42 Turkish) pre-service primary school teachers
were selected. Each of these participants was enrolled in mathematics methods and
basic mathematics courses in their countries. These courses were chosen because we
felt the participants within them could best and most easily reflect on their
metaphorical thinking about mathematics.
Data analysis
The data for this study were analyzed using a methodology of metaphor analysis.
Metaphors can be used to reduce the complexity of qualitative research into clearly
structured patterns (Schmitt, 2005). The metaphor analysis is based on the written
and drawn discourses of participants. The data analysis process consisted of five
sequential phases as shown in Figure 1. In the first phase of the data analysis, the
metaphors constructed by participants are listed. Then, an initial code list is prepared
by the researchers based on the participants’ answers. The metaphors are then
reorganized under the same category. In the second phase, the metaphors are coded
by the researchers separately. In the third phase, the metaphors are categorized
under the same codes. In the fourth phase, the metaphors are labelled. In fifth phase,
the inter-rater reliability is calculated. For the data in this study, the inter-rater
reliability was found to be 98% based on the formula presented by Miles and
Huberman (1994). In this study, four dominant metaphors emerged (gesture,
animate, inanimate and emotion). If the produced metaphors were related to action
and game they were coded under gesture; if the metaphors contained vitality, they
were coded under animate, and if not, they were coded under inanimate. If the
content of produced metaphors was related to feelings of the participants, it was
coded under the emotion category. The metaphors produced by the participants are
presented based on their categories and subcategories in the below tables.
26
Metaphor
listing
Initial code
list
Metaphor
reorganizing
Metaphor
coding
Metaphor
categorizing
Metaphor
labelling
Inter-rater
reliability
Figure 1 Metaphor analysis process
Results
In the study, four dominant metaphors emerged for expressing mathematics from
the data obtained in research. These are as follows: gesture, animate, inanimate and
emotion. The metaphors produced by participants are given based on categories and
subcategories separately in Tables. In Table 1, Belgian and Turkish participants
produced metaphors for mathematics, which were organized under categories and
sub-categories.
27
Table 1
Metaphors Produced by Participants for Mathematics
Country
Gesture
Animate
Inanimate
Emotion
Action
Game
Animal
Human
Plant
Place
Object
Abstract
Concrete
Belgium
2
5
1
4
6
3
6
4
5
Turkey
8
6
-
-
3
3
4
6
10
As seen in Table 1, metaphors that fell into the action and game category are
coded under the gesture category. The metaphors containing animals, humans or
plants were categorized under the animate category. The metaphors containing
places and objects were categorized under the inanimate category, and those
metaphors containing abstract and concrete ideas were categorized under the
emotion category. Two participants of both countries did not construct any
metaphors related to mathematics.
Gesture
Within the gesture category, game and action were found to be sub-categories.
The following examples are for the game sub-categories: game, maze and puzzle. In
the gesture category, the Belgian participants expressed two action and five game
metaphors. The maze metaphor was the dominant metaphor among the Belgian
students. The results show that the game metaphors were more often used among
the Belgian students than the action metaphors. The Turkish students produced eight
action and six game metaphors. The students provided an equal number of game,
puzzle and maze metaphors. However, action metaphors were used mostly among
Turkish students under the gesture category. Table 2 shows the Belgian participants’
metaphors for mathematics under the gesture category. Table 3 shows the same
information for the Turkish participants.
28
Table 2
Belgian Participants’ Metaphors for Mathematics and Reasoning under the Gesture
Category.
Gesture
Action
Mathematics is like .....
Because…..
a chemical experiment.
you don’t always find the right
combination of things to solve a
problem. It takes a little while to find
the right way to solve it.
learning how to walk.
you have to learn step-by-step.
a maze.
you find the right way in a maze.
a maze.
sometimes it is hard to begin, but once
you know the way, it is easy.
a maze.
it is difficult to learn, at least in the
beginning, but once you learn it, you
understand the way to work it, and it
becomes easy. After a while, you will
find your way.
a puzzle.
it is difficult to understand all of the
parts and make them fit, but when you
get it or understand it, you are happy
and can make new exercises
the game of uno.
you have to think a lot. For example,
you have to throw the right card in.
You have to do a lot of exercises.
Game
As seen from Table 2, Belgian participants produced action and game metaphors
under the gesture category.
29
Table 3
Turkish Participants’ Metaphors for Mathematics and Reasoning under the Gesture
Category.
Gesture
Action
Game
Mathematics is like …..
Because…..
making a decoration.
every part of is connected and fits together.
playing a game.
mathematics is the most funny lesson. You
play numbers. Addition, subtraction,
multiplication and division are the phases of
the game.
recognizing life.
mathematics is a necessity. In order to adapt
to life and society, we must use mathematics.
suffocating in an ocean.
mathematics is large and difficult. When
faced with a difficult problem, learners can
feel as if they are suffocating in an ocean.
climbing an orthogonal
mountain.
when we encounter problems in real life, we
benefit from mathematics. We calculate,
collect
data,
compare
and
apply
mathematical operations.
walking on a pebbly road
that, at the end, leads to
entertainment.
the way is long and complicated, but when
you finally figure it out, it becomes fun.
knowing an unknown in
a space.
it is a well-known point in a lost order.
making an embroidery
everything is connected with each other.
a game.
you play the numbers and discover a new
world.
a game.
mathematics is an instrument. When you
play with it, it becomes fun.
a maze.
every part is connected. When you find a
maze, you find another maze, and it
becomes an endless maze.
a maze.
mathematical topics are connected. You
cannot grasp a concept before you grasp
another concept. Either you reach for the
next concept or you lose your way.
a puzzle.
once you solve one problem, you will want
to solve more.
a puzzle.
when you solve it, it becomes a total like
mathematics.
30
As seen in Tables 2 and 3, differences exist in the ways by which the teachers
expressed their metaphors. For example, although the Turkish participants expressed
eight action metaphors, the Belgian participants only produced two action
metaphors. In the game sub-category, game and maze emerged for both groups, but
the Belgian students expressed five, while the Turkish students expressed six
metaphors.
Animate
Within the animate category, three sub-categories emerged: animal, human and
plant. Table 4 presents the Belgian participants’ metaphors for mathematics under
the animate category and the participants’ reasoning. Table 5 presents the same
information for the Turkish participants.
Table 4.
Belgian Participants’ Metaphors for Mathematics and Reasoning under the Animate
Category.
Animate
Mathematics is like …
Because…
all the different fishes in the
sea.
all fishes are different, but we can find some groups
of fishes who have the same habits. In mathematics,
we also have problems that we can solve the same
way.
someone who is washing
the dishes.
it is fun to watch, but it is not fun to do.
all the different people in
the world.
every person is different, just like every number is
different in mathematics. When people come
together, you have a new relationship just like when
numbers come together for different exercises.
a human.
everyday you learn something new and your
knowledge grows everyday. A human also grows
everyday.
your hair.
it grows everyday.
a tree.
you start with a small, basic sampling, and you
make it grow.
a piece of a tree
İt is difficult to go to a leaf from thr bottom of a tree
[RAA1].
a tree.
there are a lot of branches that you have to learn in
order to understand it.
a tree.
you can always use different ways to solve
mathematical problems. We learn to solve problems
one way, and we can use shorter ways to solve the
same problems.
a forest.
it is very difficult to understand and use structure to
make exercises.
a tree.
it is very difficult. It is complicated.
Animal
Human
Plant
31
The Belgian students produced animal, human and plant metaphors within the
animate category. In the animal sub-category, they produced one metaphor; in the
human sub-category, they produced four metaphors; in the plant sub-category, they
produced six metaphors; within the plant sub-category, the Belgian pre-service
primary school teachers expressed mathematics as tree, forest and piece of a tree.
Therefore, the tree metaphor was the dominant metaphor. In the animate category,
the plant sub-category was used the most. The Turkish participants produced only
one plant sub-category and three metaphors within the animate category.
Table 5.
Turkish Participants’ Metaphors for Mathematics and Reasoning under the Animate
Category.
Animate
Mathematics is like…
Because…
a complicated creeper.
it is firmly interwoven.
a flower.
mathematics needs nurture like a flower. In
order to develop your knowledge, it is
necessary to think deeply.
a leaf of the golden daisy.
it consists of leaves that come together.
Plant
In the animal sub-category, Turkish participants produced three metaphors. As
seen in Tables 5 and 6, differences exist between the Belgian and Turkish
participants’ metaphoric expressions in the animate category. Although the Belgian
participants used the animal, human, plant and object sub-categories, the Turkish
pre-service primary school teachers did not construct any metaphors about animals
and humans.
Inanimate
In this category, place and object sub-categories emerged. In the place subcategory for the Belgian teachers, three metaphors were produced, while in the object
sub-category, six metaphors were produced. In the place category, house, desert and
country metaphors emerged. Within the object sub-category, a box of chocolates, a
clock, a shuttle, a web and an alphabet emerged. Among these metaphors, shuttle
was the dominant metaphor. The Belgian students produced more object metaphors
than place metaphors. Table 6 presents the Belgian participants’ metaphors for
mathematics and reasoning under the inanimate category, while Table 7 presents the
Turkish participants’ results.
32
Table 6.
Belgian Participants’ Metaphors for Mathematics and Reasoning under the Inanimate
Category.
Inanimate
Because…..
a house.
a house is built with a lot of stones. It is built stoneby-stone, step-by-step. It is the same with
mathematics. You start with the fundamentals and
build up from there. Mathematics is also large, and
every stone is another part of another
mathematical concept.
a desert
there is no end.
a country
there is so much to talk about. It is big.
an alphabet.
once you know it and understand it, it is easy.
a clock.
it keeps going on just like time that does not have
an end.
a web.
sometimes it is complicated.
a space shuttle.
it is difficult.
a shuttle.
you must know the basics; then you can learn
more mathematics.
a box of chocolates.
there are different tastes. One you like, and one
you dislike. One part you like to do and find it
easy; one you won’t understand and may dislike.
Place
Object
Table 7.
Turkish Participants’ Metaphors for Mathematics and Reasoning under the Inanimate
Category.
Inanimate
Because…
a world.
the more you enter it, the more you
discover.
a paradise-hell cave.
the important thing is to find the solution of
the problem like finding the exit of a cave.
a mountain
it has a lot of roads on it.
a lamp.
when you switch it on, it becomes lighter
and lighter. As in mathematics, when you
learn more, it becomes brighter.
color.
you see it everywhere, and without it, life
would be boring.
furniture that you use
everywhere.
you see the it everywhere like mathematics.
an empty plate.
when you learn mathematics, you make the
empty plate a full plate.
Place
Object
33
The Turkish participants only had three metaphors for place within the inanimate
sub-category but four for the object sub-category. Therefore, they produced more
object metaphors than place metaphors. The following emerged in the place
category: world, paradise-hell cave and mountain. In the object category, the
following emerged: lamp, colour, furniture and plate.
As seen from Tables 6 and 7, the place and object sub-categories were used by
both the Belgian and Turkish participants. The Belgian participants produced more
metaphors related to the object sub-category than did the Turkish participants.
Emotion
In the emotion category, abstract and concrete sub-categories emerged and were
produced by both groups. Table 8 presents the Belgian participants’ metaphors for
mathematics and reasoning under the emotion category, while Table 9 presents the
Turkish results.
Table 8.
Belgian Participants’ Metaphors for Mathematics and Reasoning under the Emotion
Category.
Emotion
Because…
a UFO.
it is a very difficult word; it sounds like something
outside the atmosphere.
a treasure.
if you have the key, you can solve the exercise.
Sometimes, people can discover a lot with
mathematics, but you need the key.
space.
the stars are part of math. For example, one star
means limit, another star means logic, another star
means logaritma. Space is unending like mathematics.
medicine.
it solves pain or trouble. When you do mathematics,
you have to solve problems too.
a circle.
even when you think you know all about it, there are
always new things to learn.
a human brain.
it is difficult, but somewhere there is logic.
the universe.
it is endless. You can calculate stuff into infinity. It is
amazing what you can do when calculating.
A sea.
it is full of wonders. Just when you think you know
everything, you learn something new.
A light
you have to think straight and bright. It can be very
difficult if you are tired.
Abstract
Concrete
As seen from Table 8 in the abstract sub-category, medicine, space, treasure and
UFO metaphors were found. In the concrete sub-category, five metaphors were
produced (circle, human brain, light, sea and the universe) by Belgian participants.
34
Table 9.
Turkish Participants’ Metaphors for Mathematics and Reasoning under the Emotion
Category.
Emotion
Abstract
Concrete
Because…
a long journey.
both of them are so long.
an endless path and
separation.
everybody chooses his own way.
an endless road.
as in other diciplines, there is always more knowledge to
learn.
an extreme way of
thinking.
it is not the movement of numbers. It requires us to think
about our thinking abilities.
Philosophy.
it requires you to look at things in new and meaningful
ways.
A poem.
a poem includes many different emotions, thoughts and
messages that are connected to each other.
A map.
every subject is sub-divided but connected to everything
else. If a part of the map is missing, then it is much harder
to get where we want to go.
a novel.
a novel is complete. It consists of an introduction, middle
and conclusion.
A river.
when you look at a river from a distance, it seems fuzzy,
but when you get close, you realize that it is not fuzzy. If
you do not spend time with math, you feel you are
suffocating in math, but when you understand math or
spend time with math, you understand that it is funny
and enjoyable.
a snowslide which
raises human
awareness.
being aware of humans in society is a basic foundation for
world society.
air.
Just as we need air, we need mathematics in every
moment of our lives. We need mathematics from the
begining of our lives to the end of our lives.
a life.
in order to achieve things in life, sometimes you need
mathematics.
a life.
what we see in nature is connected to mathematics.
a life.
there are always problems. You solve a problem, but then
another problem occurs. As in life, problems are never
completely finished.
water dew.
the droplets come together to form a pool. In
mathematics, small parts come together, and meaningful
events happen.
an appetizer.
mathematics is pleasant, like an appetizer. When you get
bored if you occupy mathematics, and at the end, when
you get the solution, it is the same as the appetizer.
35
In the abstract sub-category, the Turkish participants created six metaphors,
while they created ten metaphors in the concrete sub-category. The following
metaphors were found in the abstract sub-category: long journey, road, path,
philosophy, poem and extreme way of thinking. In the concrete sub-category, the
following metaphors were created: map, novel, river, snowslide, air, life, water dew
and appetizer. Belgian participants produced nearly the same number of abstract and
concrete metaphors for expressing mathematics. As seen in Tables 8 and 9, the
Belgian and Turkish students created different metaphors within this category. The
Turkish participants expressed more concrete metaphors than abstract metaphors.
Conclusion and Recommendations
Metaphors are powerful research and cognitive tools that can be used to gain
insight into pre-service teachers’ metaphoric expressions and provide opportunities
to educators to evaluate them. In this study, we investigated Turkish and Belgian
pre-service primary school teachers’ metaphors relevant to mathematics. The data
obtained from the study revealed four metaphor categories: gesture, animate,
inanimate and emotion. As indicated by other studies (Reeder, Utley, & Cassel, 2009;
Sterenberg, 2009; Noyes, 2004; Lim, 1999), the metaphors used varied greatly. Our
findings are parallel to those presented by Lim (1999), Noyes (2004) and Sterenberg
(2009).
Even though the Belgian and Turkish participants all took similar mathematics
and methods courses, the metaphors that they produced varied. The metaphors that
participants produced varied in terms of number and content. In fact, the range of
the metaphoric expressions produced was extensive. The Turkish participants mostly
created action and emotion metaphors, whereas the Belgian participants preferred
animate metaphors. However, some of the participants (both Belgian and Turkish)
used similar metaphors, especially in the game sub-category with metaphors about
mazes, puzzles and games.
Among the four metaphor categories, emotion was used predominantly by the
participants. This result occurred, because, according to Lakoff and Nunez (2000),
participants often explain abstract concepts like mathematics by using feelings. One
of the principal results in cognitive science is that abstract concepts are typically
understood via metaphors of more concrete concepts.
The wide range of metaphoric expressions produced could be explained via preservice teachers’ previous experiences with mathematics (Schinck et al., 2008). As
indicated in a study conducted by Noyes (2004), the way that mathematics is taught
varies depending upon location, both geographically and culturally at the
international and national levels (citied in Stigler & Hiebert, 1999). Noyes (2004)
indicated that children have different experiences growing up, in school, and in
learning mathematics. Soto-Andrade (2007) asserted that the diversity of metaphors
depends upon the participant’s previous background on the subject. It can be
concluded that the differences in the metaphors created by the pre-service primary
school teachers stem from their cultural and educational backgrounds.
36
In addition to a specific concept, like a student (Saban, 2009; Inbar, 1996), teacher
(Seferoğlu, Korkmazgil, & Ölçü, 2009; Cerit, 2008; Gilis & Johson, 2002; Saban,
Kocbeker, & Saban, 2007; Inbar, 1996) or specific content belief, like mathematics
(Reeder, Utley, & Cassel, 2009; Sterenberg, 2009; Noyes, 2004; Lim, 1999) and other
disciplines (Güven & Güven 2009), the processes used in learning and teaching
mathematics can be studied, and comparative studies can be completed on extensive
samples from a number of countries. Different data collection methods, such as
interviews, could be implemented in order to better understand the pre-service
teachers’ metaphorical thinking in different countries. Furthermore, the content of
the courses that participants take can be investigated.
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Ankara.
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Appendix
Metaphor examples are given as category and sub-categories
Metaphors for mathematics under gesture category
“Knowing an unknown
“A maze” (game)
in a space” (action)
“A chemical experiment” (action)
“A maze” (game)
Metaphors for mathematics under animate category
“A human” (human)
“A tree” (plant)
“Your hair” (object)
Metaphors for mathematics under inanimate category
“A desert” (place)
“A web” (object)
Metaphors for mathematics under emotion category
“An endless path separation” (abstract)
39
40
“A human brain” (concrete)
A medicine
Belçikalı ve Türk Sınıf Öğretmeni Adaylarının Matematik ile İlgili
Metaforik Anlatımları
Atıf:
Kilic, C. & Yelken Yanpar, T. (2013). Belgian and Turkish Pre-Service Primary School
Teachers’ Metaphoric Expressions about Mathematics. Egitim ArastirmalariEurasian Journal of Educational Research, 50, 21-42.
(Özet)
Problem Durumu
Metafor Yunanca Metaphora kelimesinden gelmekte olup, anlamı aktarmak ya da nakletmek
anlamına gelmektedir. Düşünme ve hareket etme bakımından kavramsal sistemimiz temelde
metaforiktir. Eğer bizim düşünce sistemimiz metaforik ilişkilerle yapılandırılıyorsa bundan
dolayıdır ki inanç ve düşünme sistemimizi metaforlarla daha kolay anlayabiliriz.Metaforlarla
akıl yürütme insan düşüncesinin temel bir yolu ve iletişim biçimi olarak ifade edilmektedir.
Metaforların araştırmacılar, eğitimciler ve öğrenenler için pek çok yararları bulunmaktadır.
Metafor, soyut düşüncelerle somut görüntüler arasında bağ kurar, bir araştırma aracıdır,
araştırmacılara öğretmen adaylarının kendi yaşamlarını ve dünyalarını
yorumlamalarını anlamalarına yardım eder. Metaforlar doğrudan birbirine
benzemeyen şeyleri karşılaştırmada kullanılan formlardır. Örneğin,matematik bir
şirkettir buna bir örnek olarak verilebilir. Bu örnekte matematik ona benzemeyen
şirket kavramıyla açıklanmıştır. Alan yazına baktığımızda, öğretmen adaylarının ya
da öğretmenlerin öğrenci, öğretmen ve matematik gibi özel konu alanlarında ve
diğer disiplinlerdeki kavramlara yönelik metaforik düşünmelerine bakılmıştır.
Matematikle ilgili olan metaforik anlatımlar ürün, yolculuk ve büyüme ya da savaş,
dağ, köprü ve dil olarak sınıflandırılmıştır. Bunların yanı sıra matematik için
kullanılan metaforlar dil, takım çantası, yapı ve yolculuk olarak belirlenmiştir.
Araştırmanın amacı
Öğretmenlerin inançlarının sınıf etkinliklerini şekillendirdiği göz önüne alındığında,
öğretmen adaylarının düşüncelerini öğrenmek önem taşımaktadır. Araştırmalarda
da vurgulandığı gibi metaforlar güçlü araştırma araçlarıdır. Bu araştırmanın amacı
41
farklı iki ülkedeki (Belçika ve Türkiye) sınıf öğretmeni adaylarının matematikle ilgili
metaforik anlatımlarını belirlemektir. Belçika ve Türkiyedeki sınıf öğretmeni
adaylarının matematikle ilgili metaforik anlatımlarına bakmak iki ülkenin öğretmen
yetiştirmedeki benzerlik ve farklılıklarını ve bunun metaforik düşünme becerilerine
etkisine bakmaya yardımcı olacağı düşünülmüştür. Bu amaçla aşağıdaki şu soruya
yanıt aranmıştır;
Belçikalı ve Türk öğretmen adayları matematikle ilgili ne tür metaforik anlatımlar
kullanmaktadırlar? İki ülkedeki katılımcıların kullandıkları metaforlar farklılık
göstermekte midir?
Araştırmanın yöntemi
Araştırmada betimsel yöntem kullanılmıştır. Veriler metafor anketi ile toplanmıştır.
Araştırmaya, 37 Belçikalı ve 42 Türk olmak üzere toplam 79 sınıf öğretmeni adayı
katılmıştır. Araştırmada, matematik ve öğretimi derslerini almış olan öğrenciler
seçilmiştir. Bu öğrencilerin seçilmesinin nedeni bu dersleri almış olan öğrencilerin
matematikle ilgili metaforik anlatımlarını kolayca yansıtabilecekleri düşünülmüştür.
Araştırmanın Belçika’daki verileri Mart 2010, Türkiyedeki verileri ise Nisan 2010
aylarında toplanmıştır. Veri toplamaya geçmeden once, metaforun ne olduğu
örnekler verilerek katılımcılara anlatılmıştır. Daha sonrasında Matematik ...gibidir.
Çünkü.... yazılı formu doldurmaları ve matematik ile ilgili metaforik anlatımlarını
görsel olarak çizmeleri istenmiştir. Soruların uygunluğu konusunda uzman kanısı
alınmıştır. Bunun için katılımcılara 30 dakika süre verilmiştir.
Araştırma elde edilen verilerin analizinde metaphor analizi yöntemi benimsenmiştir.
Metaphor analizi öğretmen adaylarının yazılı ve çizimlerine dayalı olarak
gerçekleştirilmiştir. Veri analizi birbirini takip eden 5 aşamadan oluşmuştur. Ilk
aşamada katılımcıların oluşturdukları metaforlar listelenmiştir. Araştırmacılar
tarafından katılımcıların oluşturdukları metaforlara bağlı olarak bir başlangıç
kodlama listesi geliştirilmiştir ve metaforlar organize edilmiştir. Üçüncü aşamada
metaforlar kodlanmıştır. Kodlanan metaforlar kategorilere ayrılmıştır ve daha sonra
bu metaforlara genel bir isim verilmiştir. Analizler araştırmacılar tarafından ayrı ayrı
gerçekleştirilmiştir. En son aşamada ise kodlayıcılar arası güvenirliğe bakılmıştır.
Kodlayıcılar arası güvenirlik %98 olarak bulunmuştur. Analiz sonucunda metaforlar
canlı, cansız, hareket ve duygu olarak belirlenmiştir.
Araştırmanın bulguları
Hareket kategorisinde oyun ve eylem olmak üzere iki ayrı alt kategori bulunmuştur.
Belçikalı katılımcılar iki eylem ve beş oyun metaforu kullanırken, Türk katılımcılar
ise sekiz eylem ve altı oyun metaforunu kullanmışlardır. Eylem kategorisinde oyun
metaforu daha çok kullanılmıştır. Canlı metafor kategorisinde ise insan, hayvan ve
bitki alt kategorileri bulunmuştur. Türk katılımcılar yanlızca bitki alt kategorisinde
metafor üretirken, Belçikalı katılımcılar her üç alt kategoride de metafor
üretmişlerdir. Cansız metafor kategorisine bakıldığında ise nesne ve yer
metaforlarını kullandıkları görülmektedir. Belçikalı ve Türk katılımcılar yer
metaforunu aynı sayıda kullanırlarken, nesne metaforunu farklı kullanmışlardır.
42
Matematik gibi soyut bir olguyu açıklarken katılımcılar hem soyut, hem de somut
duygu metaforlarından yararlanırlarken, ağırlıklı olarak somut duygu metaforlardan
faydalanmışlardır.
Araştırmanın sonuçları ve öneriler
Metaforlar eğitimcilere ve araştırmacılara özellikle öğretmen adayları ile ilgili bilgiler
sunan güçlü ve yararlı araştırma ve bilişsel araçlardır. Türk ve Belçikalı sınıf
öğretmen adaylarının matematikle ilgili metaforik anlatımlarının araştırıldığı bu
araştırmanın sonuçlarına bakıldığında, dört farklı metafor kullanıldığı
görülmektedir. Yapılan araştırmalarda da benzer sonuçlar çıkmıştır. Her iki grupta
yer alan katılımcılar matematik ve matematik öğretimi derslerini almalarına rağmen
matematiği anlatmak için kullandıkları metaforlarda farklılıklar görülmektedir.
Belçikalı katılımcılar canlı metaforları daha çok kullanırlarken, Türk katılımcılar ise
eylem ve duygu metaforları kullanmışlardır. Öğretmen adaylarına Matematik
...gibidir. Çünkü....biçiminde sorulduğundan ve bu durum seçmeye dayalı olduğu
için katılımcıların metaforları birbirinden farklı olmuştur.
Araştırmada benzer metafor kullanılan durumlar da olmuştur. Bu duruma oyun alt
kategorisinde rastlanmıştır. Her grupta yer alan katılımcılar matematikle ilgili oyun
bulmaca ve labirent metaforlarını kullanmışlardır. Bunun yanı sıra, metaforlar
arasında en çok duygu metaforunun kullanıldığı göze çarpmaktadır. Katılımcılar
soyut bir kavram olan matematiği hem soyut, hem de somut duygu metafor
kullanarak anlatmışlardır. Katılımcıların farklı metafor kullanmalarının bir nedeni
de, öğretmen adaylarının matematikle ilgili olan deneyimleridir. Bu konu ile ilgili
yapılan çalışmalara bakıldığında, matematikle ilgili metaforik anlatımların bireylerin
farklı büyüme biçimlerine, okul yaşantılarına, matematik öğrenmelerine ve bireyin
önceki deneyimlerine bağlı olduğu ortaya konulmuştur. Araştırmadan elde edilen
sonuçlara bakıldığında, Belçikalı ve Türk öğretmen adaylarının matematikle ilgili
metaforik anlatımlarının katılımcıların kültürel geçmişlerine ve eğitim sistemlerine
bağlı olduğu sonucuna ulaşılabilir. Metaforlar ne kadar çok kullanırsa, bireylerin o
konu ile ilgili görüşleri daha iyi anlaşılabilir. Bu hem araştırmacılara, hem de
eğitimcilere yararlar sağlayacaktır. Öğrenci, öğretmen ve matematik gibi konuların
yanı sıra, öğrenme ve öğretme ile ilgili de çalışmalar yapılabilir. Görüşme gibi farklı
veri toplama yöntemleri kullanılarak bireylerin metaforik düşünmeleri de
araştırılabilir. Her iki ülkenin öğretmen yetiştiren programlarında yer alan
matematik ve öğretimi derslerinin içeriği araştırılabilir.
Anahtar sözcükler: Metafor, matematik, matematik eğitimi, sınıf öğretmeni adayı
Higher Officials’ Training Needs on Managerial
Competencies in Spanish Universities:
Preliminary Findings
Jesús Rodríguez POMEDA
Fernando CASANI **
Suggested Citation:
Pomeda, J.R. & Casani, F., Ç. (2013). Higher Officials’ Training Needs on Managerial
Competencies in Spanish Universities: Preliminary Findings. Egitim
Arastirmalari - Eurasian Journal of Educational Research, 50, 43-62.
Abstract
Problem Statement.What the self-perceptions of higher officials in Spanish
universities are about the main competencies required in their daily tasks.
Purpose of Study.To analyze what the main competencies are in the
professional behaviour of higher officials at Spanish universities. The
improvement of their competencies through a systematic educative
framework would be based on what gaps are found to exist in their
competencies.
Methods.Principal component analysis: After dealing with sample size, we
have analyzed the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) statistic of sampling
adequacy and the Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity. After that, we ran the
component extraction and the interpretation of the components based on
oblique rotation. The last task was to check the reliability of the scale used.
Findings and Results.Spanish universities’ higher officials consider that four
competencies have paramount relevance now: organizational
transformation (command of change management models, total quality
management, and Higher education finance models); strategic
management (strategic planning, general and team management);
leadership (self-confidence, impact and influence on others); theoretical
reflection previous to action (command of achievement orientation,
conceptual
thinking,
information
seeking,
and
directiveness/assertiveness).
Conclusions and Recommendations.Context is a key issue of leader
effectiveness in order to develop an attuned scheme of competencies, that

Corresponding Author: Dr.Esús Rodríguez Pomeda. Universidad Autonoma de Madrid. Email:[email protected]
**Dr. Fernando Casani. [email protected]
43
44
Jesús Rodríguez Pomeda & Fernando Casani
is, a set of competencies aligned with stakeholders’ perceptions about
what effective leadership is. In the past, academic leaders exerted their
role by applying routine behaviours based on command-and-control
schemes within the limits established by the principal stakeholder
surveillance. However, the literature increasingly recognizes that single
prescriptions for leadership excellence no longer work.
When the winds of change blow harder, leaders must be equipped with a
broad and complex array of knowledge and skills, that is, a brand-new
portfolio of leadership competencies. This must be the goal for any formal
training program.
Keywords: Spanish universities, higher education, leadership competencies.
An academic leader is a person in a position to make a difference—in the quality
of the institution; in the lives of the faculty, staff, and students; and in the community
served by the university, as well as in other constituents (Diamond, ed., 2002). She or
he must be committed to this change process, which requires inspiration, motivation,
aspiration, relationship building, and creative capabilities (Brown, 2001). This
commitment requires a dynamic relationship between individual, social, and
organizational spheres (Bolden, Petrov, & Gosling, 2008) where a number of
competencies will be required.
Brownell (2006) considers that several “common competencies” combined with
“distinctive competencies” define the leadership role within higher education (HE)
environments. This indicates that fundamental knowledge and skills are combined
with key personal characteristics present in every HEL (Higher Education Leader).
Common and distinct competencies can be built to attain the distinctive features of
leadership effectiveness in HE (Bryman, 2007a). The expectations among university
employees define what effective leadership represents. For Kızıltepe (2010), to
promote an “active citizenry” approach among students should be a main purpose of
higher education institutions. Tierney (1989) considers that symbolism plays a central
role. If HELs must manage the symbolic organizational aspects, then it would be
useful to know what characteristics leaders perceive themselves to need and what
activities are involved to realize university constituents’ perceptions. We advocate
for this argument in our research by using a survey administered to HELs on their
perceptions about competencies.
The Literature on Academic Leaders’ Competencies
In order to understand the job of HELs, we first reviewed definitions of “leader”
to clarify what an academic leader is. Then, we offered an overview of the study of
leadership in higher education institutions. This first section of the literature review
ends with a reference to leadership typologies. In the second, we offer a summary of
key findings related to the content of HE leadership focused on required
competencies.
45
The Job of HELs: Leading Colleges and Universities
Leadership is exceptionally complex and multifaceted (Chafee, 1989; Richards,
2008) in the specific HE environment. The primary roles of HELs are creating vision,
communicating policy, and deploying strategy throughout the institution (Davies,
Hides, & Casey, 2001). One of the salient characteristics of specific environments in
HE is a strong resistance to leadership (Birnbaum, Bensimon, & Neumann 1989)
related to the existence of dual control systems, conflicts between academic and
administrative authority, and goals that are not well defined. Mech (1997) underlines
the ambiguity of the HE academic management process. Neumann and Bensimon
(1990) rationalize about the blurred borders of desired university leadership. If
college and university constituencies do not agree on what sound leadership must be
(Pounder, 2001), then different versions of the presidential role will be developed. A
possible way to analyze these different versions consists of revising the general
purposes of leadership typologies relevant to HE environments.
There are diverse approaches to this issue in the literature. Bess and Goldman
(2001) offer a comprehensive framework to explain leadership behaviour throughout
the entire educational sector. Their scheme comprises five leadership theories
(situational, charismatic, transformational, path–goal, and leader–member exchange).
Some of them are found also in other papers. One of the more pervasive is the
transformational model of leadership. Its main characteristics are idealised influence
or charisma; inspirational motivation; individual consideration; intellectual
stimulation; behavioural integrity; status quo challenging (risk taking, encouraging
other’s ideas, fostering experimentation, and accepting mistakes as opportunities to
learn); and acts of caring directed toward subordinates (Pounder, 2001). Smith and
Wolverton (2010) develop a higher-education leadership model with five
components (leadership competencies): analytical, communication, student affairs,
behavioural, and external relations. Some interesting leadership typologies that can
be developed in HE environments are summarized here in Table 1.
Table 1
Leadership Typologies and Higher Education
Typology
Transformational
Transactional
Adaptive
Distributed
Conceptualization
Charisma,
inspirational
motivation,
individual consideration, intellectual
stimulation, behavioural integrity.
References
Pounder, 2001
To highlight the positive features of
transformational leadership.
Pounder, 2001
Adaptive challenge is complex, answers
are not known, implementation requires
learning.
Development of leadership talent at all
organizational levels is related to
Glover, Friedman, & Jones,
2002; Heifetz, Kania, &
Kramer, 2004
Gregory,
1996;
Petrov,
Bolden, & Gosling, 2006
46
organizational culture and context,
control
and
autonomy,
and
organizational structures.
Blended
Dynamic
Servant
An effective kind of leadership in higher
education guided by a mix of individual
and collective leadership.
Collinson & Collinson,
2007; Bolden, Petrov, &
Gosling, 2008
The result of a leader’s work is focused
on people and process.
Brown, 2001
An inclusive type of leadership involving
everyone on the campus.
Kezar, 2001
Is it possible to offer an integrated vision of leadership in HE? An advisable
answer is to look for that model showing the best fit with HE environments. It is
clear that these environments have very distinct characteristics worldwide. Thus, it
can be argued that leadership is contingent to specific environments. However, these
models must be capable of generalization (Chafee, 1989; Birnbaum, Bensimon, &
Newman, 1989). For instance, faculty expects that leaders do not restrict their
autonomy (Erdem, Erendağ Sümer, Aktaş Alan, & Baser, 2011). Commitment and
team work within the institution are also needed to develop leadership (Gazi,
Silman, & Birol, 2008). Autonomy allows academicians to devote their time and
efforts to research, as well as to instruction in order to complement it (Odabaşi, Kurt,
Kabakçi Yurdakul, Firat, & Izmirli, 2012). Perhaps leadership integration could be
based on the consideration of the intensity of the expectations among university
employees and constituencies (Bryman, 2007a). Different expectations of the
leadership role are held at different levels of a university’s organizational hierarchy.
At the academic leadership level, people agree on the importance of the visionary
aspects of the role, but faculty and staff are prone to a leadership style that respects
their autonomy. Then, as Kerr and Jermier (1978) suggest, certain aspects of the
individual or the organization reduce the importance of formal leadership by
“neutralizing” the effects of the tasks of relationship-oriented leadership behaviours.
Other situational variables not only neutralize those behaviours but also have a
direct impact of their own on criteria variables through their influence over
subordinates’ attitudes, behaviours, and perceptions (Howell, 1997; Podsakoff &
MacKenzie, 1997).
In summary, expectations about what the leadership role must be differ within
the university, as do the perceptions of its realization. Faculty and staff show
resistance to highly directive leadership models. Then, combinations of
transformational, distributed, and “substitutes for leadership” are adopted in a
dynamic path influenced by the environmental turbulence level. For Pounder (2001,
288), more-stable university environments are related to transformational leadership,
and those that are less stable are linked to transactional leadership. In any case,
47
Mumford and his colleagues advocate for a “skills-based model of leader
performance.” Within this model, skills are seen as developing as a function of the
interaction between traits and the experience accumulated passing through several
environments (Mumford et al., 2000). The key to the model is creative problemsolving skills, and leaders must command these in order to identify significant
organizational problems and formulate solutions to those problems (Mumford,
Zaccaro, Connelly, & Marks, 2000).
The Content of HE Academic Leadership
A set of competency models has been applied, or specifically developed, within
the HE realm. Before we discuss them, two issues must be addressed. First, what a
competency is, and second, if it is recommended to use competency models to study
leadership roles. Within the vast literature on the concept of competencies,
Shippmann et al. (2000) offer a useful starting point. They consider that
“competencies” today is a term “… [T]hat has no meaning apart from the particular
definition with whom one is speaking.” (p. 706). The lack of a proper definition could
be overcome by confronting some of the more generally used definitions. Thus, it is
possible to gather the following descriptions for the term “competencies”:

A combination of knowledge, skills, abilities, motivation, beliefs, values, and
interest (Fleishman, Wetrogan, Uhlman, & Marshall-Mies, 1995).Knowledge,
skill, ability, and other characteristics (the so-called KSAOs) associated with
high performance on a job (Mirabile, 1997).

A mixture of motives, traits, self-concepts, attitudes or values, content
knowledge, or cognitive behaviour skills; any individual characteristic that
can be reliably measured or counted and that can be shown to differentiate
superior from average performers (Spencer, McClelland, & Spencer, 1994),
and

A written description of measurable work habits and personal skills to
achieve work objectives (Green, 1999).
We deal now with the plausibility of using those models to study leadership
roles. Hollenbeck, McCall, and Silzer (2006) offer an interesting set of pros and cons
about the use of those models. When competency models are accepted uncritically
and are used to build around the “great person with great results” idea, avoiding the
particular circumstances of the organization (Yammarino, 2000), a specific part of the
equation that represents leadership effectiveness is obliterated. In summary,
competency models have proved extremely useful in describing effective action
within unstable environments (Mumford et al., 2000). Leadership depends on an
interactive package of complex skills (Mumford, Zaccaro, Connelly, & Marks, 2000)
that must be studied while taking into account the additional competencies
demanded by university leadership, a requisite not widely considered (Spendlove,
2007). Some relevant HE competency models’ main issues are displayed in Table 2.
48
Table 2:
Competency Models Useful for Higher Education Institutions
Reference (Author, year)
Effective leaders show both managerial and leadership behaviours
and qualities.
Brown, 2001
Blancero, Boroski,
Dyer, 1996
Highlights
&
Competency model composed of three parts: core competencies,
leverage competencies, and role-specific competencies (in a much
larger number)
Bryman, 2007a
11 Facets of Leadership (direction, trustworthiness, role model,
participation, communication, representation, values instillation,
protecting autonomy, integrity, support-structures creation,
collaboration)
Bryman, 2007b
List of behaviours associated with leadership effectiveness at
departmental level (adds to the 11 facets the following:
advancement of the department’s cause with respect to internal and
external constituencies, resource provision for adjusting workloads
to stimulate scholarship and research, and department’s reputation
enhancement)
Holland,
Chait,
Taylor, 1989
&
Board of trustees competency model (understand institutional
context, build capacity for learning, board development,
complexities recognition, guard the governance process, shape
institutional direction)
25 competencies for HE policy analyst (comprising qualitative and
quantitative analytical, team working,
Martinez, 2008
communication, negotiation, project management, budget,
awareness of public concerns, knowledge of HE environment, and
networking skills)
McDaniel, 2002
Four competency categories: leadership context, leadership content,
leadership processes, and leadership communication competencies
Ruben, 2006a
Leadership Competencies Scorecard Inventory (LCSI) comprised of
analytic, personal, communication, organizational, and positional
competencies
Ruben, 2006b
Leadership Style Inventory (LSI) for leaders self-assessment
(questions about providing vision and direction, communication
and collaboration, asking for feedback, group work, challenging
ideas, confidence and self-assurance, ethics)
Spencer & Spencer, 1993
A Generic Competency Model of Managers (13 competencies:
impact and influence, achievement orientation, teamwork and
cooperation, analytical thinking, initiative, developing others, selfconfidence, directiveness/assertiveness, information seeking, team
leadership, conceptual thinking, organizational awareness and
relationship building, expertise/specialized knowledge)
49
We have used some ideas gleaned from the main investigation trends to design
our research, and, specifically, the quantitative scale. Three research trends can be
observed in the vast quantity of literature related to leaders’ competencies (Martinez,
2008). First, some studies follow the seminal work by Hemphill (1960), which asks an
expert group to devise a list of competencies. Other researchers combine literature
reviews with experts’ opinions. And, lastly, some use an empirical approach based
on exploratory factor analysis. The advantages of this kind of analysis are listed by
Martinez (2008) as follows:

Research designs are focused on specific groups of professionals, with some
unknown aspects in their work.

These researches do not try to test some hypothesized model but rather seek
to know more about the ill-defined issues. So, it is not advised to employ
confirmatory factor analysis.

The main benefit of exploratory factor analysis is to gather competencies.
Then, when groupings emerge from the data, researchers can propose ways of
classifying the models.
Therefore, Martinez uses exploratory factor analysis because it is employed by
most of the peer-reviewed literature on the topic. In his research on competencies of
HE policy analysts, he started from a Delphi method with an advisory group of five.
Their responses allowed Martinez to devise a list of 25 competencies, and then to
develop a questionnaire according to a 5-point scale. With 135 responses, he obtained
an effective response rate of 20.1% and ran an exploratory factor analysis. As a
consequence, certain competencies were “grouped” together in a four-factor solution.
Following Kachigan’s (1991) advice about the interpretation of factor loadings on the
researcher’s subject-matter knowledge, Martinez (2008) considers four factors
(external-technical,
internal-technical,
internal-interpersonal,
and
externaltechnical/interpersonal).
This article aims to investigate the following research question:
1.
What are the self-perceptions of higher officials (Planning and Quality Vice
Presidents and General Managers) in Spanish universities concerning the
main competencies present in their daily tasks?
2.
Any effort to improve their skills with a systematic educative framework
requires knowing what those competencies are.
Method
Participants
A sample of 400 university higher officials representing all 50 Spanish public
universities was randomly selected. We have obtained 80 valid responses to the
questionnaire. The overall response rate was 20 %.
50
Instruments
The base for the instrument development was twofold: a literature review and
discussion groups with HELs. The project was initiated in April 2008 and ended in
October 2010. Discussion groups held preliminary sessions in order to analyze the
first draft of the questionnaire. Following their work, a 1-to-5, Likert-based scale was
prepared, where 1 means “this competency/skill is alien to my behaviour,” and 5
means “I always use this competency/skill in my behaviour.”
Procedure
The survey was administered online, and the data was analyzed and discussed
with the experts up until October 2010. Then, the suitability of the data for factor
analysis was examined. The first issue in this stage was to study sample size
adequacy. Then the analysis was done using SPSS 19 for Windows® to decide how
many factors to retain and, lastly, to pick up item loads on factors. Following the
usual considerations, those items with loadings less than 0.4 were eliminated in the
output. To determine the number of components, we have applied the usual criterion
of selecting those components with eigenvalues exceeding 1. The accumulated
variability explained by the four components selected rose to 68.51%. To facilitate the
interpretation of the results and taking into account that some of the factors might
correlate, an oblique rotation (direct oblimin) was employed. Thus, it is possible to
verify the independence between factors analyzing the pattern matrix and the
structure matrix obtained from the splitting of the factor matrix as well as the
component correlation matrix (Table 3). With these data, it is not possible to assume
independence between factors, so it is advisable to apply the obliquely rotated
solution. Our procedure has an exploratory character, derived from the adopted
methodology, and also from the size of our data set. So, the results can suggest future
research avenues, and we must be cautious about direct applications of them on real
institutions.
Table 3
Component Correlation Matrix
Component
1
2
3
4
1
1.000
-.268
.073
.493
2
-.268
1.000
-.078
-.269
3
.073
-.078
1.000
.277
4
.493
-.269
.277
1.000
Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis
Rotation Method: Oblimin with Kaiser Normalization
51
Results
The twenty variables that constitute the scale were analyzed through principal
component analysis. Following Field (2006), we have eliminated those variables for
which the majority of the significance values are greater than .05. So, we have
retained twelve variables.The first issue to study is sample size. In the factor analysis
literature, it is easy to find a “rule of thumb” about sample size based on the idea that
the researcher has at least ten participants per variable. However, several authors
offer a quite different view. Arrindell and van der Ende (1985) consider that changes
in the participant-to-variable ratio have little impact on the stability of factor
solutions. Guadagnoli and Velicer (1988) underline that the absolute magnitude of
factor loadings has a relevant impact in determining reliable factor solutions; that is,
if a factor has four or more loadings greater than .6, then results are reliable
regardless of sample size. MacCallum, Widaman, Zhang, and Hong (1999) conclude
that when communalities become lower, a higher sample size is needed. With all
communalities above .6, small samples (less than 100) may be perfectly adequate.
Hogarty et al. (2005) agree and show that there is not a minimum sample size to
attain an acceptable quality in factor analysis, although they suggest examining
multiple indices of the quality of factor solutions. MacCallum, Widaman, Preacher,
and Hong (2001) consider that, when communalities are high, the recovery of
population factors in sample data is usually very good for almost any sample size,
level of over-determination of the factors, or the presence of model error. They say
that researchers can be confident when using samples with a size that is smaller than
that traditionally recommended if communalities are high. Mundfrom, Shaw, and Ke
(2005) think that there is little empirical evidence for the traditional “rule of thumb,”
so trying to offer an absolute minimum necessary sample size is probably unrealistic.
They show that with high communalities and a “variable-to-factors” ratio of 7,
samples with a size of n = 55 allow researchers to attain good results. In summary,
taking into account that variables in our data register a mean of communalities
slightly below .7, we can consider that a sample size of n = 80 is adequate to the
component analysis.
Then we must examine the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) statistic of sampling
adequacy, the diagonal elements of the anti-image correlation matrix, and the
Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity. Following the usual criteria, our KMO statistic can be
labelled as “good.” In the anti-image correlation matrix, all the diagonal elements are
above .5, thus we cannot consider excluding any variable from the analysis. Lastly,
the Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity examines the null hypothesis that the original
correlation matrix is an identity one. Our Bartlett’s result is highly significant (p <
.001), and therefore there are some relationships between variables that we can
analyze.
52
Table 4
KMO and Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity
Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure of sampling adequacy
.753
Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity
Approximate χ2
331.839
Df
66
Sig.
.000
The following step in the analysis is component extraction. We decided to retain
all those with eigenvalues greater than 1, applying the Kaiser’s criterion. This one is
accurate when the number of variables is less than 30, and the resulting
communalities are all greater than .7 (Field, 2006). In our data, seven communalities
are below that cutoff point of .7. However, the same author also suggests calculating
the average of communalities before the application of Kaiser’s criterion. In our data,
this average attains .685, that is, slightly below .7. Consequently, we accept
cautiously the extraction of four components from our data. In order to validate this
decision, we have also checked the percentage of non-redundant residuals with
absolute values above .05. Following Kaiser, this percentage should be less than 50%.
Our result is 47 %, with 31 residuals above the .05 limit.
Then we worked with the interpretation of the components. To facilitate this task,
we ran the component rotation. Thus, the variable loadings clarify the structure of
the model. The method most commonly used is orthogonal rotation, since it tends to
be easier to interpret its results. In factor analysis, orthogonal rotation allows the
rotation of factors, keeping them independent. Before rotation, all factors do not
correlate at all, and with orthogonal rotation they are still independent, but with
oblique rotation the factors are allowed to correlate.
We have selected the oblique rotation alternative because the theoretical
discussion in section 2 shows that factors might correlate due to their
interrelationships. As a consequence, we have found four factors. When oblique
rotation is done, the factor identification can be based on the results showed in the
pattern matrix, as well as in the structure matrix. For each variable, we have observed
the component for which the variable has the highest loading; also, for each
component, we have seen the variables that load highly onto it (that is, loadings
above .4 in absolute value). The results appear in Table 5. The items in each
component, along with their means, standard deviations, item total values,
component and oblimin factor load, are shown in Table 6.
53
Table 5
Results of The Factor Analysis: Total Variance Explained
Component
Initial eigenvalues
Total
% of
variance
1
4.069
2
Extraction sums of squared
loadings
Cumulative
%
Total
% of
variance
33.912
33.912
4.069
1.606
13.382
47.294
3
1.469
12.243
4
1.077
5
Rotation
sums of
squared
loadings
Cumulative
%
Total
33.912
33.912
3.256
1.606
13.382
47.294
2.023
59.537
1.469
12.243
59.537
1.952
8.973
68.510
1.077
8.973
68.510
3.097
,874
7.283
75.793
6
,587
4.890
80.684
7
.526
4.381
85.065
8
.469
3.905
88.969
9
.442
3.687
92.656
10
.398
3.316
95.972
11
.336
2.797
98.769
12
.148
1.231
100.000
Extraction method: Principal component analysis
54
Table 6
Means, Standard Seviations (SD), item total, component, and rotation loadings
Factors and Items
M
SD
Item
total
Componen
t factor
load
Oblimin
factor
load
Factor 1: Organizational
transformation (α = .835)
20 Change management model skills
3.86
.93
.252
.693
.650
17 Total quality management skills
3.94
1.07
.376
.750
.974
14 HE finance models
4.06
1.02
.324
.768
.867
18 Strategic planning
4.03
.90
-.367
-.578
-.586
13 General management capabilities
3.84
.89
-.332
.416
-.527
15 Team management skills
3.85
1.11
-.544
-.878
-.894
2 Self confidence
4.10
.83
.379
.456
.674
8 Impact and influence capability
4.14
.86
.453
.774
.760
4 Total quality management skills
3.91
.87
.312
.677
.744
10 Achievement orientation capability
3.75
.90
.347
.781
.838
11 Conceptual thinking capability
3.76
.83
.287
.736
.687
12 Information-seeking capability
3.86
.89
.309
.473
.699
Factor 2: Strategic management
(α = .617)
Factor 3: Leadership
(α = .622)
Factor4: Theoretical reflection previous
to action (α = .677)
55
Finally, we must check the reliability of the scale used. If our questionnaire is
reliable, then any one item will not affect the overall reliability significantly. The
results show that any item causes a great decrease in Cronbach’s Alpha if it is
deleted.
Discussion and Conclusions
We have tried to avoid the error of focusing on only the traits and capabilities of
individual leaders, instead of considering the significance of the context for
leadership, in line with Bolden, Petrov, and Gosling (2008). Context is a key
ingredient of leaders’ effectiveness through cursus honorum, that is, a collection of
jobs probably chained, similar to the “presidential career ladder” concept coined by
Wessel and Keim (1994). Leaders’ self-perceptions must be aligned with
stakeholders’ perceptions about what the right amount of top-down teleological
leadership is. These perceptions are related to the culture mix present in the
university. When the collegial culture dominates, to foster mutual supportiveness
and to maintain autonomy are generally perceived as the main desiderata for HE
leaders. Developmental culture calls for the creation of an environment for faculty
and staff to fulfil their potential and interest in their work (Bryman, 2007a).
We have found four main competencies present in the professional behaviours of
HE officials at Spanish universities. To know them is a prerequisite to designing an
integrated education program. However, further research is needed to determine
what the necessities are, that is, what the differences between competencies exerted
and competencies needed nowadays are. It is also important to know if the selfperceptions correspond with the competencies shown in office.
The first factor, organizational transformation, explains 33.9 % of the total variance
of the whole questionnaire. According to Spencer and Spencer (1993), items included
are the skills on change management models, Higher education finance models, and
total quality management. All of these items must be considered in a fragmented and
hostile environment characterized by powerful forces trying to change the status
quo. A new culture designed to face the need for change must be developed to
transform the collegial culture (Bergquist & Pawlak, 2008), which is the traditional and
most pervasive culture in academia.
The second factor, strategic management, gathers competencies and skills on
general management, team management, and strategic planning, and explains 13.4%
of the total variance of the whole questionnaire. These items are clearly related to the
managerial culture (Bergquist & Pawlak, 2008). Historical and environment-related
reasons could explain this result (the fast pace of Spanish universities towards a
growing internationalization, the wide impact in the last decades of the New Public
Management, and a narrow theoretical vision of higher officials implicitly based on a
56
mechanistic organization model). Thus, they think that their daily work is developed
with a traditional-tools array applied from a top-down perspective.
The third factor, leadership, is comprised of skills and competencies on selfconfidence, impact and influence, and explains almost all of the 12.2% of the total
variance of the whole questionnaire. As a matter of fact, competencies linked to
motivation focused on people’s commitment to a vibrant vision, as well as on
people’s growth within large teams based on working long hours, are seen as key
success factors.
The fourth factor, theoretical reflection previous to action, is composed of
competencies on achievement orientation, directiveness/assertiveness, conceptual
thinking, and information-seeking. It explains 8.9% of the total variance of the whole
questionnaire. Here rest some competencies linked to long-term management, as
long-standing influence over subordinates, initiative, self-confidence, and result
orientation.
While this study provides a survey instrument that the researchers could use in
studying higher education leaders, the strength of this instrument should be
considered in light of this study’s limitations. The return rate was low and, as a
result, the statistical analyses were conducted with a small sample size. Future
research could replicate this study with a larger sample and test to see if the structure
of the questionnaire holds the same.
In summary, we have presented the self-perceptions of higher officials in Spanish
universities of the main competencies used in their work. Their improvement
through a systematic educative framework could be based on these results.
Furthermore, additional comparative research could be done on the lessons derived
from other higher education systems.
Acknowledgements: We would like to thank the Spanish Ministry of Education
(Grant EA2007-0244) for its financial support of the gathering of empirical data for
our research.
We are also greatly indebted to Dr. Çınkır (EJER Editor), Dr. Poyrazli (EJER Coeditor), and EJER anonymous referees for their insightful comments.
57
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62
Nature of Interactions during Teacher-Student
Writing Conferences, Revisiting the Potential Effects
of Self-Efficacy Beliefs
Ayşegül BAYRAKTAR
Suggested Citation:
Bayraktar, A. (2013). Nature of Interactions during Teacher-Student Writing
Conferences, Revisiting the Potential Effects of Self-Efficacy Beliefs. Egitim
Arastirmalari-Eurasian Journal of Educational Research, 50, 63-86.
Abstract
Problem Statement: Within Language Arts instruction the use of teacherstudent writing conferences is accepted as an effective strategy for
teaching writing. The writing conference allows for an individual one-onone teacher-student conversation about the students’ writing or writing
process and provides the student an audience in terms of revising or
sharing purposes (McAndrew & Reigstad, 2001; Newkirk, 1989; Sperling,
1991). Although there is more than one way to label writing conferences,
their process and purpose is consistently defined. Teacher-student writing
conferences have purpose, follow predictable structure, and put students
in a position of being partners in collaboration (Anderson, 2000). Several
studies purport that writing conferences make students better writers
(Bell, 2002; Eickholdt, 2004; Haneda, 2000; Hewett, 2006; Koshik, 2002;
Martone, 1992; Steward, 1991; Wong, Butler, Ficzere, & Kuperis,1996), help
them learn better and increase their achievement (Corden, 2007;
Edgington, 2004; Flynn & King, 1993; King, 1993; Mabrito, 2006; Mitchell,
2004) and improve their habits and attitudes toward learning,
independence, and authority (Martinez, 2001; McIver & Wolf, 1999; Young
& Miller, 2004). Bandura (1989) introduced the concept of self-efficacy and
argued its effects on motivation and school success. Self-efficacy is
developed from the social cognitive theory suggesting that beliefs about
self-efficacy can be changed or increased with the effects of personal and

This study titled as ‘Nature of Interactions during Teacher-Student Writing Conferences,
Revisiting the Potential Effects of Self-Efficacy Beliefs’ is based on a dissertation mentored by
Assoc. Prof. Carolyn L. Piazza, and presented to Florida State University in March 2009.

Research Assistant Dr., Ankara University, Faculty of Educational Sciences, Elementary
Education, e-mail:[email protected]
63
64
Ayşegül Bayraktar
environmental factors (Schunk, 2003). Self-efficacy is “an individual’s
judgments of his or her capabilities to perform given actions” (Schunk,
1991, p. 207). Even though plenty of studies investigate the connection
between the writing conferences and students’ writing skills, research on
the relationships between writing conferences and self-efficacy has been
ignored. The few studies that do relate writing conferences to self-efficacy
tend to mention it as a desire to write more and share their writing
proudly (Clippard, 1998) as well as the individual writer’s confidence
(Clippard, 1998; Tobin, 1998). These studies claimed that writing
conferences had a positive impact on students’ perceived self-efficacy
beliefs toward writing, yet none of the research studies mentioned the
features of interaction between the teacher and the student that might
affect their perceptions of self-efficacy. Overall, it is clear that more work
needs to be done on how students (with high self-efficacy vs. low selfefficacy) and teachers behave during teacher-student writing conferences
to determine, and examine whether students’ level of perceived selfefficacy toward writing affects the nature of their scheduled teacherstudent writing conferences. The intend of this qualitative research design
with multiple case studies is to investigate the nature of the interaction
during scheduled teacher-student writing conferences and explore
relationship between students’ level of perceived self-efficacy beliefs and
their participation style during writing conferences.
Purpose of the Study: The purpose of this study was two-fold, first, the
nature of teacher-student writing conferences were examined to determine
if they were balanced, student-centered, or teacher-centered. Second,
whether students’ levels of perceived self-efficacy could inform the nature
of their writing conferences were determined. The quality of teacherstudent writing conferences are not easily determined, so this study aimed
to highlight the common patterns that occurred during the conferences
with students who had low and high levels of perceived self-efficacy
toward writing.
Methods: A qualitative study design with multiple case studies was used to
observe and analyze scheduled teacher-student writing conferences over a
period of 10 weeks. The participants of the study were fifth-graders from a
public primary school in the Southeastern United States. Data were
collected using the Writing Self-Efficacy Scale (Pajares, Miller, & Johnson,
1999) as adapted from Shell, Murphy, & Bruning (1989), as well as audio
and video-taped teacher-student writing conferences, audio-taped
interviews with the teacher and students, and field observations. Collected
evidence was described and interpreted using qualitative methods.
Results: None of the scheduled teacher-student writing conferences were
coded as completely teacher-centered. The classroom teacher was good at
conducting conferences having balanced and student-centered features.
Also, nature of writing conferences changed among students with
65
different self-efficacy levels in terms of focus, ownership, conference
agenda, turn taking, frequency of talk, numbers and functions of the
questions asked, numbers of praise statements provided by the teacher,
and amount of outside interruptions occurred during conferences.
Discussion and Conclusion: The analyses of teacher-student writing
conferences yielded that conference interaction changed from student to
student. While the teacher was successful at conducting student-centered
writing conferences in many aspects of the conferences still there were
parts she was ineffective on making her students more active participants.
The study argues the help of using rubrics to analyze the conference
interaction and provides suggestions for practitioners and researchers to
better conduct and investigate teacher-student writing conferences.
Keywords: Teacher-student writing conferences, self-efficacy beliefs,
writing education, primary school students
Within Language Arts instruction, the use of teacher-student writing conferences
for problem students, have been accepted as effective strategies for teaching writing
where the writer can share his/her writing with an audience in terms of revising or
sharing purposes (Anderson, 2000; Bell, 2002; Hewett, 2006; Wong, Butler, Ficzere, &
Kuperis, 1996). Teacher-student writing conferences are individual, one-on-one
teacher-student conversations about the students’ writing or writing process. Murray
(1985) called these conversations “professional discussion between writers” on what
works and what does not work in students’ writings (p. 140). Over the decades,
writing conferences have been investigated under different names reflecting their
multiple functions including: response sessions (Hansen, 1987); assisted performance
(Vygotsky, 1978); face-to-face interaction (Harris, 1986); one-to-one teaching (Calkins,
1994; Graves, 1983;); one-to-one interaction (North, 1995; Sperling, 1991);
conversation
about
the
student’s
paper
(Anderson,
2000);
private
communication/conversations (Sperling, 1991); interactive dialogues (Wong, Butler,
Ficzere, and Kuperis, 1997); dialectic encounter (Newkirk, 1989); and meaningful
contact (Lerner, 2005).
Although there is more than one way to label writing conferences, their process
and purpose is consistently defined by researchers. For example, all of them have a
purpose, follow predictable structure, and put students in the position of being
partners for collaboration (Anderson, 2000). During the writing conferences,
teachers’ roles are helping children to expand their thinking by asking questions,
making comments, or introducing different ideas that encourage and force students
to think more and create diverse ideas (Keebler, 1995).
The value of writing conferences has been highlighted as providing an avenue
that allows the writer an audience for face-to-face discussion about their written
work. Several studies purport that writing conferences make students better writers
(Bell, 2002; Eickholdt, 2004; Haneda, 2000; Hewett, 2006; Koshik, 2002; Martone, 1992;
Steward, 1991; and Wong, Butler, Ficzere, & Kuperis,1996), help them learn better
66
Ayşegül Bayraktar
and increase their achievement (Corden, 2007; Edgington, 2004; Flynn & King, 1993;
King, 1993; Mabrito, 2006; Mitchell, 2004) and improve their habits and attitudes
toward learning, independence, and authority (Martinez, 2001; McIver & Wolf, 1999;
Young & Miller, 2004).
Self-efficacy is developed from the social cognitive theory suggesting that beliefs
about self-efficacy can be changed or increased with the effects of personal and
environmental factors (Schunk, 2003). Bandura (1989) introduced the concept of selfefficacy and argued its effects on motivation and school success. Self-efficacy is “an
individual’s judgments of his or her capabilities to perform given actions” (Schunk,
1991, p. 207). It is a belief that someone has power to reach a certain goal (Ormrod,
2003). Self-efficacy is different from self-concept and self-esteem. Comparing to selfefficacy beliefs, self-concept judgments are more general, stable and enduring
(Hudges, Galbraith, & White, 2011) and self-esteem is related to self-worth (McTigue
& Liew, 2011) and refers to emotional reactions to previous achievements (Troia,
Shankland, & Wolbers (2012).
Determining and increasing students level of self-efficacy is essential because
students with high self-efficacy work hard (Bandura, 1993; Pajares, 2003; Walker,
2003), persist (Bandura, 1993; Bottomley, Henk, & Melnick, 1998; Liew, McTigue,
Barrois, & Hughes, 2008; Ormrod, 2003; Schunk, 2003; Walker, 2003), seek help when
completing challenging tasks (McTigue, Liew, & Wasburn, 2009; Walker, 2003), feel
less apprehensive when faced with writing problems (Bandura, 1993; Pajares, 2003;
Pajares & Valiante, 1997), approach difficult tasks as challenges instead of ignoring or
avoiding them to save face (Bandura, 1989), set more challenging goals, believe that
they will achieve their goals, take risks, engage in related activities, and are confident
with the awareness of their potential (Bandura, 1993). Students with low self-efficacy,
on the other hand, shy away from difficult tasks, have low aspirations, have weak
commitment to the goals they choose to pursue, dwell on their personal deficiencies,
give up quickly, and fall easy victim to stress and depression (Bandura, 1993; Vrugt,
Oort, & Waardenburg, 2009). Additionally they believe that no matter what they do,
they cannot learn or improve their skills (Bottomley, Henk, & Melnick, 1998) and
they are reluctant to seek help (Linnenbrink & Pintrich, 2003; Nelson & Ketelhut,
2008).
The few studies that do relate writing conferences to self-efficacy tend to mention
it as desire to write more and share their writing proudly (Clippard, 1998), positive
judgments (Wong, Butler, Ficzere, & Kuperis, 1996), and confidence (Wong, Butler,
Ficzere, & Kuperis, 1996; Clippard, 1998; Tobin, 1998).
The intend of this qualitative research design with multiple case studies is to
investigate the nature of the interaction during scheduled teacher-student writing
conferences and explore relationship between students’ level of perceived selfefficacy beliefs and their participation style during writing conferences. Therefore,
the research questions of this study are:
67
1. What is the nature of scheduled teacher-student conferences between a
teacher and four fifth-grade students?
2. Can teacher-student writing conferences be informed by students’ perceived
self-efficacy?
Method
Participants
Initially, a convenience sampling method was chosen to select the teacher and her
students for the study. However, one female primary school teacher was
purposefully chosen because of her willingness to be a study participant and her
interest in improving her teaching strategies. Her classroom was identified as having
met all the criteria cited by Henk, Marinak, & Moore (2003) for refining and
validating writing instruction. By focusing on purposive sampling and case studies,
the researcher believed that this group of participants would provide the variability
necessary for examining the study questions. The primary school teacher chosen had
followed current research in language arts education, had attended several
conferences on the topic, had finished a Summer Invitational Institute on the
National Writing Project prior to this study, and had been conferring with her fifth
graders during the prior fourth grade year.
The participants for this study were from a public primary school in the
Southeastern United States and included one female primary school teacher that
instructed Language Arts in elementary grades three to five and was also enrolled in
a graduate degree program in Reading and Language Arts. The students that were
selected from the study teacher’s fifth grade classroom totaled 22 (11 male and 11
female) and averaged an age of 10.5 years old. The classroom diversity was two
African-American, two Asian-American, two Mexican-American, and the remaining
18 were European-American. No students were reported to have learning
disabilities. The selection of the four case study students was based on their scores
from an administered Writing Self-Efficacy Scale. As a result, two groups of students
those with higher self-efficacy versus those with lower self-efficacy were determined.
In order to control for gender effect, one male and one female student were placed in
each group.
Measures
The Writing-Self-Efficacy Scale that was used in this research was a survey with
nine items designed to measure students’ confidence when judging their
composition, grammar, usage, and mechanical skills appropriate to academic level.
The items in the survey asked students how confident they were that they could
perform specific writing skills on a scale from 0 (no chance) to 100 (completely
certain). Each item of the scale was read by the researcher to prevent any misreading
or misunderstanding of the items.
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Ayşegül Bayraktar
The Writing Self-Efficacy Scale: The Writing Self-Efficacy Scale was adapted from
Pajares, Miller, & Johnson (1999) who originally used the scale created by Shell,
Murphy, & Bruning (1989). Shell, Murphy, & Bruning (1989) created a writing selfefficacy scale with eight items, each measuring students’ confidence on
communicating their ideas effectively in their writing. Reliability of these eight items,
which were calculated with Cronbach’s alpha, was .95.
Later, Shell, Colvin, and Bruning (1995) used the same scale with 364 fourth,
seventh, and tenth-grade students. The coefficient alpha reliability estimate for the
self-efficacy scale for writing skill was .76 . Finally, four years later, Pajares, Miller, &
Johnson (1999) used the same scale with 363 third, fourth, and fifth-grade students
with a scale from zero (no chance) to 100 (completely certain). The authors added one
item into the original survey. They obtained a Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of .85.
Interviews: After the Self-Efficacy Scale was implemented, the students were
asked nine open-ended questions encouraging them to reflect whether they enjoy
writing, their strengths and weaknesses in writing and how they define and evaluate
writing conferences.
Rubric for Categorizing and Determining the Nature of Writing Conferences: Analysis
of each teacher-student writing conference interaction was guided by use of the
rubric organized into eight categories: focus, conference agenda, ownership/building
on student’s strengths, reflected questions, encouraged turn taking, frequency of talk,
number of praise statements, and amount of interruptions. Rubric categories were
further divided into three sections; teacher-centered, balanced, and finally studentcentered. Conference interactions were assigned a score of 1, 2, or 3 points for each of
the eight categories. With 1 point being considered as a teacher-centered conference,
2 points a balanced conference, and 3 points a student-centered conference.
Observations: The research setting was visited by the researcher five times a week
for 75 minutes daily. The scheduled writing conferences were set up and audio-video
recorded in the natural setting as a part of the curriculum. The purpose of
observation was relayed to students but they were not informed about how these
conferences would be analyzed. Neither the teacher nor the students knew who case
study students were and what observations focused on during conferences. The
conference talk was transcribed and analyzed in order to determine the nature --balanced, student-centered, or teacher-centered --- of individual teacher-student
writing conferences.
Results
Data obtained through the writing self-efficacy scale, student interviews, and
writing conference observations were thoroughly analyzed and synthesized. In order
for the researcher to get a complete and unbiased understanding and be sure the
researcher reflected what was going on in the classrooms, collected data and its
analyses were shared by the classroom teachers -- member checking -- to have data
triangulation.
69
In analyzing the nature of writing conferences, a total of 32 writing conferences
were repeatedly reviewed, coded and analyzed separately by the researcher and the
second reader/coder who was experienced in teaching writing and not affiliated
with the data collection. The nature of scheduled teacher-student writing conferences
were analyzed based on the rubric with eight categories: focus, conference agenda,
ownership, reflected questions, turn taking, frequency of talk, number of received
praise comments and amount of interruption. Inter-rater reliability was calculated
using Intraclass Correlation Coefficients (ICC) and the initial inter-rater agreement
was .93. After four follow-up rater-reliability meetings, with analyses of each case,
the two raters reached 100% agreement.
In terms of focus, it was encouraging to see that 72% of the conferences were
coded as student-centered. Two out of thirty-two conferences were coded as
balanced, while 16% of the conferences were coded as teacher-centered since the
teacher mentioned more than three issues that needed to be fixed.
In terms of determining the conference agenda, each turns were coded individually.
If the teacher leaded the conversation that turn was coded as teacher-centered and if
the student leaded the turn that turn was coded as student-centered. Overall, the
classroom teacher was good at allowing students to determine the conference agenda
and shift topics freely. Thus, in only one conference the teacher kept the power and
control of the topics to be discussed. In twelve conferences (38%) both teacher and
student leaded the discussion and answered the inquiries. These conferences were
coded as balanced conferences. Again, it was promising to see that 59% of the
conferences were coded as student-centered where the teacher gave the students
opportunities to determine and lead the conference discussion.
The third category was ownership/building on student’s strengths paid attention to
whether the suggestions for improvement came from the teacher or the student. In
contrast to the first two categories, for this category it was found that the teacher kept
the control in terms of providing suggestions and recommendations to improve the
quality of the written text. Thus, 34% of the conferences were coded as teachercentered. In 44% of the conferences both the teacher and the students provided
similar numbers of recommendations that leaded these conferences to be coded as
balanced. In only one conference, the student provided more suggestions than the
teacher did and it was the only conference coded as student-centered.
The fourth category, reflected questions investigated total numbers and functions of
questions asked in each conference. If the teacher asked more than 2/3 of the
questions the conference was coded as teacher-centered. If both parties produced
almost equal numbers of questions the conference was coded as balanced. When the
student produced most of the questions the conference was coded as studentcentered. The analyses of the conference interaction showed that the teacher
outnumbered students with her numerous questions. She asked total of 464
questions while four students altogether asked total of 76 questions. Thus, only two
70
Ayşegül Bayraktar
conferences were coded as student-centered and another two conferences were
coded as balanced while the remaining 28 conferences were coded as teachercentered.
Encouraged turn taking was the fifth category and investigated which partner used
most of the turns in the conference discussion. Only 9% of the conferences were
coded as teacher-centered and the remaining 91% of the conferences were balanced
where both the teacher and the student took almost equal numbers of turns which
allowed students to be also involved in the conversation about his/her text.
Frequency of talk was the sixth category and similar to turn taking it also counted
utterances of each party. It was surprising to see that even though in the majority of
the conferences both parties had almost equal numbers of turns, when it comes to the
total numbers of words produced by both parties, it has seen that the teacher
outnumbered the students in 62% of the conferences. In 16% of the conferences both
the teacher and the student talked almost equally during the discussion and they
exchanged roles as senders and receivers of the messages. Thus, these conferences
coded as balanced. In 22% of the conferences, the teacher gave opportunities to the
students to produce more than 50% of the talk and acted as a sender of the messages
during the conference dialogue and these conferences were coded as studentcentered.
Number of praise comments received was the seventh category and investigated the
amount and the nature of praise statements. The conferences where the majority of
the general praise statements were used to show active listening were coded as
teacher-centered. The conferences where the teacher still used general praise
statements for highlighting the quality of the student’s text were coded as balanced.
Finally, the conferences where the teacher provided specific praise statements were
coded as student-centered writing conferences. The percentage of teacher-centered
writing conferences was 19% and it was 37% for balanced and 25% for the studentcentered conferences.
The last category was amount of interruption occurred. The total time of
interruption was calculated in each conference and if that time took more than 15%
of the total conference time that conference was coded as teacher-centered. When the
interruption time was less than 15% of the total conference time, that conference was
coded as balanced because the teacher returned to the discussion as soon as she
could. The conferences where there was no interruption occurred were coded as
student-centered since the teacher did not allowed others to interrupt their
conversation and gave the message that conferring was a serious act. Even though,
the teacher warned students several times not to interrupt still 22% of the conferences
were interrupted and the total time for the interruptions took longer than 15% of the
total conference time. The length of interruptions were less than 15% in 44% of the
conferences that lead these conferences to be coded as balanced and 34% of the
conferences were coded as student-centered since there was no interruptions
occurred. Below, the nature of interactions during teacher-student writing
conferences with four case study students are presented.
71
Table 1.
Overview of the Conferences with Student 1 (Male) Across the Indicators
Conferences:
C. 1
C. 2
C. 3
C. 4
C. 5
C. 6
C. 7
Focus
3
3
N/A
2
1
3
3
Agenda
3
3
3
1
3
3
3
Ownership/Strengths
2
2
N/A
1
2
1
N/A
Reflected Questions
1
1
1
3
1
1
1
Turn taking
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
Frequency of talk
1
3
3
2
1
1
3
Praises
1
1
N/A
N/A
3
N/A
2
Interruption
1
2
3
1
3
2
3
1= Teacher-centered 2= Balanced
3= Student-centered
Table 2.
Overview of the Conferences with Student 2 (Female) Across the Indicators
Conferences:
C. 1
C. 2
C. 3
C. 4
C. 5
C. 6
C. 7
Focus
Agenda
Ownership/Strengths
Reflected Questions
Turn taking
Frequency of talk
Praises
Interruption
3
3
2
1
2
1
3
2
3
3
N/A
1
2
2
3
3
3
3
2
1
2
3
3
2
3
3
1
1
2
3
2
2
3
2
1
1
2
3
2
3
1
2
1
1
2
1
3
2
3
3
2
1
2
2
3
3
3= Student-centered
Table 3.
Overview of the Conferences with Student 3 (Male) Across the Indicators
Conferences:
C.
1
C.
2
C.
3
C. 4
C.
5
C.
6
C. 7
C. 8
C. 9
C.
10
Focus
Agenda
Ownership/Strengths
Reflected Questions
Turn taking
Frequency of talk
Praises
Interruption
3
2
3
1
1
1
2
3
3
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
3
3
1
1
2
1
2
2
3
3
N/A
1
1
1
2
1
3
2
1
1
2
1
1
1
1
2
2
1
2
1
3
2
N/A
2
N/A
1
2
1
N/A
3
3
2
N/A
1
2
1
2
3
1
2
2
1
2
1
N/A
2
3
2
2
1
2
1
1
1
3= Student-centered
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Ayşegül Bayraktar
Table 4.
Overview of the Conferences with Student 4 (female) across the Indicators
Conferences
Focus
Agenda
Ownership/Strengths
Reflected Questions
Turn taking
Frequency of talk
Praises
Interruption
C. 1
3
3
2
2
2
2
2
2
C. 2
2
3
2
1
2
1
1
2
C. 3
3
3
2
1
2
2
2
3
C. 4
3
2
2
1
2
3
2
3
C. 5
3
3
1
1
2
1
2
1
C. 6
3
3
1
2
2
1
2
2
C. 7
1
2
1
1
2
1
3
2
C. 8
3
3
2
3
2
1
N/A
2
3= Student-centered
The analyses of 32 teacher-student writing conferences revealed that the research
study teacher was successful at keeping the conferences focused and allowed
students to determine the conference agenda. However, there were conferences in
which students did not share content from their papers or their writing processes.
This led these conferences to be excluded from the analyses in terms of conference
agenda, ownership, and praise statements. Even though the classroom teacher did
allow students to have almost 50% of turn-taking, she still produced higher number
of words and suggestions and/or recommendations for students to implement into
their writing which lead to her maintaining the power and control in terms of
ownership and frequency of talk. Another surprising finding was seeing that even
though the teacher warned students to be quiet and not to interrupt while she was
conferring, the teacher had total of 40 interruptions and almost half of these were
initiated by her for classroom control, giving directions, and answering her phone.
Another important part of this analysis was to analyze whether teacher-student
writing conferences can be informed by students’ perceived self-efficacy, the teacherstudent writing conferences were thoroughly viewed and transcripts of conference
talks were read repeatedly. Students’ level of perceived self-efficacy toward writing
was measured at the beginning of the study with the Self-Efficacy Survey. Based on
the scores gained form that survey, four case study students were selected. In order
to highlight the observed behavioral differences in students with higher and lower
self-efficacy, the case study students are described.
Student 1 (male) – the Confident Male Student
Student 1 was a highly confident writer. Sharing his writing with the researcher
and with others was always easy for him and he even enjoyed the sharing process.
Students frequently went to him for suggestions while the classroom teacher was
conferring with other students. Besides being a good responder to classmates,
student 1 was also a fluent writer who enjoyed conferences and his favorite part was
gaining ideas and advice from his teacher.
The duration of writing conferences with student 1 ranged from 53 seconds to 7
minutes and 38 seconds. During seven conferences he wrote texts for diverse genres.
73
He was first assigned to write a historical fiction which was the focus of the first four
conferences. The fifth conference was held after he wrote an expository text
regarding his Christmas holiday memories. The last two conferences occurred during
the process of writing a persuasive essay.
Student 2 (female) – the Confident Female Student
Student 2 always had lots of ideas and was also a fluent writer. She was also
eager to share her writing with others and several times during the study she asked
me or the interns to read what she had written. While talking to the researcher,
during the interview, she seemed very comfortable and the dialogue with her lasted
longer than with any other student in her classroom. The student told that since she
had a powerful imagination she was confident in her writing. She also believed she
was good at indenting new paragraphs, using strong verbs, juicy color words, and
action verbs.
Her favorite part in conferences was where she gained more details for
improving her paragraphs. She considered conferencing similar to having a check-up.
She stated that sometimes she requested meeting with the teacher to discuss her
composition even though a writing conference was not scheduled. Throughout the
study, she had seven writing conferences.
Student 3 (male) – the Less Confident Male Student
Student 3 stated that he was not a confident writer. He rarely allowed others to
read his writing. He was a shy student and never volunteered to read his text to
others. Student 3 seemed sad and concerned, did not talk much, and stayed at his
desk for most of the time while other students were collaborating on their stories. He
seemed uncomfortable sharing his ideas and feelings about writing in the interview.
His writing was slow with several long pauses. Even after several weeks following
the first recorded teacher-student writing conference, most of his peers had finished
composing their stories, yet he continued to lag behind.
During the study, student 3 had ten conferences which ranged from 7 seconds to
10 minutes and 33 seconds depending on the draft stage and the type of conference.
Overall looking at his conference interactions it was observed that he had difficulty
sticking to a chosen composition topic.
Student 4 (female) – the Less Confident Female Student
Student 4 used most of her writing time for giggling and talking with peers and
also exhibited low self-efficacy toward writing. Once she was focused on her writing
she was fluent, however, it was not always easy for her to be focused. Never
volunteering to read her text to others and when approached she did her best to
avoid talking about her writing. In the interview, Student 4 stated that her writing
was not good because she did not know how to start or end a story. She described
conferences as where the teacher talks to them, reads some part of their stories, tells
what needs to be improved, what to add, and, based on the conference, what the
student needs to fix in their paper. During the study, student 4 had eight writing
conferences.
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Ayşegül Bayraktar
According to the literature on the theory of self-efficacy (Bandura, 1993; Liew,
McTigue, Barrois, & Hughes, 2008; McTigue, Liew, & Wasburn, 2009; Pajares &
Valiante, 1997; Schunk, 2003; Walker, 2003), the researcher supposed that students
will experience diverse conferences related to their confidence level. It was assumed
that students with higher self-efficacy would be more active in determining the
conference agenda thus keeping authority and ownership. Since they would be
actively participating in the conference talk they would have equal turns, similar
number of questions asked, and produce as much speech as their teacher. It was also
expected that more confident students’ conferences would be longer, with less
interruptions, and with more praise statements when the teacher focused on only one
or two issues in students’ writing keeping the conferences more focused.
Interviews and field notes revealed differences between these two groups. For
instance; students with higher self-efficacy viewed writing conferences as dialogues
not short mini-lessons, enjoyed sharing their writing with the teacher and other
students, were persistent and fluent in writing, highlighted content-related concerns
to improve the quality of texts, and more importantly saw themselves as good
writers. Students with lower self-efficacy, on the other hand, seemed uncomfortable
to talk about their writing, frequently had writers block, were resistant to share their
writing, showed lower levels of commitment to writing, and highlighted mainly the
surface-related concerns to improve the quality of texts. Table 5 summarizes the
different patterns that were observed in these two groups of students’ writing
conferences.
Table 5.
Different Patterns in Conferences of Students with Higher and Lower Self-Efficacy
Students with Higher Self-Efficacy
Students with Lower Self-Efficacy
-Had mainly student-centered conferences
-Had mainly balanced-conferences
-Had longer conferences with less
interruption
-Had shorter conferences with more
-Received more teacher praise
-Engaged in more social talk
-Frequently initiated conference talk
-Were more active participants during
conferences
interruptions
-Received less teacher praise
-Engaged in less social talk
-Seldom initiated conference talk
-Were less active participants during
Conferences
When the conference interactions of two groups were compared with each other,
as seen in Table 5, it was found that the majority of the assumptions were proved.
For instance, each student with lower self-efficacy received positive feedback a total
of three times, while the total number of positive feedback statements was twenty-
75
one for students with higher self-efficacy. Even though these students had longer
conferences, they had less number of interruptions while conferring with their
teacher. The total number of outside interruptions was sixteen for students with
higher self-efficacy and twenty-four for students with lower self-efficacy. Students
with higher self-efficacy were willing to confer and frequently initiated the
conference talk. In contrast, the students with lower self-efficacy initiated the
conferences only twice and on other occasions both of them mentioned that they had
writer’s block and were not willing to share their writing.
Differences between these students with higher and lower self-efficacy were
observed during this study and their behavior was seen to play a role in both how
they approached assigned writing tasks and how they interacted with the teacher
during scheduled teacher-student writing conferences. Three important observations
of students’ writing behavior during this research showed that the more confident
students worked harder, were not hesitant to seek assistance when needed, and
persistently stayed on task until their assigned task was achieved. Consequently, the
two confident case study students were first to complete their story assignments.
Even though they finished their work much earlier than several other students they
were still seen engaging in related writing activities. To summarize, the confident
students seemed to be more self-disciplined and when responding to the self-efficacy
survey and the interview they reflected positively on their strengths and potential as
writers.
In contrast, observations of less confident students showed that they were quick
to give up on their task, often blamed themselves for their failure, and appeared to be
frustrated when working towards their goal. During the writing process the lower
self-efficacy students avoided drafting, revising, and sharing. Throughout the
writing process, these students wrote in a linear manner, seemed concerned and
nervous, and were reluctant to revise or share their stories. While conferring, they
also had difficulty speaking with the teacher about their texts. They also exhibited
low aspiration. Not surprisingly, they also showed weaker commitment to their
goals. Among the entire class these two students were part of the final four students
to complete their writing assignment. In summary, the less confident students
appeared to be less committed to accomplishing their goals, were less self-disciplined
than more confident students, and responded negatively about their writing abilities
in the self-efficacy survey and the interview.
Conclusion and Discussion
In discussing the nature of teacher-student writing conferences it was a goal to
understand if writing conferences were balanced, student-centered, or teachercentered. It was determined that the research study teacher and the students had all
forms of conferences; balanced, student-centered, and teacher-centered. Based on
characteristics of effective writing conferences identified in the literature (Atwell,
1987; Calkins, 1994; Graves, 1983; Harris & Silva, 1993; McAndrew & Reigstad, 2001;
Murphy, 2000; Straub, 2001; Wilcox, 1997) research observations uncovered several
76
Ayşegül Bayraktar
ways in which the research study teacher’s conferencing approach could be
characterized as student-centered. Several writing conference strategies she utilized
were, for example, she played the role of advocate by creating a conference
environment in which both parties shared power and were treated equally (Boynton,
2003; Graves, 1983). A specific table for conducting conferences was designated and
the research teacher always sat next to the student, not across from them. She also
encouraged students to lead off the conference talk and were also able to speak up at
any time allowing the teacher’s role to be more of a coach instead of the all-knowing
dictator which is discussed in (Boynton, 2003; Graves, 1983; McAndrew & Reigstad,
2001; Reigstad & McAndrew, 1984) as an important conferencing strategy. These led
students to more freely explain their texts and/or ideas because the teacher often
prompted them with open-ended questions which were also advocated as an
effective conferencing approach by Smith (2005). By keeping the conferences concise
and focused the teacher allowed students to have multiple conferences over the
period of the writing process which concurred with Atwell (1987), Boynton (2003),
and Graves (1983). During these conferences the research teacher remained attentive
by listening carefully to students’ ideas, questions, and responses. Her conscientious
behavior encouraged students to be more open and share their topics and concerns
which is a sign of a more student-centered conference (Kaufman, 1998).
The research teacher effectively provided students opportunities for turn-taking
by using pauses as their cue to generate a response (Graves, 1994). Additionally, she
used longer pauses with less confident students for them to formulate a response to
unforeseen questions or comments. The students were also given both general and
specific praise statements to learn more about their strengths (Wachholz & Etheridge,
1996).
Along all these promising practices, there were times the research study teacher
also was less effective and conferred in a more teacher-centered approach. Allowing
students to speak frequently aids the teacher in better understanding students’ needs
and can lead to more effective decisions regarding topics and strategies of instruction
for individual students (Murphy, 2000). When attention was paid to the frequency of
talk between the teacher and her students, she dominated the conference talk by
using a higher number of words.
It is important to communicate the intentions of the text before addressing any of
the editing concerns (Oye, 1993; Ulichny & Watson-Gegeo, 1989; Wilson-Power,
1999). Throughout the period of observed conferences sometimes the teacher ignored
where the student writer was in his/her drafting stage. During one of her earlier
conferences, Student 4 unhappily showed her paper all in red ink showing her
grammar mistakes pointed out by the teacher. Additionally, the failure to provide a
substantial amount of specific praise statements was another drawback in the
teacher’s conferencing style. This is important because, as highlighted, by Hansen
(1987) and Wachholz & Etheridge (1996) the teachers’ use of praise statements can
bolster a student’s confidence and feedback gained from the teacher is a persuasive
tool for students to determine their level of perceived self-efficacy (Cho, Schunn, &
Charney, 2006; Duijnhouwer, Prins, & Stokking, 2011) and encourage them to
77
continue working on their goal (McTigue & Liew, 2011). Moreover, by gaining
feedback students learn keeping a purpose and audience in their mind while writing
their texts (Calkins, 1994; Karsbaek, 2011).
The findings of this research support that students’ conference interactions
differed according to their level of self-efficacy and these beliefs led them to play
different roles as participants while conferring with their teacher (Glasswell, Parr, &
McNaughton, 2003; Mitchell, 1990; Patthey-Chavez & Ferris, 1997). Like Takaku and
Williams’s study (2011), in this present study it was found that there was not a
significant difference between male and female students in terms of help seeking
behaviors. However, similar to McTigue and Liew (2011) stated, the students with
higher level of perceived self-efficacy showed proactive help-seeking behavior. The
present study showed that it was not the teacher alone who contributed to the
conference but students were also there and the way students behaved during
conferences shaped the nature of interaction between two groups of conference
participants. Thus, the study highlighted the fact that differences in conferencing
patterns might be caused not only because teachers are less patient or have low
expectations while working with less achieving students (Glasswell, Parr, &
McNaughton, 2003; Patthey-Chavez & Ferris, 1997) but because these students still
see the teacher as an authority figure and limit their participation with accepting the
teacher suggestions.
While analyzing conference interaction, attention needs to be paid to both parties’
input rather than focusing solely to the teacher or to the student. As Murphy (2000)
highlighted, “we cannot make sense of an interaction if we only hear one half of the
conversation” (p. 89).
Analyzing a conference from multiple perspectives established through the
conference rubric allowed the researcher to not over generalize the rules of effective
conferencing. For instance, during conference analysis 72% of the writing conferences
were coded as focused because one or two writing concerns were mentioned, yet
closer attention to overall conference interaction showed that there was in fact
limited discussion about the content of the student’s paper. The brief mention about
the development and motivation behind the students’ texts did not lead to the
teacher or the student asking content related questions, offering suggestions, or
making recommendations. As a result, these interactions although focused in some
respect actually failed to allow the student to truly develop ownership and/or
determine the conference agenda.
Educators should go beyond the evaluations of teachers and students’ responses
in terms of assessing the effectiveness of a conference. Students’ and teachers’
feelings and attitudes toward the writing conferences are, of course, valuable
information for the field. Still, while determining the effectiveness of a particular
writing conference, researchers should also pay attention to a) what is happening in a
conference by considering both parties’ input in making and negotiating meaning, b)
relationships between what happens in a conference and its effects on the student’s
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Ayşegül Bayraktar
revision activities and attitudes toward writing, and c) the nature of the conference
discourse and its effects on students’ perceived self-efficacy toward writing.
Recommendations:
This study uncovers several rules of thumb for practitioners to keep in mind
when conferring with their students. First, the teacher needs to be patient while
conferring with their students. Because providing a quick solution is not necessarily
the best way to assist students in developing new skills (Graves, 1994). Second, when
conferring teachers can empower students by giving them ownership regarding the
development of their writing skills rather than dominating the conversation through
frequent questions, explanations, and lectures like they often do during mini-lessons
(Anderson, 2000). Third, teachers should provide models for their students to
improve their writing and help students better understand the writing process
(Schunk & Zimmerman, 2007). Fourth, while students are judging their capabilities
they need to hear positive feedback from their teachers and tutors in order to better
realize their strengths and be motivated to write (Karsbaek, 2011). Fifth, since
students can misjudge their level of self-efficacy, an appropriate strategy or
evaluation instrument should be used to aid in informing students about their
potential. Later teachers can utilize this information to further develop their
curriculum and writing activities in order to better accommodate each child’s needs
and feelings. Determining students’ level of perceived self-efficacy is important for
teachers as self-efficacy belief promotes self-regulated learning and achievement
(McTigue & Liew, 2011; Pajares, 2003).
Investigating students’ levels of perceived self-efficacy is important for educators.
Knowing our students’ levels of self-efficacy can provide a head start in better
understanding and helping students (Pajares, Miller, & Johnson, 1999). Also
important to remember is that students behave parallel to how they feel about their
skills (Bandura, 1984, 1993; Pajares & Valiante, 1999). It has been observed that
researchers have given significant attention to self-efficacy and how people judge
their skills. Less attention though has been paid to how self-efficacy affects learning,
especially the relationships between self-efficacy and learning to write. In addition,
because little attention has been focused on studies of younger students it is critical
for researchers to more exhaustively investigate self-efficacy at these grade levels.
Another recommendation is that this study might be replicated with coresearchers/research partners, so that writing conferences in several classrooms and
schools could be recorded simultaneously and then investigated for occurrences of
common patterns across teachers and/or students in a larger range of conferences.
Additional studies with larger sample sizes may also uncover subtle changes in
students’ writing skills and lead to statistical testing with more generalizable
measures.
79
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Ayşegül Bayraktar
Öğrencinin Yazıları Hakkında Öğretmeniyle Konuşmalarının Niteliğinin
ve Öz-Yeterlik Duygusunun Bu Görüşmelerin Doğası Üzerindeki
Potansiyel Etkilerinin İncelenmesi
Atıf:
Bayraktar, A. (2013). Nature of Interactions during Teacher-Student Writing
Conferences, Revisiting the Potential Effects of Self-Efficacy Beliefs. Egitim
Arastirmalari-Eurasian Journal of Educational Research, 50, 63-86.
(Özet)
Problem Durumu: Öğrencinin yazıları ve yazma süreci hakkında öğretmeniyle yaptığı
görüşmelerin, öğrencinin yazı başarısıyla olan ilişkisini inceleyen çok sayıda çalışma
bulunmaktadır ancak bu görüşmelerin öğrencinin öz-yeterlik inancına olan etkileri
ihmal edilmiştir. Öz-yeterlik konusuyla ilişkilendirilen çalışmalar, öz-yeterlik
duygusu yüksek olan öğrencilerin daha fazla yazmak istediklerini ve yazılarını
gururla paylaştıklarını (Clippard, 1998) ve yazı konusunda kendilerine
güvendiklerini (Clippard, 1998; Tobin, 1998) bulmuşlardır. Bu çalışmalar öğrencinin
öğretmeni ile yüz yüze görüşmelerinin öğrencinin yazı yazmaya yönelik olumlu özyeterlik duygusu geliştirmesine etkisi olduğunu savunmuştur. Ancak yapılan
araştırmalar öğretmen ve öğrencinin ikili görüşmelerinin yapısını ve aralarındaki
diyaloğun öğrencinin olumlu öz-yeterlik duygusuna olabilecek etkilerini
incelememiştir. Açıkça görülmektedir ki, öz-yeterlik duygusu yüksek ve düşük olan
öğrencilerin ve onların öğretmenleriyle olan etkileşimlerinin yapısı incelenmeli ve
öğrencinin sahip olduğu öz-yeterlik duygusunun öğrencinin davranışlarına ve bu
görüşmelere katılımına olan potansiyel etkilerinin araştırılması gerekmektedir.
Çalışmanın Amacı: Bu çalışmanın amacı, öğrencinin yazıları hakkında öğretmeniyle
birebir yaptığı görüşmelerin özelliklerini incelemektir. Çalışma aynı zamanda
öğrencinin yazı yazmaya dair sahip olduğu öz-yeterlik duygusunun bu ikili
görüşmelerin doğasını açıklamaya etkisi olup olmadığını da araştırmayı
amaçlamıştır. Görüşmelerin kalitesinin belirlenmesi ve tartışılması zor olduğundan,
araştırmacı öz-yeterlik duygusu yüksek ve düşük olan öğrencilerin ikili
görüşmelerinde oluşan karakter davranışları betimlemeye çalışmıştır.
Yöntem: Önceden belirlenmiş öğretmen-öğrenci görüşmelerinin yapısını (öğrenci
merkezli mi, öğretmen merkezli mi yoksa ikisine de ortak derecede ağırlık mı
verildiği) belirlemek amacıyla 10 hafta süren bu çalışmada birden fazla durum
çalışmasının incelenmesi yoluyla nitel araştırma yöntemi kullanılmıştır. Çalışmanın
katılımcıları Amerika’nın güney doğusunda faaliyet gösteren bir ilköğretim
okulunun bir sınıfında okuyan beşinci sınıf öğrencileridir. Araştırmanın verileri
Pajares, Miller, & Johnson’ın (1999) Shell, Murphy, & Bruning’den (1989)
uyarladıkları Yazı Yazma Öz-Yeterlik Ölçeği, ses ve video kaydı yapılan öğretmenöğrenci ikili görüşmeleri, ses kaydı yapılan görüşmeler ve araştırmacının alanda
85
yaptığı gözlem ve tuttuğu notlar yoluyla toplanmıştır. Elde edilen veriler nitel
çalışma yöntemiyle kodlanmış ve yorumlanmıştır.
Bulgular: Öz-yeterlik duygusu farklı olan öğrencilerin, öğretmenleriyle olan
etkileşimlerinin de yapısı farklılıklar göstermiştir. Nitel veriler öz-yeterlik duygusu
yüksek olan öğrencilerin ikili görüşmelerinin öz-yeterlik duyguları düşük olan
öğrencilerin görüşmelerinden a) görüşmenin odağı; b) kendi yazı çalışmalarını
sahiplenme düzeyleri; c) görüşmenin gündemi; d) söz alma sıklığı; e) konuşma
miktarı; f) sorulan sorularının sayıları ve fonksiyonları; g) öğretmen tarafından
verilen övgülerin sayısı ve h) görüşmelerinin kesintiye uğramasının sayısı
konularında farklılıklar göstermiştir.
Tartışma ve Öneriler: Yapılan analizler, öğretmen-öğrenci görüşmelerinin yapısının
öğrenciden öğrenciye farklılaşabileceğini göstermiştir. Sınıf öğretmeni birçok alanda,
öğrenci merkezli görüşmeler yapmasına rağmen görüşmelerin önemli bir kısmında
kendisi aktif rol üstlenerek öğrencilerini pasif katılımcılar durumunda bırakmıştır.
Çalışma bu tür ikili görüşmelerin karmaşık yapılarından ötürü detaylandırılmış
puanlama anahtarlarıyla analiz edilmesinin gerekliliğini savunmakta görüşmelerin
etkili olabilmesi için eğitimciler ve araştırmacılar için öneriler sunmaktadır.
Anahtar Sözcükler: Öğretmen-öğrencinin yüz yüze görüşmeleri, öz yeterlilik, yazı
eğitimi, ilköğretim öğrencileri
86
Ayşegül Bayraktar
Metaphors for the Internet Used by Nursing
Students in Turkey: A Qualitative Research
Emine ŞENYUVA*
Hülya KAYA
Suggested Citation:
Senyuva, E. & Kaya, H. (2013). Metaphors for the Internet Used by Nursing Students
in Turkey: A Qualitative Research. Egitim Arastirmalari-Eurasian Journal of
Educational Research, 50, 87-106.
Abstract
Purpose of Study: This study was conducted within the scope of a
qualitative and quantitative study pattern in order to determine nursing
students’ perceptions of the Internet through metaphors and the variables
affecting such metaphors.
Method: The study sampling included all undergraduate students (575
individuals) attending a nursing school during the 2009-2010 spring
semester. The entire population was targeted in the study; 500 students
volunteered to participate, and 87.0% of the population was reached. The
data were collected using an information form consisting of 9 questions
identifying the socio-demographic attributes and Internet use habits of the
students, and each student was asked to complete the sentence "Internet is
like............because................." in order to determine their perceptions
relating to the concept of the Internet. The data were analysed using
qualitative (content analysis) and quantitative (frequency, chi-square) data
analysis methods.
Findings: It was found that 25.5% of the nursing students were freshmen,
24.9% were juniors, 26.5% were sophomores, and 23.1% were seniors;
85.7% were female and 14.3% were male; and their average age was
21.32±1.89%. The nursing students produced 204 valid metaphors in
relation to the concept of the Internet. The top 3 metaphors were library (n:
51, 10.2%), world (n: 32, 6.4%), and book (n: 17, 3.4%). The metaphors
produced by the nursing students in relation to the concept of the Internet
were collected under 10 conceptual categories in terms of their common
PhD, BSN, İstanbul University Florence Nightingale Nursing Faculty, Nursing
Education Department, [email protected] (Correponsing author)
*

Associate Proffessor, İstanbul University Florence Nightingale Nursing Faculty, Nursing
Education Department, [email protected]
87
88
Emine Şenyuva & Hülya Kaya
properties. With regard to the perceptions of the nursing students relating
to the concept of the Internet, the predominant categories were "the
Internet as a source of information" (133 students, 51 metaphors), "the
Internet as a harmful tool" (109 students, 44 metaphors), "the Internet both
as useful and harmful" (74 students, 56 metaphors), and "the Internet as a
comprehensive tool" (91 students, 50 metaphors). It was also found that
the conceptual categories did not show any difference according to the
grades of the nursing students, the secondary school they graduated from,
their Internet use habits, their primary purpose of using the Internet, and
the place from where they connected to the Internet (p > 0.05).
Conclusions and Recommendations: Results showed that a majority of the
nursing students perceived the Internet as a source of information but
stated that it should be used consciously. In line with these findings,
metaphors can be used as a powerful study tool in determining,
understanding, and explaining personal perceptions and mental images in
relation with the Internet.
Keywords: Metaphor, perception, mental image, Internet, nursing student,
nursing
In an information society, technological developments and advancements require
nurses to follow up on developments, adapt to changes, need certain information,
access the correct information needed, and use technology to reach such information.
Much attention has been paid in the past decade to the use of technology in nursing
education with many recent descriptions of Internet based learning experiences
(Atack & Rankin, 2002; Özkul & Kaya, 2009; Wilkinson et al., 2004). This innovation
in educational delivery methods overcomes traditional barriers to education and
makes education more accessible for nursing students (Atack & Rankin, 2002).
Today, the Internet offers significant opportunities for accessing information in
fields of life such as economics, politics, education, and health, as well as for
producing, sharing, and storing information (Atack & Rankin, 2002; Çetin, 2008;
Özkul & Kaya, 2009; Wilkinson et al., 2004). Thanks to improving Internet access
speeds, increasing capacities in accessing, and distributing and storing scientific data,
Internet use is becoming more widespread, and the facilities it provides are
developing rapidly (Çetin, 2008; Estabrooks et al., 2003). One can only benefit from
such facilities by using the Internet correctly, effectively, and efficiently. This is
possible through identifying students’ perceptions and views concerning the Internet
and their thoughts about the nature and potential of the Internet, and developing
educational programs according to their needs (Çelik & Kahyaoğlu, 2007; Estabrooks
et al., 2003; Fırat & Kabakçı, 2010). The most powerful mental tools that can be used
in identifying students’ perceptions and demonstrating how the structure of the
Internet is understood are the metaphors created for the concept of the Internet.
Metaphors are not only explanatory, but also give important clues about how the
89
individual sees/perceives life, environment, events, and objects (Balcı, 2011; Cerit,
2008; Erdoğan & Gök, 2008; Fırat & Kabakçı, 2010).
The term metaphor comes from the Greek term metafora, meta meaning beyond, in
excess of, and pherein meaning to carry, to bear (Balcı, 2011; Öztürk, 2007). The
Turkish Language Institution (TDK, 2011) defines metaphor as “simile; any word
used outside its real meaning by means of association or analogy; or using a word or
concept in a way to have meanings other than the accepted meaning of it"
(http://tdkterim.gov.tr/bts/, 02.05.2011). Metaphor, which is generally assumed to
be used in literature, is a linguistic analogy frequently used by individuals in their
daily life as well (Lakoff & Johnson, 2005 Retrieved: Saban, 2009). Although it is
generally considered as a figure of speech enriching the discourse, it is far more
important than that. Using metaphors is a form of thought and view that helps us to
perceive the world in general. In this aspect, metaphors allow the individual to see a
certain fact as another fact by directing the mind from a certain perception form to
another (Morgan, 1980 Retrieved: Saban, 2009). In other words, metaphors not only
influence thought processes, language, and science, but they also have a formative
effect on the way an individual expresses himself (Balcı, 2011; Saban, Koçbeker &
Saban, 2006). While Gentner and Wolff (2000) defined metaphor as a “multidimensional image”, Mac Cormoc (1999) defined it as the “expression of similarities
between the differences” and stated that metaphoric development had an important
role in formal intelligence while creating and expressing an important element
(Gentner & Wolff, 2000; Mac Cormoc, 1999 Retrieved: Güven & Güven, 2009).
According to Lakoff and Johnson (2005), metaphor is one of the most powerful
mental tools structuring, directing, and controlling our thoughts and how we
develop and process events (Lakoff & Johnson, 2005 Retrieved: Saban 2008). Yob
(2003) defined metaphor as “a powerful mental tool that an individual may use in
understanding and explaining a highly abstract, complicated or theoretical fact”,
Saban (2004) as “relating abstract concepts to concrete concepts” and Demirel (2005)
as “borrowing the name of something which resembles what is tried to be
understood.” The definitions suggest that metaphor is not a mere figure of speech
used to enrich the language, but is used in our daily life as a powerful mental tool
structuring, directing, and controlling our thoughts, and the concepts formed in the
mind are explained through their association with other concepts (Cerit, 2008;
Erdoğan & Gök, 2008; Fırat & Kabakçı, 2010; Saban, 2008; Saban, Koçbeker & Saban,
2006; Shuell, 1990). With such attributes, metaphors are used as a powerful tool to
reveal the perceptions of students about a concept in research studies (Cerit, 2008;
Cook & Gordon, 2004; McAllister & McLaughlin, 1996; Saban, 2004; Saban, Koçbeker
& Saban, 2006). From this perspective, analysing, understanding, and explaining
nursing students’ perceptions about the concept of “the Internet” through metaphors
provides a significant clue regarding the use of metaphors as a study tool (Saban,
2008).
McNeil et al. (2003) suggested that health care delivery increasingly relies on
information technologies for effective decision-making and care delivery. Computer
use, and Internet and database use in particular, is of great importance in today’s
90
technological environment (Atack, 2003). Familiarity with using the Internet is
necessary for many practical nursing applications. McCannon and O’Neal (2003)
emphasized the most crucial aspects Internet use skills required by nurses.
Metaphor analysis, which is widely used in revealing the detailed views and
experiences of professionals in regard to practices in nursing in foreign countries, is
generally used in educational studies in our country, but there are no studies on this
subject in the field of nursing (Cerit, 2008; Çelik & Kahyaoğlu, 2007; Erdoğan & Gök,
2008; Fırat & Kabakçı, 2010; Güven & Güven, 2009; Öztürk, 2007; Saban, 2004; Saban,
Koçbeker & Saban, 2006; Shuell, 1990; Yob, 2003).
It is important to understand students’ perceptions regarding the Internet and
configure educational programs in such a way as to develop this perception for the
accurate, effective, and conscious use of the Internet. In light of this information, this
study was planned to reveal the perceptions of the nursing students about the
Internet by using metaphors and to determine certain variables affecting such
metaphors; this was accomplished by conducting this study in a qualitative and
quantitative pattern. With this purpose, answers to the following questions were
sought:
1. What are the Internet-related metaphors used by the students?
2. Under what conceptual categories can the metaphors produced by the
students be gathered in terms of their common characteristics?
3. Do the principal conceptual categories show any differences according to
variables such as students’ age, sex, school of graduation, whether they use
the Internet or not, the primary purposes of Internet use, and location of
accessing the Internet?
Method
Study Design
The study uses descriptive-quantitative research practices in terms of
determining certain identifying characteristics and Internet usage status of the
students, and uses qualitative research practices in terms of analysing and
interpreting the Internet-related metaphors.
Population and Sample
The sampling of the study consisted of all undergraduate students (575 students)
attending a nursing school during the 2009-2010 spring term. The entire research
group was targeted, and 87% (500 students) were reached.
The research was conducted at one of the oldest university schools of nursing in
Turkey, founded in 1961. When the institute was evaluated for information sources,
it was seen that there was a computer laboratory in the school. There are 28
computers available for student use in the school’s computer laboratory, and there is
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an average of 20 students per computer. Nursing students have the opportunity to
access to the Internet 8 hours a day.
Of these nursing students, there were 25.5% freshmen, 24.9% juniors, 26.5%
sophomores, and 23.1% seniors; there were 85.7% females and 14.3% males. Their
average age was 21.32±1.89. Of these students, 33.3% graduated from high school,
25.3% graduated from an Anatolian high school, and 13.5% graduated from a
vocational health high school.
Development and Implementation of Data Collection Tool
The data in the study were collected by means of an information form consisting
of 9 questions aiming to determine the socio-demographic characteristics and
Internet usage status of the students and by asking the students to complete the
sentence “Internet is like…………………because………………..” to reveal the students’
perceptions about the concept of the Internet. In line with this purpose, the students
were handed a blank paper with the above sentence at the top of the page and were
asked to use this sentence to express their thoughts, focusing on a single metaphor.
In metaphor studies, the term like is generally used to create a clearer association
between the subject and origin of the metaphor. In this study, the participants were
asked to produce a reason or logical foundation for their analogies. The nursing
students were given unlimited time to develop their metaphoric images and were
asked to write down their perceptions relating to the Internet. These compositions
formed by students’ handwriting and their own expressions were the basic data
sources of the study.
Data Analyses
Five hundred students participated in the study. Two of the students were not
included in the study as they failed to provide a logical foundation for their
metaphors, and the metaphors of 498 students were assessed.
The metaphors developed by the students were analysed and interpreted in 6
stages: (1) naming stage, (2) elimination stage, (3) re-organisation and compilation stage, (4)
category development stage, (5) verification of validity and reliability stage, and (6)
transferring the data into an SPSS package program for quantitative data analysis.
Stage 1. Naming: In this stage, a temporary list was created for the students'
metaphors and arranged in alphabetical order. In line with this purpose, it was
assessed whether each student expressed a certain metaphor clearly. At this stage,
the metaphor expressed in papers presented by each student was coded (e.g. world,
sky, map, library, space, etc.).
Stage 2. Elimination: At this stage, each metaphor was resolved using “metaphor
analysis” and “content analysis” techniques and was analysed in terms of similarities
or common characteristics with other metaphors. For this, the metaphors produced
by the students were reviewed individually, and each metaphor image was analysed
in terms of the (a) subject of the metaphor, (b) origin of the metaphor, and (c) the
relationship between the subject and origin of the metaphor. The students’ papers
were sorted on the basis of 4 primary criteria.
92
1. Papers including only definitions without any origin of metaphor,
2. Papers including a certain metaphor without giving any reason for the
metaphor,
3. Metaphors having characteristics of more than 1 category, and
4. Metaphors that were illogical or had no contribution to a better understanding
of the concept of the Internet. There was no metaphor without any
contribution to better understanding the concept of the Internet.
Stage 3. Reorganisation and compilation: After the elimination process, there were
205 valid metaphors in 498 papers. The metaphors generated at this stage were
ordered alphabetically and coded again. Each metaphor was reviewed, and a sample
metaphoric expression was selected from each of the compositions representing each
metaphor, and a list of metaphors was prepared. If the metaphoric expressions
selected were too long, the most important (or striking) pieces of the metaphor were
conveyed, keeping the students’ own words and discourse. Ellipsis (…) was used in
the metaphoric expressions to indicate the excluded words, sentences or paragraphs.
The information relating to the producer of the metaphoric image was coded
within parentheses at the end of the related metaphor image. The codes have the
following meanings: (1) The grades of the students were indicated as 1, 2, 3, 4; (2) Sex
was indicated using M and F.; and (3) A19, A20, A21, etc. were used to indicate the
age of the students.
Stage 4. Categorization: At this stage, the metaphors were gathered under 10
conceptual categories in terms of purposes-benefit-disadvantages of using the
Internet on the basis of metaphoric expressions. In line with this purpose, the
metaphors selected as samples were taken as the basis. Each metaphor was analysed
in terms of purposes-benefits-disadvantages of using the Internet and coded with a
specific code (e.g. information source, facilitator, guide, harmful, both beneficial and
harmful, very comprehensive, etc.). Afterwards, these codes were expressed in terms
of the purposes-benefits-disadvantages of using the Internet and turned into
conceptual category headings.
Stage 5. Ensuring validity and reliability: Validity and reliability are the 2 most
important criteria to confirm and increase the credibility of the study results. In this
context, detailed reporting of the data collected and explanation of the ways in which
the results were reached by the investigator are among the important criteria for
validity in a qualitative study (Yıldırım & Şimşek, 2005). There were two important
procedures in terms of validity of the study results in this study.
1. The data analysis process was explained in detail.
2. For each of the metaphors obtained in the study, a sample metaphor, assumed
to represent it in the best way, was determined, and these were provided in
the findings.
Two significant strategies were followed for the internal reliability of the study.
As part of the first strategy, both investigators worked in harmony at every stage of
93
the study from start to end and tried to reach a consensus in case of any conflict. As
part of the second strategy, expert opinion was taken to confirm whether the
metaphors under 10 conceptual categories represented the said conceptual
categories. In line with this purpose, the opinion of an academician in the same
program was taken. The opinion of the expert was compared to the opinions of the
investigators, and the number of consensuses and divergences was determined, and
the internal reliability of the study was calculated using Miles and Huberman’s
(1994, p. 64) formula (Reliability=Consensus/(Consensus+Divergence)). According
to Miles and Huberman, if the concordance between the assessments of the expert
and the investigators approximates to or exceeds 90%, the desired level of reliability
is reached. There was 97.8% concordance (reliability) in the reliability of this study.
The expert academician associated the metaphor of ocean with the sixth
conceptual category (the Internet as an indefinite concept) instead of the tenth
conceptual category (the Internet as a very comprehensive tool), the metaphor of
space with the sixth conceptual category (the Internet as an indefinite concept) instead
of the tenth conceptual category (the Internet as a very comprehensive tool), the
metaphor of Istanbul with the tenth conceptual category (the Internet as a very
comprehensive tool) instead of the sixth (the Internet as an indefinite concept), the
metaphor of black hole with the first conceptual category (the Internet as information
provider/source) instead of the tenth conceptual category (the Internet as a very
comprehensive tool), the metaphor of reading very much with the tenth conceptual
category (the Internet as a very comprehensive tool) instead of the first conceptual
category (the Internet as information provider/source), the metaphor of book with the
sixth conceptual category (the Internet as an indefinite concept) instead of the tenth
conceptual category (the Internet as a very comprehensive tool), the metaphor of
devil's triangle with the seventh conceptual category (the Internet as a harmful tool)
instead of the ninth conceptual category (the Internet both as beneficial and harmful
tool), the metaphor of trash with the third conceptual category (the Internet as a
facilitator) instead of the ninth conceptual category (the Internet both as a beneficial
and harmful tool), the metaphor of physiological need with the tenth conceptual
category (the Internet as a very comprehensive tool) instead of the fifth conceptual
category (the Internet as a basic need), the metaphor of neighbour with the tenth
conceptual category (the Internet as a very comprehensive tool) instead of the third
conceptual category (the Internet as a facilitator), the metaphor of rubber with the
ninth conceptual category (the Internet both as a beneficial and harmful tool) instead
of the ninth conceptual category (the Internet as a very comprehensive tool). Given
the data, reliability was 487/(487 + 11) = 97.8. These results show that the desired
reliability level was reached.
Stage 6. Transferring the data into SPSS package program for quantitative data analysis:
The data were analysed using qualitative (content analysis) and quantitative
(frequency, chi-square) data analysis techniques. After the metaphors were defined
and 10 conceptual categories consisting of these metaphors were developed, the data
were transferred to the SPSS package program. The frequency and percentage of
nursing students representing each metaphor and category were calculated.
94
Afterwards, in order to determine whether the categories differed according to
students' age, sex, secondary school of graduation, Internet usage status, and the
primary purpose of using the Internet, a Pearson chi-square test was used, and the
results were analysed.
Ethical Considerations
The data were collected on voluntary basis after the written approval of the
Nursing School Directorate was taken. In addition, the participants were informed
verbally before data was collected, and they were asked to complete the papers after
the necessary explanations were made.
Limitations of the Study
The results of the study are limited to the students attending a nursing school,
and they cannot be generalised.
Results
In this section, the findings relating to the identifying characteristics and Internetrelated metaphors of the students are analyzed as sub-sections according to the study
questions and are presented in tables.
All the students were using the Internet (100%): 93.4% of them used it primarily
to access information (education), 70.3% used it for chatting, 24.9% for playing
games, 16.5% for meeting new people, 10.4% for following up on news and learning
exam results, and 8.0% for shopping. 62.2% stated that they accessed the Internet
through their personal computers, 60.4% used the computer room at the school,
36.3% used Internet cafes, and 26.9% used their friends' computers.
1. What are the Internet-related metaphors used by the students?
The students developed 204 metaphors related to the Internet. 142 metaphors
were represented by 1 student each. The remaining 62 metaphors were expressed by
students whose number ranged between 2 and 51.
The top 10 metaphors were library (n: 51, 10.2%), world (n: 32, 6.4%), book (n: 17,
3.4%), drug (n: 15, 3.0%), water (n: 13, 2.6%), cigarette (n: 13, 2.6%), encyclopedia (n: 11,
2.2%), alcohol (n: 10, 2.0%), ocean (n: 10, 2.0%), spider’s web (n: 10, 2.0%), virus (n: 8,
1.6%), and sea (n: 7, 1.4%).
2. Under what conceptual categories can the metaphors produced by the students be
gathered in terms of their common characteristics?
Table 1 shows the categorical distributions of the Internet-related metaphors. The
metaphors developed by the participating students were collected under 10
conceptual categories according to their common characteristics.
95
Table 1.
Distribution of the Internet-Related Metaphors of the Students
Categorical
Metaphors
Producing
a metaphor
Number of
Students
(%)
Number
of
metaphor
(%)
Internet as an
Information
Source
Network, Wood, Octopus, My mother,
Webster,
Research,
Dating,
Brain,
Knowledge, Knowledge tree, Information
Network, Know-How, Information store,
Information source, Information boxes, Info
engines, Pine tree, Sea world, Educator,
Index, The philosopher, Newspaper,
Newsletter, Memory, All-Knowing One,
Teacher, Light, Human, Human brain, The
ant antenna, The Source of the book,
Library, Pomegranate, Spider, Spider web,
Robot, Dictionary, The latest technology
Product, Telephone, Television, TV, Books,
Newspapers, Aircraft, Kites, Space shuttle,
The helpful one, Life, Food
133 (%26,7)
51 (%25,0)
Internet as a
Harmful Tool
Wood, Habit, An addictive substance,
Habits, Shopping, Alcohol, Sex, Love,
Addiction, Addictive substance, A child's
dreams, The bomb, An empty box,
Infectious disease, Monster, Die, Chocolate,
Trash, The world, The devil triangle,
Vacuum cleaner, Heroin, Disease, Fast car
driving, Coffee shop, Closed the prison, The
black hole, Hurricane, Girl, Hourglass, Drug
addiction,
Gaming,
Web,
Deviance,
Smoking, Television, Drugs, Space, Virus,
Orbit, Time, Time is the enemy time thief,
Time loss
109 (%21,9)
44 (%21,6)
Internet as a
Very
Comprehensive
Tool
Shopping Center, Key, Anne, Webster,
Nutrition,
Information
Networks,
Information Beast, The Information Store,
Multi-Reader, Genius, Sea, Friendly, World,
Center Of The World, Traveling The World,
To Know, The Universe, Is A Physiological
Need, Hiking, Rainbow, Sky , Videophone,
The Sun, Life, Literal, Everything, Light,
Medicine, Human, Istanbul, Door, Book,
Neighbor, Puppet, Library, Cabbage,
Market, Wonder, Wood, Window, An
Infinite Space, Magic Stick, Magic Box, The
Magic Sphere, Infinite, Dictionary, Sports,
Making The Turkish Language, Flying, Life,
Food
91 (%18,3)
50 (%24,5)
96
Table 1. continue…
Producing
a metaphor
Number of
Students
(%)
Number of
metaphor
(%)
Categorical
Metaphors
Internet Both
as a Beneficial
and Harmful
Tool
Rivers, Tool, Antibiotic, Driving, Friends,
Vine Leaves, Honey bee, The brain,
Information pollution/contamination, Info
cubes, Info heap, A place/room, Flowers,
Landfill, Marine, Nature, World, Thinking,
Elim, The universe, Rosewood, Map, Life,
The good/and bad, Drug, Human language,
Pen, Queen, Lock, Coke, Corticosteroids,
Well, The library, Tire, Dealers, Fruit,
Morphine, Candlelight, Nuclear, Ocean,
Spider-network, Painting, Wind, Magic
stick, Shooting, Water, Sugar, Television,
The cliff, half a glass of water, Life
philosophy, Everything in life, Bow,
Cooking supper, Dining, Food
74 (%14,8)
56 (%27,4)
Internet as a
Facilitator
At the bank, The Information store, Bicycle,
Rendezvous, Bags, Garbage, Sea world, The
mouse,
Life,
Light,
Teleportation,
Communication network, Communicates
the media, Business area, Library, Store,
letter, School meeting, Toys, Spider
network, Windows, Comfort, Magic box,
Telephone, Fly, Write text, Read, Result of a
mental status
33 (%6,6)
29 %14,2)
Internet as an
Indefinite
Concept
Sea, Bottomless Pit, A mouse, Whirlpool,
Black hole, Bird, Ocean, Space
18 (%3,6)
8 (%3,9)
Internet as a
Basic Need
Life, The existing Object in our lives, Water,
Food
13 (%2,6)
4 (%2,0)
Internet as Fun
Dating, Entertainment, A communication
tool,
Kıraathane,
Toys,
Telephone,
Television
12 ( %2,4)
7 (%3,4)
Internet as a
ChangingDeveloping
Tool
Morning, Wood, Moron, Current news,
Human, Human life, Magic, Magic box
9 (%1,8)
8 (%3,9)
Internet as a
Guide
World, Map, Compass, Auxiliary tools,
Travel
6 (%1,2)
5 (%2,4)
97
Examples of students’ metaphorical expressions are given in the relevant
category, and they include the exact sentences of the participants.
Conceptual Categories
Category 1: The Internet as an Information Source
When Conceptual Categories are examined (Tablo 2), it is seen that the category
of “the Internet as an Information Source" consists of 51 metaphors (25.0%) produced
by 133 students (26.7%). The most common metaphors of this category are library,
book, encyclopedia, and tree.
“Internet is like a library.. We can reach various information (correct or incorrect) by
using less time and energy.” (1, F, A19)
“Internet is like an encyclopedia. Any information can be reached rapidly and easily
(compact). It is under our fingertips.” (1, F, A18)
“Internet is like the world. I can obtain every type of information in the world. With a
single click…” (3, F, A20)
Category 2: The Internet as a Harmful Tool
When Conceptual Categories are examined (Table 2), it is seen that the category
of “the Internet as a Harmful Tool" consists of 44 metaphors (21.6%) produced by 109
students (21.9 %). The most common metaphors used in this category are drug,
cigarette, alcohol, virus, spider’s web, love, and addiction.
“Internet is like alcohol. It causes addiction over time.” (1, F, A20)
“Internet is like a spider’s web. When you get caught, it is difficult to escape, and it is a
system where you waste time for nothing.” (2, F, A22)
“Internet is like a drug. It gives you pleasure and joy when you first start it. With time, it
becomes an indispensible part of your life. You think you use it because you want it. Then, the
time you access the Internet starts to be insufficient, and you increase the time spent on the
Internet. You want more and more. You think about it, when you are not on the Internet. You
start to say I can access the Internet more instead of spending time outdoors, and withdrawal
symptoms start. You can save yourself from this addiction if you are strong and aware.” (4,
F, A24)
Category 3: The Internet as a Very Comprehensive Tool
When Conceptual Categories are examined (Table 2), it is seen that the category
of “the Internet as a Very Comprehensive Tool" consists of 50 metaphors (24.5%)
produced by 91 students (18.3%). The most common metaphors of this category are
world, shopping centre, life, library, forest, and dictionary.
“Internet is like a forest. Just as various trees are together in a forest, the Internet also
includes any type of information, games, friendship, etc.” (3, F, A21)
98
“Internet is like life. It includes everything, we can find any information we need, any
person we want, chat with friends, make searches, have fun, follow up the agenda, read news.”
(3, F, A20)
Category 4: The Internet Both as a Beneficial and Harmful Tool
of “the Internet both as a Beneficial and Harmful Tool" consists of 56 metaphors
(27.4%) produced by 74 students (14.8 %). The most common metaphors of this
category are water, world, life, drug, trash, and eating.
“Internet is like a candy. It is nice and gives pleasure, but excessive use is harmful.” (2, F,
A20)
“Internet is like antibiotics. You don’t discuss its benefits and harms. Long-term used
medications may have toxic effects, and similarly long and insufficient use of Internet may be
harmful. But it facilitates your life if used effectively.” (3, F, A21)
“Internet is like gun. A gun may protect the country while defending it against the
enemies, but it can also be a destructive tool because of internal conflicts of people. Internet is
similar. Internet is a very beneficial tool, when used consciously, but it can be an addictive
gun destroying one’s life, when used for chatting, playing games, etc.” (4, F, A21)
Category 5: The Internet as a Facilitator
of “the Internet as a Facilitator" consists of 29 metaphors (14.2%) produced by 33
students (6.6%). The most common metaphors of this category are teleportation,
library, store and telephone.
“Internet is like a library. I can find anything I look for. It is easy to use. It facilitates our
life.” (1, F, A20)
“Internet is like teleportation. It is very fast. We reach the fastest way possible whenever
we want. What makes Internet appealing is, I think, that it is fast and easily accessed.” (2, F,
A20)
Category 6: The Internet as an Indefinite Concept
of “the Internet as an Indefinite Concept" consists of 8 metaphors (3.9%) produced by
18 students (3.6%). The most common metaphors of this category are ocean and space.
“Internet is like the space. It has no limits, no definite borders.” (1, F, A20)
“Internet is like an ocean. Unique ocean with living things of indefinite variability,
indefinite information, indefinite colours…” (4, F, A34)
99
Category 7: The Internet as a Basic Need
of “the Internet as a Basic Need" consists of 4 metaphors (2.0%) produced by 13
students (2.6%). The most common metaphors of this category are water and eating.
“Internet is like water. It is essential for human[s].” (2, F, A23)
“Internet is like eating. I feel like hungry when I don’t access Internet. I think, this is
enough to explain it.” (2, F, A23)
Category 8: The Internet as Fun
of “the Internet as Fun" consists of 7 metaphors (3.4%) produced by 12 students
(2.4%). The most common metaphors of this category are friend, fun, and toy.
“Internet is like a toy. It is perfect for playing games and spending time in your spare
time, and you don't understand how the time passes." (1, F, A18)
“Internet is like a friend... It is with you whenever you need it, you spend hours with it
without getting bored.” (3, F, A19)
Category 9: The Internet as a Changing - Developing Tool
of “the Internet as a Changing-Developing Tool" consists of 8 metaphors (3.9%)
produced by 9 students (1.8%). The most common metaphors of this category are
tree, current news and magic box.
“Internet is like current news. It changes every day, and you become aware of different
things each day…” (1, F, A20)
“Internet is like human life. New things start and end continuously.” (3, F, A22)
Category 10: The Internet as a Guide
of “the Internet as a Guide" consists of 5 metaphors (2.4%) produced by 6 students
(1.2%). The most common metaphors of this category are map, world and compass.
“Internet is like a map. It provides us paths and guidance allowing us to reach to things
we want.” (3, F, A22)
“Internet is like a compass. It leads us to the place we want to reach. It guides us in
everything we don't know…" (4, F, A24)
3.
Do the principal conceptual categories show any difference according to variables
such as students’ age, sex, school of graduation, whether they use the Internet, the primary
purposes of their Internet use, and the location of their Internet access?
100
It was also found that the conceptual categories did not show any difference
according to the grades of the nursing students, the secondary school they graduated
from, Internet use habits, their primary purpose of Internet use, and where they
connected to the Internet (p>0.05).
Discussion and Consclusion
The findings of this study reveal the students’ perceptions about the Internet
through metaphors which highlighted some important points. First of all, the nursing
students produced many metaphors to explain the Internet (204). For example, the
Internet was defined by the students as “world”, “library”, “drug”, “encyclopedia”,
and "water”, as well as “toy”, “fun”, “magic box”, “store”, “spider’s web”, and
“compass.” As highlighted by Yob (2003, p. 134), metaphor is different from the
concept it narrates, and although it provides a strong point of view for such concepts,
it is usually less than the concept. To fill this gap, many metaphors are needed.
Therefore, it is obvious that the Internet cannot be explained entirely with a single
metaphor.
Secondly, in the metaphors produced by the nursing students about the Internet,
the first conceptual category was “the Internet as an information source” and the
second conceptual category was “the Internet as a harmful tool”. In relevant studies,
it was shown that the primary purpose of the students in using the Internet was easy
access to information and sharing and storing information (Adams & Timmis, 2006;
Akkoyunlu, Sağlam & Atav, 2004; Aksu & İrgil, 2003; Estabrooks et al., 2003; Gül,
Gençtürk & Bozkurt, 2003; Koç, 2006; McCannon & O’Neal, 2003; Thompson et al.,
2001). These results suggested that the Internet was primarily used by the students to
get information. It is important in terms of updating students’ knowledge for
students to perceive the Internet as an information source in an environment in
which information changes.
The second conceptual category was “the Internet as a harmful tool.” The
relevant studies suggested that problems such as in-family conflicts, economic losses
such as phone bills and Internet café costs, and addiction and alienation from the
society would be encountered. This suggested that the students were aware of the
harm caused by the Internet (Adams & Timmis, 2006; Estabrooks et al., 2003;
McCannon & O’Neal, 2003; Thompson et al., 2001). However, contrary to the belief
that the Internet may alienate individuals from society, individuals can reach
different social environments thanks to the Internet and carry their relationships to
social media; thus it is obvious that the Internet has both positive and negative
effects. This is positive for students who think that the Internet is harmful.
Another striking point was that the students defined the Internet as “a basic
need”. The relevant studies show that the students engaged in many activities
through the Internet, such as chatting with people in another part of the world,
sending e-mails, talking to another person through a microphone, making videoconferences, obtaining information from thousands of databases, libraries, and news
groups all around the world, getting current information about international
101
developments, listening to music or watching movies, playing games with other
people, shopping from a wide range of product groups, etc.; therefore, the Internet
played a great role in their lives (Akkoyunlu, Sağlam & Atav, 2004; Aksu & İrgil,
2003; Atack & Rankin, 2002; Ayhan & Balcı, 2009; Dursun, 2004; Estabrooks et al.,
2003; Şenyuva, 2007). This result is thought-provoking, considering that the Internet
plays such an important role in the lives of the students. The Internet is defined as
constituting important parts of students’ lives, and it is emphasized that they should
gain computer and Internet skills suitable to their education.
In conclusion, a majority of the nursing students perceived the Internet as a
source of information and believed that it should be used consciously. Although
students think positively about the Internet, they also need training on how to use
Internet properly. In the light of these results, it is suggested that further studies
should be conducted in order to determine the perceptions of nursing students about
the Internet. These kinds of studies will be important for constructing an Internetbased education and training program.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the nursing students who participated in the
study.
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(Özet)
Günümüzde bu nitelikler arasında bireyin, gereksinim duyduğu bilgiye ulaşmada
önemli yollardan biri olan Interneti doğru, etkin ve verimli kullanma becerisine
sahip olması öne çıkmaktadır (Atack & Rankin, 2002; Özkul & Kaya, 2009; Wilkinson
et al., 2004). İnternetin doğru, etkin ve verimli kullanılmasında ise hemşirelik
öğrencilerinin Internete ilişkin algılarının ve bakış açılarının, Internetin doğasına ve
potansiyeline ilişkin düşüncelerinin belirlenerek gereksinimleri doğrultusunda
uygun eğitim programlarının oluşturulması ile mümkündür (Çelik & Kahyaoğlu,
2007; Estabrooks et al., 2003; Fırat & Kabakçı, 2010). Öğrencilerin Internete ilişkin
algılarının belirlenmesinde, Internetin yapısının nasıl anlaşıldığının ortaya
konmasında yararlanılabilecek en güçlü zihinsel araçlar, öğrencilerin bu kavramla
ilgili oluşturdukları metaforlardır (Cerit, 2008; Erdoğan & Gök, 2008; Fırat & Kabakçı,
2010). Eğitimde de özellikle yeni bir öğrenme gerçekleşeceğinde öğrenmeyi
kolaylaştırmak ve akılda kalıcılığını sağlamak için sıklıkla eşdeğer öğelerin birbirleri
yerine diğer bir deyişle metaforların kullanılması yoluna başvurulur. Bu
perspektiften bakıldığında hemşirelik öğrencilerinin “Internet” kavramına ilişkin
algılarını metaforlar aracılığıyla incelemek, anlamak ve açıklamak, metaforların birer
araştırma aracı olarak kullanılabileceğine dair önemli bir ipucu sağlamaktadır
(Saban, 2008).
105
Araştırmanın Amacı
Bu araştırma, öğrencilerin Internete ilişkin algılarını metaforlar aracılığıyla ortaya
çıkarmak ve bu metaforları etkileyen bazı değişkenleri belirlemek amacı ile nitel ve
nicel araştırma deseni kapsamında gerçekleştirildi.
Yöntem
Araştırmanın evrenini ve örneklemini, bir hemşirelik yüksekokulu’nda 2009-2010
öğretim yılı bahar döneminde öğrenim gören tüm lisans öğrencileri (575 öğrenci)
oluşturdu. Araştırmada evrenin tamamına ulaşılması hedeflenmiş, araştırmaya
katılmayı kabul eden 500 öğrenci ile gerçekleştirildi. Araştırmada evrenin %87’sine
ulaşıldı. Araştırmada veriler; öğrencilerinin sosyo-demografik özelliklerini ve
Internet kullanım durumlarını belirlemeye yönelik 9 sorudan oluşan Bilgi Formu ve
öğrencilerinin Internet kavramına ilişkin algılarını ortaya çıkarmak amacıyla her bir
öğrenciden“İnternet ………… gibidir; çünkü …………..”cümlesini tamamlaması
istenerek toplandı. Veriler, nitel (içerik analizi) ve nicel (frekans,ki-kare) veri
çözümleme teknikleri kullanılarak analiz edildi.
Bulgular
Araştırmada, öğrencilerin %25,5’inin birinci, %24,9’unun ikinci, %26,5’inin üçüncü,
%23,1’inin dördüncü sınıfta öğrenim gördüğü, %85,7’sinin kız, %14,3’ünün erkek,
yaş ortalamalarının %21.32±1.89 olduğu belirlendi. Öğrenciler, Internet kavramına
ilişkin 204 adet geçerli metafor geliştirdi. İlk üç sırada; kütüphane (n: 51, %10,2), dünya
(n:32, %6,4), kitap (n:17, %3,4) metaforlarının yer aldığı belirlendi. Hemşirelik
öğrencilerinin Internet kavramına ilişkin geliştirdikleri metaforlar ortak özellikleri
bakımından on kavramsal kategori altında toplandı. Hemşirelik öğrencilerinin,
Internet kavramına ilişkin algılarında, “Bilgi kaynağı olarak Internet” (133 öğrenci,
51 metafor), “Zararlı bir araç olarak Internet” (109 öğrenci, 44 metafor), “Hem yararlı
hem zararlı olarak Internet” (74 öğrenci, 56 metafor) ve “Çok kapsamlı olarak
Internet” (91 öğrenci, 50 metafor) kavramsal kategorilerinin öne çıktığı görüldü.
Ayrıca, kavramsal kategorilerin, hemşirelik öğrencilerinin sınıfı, mezun olduğu
ortaöğretim kurumu, Internet kullanıp kullanmama, Interneti öncelikle kullanma
amacı ve Internete bağlandığı yerler açısından farklılık göstermediği saptandı
(p>0,05).
Tartışma
İnternetin
öğrenciler
tarafından
“dünya”,
“kütüphane”,
“uyuşturucu”,
“ansiklopedi”, “su” olarak tanımlandığı gibi; “oyuncak”, “eğlence”, “sihirli kutu”,
“mağaza”, “örümcek ağı” ve “pusula” olarak da tanımlandığı görülmektedir. Yob’un
(2003, s. 134) da vurguladığı gibi metafor, söz ettiği olgudan farklıdır ve bu olguya
ilişkin çok güçlü bir bakış açısı sunsa da çoğu zaman ondan daha azdır. Bu açığı
kapatabilmek için birçok metaforun kullanılması gerekir. Bu durumda, Internetin
sadece tek bir metaforla bir bütün olarak açıklanabilmesinin mümkün olmayacağı
açıktır.
İkinci olarak, hemşirelik öğrencilerinin Internete ilişkin metaforlarında, ilk sırada
“bilgi kaynağı olarak Internet”, ikinci sırada “zararlı bir araç olarak Internet”
kavramsal kategorisi yer almaktadır. İlgili araştırmalarda, öğrencilerin Interneti
kullanım amaçları arasında bilgiyi paylaşma, saklama ve bilgiye kolay erişimin öne
çıktığı görüldü (Adams & Timmis, 2006; Akkoyunlu, Sağlam & Atav, 2004; Aksu &
106
İrgil, 2003; Estabrooks et al., 2003; Gül, Gençtürk & Bozkurt, 2003; Koç, 2006;
McCannon & O’Neal, 2003; Thompson et al., 2001). Bu sonuçlar, Internetin öğrenciler
tarafından öncelikli olarak bilgi edinmek amacıyla kullanıldığını gösterdi. Bilginin
hızla değiştiği bir ortamda öğrencilerin Interneti bilgi kaynağı olarak görmeleri
bilgilerini güncellemeleri açısından önemlidir.
İkinci sırada yer alan “Zararlı bir araç olarak Internet” kavramsal kategorisi öne
çıkmaktadır. İlgili araştırmalarda, aile içi çatışmalar, yüksek telefon faturası ve
Internet kafelere yapılan ödemeler nedeniyle ekonomik kayıplar ve bağımlılık
yaratma, çevreden soyutlanma gibi sorunlarla da karşılaşılacağını vurgulamaktadır
(Adams & Timmis, 2006; Estabrooks et al., 2003; McCannon & O’Neal, 2003;
Thompson et al., 2001). Bu durum, öğrencilerin Internetin zararları hakkında bilinçli
olduklarını göstermektedir. Ancak, Internetin bireyi çevreden soğutabileceği
düşüncesinin aksine bireyin Internet sayesinde farklı sosyal çevrelere daha rahat
ulaşma olanağı bulduğu ve dolayısıyla bu yolla ilişkilerini sosyal alana taşıdığı
dikkate alındığında Internetin beraberinde getirdiği olumlu ve olumsuz durumların
olabileceği açıktır. Bu sonuç, öğrencilerin Internetin zararları olabileceğini
düşünmeleri açısından olumludur. Ancak, öğrencilerin Interneti doğru
kullanmalarını sağlayacak eğitimlere gereksinimi olduğunu düşündürmektedir.
Öğrenciler Interneti “temel gereksinim olarak” tanımlamaları dikkat çeken bir diğer
noktadır. İlgili araştırmalarda, öğrencilerin Interneti kullanım amaçları arasında
öncelikle dünyanın bir ucundaki insanlarla sohbet etmek, elektronik mail
göndermek, bir mikrofon aracılığıyla bilgisayarın diğer ucundaki bir insanla
konuşmak ve video konferanslar yapmak, dünya çapındaki binlerce veri tabanından,
kütüphaneden ve haber gruplarından bilgi sağlamak, dünyada olan gelişmeler
hakkında anında haber almak, müzik dinlemek veya film seyretmek, insanlarla
karşılıklı olarak oyunlar oynamak, sayısız ürün yelpazesi içerisinden alışveriş
yapmak vb. birçok etkinliği Internet üzerinden yaptıklarını dolayısıyla yaşamlarında
büyük bir yer edindiği bulundu (Akkoyunlu, Sağlam & Atav, 2004; Aksu & İrgil,
2003; Atack & Rankin, 2002; Ayhan & Balcı, 2009; Dursun, 2004; Estabrooks et al.,
2003). Bu sonuç, öğrencilerin Interneti yaşamlarında bu kadar önemli bir yere
koymaları açısından oldukça düşündürücüdür. İnternetin öğrencilerin yaşamının
önemli bir bölümünü oluşturması, onların eğitimleri sırasında bilgisayar ve Internet
teknolojilerini olumlu yönde kullanma becerilerini kazanarak yetiştirilmesi
gerekliliğini ortaya koymaktadır.
Sonuç ve Öneriler
Sonuç olarak, hemşirelik öğrencilerinin çoğunluğu Interneti bilgi kaynağı olarak
algılamakta ancak bilinçli olarak kullanılması gerektiğini belirtmektedirler. Bu
sonuçlar, öğrencilerin Internet konusunda olumlu düşündüklerini ancak olumlu
yönde kullanmaları konusunda eğitime gereksinimleri olduğuna işaret etmektedir.
Bu sonuçlar ışığında hemşirelik öğrencilerinin, Internete ilişkin algılarının neler
olduğunu ve onların Internet hakkındaki düşüncelerini analiz eden çalışmaların
yapılması önerilebilir. Bu çalışmalar eğitim programlarının yapılandırılmasına ışık
tutması açısından önemlidir.
Anahtar Sözcükler: Metafor, algı, zihinsel imge, Internet, hemşirelik öğrencisi,
hemşirelik
Pre-service Science and Technology Teachers’
Mental Images of Science Teaching
Nil Yıldız DUBAN*
Suggested Citation:
Yildiz Duban, N. (2013). Pre-service Science and Technology Teachers’ Mental
Images of Science Teaching. Egitim Arastirmalari–Eurasian Journal of
Abstract
Problem Statement: The constructivist reorganization of the elementary
education programs in Turkey has revealed the importance of training
skilled teachers who are familiar with both constructivist theory and the
educational programs. In this way, teachers can adapt to their new roles,
learn how to guide students, and prepare the best learning environment.
Therefore, the determination of the pre-service science and technology
teachers’ mental images of science teaching is assumed to provide great
insight for the teacher training institutions into pre-service teachers’
perceptions of the teaching profession and of their students.
Purpose of Study: The purpose of this study is to determine the mental
images of science teaching of the students of the Department of Science
and Technology Education of Education Faculty at the University of
Mersin and present the differences in their mental images in terms of
certain variables.
Methods: This study is based on descriptive methods, and the universe
consists of students of the Department of Science and Technology
Education of Education Faculty at the University of Mersin in 2009-2010.
113 students were randomly selected for this study. The Draw-A-ScienceTeacher-Test Checklist (DASTT-C) is one of the tools that can be used to
measure pre-service teachers’ perceptions of teaching science. Variables
such as gender and the year of study were covered in the sub-problems of
the research. T-test and one way analysis of variance were carried out by
using SPSS-15.
Findings and Results: As a result of this study, it was found that 13.08% of
the pre-service teachers of science and technology courses had studentcentered images (exploratory teaching style), 62.62% had mental images
Assist.Prof.Dr., Nil Yıldız Duban. Afyon Kocatepe University, Faculty of Education, Turkey.
e-mail: [email protected]
*
107
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Nil Yildiz Duban
positioned between student-centered science teaching and traditional
science teaching (conceptual teaching style), and 24.30% had traditional
science teaching images (explicit teaching style).
Conclusions and Recommendations: In practical courses, such as school
experience and teaching practice, pre-service teachers can be provided
with opportunities to conduct observations and teach. Academic staff can
act as a model by including student-centered activities in their courses.
Keywords: Pre-service science and technology teachers, constructivist
theory, science teaching, mental images
The aim of science courses in elementary schools is to ensure that students

feel curious about the environment that they live in,

observe and explore their environment
experiences into organized knowledge,

develop technical and mental skills for their prospective scientific
studies,

are provided with opportunities to carry out hands-on activities so that
they can understand the importance of science and its concepts,

associate what they learn at school with their own lives,

enjoy science and develop positive attitudes towards school,

are raised as conscious citizens,

develop an understanding of science so as to understand the problems
covered in contemporary media and the causes of these problems,

and understand the history of scientific development, the relationship
between science and technology, and the social, cultural, and historical
background of these developments (Trowbridge, Bybee & Powell,
2004; Howe, 2002; De Boer, 2000).
and
transform
their
Considering these objectives, it is clear that elementary school science programs,
as well as all other subject areas, need to be capable of developing students’ basic
knowledge and critical thinking skills. These programs should also guide the
students through developing the basic knowledge, skills, and thinking habits
required to comprehend the subjects that they will study in detail in their following
years of school (NRC, 2006). Programs designed in accordance with constructivist
theory have these qualities. The main actors who implement constructivist programs
in classrooms are science teachers who are able to communicate efficiently with the
children, They are knowledgeable about child psychology and theories of learning,
creating a dynamic learning environment in the classroom, and managing and
directing this learning environment. This requires significant amount of effort and
responsibility by teachers (Akcadag, 2012; Mui-So, 2002; Bağcı-Kılıç, 2001). Teachers
109
who hold beliefs that are in concert with constructivist approaches are more likely to
teach their own students accordingly. The teachers who feel that they can teach with
a constructivist understanding are people who have positive attitudes towards
science and science teaching. These teachers are also effective science teachers and
have students who can learn science efficiently from them (Finson, Thomas &
Pedersen, 2006).
Science teachers’ perceptions of science teaching really do matter. How they
conceptualize themselves teaching science, or, in other words, their mental images of
teaching, can indicate their perceptions of teaching. Perceptions of ability and
capability depend heavily on one’s prior conceptualizations. These perceptions form
via internal, mental models of interaction (Khanthavy & Yuenyong, 2009). According
to Norman, mental models provide the following: (a) a belief system, reflecting
beliefs acquired through observation, instruction, or inference; (b) a mode of
observation, providing correspondence between the mental model and the physical
world; and (c) predictability, allowing a person to understand and anticipate the
behavior of a physical system (Thomas, Pederson & Finson, 2001).
Pre-service teachers’ mental images of teaching are associated with their previous
experiences in their school years as students. The main factors affecting to their selfimages as science teachers are prior teaching-learning experiences and/or the
limitations in the real situations (Kang, Shin, Cha, Han & Noh, 2007). These
experiences are significant because they establish knowledge and shape teaching
practices (Finson et al., 2006). Therefore, pre-service teachers’ mental models may
determine their pedagogical understanding regarding what to teach about science,
how to perform this teaching, and which activities to use while teaching. The
examination of pre-service teachers’ mental models may reveal their action agenda or
personal pedagogical system that can ultimately impact what science they teach and
how they go about teaching it. Drawings allow one to consider the setting, the
arrangement of objects in physical space, and implicit interactions. They represent
vivid images of interior understandings that can be captured rather quickly
(Minogue, 2010). Drawings and pictures are helpful instruments to evaluate teaching
identities that are often unseen, influenced through by past and present stereotypes,
and can be used to encourage pre-service teachers to explore their beliefs (Cullen,
2006; Markic, Eilks & Valanides, 2008). According to Weber and Mitchell (1996),
images are constructed to make sense of human experiences and communicate that
sense to others. The role of images cannot be understood if they are not explored and
examined (Uner, Akkuş & Turan, 2012).
An instrument was developed by Thomas and colleagues to determine preservice teachers’ mental images of science teaching and predict what kind of a
science teaching they are likely to present in the future. This instrument, DAST-C,
was further modified to include characteristics of science classrooms and science
teachers, and it was renamed as Draw-A-Science-Teacher Teaching Checklist
(DASTT-C) by Thomas and Pedersen in 1998. This instrument was modified again by
Thomas, Pedersen, and Finson in 2001.They expected to illuminate the knowledge
and beliefs of pre-service elementary teachers prior to their coursework in
110
Nil Yildiz Duban
elementary science teaching methods. The main concept of DASTT-C is a listing of
the teacher-centered and the student-centered attributes of an elementary science
teacher, as opposed to a scientist (Yılmaz, Türkmen, Pedersen & Huyugüzel Çavaş,
2007). The DASTT-C is one of the essential instruments for developing techniques
and procedures that promote reflection and analysis of pre-service teachers’ thinking
or mental models.
A brief review of the relevant literature shows that the DASTT-C test is employed
by some studies as a measurement instrument for determining pre-service teachers’
mental images of science teaching (Whyte & Ellis, 2002-2003; Yılmaz et al., 2007;
Markic et al., 2008; Yılmaz, Türkmen & Pedersen, 2008; Demirdöğen & Elmas, 2009;
Markic & Eilks, 2010; Markic & Eilks, 2010b; Tatar, Yıldız, Buldur & Akpınar, 2010,
Al-Amoush, Markic, Abu-Hola & Eilks, 2011; Elmas, Demirdöğen & Geban, 2011;
Markic & Eilks, 2011; Uner et al., 2012; Markic & Eilks, 2012). On the other hand, in
some of the studies, DASTT-C is used before and after a science teaching practice
course to determine whether the course makes a change in pre-service teachers’
mental images of science teaching (Finson, 2001; Louca, Rigas & Valanides, 2003;
Thomas & Pedersen, 2003; El-Deghaidy, 2006; Talsma, 2007; Minogue, 2010;
Ambusaidi & Al-Balushi, 2012).
A reorganization of the elementary education programs in Turkey, based on the
constructivist theory, has revealed the importance of training skilled teachers who
are familiar with the constructivist theory and the educational programs. In this way,
teachers can adapt to their new roles, learn how to guide students, and prepare the
best learning environment. Since pre-service teachers are the ones who are going to
implement the new programs, how pre-service teachers see themselves in their
future classrooms has a great significance and value (Elmas et al., 2011). Thus teacher
educators may utilize their reflections as a basis for reviewing and reflecting on the
efficiency of science teaching method courses. An examination of their mental images
of teaching can also provide opportunities for pre-service teachers to examine their
beliefs, personal theories, and the personal knowledge they bring, as well as critically
examine what images are reinforced during teacher education programs (Thomas et
al., 2001; Thomas & Pedersen, 2003). Therefore, a determination of the pre-service
science and technology teachers’ mental images of science teaching is assumed to
provide great insight into pre-service teachers’ perceptions of the teaching profession
and students for the teacher training institutions and teacher trainers. This research
was performed with this objective in mind.
The purpose of this study is to determine the mental images of science teaching of
the students of Department of Science and Technology Education of Education
Faculty at the University of Mersin and to present the differences in their mental
images in terms of certain variables. To this end, this study sought to answer to the
following questions:
1. What mental images of science teaching do the students of the Department of
Science and Technology Education like?
111
2. Do the mental images of science teaching of the students of the Department of
Science and Technology Education exhibit significant differences in terms of
their gender?
3. Do the mental images of science teaching of the students of the Department of
Science and Technology Education exhibit significant differences in terms of
year of study?
Method
Sample
This study is based on the descriptive methods, and the universe consists of
students of Department of Science and Technology Education of Education Faculty at
the University of Mersin in 2009-2010. There were 113 randomly selected students in
this study.
Research Instrument
In this study, the DASTT-C was used as a data collection instrument. The
students were instructed to draw a picture of themselves as a science teacher at work
on a paper that was supplied to them. At the bottom of the page, the students were
instructed to write a brief explanation, describing their drawings and specifically
answering the questions "What is the teacher doing?" and "What are the students
doing?" regarding their drawings. Although DASTT-C developers Thomas et al.
(2001) reported the instrument's reliability to be KR-20 = 0.82, the instrument's
reliability was found to be KR-20 = 0.72 in this research. This instrument was applied
through the end of the fall semester.
The developers of the DASTT-C (Thomas et al., 2001) classified drawings of
school practice along a continuum, with scores of 0-4 representative of the studentcentered (exploratory) teaching style, 10-13 representative of the teacher-centered
(explicit) teaching style, and 5-9 representative of neither the student-centered nor the
teacher-centered (conceptual) teaching style. The characteristics of the three teaching
styles are as follows (Minogue, 2010; Yılmaz et al, 2007; Finson et al, 2006; Whyte &
Ellis, 2002-2003):
Explicit teaching: This is a didactic model for transmitting algorithmic or factual
information. The teacher is the central image and the one who is predominantly a
distributer of information, while students are relatively passive and often in desks
arranged in rows. Student assignments may be written on the blackboard. Students
may be looking at texts or working with pencil/pen and paper.
Conceptual teaching: This is a model that is didactic and at the same time
constructivist. The tasks assigned to students are non-routine tasks that teach a
concept central to an academic discipline. The teacher specifies the concept that is
being taught through simultaneous, conceptually redundant activities. Tasks involve
investigation, discovery, and open-ended problem-solving. In representations of
conceptual teaching, typically, the students are carrying out hands-on, multiple-
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Nil Yildiz Duban
media activities in interdependent small groups; student-to-student task-related talk
may also be represented.
Exploratory teaching: This is a Maieutic model for teaching concepts. What makes
exploratory teaching Maieutic is that the curricular content arises in response to
students’ interests and decisions rather than occurring through specification of which
disciplinary concepts will be taught. In representations of exploratory teaching, the
teacher may be represented observing students who are working together or actively
orchestrating students’ movements as students work individually, in pairs, or in
small groups.
Data Analyses
The Draw-A-Science-Teacher-Test Checklist (DASTT-C) is one tool that can be
used to measure pre-service teachers’ perceptions of teaching science. The DASTT-C
score sheet (for the test administrator) has three sections, including teacher, students,
and environment. Each section is scored in a dichotomous fashion with an indication
of “present” or “not present” in the picture.
The “Teacher” section of the instrument is divided into two subsections that
focus on the teacher’s activity (demonstrating, lecturing, using visual aids, etc.) and
the teacher’s position (posture, and location with respect to students, such as at the
head of the classroom). The “Students” section of the instrument is likewise divided
into two subsections that focus on the activities of students (passively receiving
information, responding to the teacher, etc.) and students’ positions (how they are
seated within the classroom). The third section, “Environment,” consists of elements
typically found inside the classrooms, such as desks arranged in rows, the symbols of
teaching (e.g. chalkboards), and the symbols of science (e.g. science equipment). Each
element in each section of the instrument is considered by the instrument’s
developers to depict teacher-centered elements of teaching and classroom images. If
a teacher-centered element appears in a subject’s drawing, the scorer simply marks
that element on the checklist. Marks can later be added to derive both sub-scores for
each section as well as an overall checklist score. Total checklist scores can range
from 0 to 13 (the higher the score, the more teacher-centered the image). Given this
score, students can place themselves on a continuum from the student-centered (0) to
the more teacher-centered (13), as indicated by the DASTT-C measure (Thomas et al.,
2001).
By using a predetermined coding system, the author and a field expert analyzed
the drawings and descriptions, following what Patton (2002) refers to as analyst
triangulation. First, each drawing was coded as male, female, or unidentified gender.
Second, each drawing by pre-service teachers was coded with a number from 1 to
113. Third, since six papers did not have clear drawings, they were excluded from
the sample. A total of 107 tests were examined and then scored according to DASTTC. Then the author and the expert independently examined and scored the drawings.
They discussed the issues on which there was “agreement” and “disagreement” in all
of the scored drawings. For the reliability test of the study, the reliability formula
113
suggested by Miles and Huberman (1994) was used: Reliability =
(Agreement + Disagreement).
Agreement /
If reliability calculation is above 70%, this result is regarded as reliable for the
research (Miles and Huberman, 1994). As a result of the calculation, the reliability of
the research was found to be 90% for the drawings in the DASTT-C test. This result
was regarded as reliable for the research. On the other hand, for the gender and year
of study variables covered in the sub-problems of the research, t-test and one way
analysis of variance were carried out by using SPSS-15.
Results
The DASTT-C test scores of the pre-service teachers involved in the study are
shown in Table 1 based on their gender and year of study as intervals indicating
learning styles preferences.
Table 1.
Distribution of Frequency of Pre-service Science Teachers.
Year of
Study
Gender
0-4 score
5-9 score
10-13 score
First Year
Female
0
8
5
Male
0
10
6
Female
1
12
4
Male
1
11
2
Female
3
8
4
Male
0
5
2
Female
6
3
1
Male
3
10
2
14
67
26
Second Year
Third Year
Fourth Year
Total
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Nil Yildiz Duban
The score intervals and frequencies in Table 1 are illustrated in Figure 1.
Figure 1. Relation between frequency and scores
As can be seen in Figure 1, according to the DASTT-C test scores of the preservice teachers, the first bar represents those students with 0-4 points (those having
a student-centered teaching style-Exploratory), the second bar represents those
students with 5-9 points (those having neither a student-centered nor a teachercentered teaching style-Conceptual) and the third bar represents those students with
10-13 points (those having a teacher-centered teaching style-Explicit). The graphic
shows that among the pre-service teachers, 13.08% had exploratory, 62.62% had
conceptual, and 24.30% had explicit teaching styles.
Below. sample drawings are given as indicators of the mental images of the preservice teachers with exploratory, conceptual, and explicit teaching styles. In order to
obtain data about their mental images of science teaching, the behaviors of the
teacher and students were stated by the pre-service teachers in writing, in addition to
their visual presentation of student-teacher and learning environment.
A drawing by one of the pre-service teachers with an exploratory teaching style is
given below as a sample (Figure 2). The pre-service teacher, who was determined to
have student-centered teaching style with a score of 2 points, explained the drawing
by stating “The teacher is making the students carry out independent experiments (studentcentered education)” and “The students are performing a hands-on learning activity far from
memorizing based on experiment and observation”.
115
Figure 2. Exploratory DASTT-C picture and explanation
A teacher whose drawing showed one of the teaching styles (with a score of 7
points) explained the drawing by saying, “At the end of the subject, the teacher is
showing the students a crossword puzzle to be solved with relevant science vocabulary” and
the pre-service teachers with conceptual teaching styles are given below as a sample
(Figure 3). The pre-service teacher was determined to stand somewhere between
student-centered and teacher-centered “students are answering one by one” and “the
students are curious to solve the crossword puzzle”.
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Nil Yildiz Duban
Figure 3. Conceptual DASTT-C picture and explanation
As an example, a drawing is shown in Figure 4 which was drawn by one of the
pre-service teachers with an explicit teaching style. The pre-service teacher, who was
determined to have a teacher-centered teaching style with a score of 11 points,
explained the drawing by stating, “The teacher is telling students about the concept of
velocity in a Science and Technology course by giving examples on the board”, and, “The
students are taking notes about the subject first and then they are trying to solve the sample
problems. One of the students is in front of the board answering a sample question”.
117
Figure 4. Explicit DASTT-C picture and explanation
Based on the second sub-problem of the research, an independent t-test was
conducted to evaluate any statistical differences between DASTT-C mean scores of
pre-service students with regard to gender.
Table 2.
Gender Differences
Gender
Female
N
57
Mean
7,4737
SD
2,82909
Male
50
8,2000
2,08982
df
t
p
105
-1,522
0,131
*p<0.05
As seen in Table 2, the results show no significant difference between females and
males’ DASTT-C mean scores [t(107)= 1,52, p>05].
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Nil Yildiz Duban
Intra-group multiple comparisons were performed based on the third subproblem of the research, using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) to determine
if the pre-service teachers’ mental images exhibit any differences in terms of year of
study.
Table 3.
Results of the One Way Analysis of Variance Regarding Differences, According to
Year of Study.
SS
df
X2
F
P
Between groups
88,474
3
29,493
Within groups
Total
587,783
103
5,707
5,168
,002
P<0,05
As can be seen in Table 3, the results show a significant difference between years
of study and DASTT-C mean scores [F(3-103)=5,16, p<.01]. Post-hoc correlation analysis
was performed to identify the source group of the difference. First, the homogeneity
of the variance was checked to determine which correlation technique to choose, and
Tamhane’s test was then selected after concluding that variance wasn’t
homogeneous [LF(3-103)=7.906, p<.01].
Table 4
Result of the Post-hoc Test Among the Years of Study
I
J
Mean difference
( I-J)
p
First Year
Fourth Year
2,50207*
,009
P<0,05
As can be seen in Table 4, there was a significant difference between the first and
fourth year students. Indeed, it was found that the scores received by the fourth year
students were significantly lower than those of the first year students. The higher the
score according to the DASTT-C test, the more teacher-centered the mental image
(Thomas et al., 2001). Therefore, the fourth year students had far more studentoriented results on the DASTT-C test.
119
Discussion and Conclusion
The aim of this research was to determine pre-service science and technology
course teachers’ mental images of science teaching and to learn whether these images
exhibited differences with regard to gender and year of study. As a result of this
study, it was found that 13.08% of the pre-service teachers of science and technology
courses had student-centered images (exploratory teaching style), 62.62% had mental
images positioned between student-centered science teaching and traditional science
teaching (conceptual teaching style), and 24.30% had traditional science teaching
images (explicit teaching style). This finding suggests that a new trend has emerged
with pre-service teachers, whose notions of the teaching process have become more
student-centered in line with the constructivist changes to the elementary
educational system.
These findings of the research are similar to the findings of studies by
Demirdöğen and Elmas (2009), who report that 42.9% of the pre-service teachers in
their study had conceptual styles; this also matches the study of Elmas et al. (2011),
who report that 39.4% of the pre-service teachers in their study had mental images
connected with conceptual teaching styles. In studies by Yılmaz et al. (2008),
Ambusaidi and Al-Balushi (2012), and Uner et al. (2012), more than half of the
respondents described a situation in-between a student-centered approach and
traditional science teaching in their drawings about the learning environment in
science and technology courses. On the other hand, Louca et al. (2003) and Yılmaz et
al. (2007) state that nearly half of pre-service teacher possessed teacher-centered
science teaching images. The results of the research of Kang et al. (2007) revealed that
pre-service science teachers' self-images as science teachers were more 'teachercentered' than 'student-centered'. According to the results of their study, Al-Amoush
et al. (2011) state that pre-service and in-service teachers’ mental images were mostly
teacher-centered. Markic and Eilks (2012) state that freshman biology and primary
school student teachers expressed beliefs about their subjects which are more in line
with modern educational theory, while conversely, physics and chemistry student
teachers profess quite traditional beliefs about science teaching and learning. Markic
et al. (2008), however, state that the mental images of pre-service teachers regarding
science teaching were mostly student-centered.
Another finding of this research is that the pre-teachers’ mental images of science
teaching did not exhibit any differences in terms of gender, which is similar to the
findings of studies by Yılmaz et al. (2007) and Tatar et al. (2010). On the other hand,
in a study by Elmas et al. (2011), a significant association was found between gender
and instructional style. In that study, female pre-service teachers were more willing
to use student-centered approaches than male pre-service teachers.
Finally, this research identified a difference in favor of senior students with
regard to having student-centered science teaching images (exploratory teaching
style) between the science teaching mental images of the students in their first year
and those of students in their fourth year, which suggests that pre-service teachers
have moved away from traditional science teaching (in which they were educated)
120
Nil Yildiz Duban
and towards the constructivist science teaching (in which the student is active). The
difference between the first and fourth year students could be attributed to the
educational courses taken by senior students due to their study for four years.
During their education, pre-service teachers learn about the constructivist theory of
teaching and become familiar with student-centered teaching applications. Finally,
the “School experience” and “Teaching practice” courses, offered from the beginning
of the second term of the third year, could have an impact on pre-service teachers’
mental images of science teaching. According to Anderson and Mitchener (1994),
field experience in schools is an opportunity for students to experiment with who
they are as professional educators and what they are learning in their courses
(Yılmaz-Tuzun, 2008). This finding is similar to the finding of Tatar et al. (2010) that
the higher the year of study, the greater the increase in pre-service teachers’
“exploratory” teaching style. The findings are also similar to the findings of Finson
(2001), Louca et al. (2003), El-Deghaidy (2006), Talsma (2007), and Minogue (2010),
that the pedagogical courses, which pre-service teachers have taken during their time
as faculty, make changes in pre-service teachers’ mental images of science teaching.
There is a great emphasis on constructivist theory in the reform of the elementary
school curriculum in Turkey. Nevertheless, there is also a need for the teacher
education system to engage pre-service teachers with these new educational trends.
This study has contributed to our understanding of current pre-service teachers’
assimilation of constructivist theories of education. According to the results of the
current study, the researchers recommend the following:

Teaching practices recommended by constructivist theory should be
covered more in “courses on education” in order to increase pre-service
teachers’ knowledge of student-centered science teaching.

During the micro-teaching activities in Science Teaching Methods courses,
pre-service teachers should be encouraged to create a constructivist
education environment and to carry out student-centered teaching
implementations.

In practical courses such as “School experience” and “Teaching practice”,
pre-service teachers should be provided with opportunities to conduct
observations and teach.

Academic staff should act as models by including student-centered
activities in their faculty courses.
For future research:

The “Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument” (STEBI) or “Science
Teaching Efficacy Belief Scale” (STEBS) can be use with the DASTT-C test.

A mixed method can be use to determine pre-service or in-service
teachers’ mental images of science teaching by using both the DASTT-C
test and interviews.
121
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Fen ve Teknoloji Öğretmen Adaylarının Fen Öğretimine Yönelik
Zihinsel İmgeleri
Atıf:
Yildiz Duban, N. (2013). Pre-service Science and Technology Teachers’ Mental
Images of Science Teaching. Egitim Arastirmalari–Eurasian Journal of
(Özet)
Problem Durumu
Fen ve Teknoloji dersi öğretmenlerinin fen öğretimine ilişkin algıları büyük önem
taşımaktadır. Zihinlerinde kendilerini fen öğretirken nasıl tasarladıkları yani zihinsel
imgeleri onların bu algılarının göstergesi olabilmektedir. Öğretmen adaylarının
zihinlerindeki öğretime yönelik imgeleri öğrenciyken yaşadıkları deneyimlerle
bağlantılıdır. Bu deneyimler onların bilgiyi dönüştürüp öğretim uygulamalarını
tasarlamalarında etkilidir. Böylece, öğretmen adaylarının zihinsel modelleri; onların
fenle ilgili ne öğreteceklerine ve bu öğretimi nasıl gerçekleştireceklerine ilişkin kişisel
pedagojik
anlayışlarını
ve
süreçte
kullanacakları
etkinlikleri
ortaya
çıkarabilmektedir. Ülkemizde ilköğretim programlarının yapılandırmacı kurama
göre hazırlanmasıyla birlikte; yapılandırmacı kuramı ve onun ışığında hazırlanan
öğretim programlarını tanıyarak yeni rollerini benimseyen, öğrenciye nasıl rehberlik
edeceğini ve hangi tür öğrenme ortamları hazırlaması gerektiğini bilen öğretmenler
yetiştirmek önem kazanmıştır. Bu bağlamda, eğitim fakültesinde öğrenim görmekte
olan fen ve teknoloji dersi öğretmen adaylarının fen öğretimine ilişkin zihinlerindeki
imgelerinin belirlenmesinin; onların öğretmenliğe, öğrenciye ve öğrenme
ortamlarına yönelik algıları konusunda öğretmen yetiştiren kurumlara ve öğretim
elemanlarına katkı getireceği düşünülmektedir. Bu düşünceden yola çıkılarak bu
araştırma desenlenmiştir.
Bu araştırmanın amacı, Mersin Üniversitesi Eğitim Fakültesi İlköğretim Bölümü Fen
Bilgisi ABD öğrencilerinin fen öğretimine yönelik zihinsel imgelerini belirlemek ve
çeşitli değişkenler açısından bu imgelerinde farklılık olup olmadığını ortaya
çıkarmaktır. Bu amaç doğrultusunda şu sorulara yanıt aranmıştır:
1. Mersin Üniversitesi Eğitim Fakültesi İlköğretim Bölümü Fen Bilgisi ABD
öğrencilerinin fen öğretimine yönelik zihinsel imgeleri nasıldır?
öğrencilerinin fen öğretimine yönelik zihinsel imgeleri cinsiyetlerine göre anlamlı
bir farklılık göstermekte midir?
öğrencilerinin fen öğretimine yönelik zihinsel imgeleri sınıf düzeylerine göre
anlamlı bir farklılık göstermekte midir?
125
Araştırmanın Yöntemi
Genel tarama yönteminin kullanıldığı bu araştırmanın çalışma evrenini 2009-2010
öğretim yılı güz döneminde Mersin Üniversitesi Eğitim Fakültesi Fen Bilgisi
Öğretmenliğinde öğrenim gören öğretmen adayları oluşturmakta olup, bu
adaylardan 113’ü seçkisiz olarak örnekleme alınmışlardır. Araştırmada ölçme aracı
olarak The Draw-A-Science-Teacher-Test Checklist (DASTT-C) kullanılmıştır.
Thomas ve arkadaşları (2001) tarafından yapılan güvenirlik çalışmasında KR-20
değeri .82; bu çalışmada ise KR-20 değeri .72 olarak hesaplanmıştır.
DASTT-C testi ile toplanan veriler Thomas ve arkadaşları (2001) tarafından
hazırlanan 13 maddelik ölçüt çizelgesi (checklist) kullanılarak puanlanmıştır. Bu
çizelge; öğretmen, öğrenci ve çevre olmak üzere üç ana bölümden oluşmaktadır. Her
bir bölüm de alt bölümlere ayrılmaktadır. Öğretmen bölümü “etkinlikler” (gösteri,
düz anlatım, görsellerden yararlanma) ve “öğretmenin pozisyonu” (sınıfın
merkezinde olma, ayakta dikilme) olarak iki alt bölümde incelenmektedir. Öğrenci
bölümü de benzer biçimde “etkinlikler” (pasif bilgi alma, öğretmenin sorularını
yanıtlama) ve “öğrenci pozisyonu” (sırada oturma) olarak iki alt bölüme sahiptir.
Çevre başlığı altında incelenen bölümde ise öğretmen masası ve öğrenci sıralarının
dizilişi, laboratuar malzemelerinin konumu, öğretme sürecine ve fene yönelik
sembollerin sınıftaki varlığına değinilmektedir. Bu ölçütlere göre yapılan
değerlendirmede puanlar 0-13 arasında yer almaktadır. 10-13 puan arası öğretmen
merkezli bir anlayışın hakim olduğunu, 5-9 puan aralığı öğretmen-öğrenci
merkezliliğinin arasında kalınmış bir durumu, 0-4 puan aralığı ise öğrenci merkezli
anlayışın var olduğunu göstermektedir.
Araştırmada öğretmen adaylarının yaptıkları çizimler birden 113’e kadar
numaralandırılmıştır. Çizimleri anlaşılmayan altı kağıt örneklem dışı kaldığı için 107
test incelenip DASTT-C’ye göre puanlanmıştır. Bu çalışma kapsamında araştırmacı
dışında bir alan uzmanı daha çizimleri bağımsız olarak inceleyip puanlamıştır.
Araştırmacı ve alan uzmanı tarafından incelenip puanlanan tüm çizimlerde “görüş
birliği” ve “görüş ayrılığı” olan konular tartışılmış ve gerekli düzenlemeler
yapılmıştır. Araştırmanın güvenilirlik hesaplaması için Miles ve Huberman’ın (1994)
önerdiği güvenirlik formülü (Güvenirlik = Görüş Birliği/ (Görüş Birliği + Görüş
Ayrılığı)) kullanılmıştır. Güvenirlik hesaplarının %70’in üzerinde çıkması, araştırma
için güvenilir kabul edilmektedir (Miles ve Huberman, 1994). Hesaplama sonucunda
araştırmanın güvenirliği DASTT-C testindeki çizimler için % 90 olarak
hesaplanmıştır. Burada elde edilen sonuç, araştırma için güvenilir kabul edilmiştir.
Araştırmanın alt problemlerinde yer alan çeşitli değişkenler açısından istatistiksel
farklılıkların hesaplanmasında t testi, tek yönlü varyans analizi (ANOVA) ve
Tamhane testleri kullanılmıştır.
Araştırmanın Bulguları
Araştırma bulgularına göre, öğretmen adaylarının % 13,08’inin öğrenci merkezli
öğretim stiline sahip oldukları, % 62,62’sinin öğrenci merkezli öğretim stili ile
öğretmen merkezli öğretim stilinin arasında kaldıkları ve % 24,30’unun ise öğretmen
merkezli öğretim stiline sahip oldukları ortaya çıkmıştır. Cinsiyet değişkenine göre,
126
Nil Yildiz Duban
kadın ve erkek öğretmen adayları arasında fen öğretimine yönelik zihinsel imgeler
açısından anlamlı bir farklılık görülmemiştir. Sınıf düzeylerine göre öğretmen
adaylarının fen öğretimine yönelik zihinsel imgeleri arasında farklılık olup
olmadığını belirlemek için yapılan analizler sonunda, birinci sınıflar ile dördüncü
sınıflar arasında bir farklılık olduğu ortaya çıkmış ve dördüncü sınıftaki öğrencilerin
puanlarının birinci sınıflara nazaran anlamlı derecede düşük olduğu sonucuna
ulaşılmıştır. Başka bir deyişle, öğrenci merkezli sınıf imgesi açısından elde edilen
sonuç dördüncü sınıfların lehinedir.
Araştırmanın Sonuçları ve Önerileri
Araştırmanın sonucunda örneklemdeki öğretmen adaylarının yarısından fazlasının
öğrenci merkezli bir fen öğretimi anlayışı ile öğretmen merkezli bir anlayış arasında
oldukları, cinsiyetlere göre fen öğretimine yönelik zihinsel imgelerin farklılaşmadığı
ve dördüncü sınıftaki öğrencilerin fen öğretimine yönelik zihinsel imgelerinin birinci
sınıftakilere göre daha öğrenci merkezli olduğu görülmüştür. Bu sonuca dayanılarak,
özel öğretim yöntemleri derslerinde öğretmen adaylarının mikro öğretim
uygulamalarında yapılandırmacı ortam oluşturmaları konusunda yardımcı olunup
ve onlara bu konuda fırsat sunulması önerilebilir. Öğretim elemanları da kendi
derslerinde yapılandırmacı öğrenme ortamları düzenleyerek öğretmen adaylarına
model olabilirler.
Anahtar Sözcükler: Fen ve teknoloji öğretmen adayı, fen öğretimi, yapılandırmacı
kuram, zihinsel imge
Is My Social Studies Teacher Democratic?
Kasım KIROĞLU
Suggested Citation:
Kiroglu, K. (2013). Is My Social Studies Teacher Democratic? Egitim Arastirmalari –
Eurasian Journal of Educational Research, 50, 127-142.
Abstract
Problem Statement: Democracy and education are two concepts that
influence, transform, and improve each other in time. In this sense, we
could talk about a symbiotic relationship between democracy and
education. The social studies teacher himself or herself must primarily be
tolerant towards the class, respect both students and fellow teachers,
cooperate with all when needed, and then expect such behavior of the
students. This is certainly not the sole responsibility of social studies
teachers but a collective responsibility incumbent on all teachers.
However, a teacher who is teaching the concept of democracy in class is
obviously burdened with more responsibility in this context. It is therefore
crucial that both the students and the teacher know the extent to which
fairness, justice, freedom, and participation are actually practiced in the
classroom. If a person’s self-concerning remarks are to be taken as
significant and realistic, they need to be corroborated by others. In other
words, a social studies teacher’s declaration ‘I am democratic’ gains
significance only if their students, too, declare, ‘Yes, our teacher is
democratic’.
Purpose of the Study: This study aims to reveal the extent to which social
studies teachers’ behaviors are democratic in the classroom.
Method: The democratic behaviors of social studies teachers in primary
school classrooms were assessed by means of two scales (teacher form and
student form) developed by the researcher. The arithmetic mean, standard
deviation, and t-test were used in the data analysis for comparable results
of teacher (N: 194) and student (N: 1712) views.
Findings: The in-class democratic behaviors of social studies teachers in
public primary schools are considered in four dimensions, i.e., freedom,
equality, justice, and participation. According to the results of this study,
social studies teachers’ perceptions of their democratic behaviors in the

Asst. Prof. Dr., Ondokuz Mayıs University, College of Education, Turkey, email:[email protected]
127
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classroom are not shared by their students, as far as the freedom, equality,
justice and participation dimensions of the research is concerned.
Conclusion: When we look at the results of this study, we cannot miss the
dichotomy between the perceptions of teachers and those of the students.
While social studies teachers claim to apply the core dimensions of
democracy to real life, their students claim otherwise. The students who
participated in this survey responded that their teachers did not do their
share when it came to the free expression of opinions, equal treatment,
consideration of their differences, acceptance as they are, fair treatment,
and encouraging student participation in the class.
Keywords: Democracy, social studies teachers, 8th grade students,
education
Democracy is a form of life and government based on human rights and
freedoms where the majority has the right to make policies and the minority has the
right to participate and criticize (Gömleksiz, 1988). According to Tortop (1992), the
basic principle of democracy is to be respectful and tolerant of different opinions.
Dewey considers democracy as more than just collective decision-making in the
political process. According to Dewey (1916), ‘a democracy is more than a form of
government; it is primarily a mode of associated living, of conjoint communicated
experiences’. In other words, unlike certain perceptions, democracy is not just about
going to the ballots. It is about the internalization of such concepts as tolerance,
rights, justice, fairness, respect of differences, participation, honesty, cooperation,
freedom, responsibility, collaboration, and peace by the individual as an active
member of society. The only way to internalize democratic principles is through
education. Educational institutions play a pivotal role in raising democratic citizens
and forming a democratic culture (Giroux, 1989; Apple & Beanne, 2011; Biesta, 2007).
Democracy and education are two concepts that influence, transform, and improve
each other in time (Dahl, 2010; Putnam, 2000). In this sense, we could talk about a
symbiotic relationship between democracy and education. As Yeşil (2002) points out,
while education is key to the existence, adoption, and flourishing of democracy on
the individual and social levels, democracy, too, is a prerequisite to quality-raising in
education and in educated individuals becoming useful for themselves and all
humanity. In a democratic society, schools must be in harmony with democracy and
teach relevant values, attitudes, and behaviors (Doğanay, 2010). Democratic
classrooms are the optimal environment where students can best learn and live these
values. Students learn how to make decisions autonomously, how to lead, how to
tolerate different opinions, and how to collaborate with and respect the rights of
others in the classroom (Matusova, 1997). In addition, a suitable classroom
environment and a teacher with appropriate attitudes, expertise, and behaviors allow
students to develop their critical thinking skills (Tanriverdi, Ulusoy & Turan, 2012).
The principles of a democratic society have to be ‘lived’ in the classroom if
students are going to understand the full impact of their meaning (Gang, 1989). A
129
democratic classroom is one where values like equality, freedom, justice, and
participation prevail (Kesici, 2008; Shechtman, 2002; Knight, 2001). Reflecting society
on a micro level, the democratic classroom is where students can live freedom,
express their views, and learn to respect all sorts of differences. According to Hahn
(1998), a participatory climate in the classroom gives individuals the chance to
experience democratic life. These experiences enable students to grow conscious of
their rights and justice as democratic values so as to guarantee student rights, as
Grandmont (2003) puts it. Kubow and Kinney (2000) stress eight characteristics of a
classroom environment with the above qualities. These characteristics are active
participation, avoidance of textbook-dominated instruction, reflective thinking,
student decision-making and problem-solving choice, controversial issues,
individual responsibilities, recognition of human dignity, and relevance. The person
to bring about a classroom environment with all these qualities is undoubtedly the
teacher. If a teacher has democratic values, then his or her students will easily absorb
these values. The adoption of these democratic values by the teacher will also make
their internalization by the students easier (Selvi, 2006; Knight, 2001). If the students
feel afraid of and intimidated by their teacher, that classroom is by no means
democratic. Teachers with no democratic qualities do not care much about student
participation and know or use no other technique than lecturing. Democracy is a
system that requires multiple methods, not a single one. Quietness and democracy
have a negative correlation. In a democratic classroom, communication is initiated in
three ways: from the teacher to the student, from the student to the teacher, and, last
but not least, from the student to the student. Not only does such communication
negate quietness but requires controlled ‘noise’. Osler and Starkey (2006) and Print,
Ornstrom, and Nielsen (2002) hold that the teaching-learning setting in a democratic
classroom requires the teacher to open subjects for debate and let the students freely
express their views. Another characteristic of democratic teachers is that they treat all
their students fairly and equally. If a teacher discriminates against their students on
the basis of language, religion, creed, gender, socio-economic status, attire, and other
points; is partial in giving out rewards and punishments; does not let everyone have
an equal say; and is knowingly unfriendly towards certain students, then that teacher
cannot be said to be fair or equalitarian – or, consequently, democratic. Another
significant token of a democratic classroom is that all students feel free. This is not a
feeling that the students can experience by themselves; the person who is to help
them experience it is the teacher who has internalized democracy.
As a matter of course, all teachers should have their fair share in creating a
democratic classroom setting. Having said that, teachers of social studies in
particular, both in Turkey and in the rest of the world, have a special mission in
imparting democratic values to students. As in almost all countries, social studies
curricula have a certain amount of time allocated for the teaching of democracy and
its constituent concepts, such as tolerance, rights, justice, fairness, respect of
differences, participation, honesty, cooperation, freedom, responsibility,
collaboration, and peace. In Finland, for instance, the social studies curriculum in
primary education visibly stresses the teaching of democracy and the raising of
conscious citizens as a result. Similarly in the US, what social studies curricula in
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different states conspicuously have in common is the teaching of democracy and
democratic values. In Turkey, following the foundation of the Republic, the subject of
democracy was taught in ‘Citizenship Studies’ which was renamed ‘Social Studies’ in
1969. It became part of ‘Citizenship Studies’ again from 1985 until 2005, when the
new curriculum was adopted, and democracy and relevant concepts have since been
taught under the headings of ‘The Individual and the Community’, and ‘Power,
Government, and Society’ in a total of 41 lessons in eight units from year four until
year seven. This constitutes about a quarter of the existing curriculum. A 2010
addition to the curriculum – ‘Citizenship and Democracy Studies’ as a separate
subject in year eight – aims to raise awareness of democracy.
The main target of social studies is to raise active and participating citizens for a
democratic and modern society (Öztürk, 2007). However, sole lecturing of
democratic concepts or their rote learning by students will miss the target. It is not
sufficient when a social studies teacher simply tells the class to ‘be tolerant’, ‘respect
each other’, or ‘cooperate’. These are far better if experienced and lived in person in
the classroom. The social studies teacher himself or herself must primarily be tolerant
towards the class, respect both students and fellow teachers, cooperate with all when
needed, and then expect such behavior of the students. This is certainly not the sole
responsibility of social studies teachers but a collective responsibility incumbent on
all teachers. However, a teacher teaching the concept of democracy in class is
obviously burdened with more responsibility in this context. It is therefore crucial
that both the students and the teacher know the extent to which fairness, justice,
freedom, and participation – the basis of democracy and the pillars of a democratic
classroom – are actually practiced in the classroom. For this reason, this study aims
to reveal the extent to which social studies teachers’ behaviors are democratic in the
classroom.
Method
The democratic behaviors of social studies teachers in primary school classrooms
was assessed by means of two scales (teacher form and student form) developed by
the researcher.
The population of this study consists of social studies teachers and eighth-year
students in public primary schools in central Samsun, Turkey. In the selection of
sampling, the numbers of public primary schools, teachers, and students were taken
into consideration. Targeting all of the social studies teachers in the research
population, no sample was taken, but all 194 teachers were surveyed. As for the
students, 10 were randomly selected for each teacher. Thus, 1,940 scales were sent
out and 1,712 were returned, of which 61 were discarded for not complying with the
survey standards. The most significant handicap of the survey was the possibility of
the students being pressured by the teachers and not filling in the scales freely and
realistically. In order to overcome this, the scale envelopes carried the warning that
‘the scales were to be administered especially by teachers other than the social
131
studies teachers’. Of the teachers who participated, 53% (103) were female, 47% (91)
were male, 78% (151) were married, and 22% (43) were single. Of the students, 57%
(938) were female and 43% (713) were male.
Development of the Data Collection Instrument
The research data was collected using the scale for democratic behavior in the
classroom (teacher and student forms). The teacher and student forms were
separately tested for validity and reliability. Both scale forms that were used as data
collection instruments are described below:
Scale for Democratic Behavior in the Classroom (Teacher Form)
Following review of the literature on democratic behaviors in the classroom, a 29item scale was developed for teachers. In order to test the validity and reliability of
the scale, a pre-survey was administered to 89 teachers of social studies in the Bafra
and Çarşamba districts of Samsun. Following the analysis of the pre-survey data, 10
items--with a total item correlation lower than .30, with factor load values lower than
.40 and with items not parallel in two scales (teacher and student scales)--were taken
out and the remaining 19 items were used for the scale. The Cronbach α internal
consistency factor of the scale was found to be 0.82.
The KMO and Bartlett tests were used to find out whether factor analysis would
be necessary for the pre-survey data. The KMO test yielded a result of .71, which
suggested that the scale could be interpreted through factor analysis; and the result
of the Bartlett test (.000) being lower than the significance level of 0.05 meant that a
factor could be obtained from the correlation matrix (Şencan, 2005). In the analysis
for structural validity, the scale was divided into four factors (freedom, equality,
justice, and participation), and the factor load values varied between .43 and .85. The
total variation of the scale with a four-factor structure was calculated around 53%. A
five-step Likert scale was used to reveal the extent to which social studies teachers’
behaviors were democratic in the classroom. The lowest value of the scale
corresponded to ‘never’ and the highest to ‘always’. The sub-scales of the research
scale are described below.
Freedom. This subscale had the following items: ‘I let my students freely express
their views in class’, ‘I give my students the chance to experience the freedom to
choose’, ‘When assigning tasks, I organize elections’, ‘I avoid embarrassing my
students in class’, and ‘I treat my students with love and respect’. The Cronbach α
internal consistency factor for this five-item subscale was calculated as 0.77, and the
factor analysis showed factor load values varying between .52 and .80.
Equality. This subscale had the following items: ‘I empathize with my students in
all circumstances’, ‘If students have doubts about their grades, I show them their
exam papers’, ‘Students can easily talk to me about any problem they may have’, ‘I
treat my students fairly’, and ‘I tolerate all sorts of difference in the classroom’. The
Cronbach α internal consistency factor for this five-item subscale was calculated as
0.75, and the factor analysis showed factor load values varying between .59 and .83.
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Kasım Kıroğlu
Justice. This subscale had the following items: ‘I accept all students in my class as
they are’, ‘I am fair in giving out rewards’, ‘I treat all my students fairly in letting
them have their say’, ‘I inform my students about matters that may concern them’,
and ‘I set an example of democracy with my behavior in the classroom’. The
Participation. This subscale had the following items: ‘I conduct student-centered
classes to encourage them to participate’, ‘I keep my students active through class
debates and project tasks’, ‘I use techniques (e.g., six hats, station, brainstorming,
etc.) that facilitate the transfer of democratic values to real life’, and ‘I encourage
posters and bills in the classroom, which are known to raise democratic awareness’.
The Cronbach α internal consistency factor for this four-item subscale was
calculated as 0.67, and the factor analysis showed factor load values varying
between .58 and .76.
Scale for Democratic Behavior in the Classroom (Student Form)
Following review of the literature on democratic behaviors in the classroom, a 29item scale was developed for students. In order to test the validity and reliability of
the student form, the scale was administered by the researcher to 300 eighth-year
students in five randomly selected schools in Bafra and five in Çarşamba, the largest
districts of Samsun. Two hundred ninety-seven scales were included in the analysis,
and three were discarded for not complying with the survey standards. Following
the analysis of the pre-survey data, seven items with a total item correlation lower
than .30 and with factor load values lower than .40 were taken out, and 22 items
remained for the scale. A further three items were discarded in order to ensure a
parallel structure to the teacher form, and the remaining 19 items composed the
student form. The Cronbach α internal consistency factor of the scale was found to be
0.88.
The KMO and Bartlett tests were used to find out whether factor analysis would
be necessary for the pre-survey data. The KMO test yielded a result of .93, which
suggested that the scale could be interpreted through factor analysis; and the result
of the Bartlett test (.000) being lower than the significance level of 0.05 meant that a
factor could be obtained from the correlation matrix (Şencan, 2005). In the analysis
for structural validity, the scale was divided into four factors (freedom, equality,
justice, and participation), and the factor load values varied between .41 and .79. The
total variation of the scale with a four-factor structure was calculated around 55%. A
five-step Likert scale was used to reveal the extent to which social studies teachers’
behaviors were democratic in the classroom. The lowest value of the scale
corresponded to ‘never’ and the highest to ‘always’. The sub-scales of the research
scale are described below.
Freedom. This subscale had the following items: ‘Our teacher lets us freely express
our views in class’, ‘Our teacher gives us the chance to experience the freedom to
choose’, ‘When assigning tasks, our teacher organizes elections’, ‘Our teacher avoids
embarrassing us in class’, and ‘Our teacher approaches us with love and respect’. The
133
Equality. This subscale had the following items: ‘Our teacher empathizes with us
in all circumstances’, ‘If we have doubts about our grades, our teacher shows us our
exam papers’, ‘We can easily talk to our teacher about any problem we may have’,
‘Our teacher treats us fairly’, and ‘Our teacher tolerates all sorts of difference in the
classroom’. The Cronbach α internal consistency factor for this five-item subscale was
calculated as 0.78, and the factor analysis showed factor load values varying between
.45 and .79.
Justice. This subscale had the following items: ‘Our teacher accepts us all as we
are’, ‘Our teacher is fair in giving out rewards’, ‘Our teacher treats us all fairly in
letting us have our say’, ‘Our teacher informs us about matters that may concern us’,
and ‘Our teacher sets an example of democracy with his/her behavior in the
classroom’. The Cronbach α internal consistency factor for this five-item subscale was
calculated as 0.76, and the factor analysis showed factor load values varying between
.44 and .59.
Participation. This subscale had the following items: ‘Our teacher conducts
student-centered classes to encourage us to participate’, ‘Our teacher keeps us active
through class debates and project tasks’, ‘Our teacher uses techniques such as six
hats, station, and brainstorming’, and ‘Our teacher encourages posters and bills in
the classroom, which are known to raise democratic awareness’. The Cronbach α
internal consistency factor for this four-item subscale was calculated as 0.71, and the
factor analysis showed factor load values varying between .41 and .77.
Data Analysis
The SPSS 16.0 statistical package program was used in the analysis of the research
data on social studies teachers’ democratic behaviors in the classroom. The arithmetic
mean, standard deviation, and t-test were used in the data analysis for comparable
results of teacher and student views.
Results
In this section, the in-class democratic behaviors of social studies teachers in
public primary schools are considered in four dimensions, i.e., freedom, equality,
justice, and participation. The t-test was used to find out whether the views of social
studies teachers and those of eighth-year students differed.
Freedom
The t-test results for social studies teachers’ and eighth-year students’ views on
the freedom dimension of the scale are given in Table 1.
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Kasım Kıroğlu
Table 1.
The t-Test Results for Teachers’ and Students’ Views on the Freedom Dimension
Dimension
Variables
N
X
Freedom
Ss
Student
1651
19.92
5.435
Teacher
194
21.98
3.718
sd
t
p
1843
5.128
.000
*p<0.05
As can be seen in Table 1, a significant difference was found between the
teachers’ and the students’ views on the freedom dimension of the scale [t (1843) =
5.128, p<0.05]. In other words, social studies teachers’ perceptions of their
democratic behaviors in the classroom are not shared by their students, as far as the
freedom dimension of the research is concerned. Teacher and student views have
been found to differ on the free expression of opinions, freedom to choose, elections
in assigning tasks, avoiding embarrassing students in class, and approaching
students with love and respect.
Equality
the equality dimension of the scale are given in Table 2.
Table 2.
The t-Test Results for Teachers’ and Students’ Views on the Equality Dimension
N
M
Student
1651
19.46
4.519
Teacher
194
21.08
4.096
Dimension
Variables
Equality
SD
df
t
p
1843
4.787
.000
*p<0.05
teachers’ and the students’ views on the equality dimension of the scale [t(1843) =
equality dimension of the research is concerned. Teacher and student views have
been found to differ on empathizing with the students, showing the students their
exam papers, talking to the teacher about any problem that the students may have,
fair treatment of the students, and tolerance of all sorts of differences in the
classroom.
Justice
the justice dimension of the scale are given in Table 3.
135
Table 3
The t-Test Results for Teachers’ and Students’ Views on the Justice Dimension
N
M
Student
1651
20.00
5.076
Teacher
194
22.15
3.974
Dimension
Variables
Justice
SD
df
t
p
1843
5.709
.000
*p<0.05
teachers’ and the students’ views on the justice dimension of the scale [t(1843) = 5.709,
p<0.05]. In other words, social studies teachers’ perceptions of their democratic
behaviors in the classroom are not shared by their students, as far as the justice
dimension of the research is concerned. Teacher and student views have been found
to differ on acceptance of all students as they are, fairness in giving out rewards and
letting students have their say, informing students about matters that may concern
them, and setting an example of democracy in the classroom.
Participation
the participation dimension of the scale are given in Table 4.
Table 4.
The t-Test Results for Teachers’ and Students’ Views on the Participation Dimension
N
M
Student
1651
14.23
3.577
Teacher
194
15.11
3.296
Dimension
Variables
Participation
SD
df
t
p
1843
3.240
.001
*p<0.05
teachers’ and the students’ views on the participation dimension of the scale [t(1843) =
participation dimension of the research is concerned. Teacher and student views
have been found to differ on conducting student-centered classes, keeping students
active through class debates and project tasks and encouraging them to participate,
use of techniques (e.g., six hats, station, brainstorming, etc.) that facilitate the
transfer of democratic values to real life, and encouraging posters and bills in the
classroom, which are known to raise democratic awareness.
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Kasım Kıroğlu
School is the small sample of a society. Students soon take their places in society
as adults, making use of the knowledge and skills they acquired throughout their
education. It is for this reason that the objectives, content, methods, and democratic
qualities of formal education offer important clues on the future of a country. The
significance of the role of the teacher is undeniable, especially in learning democracy,
which is the acquisition of attitudes and behaviors that require practice and a role
model. In this process, the mission of social studies teachers is more critical than that
of other teachers. Besides being role models simply as teachers, social studies
teachers have a unique place in that they are the teachers of democracy as presented
in the curriculum. For this reason, the present study aimed to reveal the extent to
which social studies teachers, who have crucial responsibilities for the internalization
of democracy by their students, display democratic attitudes and behaviors
themselves in the classroom.
If a person’s self-concerning remarks are to be taken as significant and realistic,
they need to be corroborated by others. In other words, a social studies teacher’s
declaration ‘I am democratic’ gains significance only if their students, too, declare,
‘Yes, our teacher is democratic’. When we look at the results of this study, we cannot
miss the dichotomy between the perceptions of teachers and those of the students.
While social studies teachers claim to apply the core dimensions of democracy –
freedom, equality, justice, and participation– to real life, their students claim
otherwise. The students who participated in this survey responded that their
teachers did not do their share when it came to the free expression of opinions, equal
treatment, consideration of their differences, acceptance as they are, fair treatment,
and encouraging student participation in the class. This is despite the democracy
units in the social studies curriculum that were put in place in 2006, the student
councils, and the Citizenship and Democracy courses in the new 2010 curriculum,
which all aim to help students absorb democracy and create a more democratic
classroom setting. Consistency between theory and practice depends on the teacher
playing his/her part properly. The findings of this study, however, show that it is
quite difficult to create a democratic classroom setting with teachers who are not
democratic themselves, no matter how often the curricula are changed or how many
democratic elements they may contain.
The literature review suggests similarities between the findings of this study and
those of the few others conducted in this field. Kıncal (2000), for instance, concluded
that eighth-year primary school students did not find their teachers democratic
enough and thought that a significant number of their teachers showed no tolerance
or even resorted to violence. According to Tomul, Çelik, and Taş (2012), most
students think that teachers behave unfairly in both distributing instruments, grades,
punishment, rewards, and the like, and in their relations with some students.
Durmuş and Demirtaş (2009) found that while secondary school teachers claimed to
be democratic in class, their students claimed otherwise. In his 2004 survey of
university students, Demirtaş concluded that the lecturers were not adequate in
‘democratic classroom management’. Likewise, Duman and Koç (2004) found that
137
university lecturers rarely sympathized with their students or admitted their own
mistakes. In his two studies ten years apart, Ertürk (1970) compared teacher
behaviors and concluded that teacher behaviors were mostly undemocratic and that
these inadequacies increased significantly. Küçükahmet (1989) pointed to a positive
correlation between teachers being democratic and students turning out democratic.
Teachers’ democratic attitudes and behaviors in class will have a positive effect on
education and help students internalize democracy.
When we consider the findings of this study and those of similar ones in the field,
questions such as the following spring to mind: ‘Is it a dream to form democratic
classroom settings in Turkey?’, ‘Can democratic behaviors be expected of the
teachers of a country which has itself been unable to climb over the 88 th rank since
2006 in the Economist Intelligence Unit democracy index, which ranks 187 countries
according to democratic practices?’, ‘Is Turkey an undemocratic country because its
education is undemocratic, or is Turkish education undemocratic because the
country is undemocratic?’. The smoothest way out of the vicious circle of these
questions is through education. Social structures become democratic through
educated individuals. In order for democratic culture to remain, educational
institutions must do their duties, and especially the teachers of these institutions
must adopt and practice democracy as a method in the classroom. So long as
freedom, equality, justice, and participation are not transferred to real life,
democracy will merely remain as a dream. From the educational point of view,
freedom, justice, and equality can come into life depending on participation. Any
system that is not participatory can guarantee neither freedom nor equality nor
justice. The constructivism that has been promoted in the Turkish educational system
since 2005 essentially highlights participation and student-centered classes, which
are closely related to the methods, techniques, and strategies that a teacher adopts
when conducting classes. For example, a teacher can encourage collaboration and
mutual assistance through the cooperative learning approach, looking at a fact from
different viewpoints through the six-hats teaching technique, collectively completing
an unfinished task through the station technique, problem-solving through
brainstorming, and empathy and participation through drama. Such a classroom
setting can change a student’s approach to events, interaction with people,
preferences, values, and, in short, their view of life. It can affect the students’
interaction with their schoolmates, their teachers, and the individuals outside school.
It can also help shy, reserved, and timid students become more active. It enables
students with different characteristics to work in cooperation and learn together. It
improves the sense of duty and responsibility in students. In the long run, an
individual who was educated this way can internalize participatory democracy and
help contribute to a future democratic society.
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Kasım Kıroğlu
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Sosyal Bilgiler Öğretmenim Demokrat mı?
Atıf:
Kiroglu, K. (2013). Is My Social Studies Teacher Democratic? Egitim Arastirmalari –
Eurasian Journal of Educational Research, 50, 127-142.
(Özet)
Problem Durumu: Demokrasi, çoğunluğun politika oluşturma, azınlığın katılma ve
eleştirme haklarının bulunduğu; insan hak ve özgürlüklerine dayalı bir yaşayış ve
yönetim biçimidir. Demokrasi; toplumun etkin bir üyesi olarak bireyin hoşgörü, hak,
adalet, eşitlik, farklılıklara saygı, katılım, dürüstlük, işbirliği, özgürlük, sorumluluk,
dayanışma ve barış gibi kavramları içselleştirmiş olmasıyla ilgilidir. Demokratik
değerlerin içselleştirilmesinin tek yolu ise eğitimden geçer. Eğitim kurumları
demokrat vatandaşların yetiştirilmesinde ve demokratik bir kültürün
oluşturulmasında önemli bir role sahiptir. Demokrasi ve eğitim öyle iki kavramdır ki
bunlar birbirlerini etkiler, dönüştürür ve zaman içinde birbirlerini geliştirirler. Bu
anlamda demokrasiyle eğitim arasında sembiyotik bir ilişki olduğu söylenebilir.
Demokratik bir toplumda, okullar demokrasiyle uyumlu olmalı ve demokrasiye
ilişkin önemli değerleri, tutumları ve davranışları öğretmelidir. Öğrencilerin bunları
öğrenebilecekleri ve yaşayabilecekleri en elverişli ortam ise demokratik sınıflardır.
Eğer bir öğretmen demokratik değerlere sahipse, öğrencileri de demokratik değerleri
kolaylıkla öğrenirler, ayrıca öğretmenin demokratik değerleri özümsemesi, bu
değerlerin öğrenciler tarafından da içselleştirilmesini kolaylaştırır. Demokratik bir
sınıf ortamının oluşturulmasında elbette bütün öğretmenlere ayrı ayrı önemli
görevler düşmektedir. Bununla birlikte hem Türkiye’de hem de dünyada demokratik
değerlerin öğrencilere aktarılmasında Sosyal Bilgiler Öğretmenlerine ayrı bir misyon
yüklenmiştir. Çünkü neredeyse tüm ülkelerde Sosyal Bilgiler ya da onun eş değeri
olan derslerin programlarında, demokrasi ve onun özünü oluşturan hoşgörü, hak,
adalet, eşitlik, farklılıklara saygı, katılım, dürüstlük, işbirliği, özgürlük, sorumluluk,
dayanışma ve barış gibi kavramların öğretilmesi için ayrı bir başlık açılmıştır.
Kuşkusuz bu sadece Sosyal Bilgiler Öğretmeninin üzerine düşen bir sorumluluk
değil, bütün öğretmenlerin gerçekleştirmesi gereken genel sorumluluklardır. Ancak
demokrasi kavramını sınıfta öğretmeye çalışan bir öğretmenin bu anlamda daha
fazla sorumluluk üstlenmesi gerektiği de aşikârdır. Bir insanın kendine ilişkin
söylediklerinin anlamlı ve gerçekçi olabilmesi için başkalarının da o kişi hakkında
141
aynı şeyleri söylemesi gerekir. Yani bir Sosyal Bilgiler öğretmeninin “ben
demokratım” demesi, öğrencilerinin de “evet, öğretmenimiz demokratiktir”
demesiyle anlam kazanır. Sosyal Bilgiler Öğretmenlerinin demokrasi konularının
özünü oluşturan ve demokratik bir sınıfın temel özellikleri sayılabilecek eşitlik,
adalet, özgürlük ve katılım kavramlarını sınıfta ne derece yaşatabildiğinin hem
öğrenci hem de öğretmenin gözünden belirlenmesi büyük önem taşımaktadır.
Araştırmanın Amacı: Bu amaçla bu çalışmada Sosyal Bilgiler öğretmenlerinin sınıf içi
demokratik davranışları belirlenmeye çalışılmıştır.
Araştırmanın Yöntemi: Sosyal Bilgiler öğretmenlerinin sınıf içi demokratik
davranışlarının belirlenmesi amacıyla yapılan bu araştırma, tarama modeli
niteliğindedir. Bu çalışmada ilköğretim okullarında görev yapan Sosyal Bilgiler
öğretmenlerinin sınıf içi demokratik davranışları, araştırmacının geliştirdiği ölçekler
(öğretmen formu ve öğrenci formu) aracılığıyla belirlenmeye çalışılmıştır. Bu
araştırmanın evreni, Türkiye’nin Samsun ili merkez ilçelerinde yer alan resmi
ilköğretim okulu Sosyal Bilgiler öğretmenleri ve 8. sınıf öğrencilerinden
oluşmaktadır. Örneklem seçiminde resmi ilköğretim okul, öğretmen ve öğrenci
sayıları göz önünde bulundurulmuştur. Araştırma evrenindeki Sosyal Bilgiler
öğretmenlerinin tamamına ulaşılması hedeflendiğinden örneklem alma yoluna
gidilmemiş, Samsun ili merkez ilçelerinde görev yapan 194 öğretmene ölçek
uygulanmıştır. Öğrencilerin belirlenmesi aşamasında her öğretmenin dersine girdiği
sınıfta 10 öğrenci yansız olarak seçilmiş ve 1940 öğrenciye ölçek yollanmış ancak
çeşitli nedenlerle 1712 ölçek geri dönmüş, 61 ölçek yönergeye uygun şekilde
doldurulmadığı için değerlendirmeye dâhil edilmemiştir. Verilerin öğretmen ve
öğrenci görüşlerine dayalı olarak karşılaştırabilmesi amacıyla aritmetik ortalama,
standart sapma ve t-testi kullanılmıştır.
Araştırmanın Bulguları: Araştırma sonuçları dört boyutta (özgürlük, eşitlik, adalet ve
katılım) incelenmiştir. Ölçeğin özgürlük boyutuna ilişkin öğretmen ve öğrencilerin
görüşleri arasında anlamlı bir fark bulunmuştur. Başka bir deyişle bu sonuç, Sosyal
Bilgiler öğretmenlerinin özgürlük boyutunda, sınıfta demokratik davranışlar
sergilediklerine ilişkin algılarının öğrenciler tarafından paylaşılmadığını ortaya
koymaktadır. Öğretmenlerin öğrencilerin sınıfta görüşlerini özgürce ifade
etmelerine, seçme özgürlüğünü yaşayabilmelerine olanak tanıma, görevlerin
dağıtımında seçim yöntemine başvurma, öğrencileri sınıfta küçük düşürecek
davranışlardan kaçınma, öğrencilere sevgi ve saygı çerçevesinde davranma
konularında öğretmen ve öğrenci görüşlerinin farklılaştığı belirlenmiştir. Ölçeğin
eşitlik boyutuna ilişkin öğretmen ve öğrencilerin görüşleri arasında anlamlı bir fark
bulunmuştur. Başka bir deyişle bu durum, Sosyal Bilgiler öğretmenlerinin eşitlik
boyutunda sınıfta demokratik davranışlar sergilediklerine ilişkin algılarının
öğrenciler tarafından paylaşılmadığını ortaya koymaktadır. Öğrencilerle empati
kurma, sınav sonuçlarına itiraz eden öğrencinin kağıdını görmesine izin verme,
herhangi bir sorunu olan öğrencinin öğretmenle kolayca iletişime geçme, öğrencilere
eşit davranma ve sınıftaki her türden farklılığa hoşgörü gösterme konularında
öğretmen ve öğrenci görüşlerinin farklılaştığı belirlenmiştir. Ölçeğin adalet boyutuna
ilişkin öğretmen ve öğrencilerin görüşleri arasında anlamlı bir fark bulunmuştur.
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Kasım Kıroğlu
Başka bir deyişle bu sonuç, Sosyal Bilgiler öğretmenlerinin adalet boyutunda sınıfta
demokratik davranışlar sergilediklerine ilişkin algılarının öğrenciler tarafından
paylaşılmadığını ortaya koymaktadır. Öğretmenlerin öğrencileri olduğu gibi kabul
etme, ödül dağıtımında ve söz hakkı vermede adil davranma, öğrencileri ilgilendiren
konularda onları bilgilendirme ve onlara demokrasi konusunda örnek olma
noktalarında öğretmen ve öğrenci görüşlerinin farklılaştığı belirlenmiştir. Ölçeğin
katılım boyutuna ilişkin öğretmen ve öğrencilerin görüşleri arasında anlamlı bir fark
bulunmuştur. Başka bir deyişle bu durum, Sosyal Bilgiler öğretmenlerinin katılım
boyutunda sınıfta demokratik davranışlar sergilediklerine ilişkin algılarının
öğrenciler tarafından paylaşılmadığını ortaya koymaktadır. Öğretmenlerin öğrenci
merkezli bir ders işleyerek sınıf içi tartışma ve proje görevleriyle öğrencileri derste
etkin kılma ve derse katılımlarını sağlama, demokratik değerlerin hayata
geçirilmesini kolaylaştıran teknikleri (altı şapka, istasyon, beyin fırtınası vb.)
kullanma, demokrasi bilincinin yerleşmesine katkı sağlayan afiş, poster gibi şeylerin
sınıfta sergilenmesine özen gösterme konularında öğretmen ve öğrenci görüşlerinin
farklılaştığı belirlenmiştir.
Araştırmanın Sonuçları: Bu çalışmanın sonuçlarına bakıldığında öğretmen ve öğrenci
algılarının farklılaştığı görülmektedir. Sosyal Bilgiler öğretmenleri demokrasinin
özünü oluşturan özgürlük, eşitlik, adalet ve katılım boyutlarını sınıf içinde hayata
geçirdiklerini iddia ederken, bu öğretmenlerin öğrencileri, öğretmenlerinin bu
şekilde davranmadıklarını belirtmişlerdir. Bu çalışmaya katılan öğrenciler fikirlerin
sınıfta özgürce ifade edilmesi, kendilerine eşit davranılması, farklılıkların dikkate
alınması, oldukları gibi kabul edilmeleri, kendilerine adil davranılması ve ders
işlenirken öğrenci katılımının göz önüne alınması gibi konularda öğretmenlerin
üzerlerine düşeni yapmadıklarını ifade etmişlerdir.
Oysa 2006 yılında
uygulanmasına başlanılan Sosyal Bilgiler programında yer alan demokrasi üniteleri,
Öğrenci Konseyi uygulaması ve 2010 yılında yeniden programa dâhil edilen
Vatandaşlık ve Demokrasi Eğitimi dersi gibi düzenlemelerin temel amacı öğrencilere
demokrasiyi özümsetmek ve daha demokratik bir sınıf ortamı yaratmaktır. Kuram
ve uygulama arasında tutarlılığın sağlanması uygulayıcının üzerine düşeni, başka bir
deyişle rolünü etkin şekilde yerine getirmesine bağlıdır. Ancak bu çalışma sonuçları,
programlar ne kadar değiştirilirse değiştirilsin ya da daha demokratik öğeler içersin,
kendileri demokratik olmayan öğretmenlerle demokratik bir sınıf ortamı
oluşturmanın oldukça zor olduğunu göstermektedir.
Anahtar Sözcükler: Demokrasi, sosyal bilgiler öğretmeni, 8. sınıf öğrencileri, eğitim
The Crisis of the Sociology of Education and Its
Reflections in Turkey: On the Critique of
Functionalist and Eclecticist Pragmatic Tradition
Ali ESGIN
Suggested Citation:
Esgin, A. (2013), The Crisis of the Sociology of Education and Its Reflections in
Turkey: On the Critique of Functionalist and Eclecticist Pragmatic Tradition,
Egitim Arastirmalari-Eurasian Journal of Educational Research, 50, 143-162.
Abstract
Basis of the study: The claims that the sociology of education has been in a
crisis seem to be dependent upon the insufficiencies in doing science and
acquiring results with the ontological and epistemological foundations of
sociology as a discipline of science. The sociology of education has taken
shape from the outset in the framework of American sociological tradition,
and therefore has been the conveyor model of impasses arising from the
limitedness of functionalist sociological agreement and pragmatic science
tradition. The structure of a science practice of this sort favoring status
quo, not only has narrowed its boundaries but it also has brought about
the fact that the sociology of education has been unsuccessful in its
defined targets such as the relationship between reality and education and
unification of the issue of education with factual developments.
Purpose of the study: In this study, the kinds of directions taken in the field
of the sociology of education is critically evaluated together with an
assessment of issues in the field: the theoretical and methodological
grounds of the practice of the sociology of education in Turkey; and the
kinds of problems that the field is facing in the present situation.
Sources of Evidence: What is primary here is to characterize the theoretical
and methodological insufficiencies in the background of claims of crisis.
The epistemological and ontological discussions, which are descriptive of
the insufficiencies in question, are evaluated with reference to the main
texts, and the validity of claims of crisis in sociology of education is
questioned with reference to the science practices that have dominated the
discipline's course of development. Convictions in the West with regard to
the idea that the sociology of education is in a crisis are exemplified in

Inonu University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Department of Sociology,
[email protected]
143
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Ali Esgin
terms of their negative reflections in the discipline, and the actual debates
in sociology of education are examined in comparison with the case in
Turkey with reference to main sources in the literature.
Main Discussion and the Consequences: Discussions in sociology of education
and the claims that the discipline is in a crisis are a reflection of the
discussions that are searching epistemological and ontological
foundations. However, sociology of education in Turkey has been to a
large extent deprived of the foundation searching discourses that might
constitute its internal dynamics. In the field of sociology of education in
Turkey, theoretical correlations and scientific practices have not been the
object of an attempted complete evaluation. Hence, the theoretical and
methodological foundations upon which the discipline is based have
turned out to be weak and superficial; conceptualizations have been
depthless, and almost no methodological discussions have become a
current issue in any way. Negativities such as these leading it to a crisis
have cast doubt on the perfection of the field of sociology of education.
Sociology of education is required. The condition of overcoming the crises
that sociology of education experiences is subordinated to having a
powerful scientific tradition, which takes new political processes and
economic developments into account.
Kew Words: Sociology of education, crisis, functionalist consensus,
eclecticist tradition
At the top of today's fields of intellectual debates, there are questions as to what
degree social sciences in general and sociology in particular fulfill their professional
missions, and to what degree they are successful in explaining social reality. Today,
ontological, epistemological, methodological and theoretical grounds of sociology are
subject to significant criticisms. The content of the criticisms has revived the claim
that sociology is in a crisis. Indeed, several Western theoreticians such as Alvin
Gouldner (1970), Zygmunt Bauman (2002), Alain Touraine (1999), Jurgen Habermas
(1998) and Anthony Giddens (1990) seem to have started from the idea that sociology
was in a crisis. In their minds, the underlying cause of the crisis was the uncertain
state in determining the subject matter and the methodology of sociology. Should it
examine social structures and society, or should it be restricted to individuals and to
their actions? Is it to be structured in accord with the methodology of positivist
natural sciences, or should it appropriate the hermeneutical approach, the aim of
which is to understand the distinctive conditions of social life? This uncertain state,
which involves separations such as structure-action, society-individual, macro-micro
on the theoretical level, and which involves a wavering attitude between positivistic
and hermeneutical approach on a methodological level, has given rise to a crisis in
sociology. The epistemological and ontological foundation of sociology in the crisis
has become controversial; and sociology has not attained the perfection required to
explain both social actors and social collectivity. Appealing to structure-based or
action-based theories, and focusing on solving problems related to the social field,
145
sociology has been unable to analyze the problems in their integrity, and has not
been successful in the task of comprehending every aspect of social life.
Another element defining the crisis, according to some Western sociologists, is
the unproductiveness of theoretical and methodological orientations that have
dominated sociology for a long time. This unproductiveness, which is not free from
the problem of structure-action duality, and which needs investigating concerning
the influences it created, seems to have originated from one-sidedness and
insufficiencies of dominant understandings in sociology. In this sense, functionalism,
which is the prevalent scientific orientation in academic sociology, has supported the
claims of crisis (Giddens, 1999, p. 11). Functionalism, revolving around an order and
stability-focused reasoning, together with long-term developments, has overlooked
rapid changes, conflicts and function-corruptive elements in the social field, and
therefore has caused specifications of sociology concerning social reality to be
superficial and insufficient. Moreover, sociology in this perspective has strictly
resisted to the changes, and followed an attitude that favors status quo in its
theoretical and methodological orientations structured within a functionalist
framework. Sociology, instead of renewing itself, has continued persistently to cling
to its early scientific presumptions, and to the functionalist tradition. Yet,
functionalism or an understanding of sociology equated with functionalism is
problematic in various respects and has controversial aspects in the task of
explaining social reality.
The insistence of sociology that empirical investigations should be the dominant
element in the examination of social problems constitutes the other side of the claims
of crisis. In the framework of this understanding, sociology, which has taken form in
accord with the model of natural sciences, has confined itself to an understanding of
methodology that is isolated from theory. Consequently, in its analyses with regard
to the social field, sociology has overlooked the determinative social processes such
as history, individualism and subjectivism (Mills, 2000; Giddens, 2003). Sociology,
while isolating itself from theory, has given prominence to a one-sided
methodological mentality that involves extreme experimentalism, statistical
assessments and the presentation of generalized data. However, a methodological
orientation in that way, which has taken form within the framework of the model of
positivist natural sciences, has dragged sociology to a difficult position in the
definition of the social world, which is different from the natural world in various
aspects.
Criticisms leveled against sociology are not merely composed of these. The
criticisms, starting from contradictions and insufficiencies in theoretical traditions
that have given shape to sociology, touch upon numerous problems on the
methodological level. However, the main point underlying the criticisms is the fact
that sociology is not capable of doing acceptable analyses in its present form. The
sole way of responding to the criticisms, for Western sociologists, is to develop some
new theoretical and methodological expansions capable of counterbalancing them on
behalf of sociology, and capable of rendering sociology again a legitimate science.
This is both a historical responsibility and a scientific requirement in their
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Ali Esgin
perspectives (Esgin, 2008). Indeed, there has been a process of intense controversy
since the 1970s in which sociology returned to itself in the West, questioned its
theoretical, methodological orientations, searched for its insufficiencies and fostered
some new investigations related to the nature of sociology. The common emphasis is
that sociology needs to search out new epistemological and ontological foundations
that are capable of securing itself from claims of uncertainty and crisis. In this regard,
both functionalist sociology, and the conception of American sociology, in which
functionalism was represented, have gradually been abandoned, and the uncertain
state, which is defined as the duality between positivism and hermeneutics, has been
overcome by means of new expansions. Anthony Giddens' theory of structuration,
Jürgen Habermas' communicative action theory, Jeffrey Alexander's new-functionalism,
Alain Touraine's activist sociology and Pierre Bourdieu's practical theory are the
products of such an aim.
Most of the problems voiced with regard to sociology in the historical process are
not separate from the problems sociology of education has experienced and faced.
Therefore, sociology of education, which is a sub discipline of sociology, has had to
meet the criticisms leveled against sociology. Indeed, all criticisms that address the
insufficiencies of sociology in its theoretical and methodological orientation, its
definition of science favoring status quo, and its future position are equally in force
with regard to sociology of education (Shain & Ozga, 2001, p. 110). In this regard,
sociology of education has become a pitiable field day by day in parallel to sociology.
This is because practitioners in the field of sociology of education have, from the
outset, defined it as a field restricted to some marginal issues and some specific fields
of problems, instead of attaching the subject of education to social processes
completely. More importantly, the inner dynamics of sociology itself or the scientific
rules it entertained have specified the characteristics of sociology of education.
Accordingly, sociology of education has also been subject to the crisis and to the
uncertain state by the distinctions experienced in sociology between structure and
action, society and individual, macro and micro (Shilling, 1992; Young, 2001). In its
present situation, sociology of education is criticized and is seen as a field in crisis on
the grounds that it has the same problems with sociology, that it is unproductive in
theoretical and methodical sense, that it is insufficient in specifying the relationships
between education and society, and that it is confined to one-sided methodological
findings isolated from theory (Shimbori, 1979; Becker, 1986; Shain & Ozga, 2001;
Young, 2002).
Controversies in sociology of education and the claims that the discipline is in a
crisis are the reflections of the discussions that search for epistemological and
ontological foundations. However, Shain and Ozga (2001, p.115) contend that
influences of these reflections in sociology of education are more destructive. The
reason for this, in their minds, is the fact that sociology of education mostly lacks
some discourses that seek for foundations that are capable of constituting its inner
dynamics. Sociology of education, even when rested on theoretical traditions that are
prevailing in sociology, has not attempted to evaluate theoretical relations and
scientific practices all together. Accordingly, the theoretical and methodological
foundations on which the field rested have remained quite weak and superficial.
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Conceptualizations in sociology of education, which subsist on sociology, have
become distant from profundity, and one has never entered into methodological
discussions. Within this framework, the claims of crisis in sociology of education are
associated with its making itself isolated from theoretical and methodological
discussions.
Similar developments concerning the issue in the West, just as those in sociology,
brought about a process of self-criticism in which scientific assumptions of sociology
of education were questioned, scientific practices and their future status were
reconsidered, and new quests were fostered. Sociologists of education have
questioned the qualifications of their own discipline for the first time since the 1970s;
and they have formed a critical estimate of their own perspectives. What shaped the
most important debate in that process was the question of why had it come to occupy
a more pitiable position than it had in the past? The primary cause of this is the
perception of the science of sociology of education and its making itself isolated from
daily problems of social life in the context of methodological practices (Young, 2002,
p. 65). Isolation is mainly a product of theoretical orientations that have dominated
the sociology of education for a long time, namely the product of the "old conception
of sociology of education". In the comprehension of the criticisms, the conception of
sociology that represents the old or former intellects is unsuccessful in understanding
the relations between education and society and in solving the possible problems.
The old sociology of education, which advocates and supports status quo is full of
insufficiencies (Shimbori, 1979, p. 406). The disputes displayed throughout 1960s are
what constitute the background of criticisms with regard to sociology of education. It
is especially possible to see a reflection of the influence of critical theory on sociology
in the field of sociology of education. The definitions of "new sociology of education"
in the field of sociology of education is a new concept of sociology that has
developed under the influence of critical theory and has taken shape against
functionalist sociology which was dominant in the field. Those who advocate new
sociology of education have defined their chief aim as reevaluation of the scientific
convictions of sociology of education, its theoretical and methodological orientations,
and their fundamental functions.
They have criticized orthodox Marxism much the same as they have criticized the
foundations of functionalist sociology and the positivist understandings associated
with it. According to the understanding of the new sociology of education,
contemporary society has to be characterized by both change and conflict. The
dimension of change is to be examined from every aspect of it. On the other hand,
functionalist tradition has failed to explain the subject matter of the change as it has
been jammed in an understanding that favors status quo, insisting on the issue of
objectivity and ideological impartiality devoid of value. Therefore, it has not
succeeded in realistically showing current problems and their causes. With its
structure that favors status quo, functionalism has rendered problems superficial and
served for the legitimacy of the order. It has been evident that the nature of education
is not to be explained in terms of functionalisms. This is because functionalism has
failed to comprehend the continually changing nature of education and societal
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sphere and the determinative conditions of the change. For instance, the issue of
equality of opportunity in education or class environment that does not consider
conflict could not have been solved (Tan, 1990). These controversies have explained
and established firmly the reason why the traditional form of sociology of education
has been dragged to a state of crisis. Eventually, that the field should be set free from
the functionalist approach and positivism has explicitly been expressed by
sociologists of education. According to the sociologists of education who fulfilled this
return, the present mission of sociology of education is to examine itself and the
scientific dogmas it has, not to examine the concepts that have already been defined
repeatedly. New sociology of education has to focus on the works of sociology of
knowledge and to revise its theoretical and methodological foundations. Moreover, it
is required to discuss the reflection of knowledge in the form of social organization
or how and why certain pieces of knowledge become the subject matter of education
(Shimbori, 1979, p. 407).
In its current state in the West, sociology of education is polarized within two
main inclinations. The first is the old sociology of education, which prevails in
America and maintains the criticized restrictedness of sociology of education, and
the second is the new sociology of education, which we run across as an influential
conception in Continental Europe, particularly in England. Indeed here, the old
sociology of education becomes equal with the tradition of American sociology of
education, which is a reflection of American sociology that represents positivist
sociology favoring quantitative data from the outset. Consequently, the tradition of
American sociology of education is taken largely to be the target of the criticisms
related to sociology of education and of claims of crisis. Thus, according to many
sociologists (Shimbori, 1979; Antikainen, 1992; Saha, 2008), functionalist American
sociology of education has been insufficient in explaining the interaction between
education and society while it restricts itself to micro sociological analyses and
statistical data, and appeals merely to practical aims disregarding theoretical
analyses. American sociology of education together with its static perception of
science and with its structure that favors status quo seems to be a conception of
sociology that lacks profoundness. On the other hand, new sociology of education,
with the aim of overcoming perceptible problems in American sociology of
education, has espoused a conception of dynamic sociology, which follows a more
critical attitude, and the pessimistic aspects of which predominate. The purpose in
the new sociology of education is to set the discipline free from dead ends in order to
assist it in its struggle for the quest of foundations. Sociology of education seems to
be in need of returning to itself, and of specifying its insufficiencies on theoretical
and methodological levels. Otherwise, the field of sociology of education is bound to
lose its legitimacy in the scientific and social spheres.
Therefore, it would not be a mistake to say that the effort of explaining the
interaction between education and society in accord with the dominant functionalist
tradition and with one-way quantitative data loaded analyses, in the field of
sociology of education in the West recently, has been abandoned. While a practice of
science of this sort is maintained in USA in certain senses, most sociologists of
education sustain their attempts of overcoming insufficiencies in theoretical and
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methodological foundations on which sociology of education rests, and of providing
the discipline with the capability of producing solutions to social problems (Shilling,
1992; Shain & Ozga, 2001; Young, 2002; Saha, 2008).
The Crisis of Sociology of Education and Its Reflections in Turkey
Sociology, shortly after it arose as a science in the West, entered into Turkey and
took shape in similar lines as it did in the West. Developed as a tool of finding
solutions to economic, political, and social problems, primarily in France and other
European countries, sociology became a basis for Ottoman thinkers who encountered
similar difficulties and it became institutionalized during the course of time in
parallel with the West (Erkul, 2009, p. 9-10). Entering into university in 1914 in
Turkey as the oldest academic chair of the world, sociology seems to have followed
various stages of development after it acquired the identity of an independent
department in the 1960s. Sociology in Turkey, which has been dependent on Western
sociology from the outset, has initially transferred theoretical texts found in the West
to Turkish with an understanding of philosophical translation. Then it was quickly
passed to the experimental edge, where field investigations that were devoid of
theoretical foundations, assumptions and problems come into prominence, and the
technique of surveying was the sole valid means of analysis (Kaçmazoğlu, 1999, p.
318). When we look at the issue in this perspective, the course of development of
sociology in Turkey seems to have similar characteristics with the sociology in the
West. Nevertheless, there are some differences as well. The most important of these
is the fact that Turkish sociologists have a conservative practice of science that
depends mainly on eclecticism while the Western sociology keeps its own dynamics
of development, scientific acceptances, and foundations on theoretical and
methodological levels alive. Accordingly, whereas the discussions in the West about
the scientific identity of sociology (with regard to theoretical and methodological
orientations) cover a large area, these discussions in Turkish sociology have stayed in
the background in general. Sociological works in Turkey have kept going within the
framework of dominant scientific convictions almost without questioning theoretical
and methodological problems of sociology. Consequently, whatever the dominant
sociological orientation is in the world, it has been the orientation maintained and
accepted as a scientific foundation in Turkey. For instance, the tradition of
Continental European sociology, with a theoretical foundation of which was more
dominant, constituted the prevailing orientation in Turkey from the process of
entrance of sociology into Turkey until the 1960s; American sociology has come to be
the sovereign scientific orientation after those years in parallel with the sovereignty
of the United States of America (Kaçmazoglu, 2006; 2007).
Development of sociology of education in Turkey is, naturally, not free from
being connected with the process of development of sociology and the problems it
had in Turkey. Therefore, the definition and institutionalization of sociology of
education in Turkey as an independent discipline was possible after 1960s together
with sociology itself. Until that period, the issue of education was evaluated in a
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category of general definition like other social institutions in sociological analyses,
not in the scope of sociology. With the entrance of sociology into Turkey, Turkish
intellectuals began to examine the issue of education starting from analyses that
involved sociological approaches of some Western sociologists such as Le Play,
Edmond Demolines and Emile Durkheim towards education. Turkish intellectuals
such as Munif Ali Pasha, Ali Suavi, Prince Sabahattin and Ziya Gokalp also assumed
that society could be straightened by means of education and well-educated staffs,
just as it was assumed in the West. Although not completely institutionalized,
especially some of Gokalp's works might be seen to be in the discipline of sociology
of education. Gokalp made some theoretical expansions with regard to the topics of
culture, education, family and group life that were defined as the main topics of
sociology of education (Doğan, 2011, p. 58-59). In the period of the Republic, similar
endeavors were carried on by İsmail Hakkı Baltacıoğlu, Nusret Köymen and İsmail
Hakkı Tonguç (Doğan, 2011; 2012). Although there are several differences between
these thinkers with respect to their understanding of education, they might be said to
have produced ideas serving the same purpose. The purpose in question was to
grow citizens that were integrated with the West, to be able to reconcile society and
individuals by means of education (Kaçmazoglu, 2011, p. 265). However, one cannot
say that sociology of education gained an academic identity in the process to come.
The definition of the field of sociology of education as an academic discipline in
Turkey and its incorporation into curriculum was possible with the establishment of
Ankara University Faculty of Education. After the establishment of this faculty,
sociology of education was taught at different universities, and there was an
observable increase in the academic works associated with the field (Doğan, 2011, p.
72-73). Together with institutionalization and increase in academic works, theoretical
and methodological foundations that constitute the scientific base of sociology of
education, which proceeds with the scientific acceptances of sociology, came to take
shape. Sociology of education, at this stage, was directly under the influence of the
orientations of sociology prevailing in Turkey in that period. Therefore, the tradition
of Continental Europe, which was initially more theory-based, was abandoned, and a
rapid transition to functionalist American sociological understanding was adopted.
Those who went to the United States of America for specialization in the field of
education and sociology of education and those graduate students sent there in the
name of Ministry of National Education began to put into effect the scientific
information they acquired after returning to Turkey. Therefore, they accelerated the
above-mentioned transition. In this way, in the years after 1960, a period began in
which the conception of functionalist American sociology dominated in Turkey in
every respect. Along this period, there was concern about micro sociological topics
and their general connections, and the arguments of functionalist sociology were
adjusted to the circumstances of the country. As American sociology began to
develop as the dominant understanding, sociologists in Turkey assumed that the
theories and assumptions that were produced in the United States of America were
also acceptable in Turkey. Therefore, our sociologists endeavored to prove these
theories and assumptions, and they tried to make the findings they searched for
overlap with the findings they had (Kaçmazoglu, 1999, p. 302-318).
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The same understanding was effective in determination of topics and in selection
of the techniques used in the investigations in the studies of sociology of education,
which was dependent upon sociology. Sociologists of education transferred the
concepts and the theories to the field by means of translations presented as the
explanatory foundations of education in Turkey, and of societal interactions and
problems. Especially when the content of textbooks used in the years 1970s and
1980s, and the treatment of the issues are examined, this assertion is obtained. Most
of the textbooks in question were class books, which bore resemblance to each other
largely in this respect and, approached certain issues such as education, school, class,
family, culture, stratification and equality of opportunity in the framework of the
definitions of functionalist American sociologists, and which were restricted to
superficial evaluations in general. In this period, much of the academic activities
related to the field were composed of the translations of the works of especially
American sociologists. However, while the movements of translation led to
acquisition of the required knowledge and assessments in the field, it also caused the
orientations of sociology of education to become evident and therefore made room
for the tradition of American sociology of education in our country. This is because
theories acquired by means of translations were not the topics our sociologists of
education mostly questioned. Theoretical texts originated in the West were usually
seen as purely academic or sacred texts, and therefore, their relation with our
historical and social structure was not carefully studied (Kayalı, 2002, p. 12).
Into this specification, one might incorporate the deficiencies in assessments
concerning the methodological aspects of the sociology of education, as the corollary
of the same understanding. For instance, an indication of this is the fact that no one
has deliberated, appealing to functionalism, which is in the limelight in sociology of
education in Turkey, on the difficulties of methodological orientations that give
prominence to field investigations. In short, except for one or two examples, no one,
in the studies about sociology of education in Turkey, has been involved in the task
of criticizing and examining sociology itself, and its theoretical and methodological
aspects. Yet sociology, due to its distinctive features, is a science one needs to
examine continuously, and to rebuild systematically in view of those examinations
(Giddens, 1990, p. 240). A differentiation in both the old and the current conception
of sociology is an obvious evidence of this. In this respect, sociology of education in
the West, both seeks to make expansions with regard to the society as its object, its
rapidly changing new appearances, and to find theoretical and methodological
foundations that will put these expansions into force. The gradual withdrawal of
functionalism, especially in the years after 1970, in sociology of education in the
West, the exposure of American sociology of education to significant criticisms and
the development of new orientations on theoretical-methodological level is a product
of such an understanding. What is required to ask at this point is where and in what
context of understanding does sociology of education in Turkey,–which follows the
West and, approves indisputably of the theories and the arguments it took from the
West– take a position? Scientific grounds of sociology of education in the West are in
accord with the central problems of sociology, and the issue of what route sociology
of education (capable of explaining the present-day conditions) should take, is given
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a primary place. Against this, the reason why sociology of education in Turkey still
goes ahead with past habits seems to be an important question needing reflection.
What makes this question important is the insistence of sociology of education in
Turkey, which was motivated by an eclectic understanding, on following an effective
yet contentious path, and the fact that sociologists in Turkey were closed to new
approaches in sociology, instead of deliberating on scientific challenges. The reason
for this, perhaps, as Kayalı (2005, p. 12) points to, was their assumption that doing
sociology was associated with transmitting some theories and emphasizing some
verdicts rather than facing the new approaches. Another reason might be that
reducing sociology of education to the field investigations precluded the need for
theoretical expansions (Cangızbay, 2005, p. 35-36). However, the genuine problem is
the fact that sociologists in Turkey in general might be inefficient, in their sociological
works, in doing sociology of “sociology” (Erkul, 2000, p. 42).
While sociology of education in Turkey, in the years after 1990, seems to have
preserved its tendencies of quoting Western resources and practicing statistical
studies devoid of theoretical content, the changes that appeared in sociology of
education in the West, had a direct influence, in parallel to the global changes, on our
fields of interest. The concepts such as new world order, society of knowledge,
postmodernism and globalization came to the forefront in the analyses of sociology
of education and determined the orientations of sociology of education in Turkey as
well as in the West. Sociologists seem to have carried out theoretical analyses in
sociology of education in the West to a significant extent, and have sought to
construe conditions of changing the world by means of developing new theories. The
changes in the subject of sociology of education have brought about questioning and
examining once again its theoretical and methodological foundations as a science in a
different way than the past, and led to developing new orientations. Yet, while the
field of sociology of education seems to have taken form in that period around the
concepts mentioned, it does not seem to have adopted an attitude of critical
reconstruction as it has done in the West. Discussions of this sort have become
effective especially in recent studies of sociology of education with the increase of
relevant translations. Yet, it seems obvious that it still keeps away from discussions
similar to the dominant perspective in sociology of education.
Today, sociology of education in Turkey seems to be experiencing an obvious loss
of value. Negative evaluations, on the part of the the Higher Education Council,
universities and academic environment, regarding the insufficiency and needlessness
of the field of sociology of education have increased. Accordingly, courses of
sociology of education have been degraded to service courses losing their status as
compulsory courses. In an academic sense, there have been significant decreases in
the studies in the field of sociology of education. More importantly, sociology of
education, insistently sticking to American sociology, and focusing on analyzing the
relationship between education and society merely by means of quantitative data
abstracted from the theory, seems to have handed over its functionality to some
fields in sciences of education such as psychology of education, social psychology
and practices of service to the society. This is the result of its resistance to criticisms
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and change. Indeed, the basic reason of this negative picture drawn in the name of
sociology of education is its inability in overcoming the crisis it has been
experiencing in Turkey.
The crisis of sociology of education is directly connected with the fact that our
sociologists have not sufficiently questioned the theoretical and methodological
orientations in the processes described. Many factors have given rise to more obvious
sense of the consequences of the crisis in Turkey, such as: being unopened to new
theoretical quests; not being able to develop distinctive theories positively associated
with the realities of our country; following methodological attitude without a theory
related to functionalist paradigm; and more importantly the mentality of starting
from a practice of science focused merely on statistical findings designed according
to the model of natural sciences. The habit of starting from similar concepts in almost
every study related to the sociology of education, making definitions that are almost
in the same level of superficiality, and harping on the same string have strengthened
the negative perception related to the field. Indeed, the repetition of countless
failings, mistakes and limitedness in the consecutive editions of textbooks, not
renewed even in terms of subject and problem selection, has intensified the negative
perception related to the field (Doğan, 2011, p. 76). The other area where the
repetitions in question and the practices of science subject to criticism, are frequently
seen is in the other academic journals. Most of the articles published in academic
journals monotonously follow an understanding of science that is deprived of
theoretical analyses and evaluations. The issues examined in these publications are
analyzed with reference to data acquired from samples selected by means of survey
or other techniques without taking into consideration the historical analyses that are
at the center of the problems, and without taking into consideration the intellectual
backgrounds and the multi-dimensional causes. For instance, the descriptive criteria,
which were developed in accordance with the characteristics of Western men and
their social problems, are translated into Turkish and are attempted to be adapted to
our society with the intention of finding solutions, by means of these criteria, to our
problems related to our environment of education and to the young. Moreover, the
studies that are formed with an understanding of this sort are seen as a necessary
part of the scientific legitimacy in most academic journals. In these journals, the
publication of the researches is subordinated to their conforming, both in terms of
content and in terms of form, to the dominant understanding of science. Yet, this
limited act of writing of this kind, which involves merely the parts of problem,
method, findings and discussion, and which is mainly effective in the model of
natural sciences, restricts not only the content of sociology of education, but it also
restricts the content of other disciplines of social sciences. This is because the social
scientist is not a technician who communicates the data he or she acquired. Between
getting to know how a series of hypotheses are to be tested and getting to know the
theory on which the hypotheses are to be grounded is an obvious gap (Merton, 1974,
p. 239). Inattention to theory and reduction of scientific researches to the dimension
of testing and data assessments not only makes that study a superficial one, but it
also makes the social scientist a technician. In brief, the description of social problems
solely by means of spontaneous data and findings acquired from the field
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undermines the aim of social sciences of explaining social problems in all respects.
Social problems are not suitable for explanation by means of spontaneously arising
data or findings acquired from a specific group of samples. Besides, given the
deficiencies and insufficiencies of positivism-centered sociology of education in the
experimental process, it would be obvious how superficial and unsolvable an
understanding of social science or sociology of education suffering from a lack of
theory might be.
Conclusion: Requirement of Quest for Foundation
After all these specifications, we can say that the studies in the field of sociology
of education in Turkey have for the most part been dependent upon Westtransferring, i.e., quoting from Western resources. Therefore, although they reflect
some periodical differentiations parallel to the discussions in the West, they seem to
have preserved their West-addict peculiarity up to the present time. The tradition of
functionalist American sociology has prevailed, especially in the years after 1960, in
the field of sociology of education, as well as in sociology itself. Turkish sociologists
who unquestionably adopted the functionalist and pragmatic American sociology
have overlooked its insufficiencies on behalf of science and have confined it to a
narrow domain. Indeed, American sociologists regarded education mainly as a tool
of solving social problems because the USA had numerous multidimensional
problems such as crime, divorce, unemployment, and poverty awaiting immediate
solutions. Accordingly, social sciences in the USA were defined as a practical activity
that gave priority to solving problems and it thereby acquired a characteristic that
brought pragmatic inclinations forward. In other words, American sociology was not
developed for academic reasons but as a response to practical needs (Shimbori, 1979,
p. 396). The understanding of American sociology of education, which was formed in
association with some pragmatic aims, kept theoretical expansions in the
background, and restricted sociological analyses to statistical data and descriptions.
The resistance that was leveled to the understanding of American sociology of
education in the West in the years after 1970 gave rise to re-examination of the field
and it accelerated the quests for alternative foundations. Conversely, no one ever
attempted to enter into these discussions in Turkey; instead, one attempted to solve
the problems within the scope of the definitions and the methodological orientations
of the functionalist approach. In the field of sociology of education, as is the case with
other sociological studies, the theories that were put forth in the USA, and that were
effective in that society were adapted to Turkish society. Moreover, the verification of
effectiveness of the theories was subordinated to using data. However, when the
relevant data did not match up with the theories, or when the effectiveness of the
theories was not convincing, one pointed to the backwardness of Turkish society as
the cause. This situation, which was a significant delusion, is due to the acceptance of
the arguments of Western sociologists and adopting unquestionably their
methodological orientations (Kaçmazoglu, 1999, p. 318). Such a practice of
investigation has given rise to important problems with respect to the perception of
science. For instance, there have been some insufficiencies in the association of data,
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the aim of which is not clear, with the theories, in their analyses and interpretations
(Içli, 2001, p. 35). Therefore, scientific analyses have turned into analyses of
quantitative data. Problems inherent in the relation between education and society
have been defined within the scope of functionalist restrictions that ground on
consensus and integration. In short, as a result of the sociological postures that are
deeply connected to the Western sociology, an understanding of sociology has been
effective, which is distant from the realities of its own society while peering into the
West (Kızılçelik, 2005, p. 127). Focused on developments arising in the West and on
the solutions developed for problems of Western society, sociology in Turkey has not
been concerned with its own development and its own history, and therefore it has
not been able to produce real solutions to its own problems; instead, it has satisfied
itself with West-transferring (Kızılçelik, 2000, p. 129; Erkul, 2000, p. 32). This is the
mentality of a social science that is unable to overcome its own difficulties, which
does not question its insufficiencies, and regards science as a fixed and stereotyped
field of practice that sees criticisms as external discourses contrary to the science, and
which restricts itself to West-transferring as a way of doing science. Unfortunately,
this mentality limits the sighting distance of the social scientist, as well as devastating
the very prestige of the social sciences itself (Esgin, 2011).
Sociology of education is a discipline that explores, from a sociological
perspective, the social processes and structures that are related to education.
Sociology of education aspires to understand and analyze the relationship between
institutions of education and society by using theories and methods on micro and
macro levels (Saha, 2008). In this context, sociology of education is a field of study
that has three aspects. These aspects consist of making analyses as the scientific
aspect, of involving various practices as the technological aspect, and of producing
theories as the mental aspect (Akyüz, 1992, p. 117). In other words, sociology of
education comprises the theory, the methodology and the practice all together.
Theory is a web of concepts that corresponds to field-related evaluations and
intellectual foundations. It consists of intellectual conclusions related to historical,
philosophical and scientific aspects of the relationship between education and
society. Theoretical foundations are crucially important in the definition of the
possible interactions between the two fields, and in determination of cause-effect
relations. The other foundation that is as much important as the theory is the
methodology. Methodology is the aggregate of all methods and techniques required
for scientific analyses. Methodology involves the ways of acquiring knowledge
descriptive of social reality. Accordingly, methodological analyses that are broken off
from the theory or the theoretical abstractions and that are far from methodological
groundings are not satisfactory for definitions of being scientific minded. Indeed,
since sociology of education is a dynamic field, its theoretical and methodological
orientations should display a continuous development. This is because the society,
the subject matter, is exposed to change. It does not seem realistic that one could
penetrate into problematic fields of the changing society by means of a
methodological orientation that is fixed by a theory belongs to previous decades. In
the last quarter of the 20th century in the West, scientific foundations of sociology of
education have been exposed to significant criticisms. The criticisms have provided
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the field with its returning to itself, and its reevaluation of its theoretical and
methodological orientations. In the context of these evaluations, Western sociologists
have addressed some responsibilities that sociology of education should undertake
on its own. The first of these is its entering into a quest of a new epistemological
foundation that is different from an empirical research method that originates from
positivism in methodological orientations of sociology of education. Second is the
confrontation of sociology and sociology of education with the duality that comes
into existence by virtue of theoretical breaks. The third is the fact that sociology of
education has to solve the difficulties that new theoretical approaches have created
(Saha, 2008, p. 303). In fact, these designations have various implications for
sociology of education as well as for sociology and for the whole of social sciences.
The questionable nature of scientific definitions and their changeability constitutes a
crucially important feature of the scientific mind, although it is not taken for the most
part into consideration. This is especially an obvious requirement for social sciences
in comparison to natural sciences. The social sciences are a field that is the subject
matter of a continuous change. Knowledge of change is more complicated than the
relative continuous facts. Accordingly, in social sciences in general, and in sociology
in particular, the effectiveness, objectivity, universality, relativity, and repeatability
of the knowledge produced need to be examined (Güvenç, 2000, p. 25). In this sense,
the requirement that the science should operate by some fixed and universal rules
seems unrealistic. An understanding of science of this sort oversimplifies human
abilities and the conditions in which these abilities arise. Moreover, the
understanding that science is not changeable has a nature that harms science and
renders it dogmatic while it overlooks physical and historical conditions that affect
scientific change (Güzel, 1996, p. 15). The nature of social sciences that is open to
questioning and changeability is the necessary requirement of its producing more
effective solutions to problems of the social realm that display relatively rapid
change. Besides, social sciences did not only intend to find the method of doing
something, or reaching some practical aims. Social sciences are also concerned with
answering the questions about what a "good" and "desirable" way of life is (Benton &
Craib, 2008, p. 219). The most obvious aim of social sciences is to specify the
conditions of creating a more humane society. Therefore, the conditions in question
can only be determined with social sciences' acquiring a structure deep enough for
getting reliable consequences.
Sociology of education has undertaken an important mission in the determination
of the conditions of a more humane society by means of education. Yet the
negativities that force it into a crisis bring the perfection of sociology of education
into disrepute. However, its definition as being a field in crisis, and even its being
degraded in various respects does not eradicate the significance that sociology of
education has for academic and political fields. Sociology of education is needed. The
claims of crisis seem to be acceptable for only a practice of science that is restricted to
a functionalist understanding, that overlook its theoretical and methodological
deficiencies, not for sociology of education in its entirety. Today, the primary task of
sociology for many theoreticians is to construct some explanatory propositions,
analytical tools and interpretative directives that are applicable to the problems
157
related to the theoretical and methodological dimension of sociology (Camic &
Gross, 1998, p. 455). The construction process in question is both a requirement and a
necessity on behalf of social sciences. The possibility of overcoming the crisis for
sociology of education seems to require having a powerful tradition of science taking
new political processes and economic developments into consideration. With this
design, the problems that are defined with structure-action, society-individual, and
macro-micro divisions, and that are regarded as the central problems of sociological
theory need to be reevaluated in their own contexts. In addition, a critical attitude
should be developed towards the insufficiencies of positivist paradigm that
determine methodological orientations of the field, and the contents of alternative
paradigms should be evaluated (Shain & Ozga, 2001, p. 115). Social sciences in
general and sociology in particular have to keep alive the quest for scientific
foundations by means of which one can realize the realities and problems peculiar to
the social world. Otherwise, sociology of education will come face to face with being
an obsolete human endeavor, and will lose its ground of legitimacy completely in the
course of time.
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160
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Eğitim Sosyolojisinin Krizi ve Türkiye’deki Yansımaları:
İşlevselci ve Aktarmacı Pragmatik Geleneğin Eleştirisi Üzerine
Atıf:
Esgin, A. (2013), The Crisis of the Sociology of Education and Its Reflections in
Turkey: On the Critique of Functionalist and Eclecticist Pragmatic Tradition,
Egitim Arastirmalari-Eurasian Journal of Educational Research, 50, 143-162.
(Özet)
Çalışmanın Temeli: Eğitim sosyolojinin kriz içinde olduğu iddiaları, onun bilimsel bir
disiplin olarak ontolojik ve epistemolojik temelleri ile bilim yapma ve sonuçlara
ulaşma pratiklerindeki yetersizliklere dayanmaktadır. Eğitim sosyolojisi başından
beri, ilk kurumsallaşma sürecini yaşadığı Amerikan sosyoloji geleneği çerçevesinde
biçimlenmiş, dolayısıyla, işlevselci sosyolojik oydaşmanın ve pragmatik bilim
geleneğinin sınırlılıklarından kaynaklanan açmazların taşıyıcı modeli olmuştur. Bu
türden bir bilim pratiğinin statükocu yapısı, onun sınırlarını daraltmakla kalmayıp,
aynı zamanda eğitim sosyolojisinin sosyal gerçeklik ve eğitim ilişkisini açıklama ve
eğitim konusunu güncel gelişmelerle bütünleştirebilme gibi tanımlanmış hedeflerine
ulaşmada başarısız olmasına yol açmıştır. Hal böyle olunca, üniversitelerde eğitim
sosyolojisi bölümleri kapatılmaya başlanmış, eğitim sosyoloji alanının çalışma
konuları başka disiplinlerin çalışma alanlarına dâhil edilmiştir..
Çalışmanın Amacı: Makalenin amacı, eğitim sosyolojisindeki bu türden
yetersizliklerin Türkiye’deki eğitim sosyolojisine nasıl ve hangi yönleriyle
yansıdığının, Türkiye’de eğitim sosyolojisi pratiklerinin teorik ve metodolojik
dayanaklarının neler olduğunun ve gelinen noktada eğitim sosyolojisi alanının ne
türden problemlerle yüzleşmek zorunda kaldığı konularının eleştirel bir
değerlendirmesini yapmaktır.
Kanıt Kaynakları: Sosyolojinin bir alt dalı olan eğitim sosyolojisinin krizi iddialarına
temel teşkil eden problemler, doğal olarak, tarihsel süreçte sosyolojinin yaşadığı ve
yüzleşmek zorunda kaldığı problemlerden bağımsız değildir. Dolayısıyla burada
öncelikli olan, kriz iddialarının arka planındaki teorik ve metodolojik yetersizlikleri
tanımlamaktır. Çalışmada söz konusu yetersizlikleri tanımlayıcı epistemolojik ve
ontolojik tartışmalar ana metinlerden hareketle değerlendirilmiş, özellikle alanın
gelişim seyri içinde hâkim konuma yerleşen bilim pratikleri üzerinden eğitim
sosyolojisinin krizi iddialarının geçerliliği sorgulanmıştır.
Ana Tartışma: Eğitim sosyolojisindeki tartışmalar ve disiplinin kriz içinde olduğu
iddiaları, sosyolojideki epistemolojik ve ontolojik temel arayıcı tartışmaların bir
yansımasıdır. Ancak, eğitim sosyolojisi kendi içsel dinamiklerini oluşturacak temel
arayıcı söylemlerden büyük ölçüde yoksun kalmıştır. Eğitim sosyolojisi, sosyolojide
egemen olan teorik geleneklere yaslanırken bile, teorik bağıntıları ve bilimsel
pratikleri bütünüyle değerlendirme girişiminde bulunmamıştır. Dolayısıyla alanın
dayandığı teorik ve metodolojik temeller oldukça zayıf ve yüzeysel kalmıştır.
Sosyolojiden beslenen eğitim sosyolojisinde kavramlaştırmalar
uzaklaşmış, metodolojik tartışmalara ise neredeyse hiç girilmemiştir.
161
derinlikten
Batı’da özellikle son dönemde eğitim sosyolojisi alanında eğitim ve toplum
etkileşimini baskın işlevselci gelenek ve tek yönlü nicel veri ağırlıklı analizlerle
açıklama çabasının artık terk edildiğini söylemek yanlış olmayacaktır. Bu türden bir
bilim pratiği Amerika’da belli açılardan devam ettiriliyor olsa da, çoğu eğitim
sosyoloğu, eğitim sosyolojisinin dayandığı teorik ve metodolojik yönelimlerdeki
yetersizlikleri aşma, disipline sosyal problemlere çözüm üretme meşruiyetini
yeniden kazandırma çabalarını sürdürmektedir
Batı’da 1970’li yıllardan sonra Amerikan eğitim sosyolojisi anlayışına karşı gelişen
direnç, alanın teorik ve metodolojik yönelimlerinin sorgulanmasına ve alternatif
temel arayışlarının hız kazanmasına neden olmuştur. Oysa ülkemizde bu
tartışmalara neredeyse hiç girilmemiş, aktarmacı bir anlayışla, işlevselci yaklaşımın
tanımları ve metodolojik yönelimleri çerçevesinde problemler çözülmeye
çalışılmıştır. Diğer sosyolojik çalışmaların çoğunda olduğu gibi, eğitim sosyolojisinde
de Amerika’da ileri sürülen ve o toplum için geçerli olan teoriler toplumumuza
uyarlanmış, teorilerin geçerliliği veriler kullanılarak kanıtlanmaya çalışılmıştır.
Ancak veriler örtüşmeyince ya da teorilerin geçerliliği kanıtlanamayınca, neden
olarak Türk toplumunun geri kalmışlığı gösterilmiştir. Büyük bir yanılgı olarak
gösterilebilecek bu durum, kendi sosyal koşullarına uygun teoriler üretmek yerine,
Batılı sosyologların argümanlarını ve metodolojik yönelimlerini tartışmasız kabul
etmekten kaynaklanmıştır. Böylesi bir araştırma pratiği, bilim algısı açısından önemli
problemler doğurmuştur. Bilimsel analizler, felsefi ve teorik temellerden kopuk, nicel
veri analizlerine dönüşmüştür. Eğitim ve toplum ilişkisine ait problemler, çatışma,
çelişki ve zıtlıkları geri plana itip, daha çok düzen, denge, değer ve normlara önem
veren, oydaşım ve bütünleşmeyi temel alan işlevselci sınırlılıklar çerçevesinde
tanımlanmıştır. Kısacası, Türkiye’de Batı sosyolojisine sadık bir biçimde bağlanan
sosyolojik duruşlar alanın yaşadığı problemlere kayıtsız kalmışlar, eğitim
sosyolojisinin değer yitimine neden olan bu problemlere dönük temel arayıcı eleştirel
çalışmalara yönelmemişlerdir.
Sonuçlar: Eğitim sosyolojisi, eğitim aracılığıyla daha insancıl bir toplumun
koşullarının belirlenmesinde oldukça önemli bir görev üstlenmiştir. Ancak onu kriz
içine sürükleyen olumsuzluklar, eğitim sosyolojisi alanının yetkinliğini
gölgelemektedir. Fakat onun kriz içinde bir alan olarak tanımlanması, hatta belli
açılardan değer yitimine uğraması, eğitim sosyolojisinin akademik ve politik alan
için taşıdığı önemi değiştirmemektedir. Eğitim sosyolojisine ihtiyaç vardır. Eğitim
sosyolojisinin içinde bulunduğu kriz durumundan kurtulmasının koşulu, sosyal
dönüşümleri, yeni politik süreçleri ve ekonomik gelişmeleri hesaba katan güçlü bir
bilimsel geleneğe sahip olmaktan geçmektedir. Bunun için öncelikle yapı-eylem,
toplum-birey ayrımı ya da makro-mikro bölünme şeklinde tanımlanan ve sosyolojik
teorinin merkezi problemleri olarak nitelenen problemlerin kendi bağlamında
yeniden değerlendirilmesini gerekmektedir. Ayrıca alanın metodolojik yönelimlerini
belirleyen pozitivist paradigmanın yetersizliklerine ilişkin eleştirel bir tutum
geliştirmeli, alternatif paradigmaların içerimlerini değerlendirilmelidir. Genelde
162
Ali Esgin
sosyal bilimler, özel de sosyoloji, sosyal dünyaya özgü nitelik ve problemleri çok
boyutlu olarak kavrayabilecek bilimsel temel arayışlarını canlı tutmalıdır. Aksi
durumda, eğitim sosyolojisi meşruiyet zeminini yitirerek değer yitimine uğramaya
devam edecektir.
Anahtar Kavramlar: Eğitim sosyolojisi, kriz, işlevselci oydaşma, aktarmacı gelenek
National Standardization of the Occupational
Field Interest Inventory (OFII)
for Turkish Culture According to Age and Gender
Kaan Zülfikar DENİZ*
Suggested Citation:
Deniz K. Z. (2013). National Standardization of the Occupational Field Interest
Inventory (OFII) for Turkish Culture According to Age and Gender. Egitim
Abstract
Problem statement: Interest can be defined as “when an individual pays
attention to an object without special effort, maintains her/his attention
for a long time, and is aware of and transforms this attentiveness into a
response and an attitude.” Vocational interests indicate an individual’s
feelings about employment, courses of study, hobbies, free time activities
and life choices. A multitude of interest inventories are used for
measuring vocational interest throughout the world. Currently in the
Republic of Turkey, however, there are very few available interest
inventories being utilized for educational and/or research purposes. Most
of them are only used to established norms.
Purpose of the Study. The aim of this study is to create a standardization
process which incorporates the values to be used as norms in
Occupational Field Interest Inventories (Mesleki Alan İlgi EnvanteriOFII)’s for sub-dimensions according to age (13-19+ years old) and gender
in Turkey.
Method: The application has been performed in Level 1 of Nomenclature of
Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS). Twelve provinces, one from each
region, were used in this application. Within the research group, a
sampling method based on probability was used. Participants ranged in
age from 11 to 26, but most (98.8%) were between 13 and 20. The
participants consisted of 3799 students, 51% men (n=1936) and 49%
women (n=1863). The data for the study was collected online using the
OFII during a period of approximately one month. In this study,
independent samples t test and two-way ANOVA were used for the
significance of mean difference.
Assist. Prof. Dr., Ankara University, Institute of Educational Sciences, Ankara, Turkey. E-mail:
[email protected]
*
163
164
Findings and Results: There were significant differences favoring men in six
sub-dimensions:
mathematics,
computer,
agriculture-outdoor,
engineering, political-financial sciences and sciences (p<.001). Seven subdimensions favored women: psychology, education, Turkish language,
health (p<.001), fine arts, law (p<.01), and foreign language (p<.05).
According to the common effect of gender and age, the differences in
engineering (p<.001), mathematics, psychology, agriculture-outdoor
(p<.01), foreign language, visual arts, sciences (p<.05) were significant but
in computer, education, Turkish language, law, communication, politicalfinancial sciences and sciences, they were not significant.
Conclusions and Recomendations: At the end of this study, it was determined
that the younger age groups, in particular those from 13 to 15 years of age,
had interests in many sub-dimensions, which significantly differed from
the 16, 17, 18, and 19+ year old males and females. This is reasonable given
the age borders clarified in the literature in order to support these results.
By taking into consideration the gained results and literature, an
individual’s interest score for one of the 14 sub-dimensions should be
calculated with the help of formulas. It is then suggested that a 60 t score
be used as a cutoff point in order to identify in which area the individual
has the greatest interest.
Keywords: standardization of Turkish culture, age norm, gender norm,
Occupational Field Interest Inventory (OFII)
Edward K. Strong (1943), a leader in research studies in the study of vocational
interests, explored the word “interest” as a kind of reaction such as “liking,” “not
liking,” or “being oblivious” to someone, something or an action (cited in Herr &
Cramer, 1996). According to A Comprehensive Dictionary of Psychological and
Psychoanalytic Terms the word “interest” is defined as differentiationing an object or a
case, or a kind of approach or sense which comes spontaneously (cited in Savickas,
1999). Strong, a leader in studies related to surveying vocational interests, followed
the definition of interest according to Webster’s Dictionary, which defines the word
interest as “a kind of attention or coming into action towards an object.” Strong
highlighted four key elements in this definition: the first and second are the
continuity of attention and sense related to an object; the third is heading towards (an
individual approaches or moves away from something liked or disliked); and the
fourth is activity (an individual is active about that which s/he is interested).
Some sociologists and psychologists have opposed the preceding definitions of
interest. For example, the Harper Collins Sociology Dictionary highlights possible
benefits of interest defining it as, “beneficial results for a private person or group.”
The National Career Development Association (2007) defines the word interest as
“activities which are going to be performed by a person because that person thinks
that s/he is going to enjoy those activities or s/he may enjoy those activities.”
165
According to Holland, (1985) vocational interests are indicators of personality in
terms of job, courses of study, hobbies, free time activities and choices. An individual
responds to particular vocational interests, general vocations and activities with
responses such as “I enjoy,” “I do not enjoy” or “It does not matter.” (Savickas, 1999)
Despite the different points of view, there are many common issues in regard to
defining vocational interest. On the basis of those given above,
vocational/occupational interests can be redefined as an inherent process in which
an individual pays attention to an object willingly without a special effort, carries on
this attention for a long time and is aware of and transforms this into a response and
an attitude.
Vocational interests can be categorized as expressed and measured. Expressed
interests are usually determined through answers which are derived from openended questions. Measured interests occur when individuals discover their career
choice in a better way than through an inventory of vocational interest. Even though
there are different methods utilized to measure one’s vocational interests, the most
widespread methodology used is the inventory of interest (Silvia, 2006). One reason
that the inventory of interest is widely used is that an individual expresses his/her
own interests noting and comparing different vocations.
Lokan (1997) explains that vocational interests were generally measured in a
paper-based fashion. More recently, as a result of technological developments, most
measuring scales are applied by computers, which allow us to gather information
easily, often via the Internet. Previously, vocational interests were determined
according to an individual’s affinity toward the people who practiced the vocation.
With current trends, however, vocational interests are now measured according to an
individual’s enjoyment, satisfaction and happiness. Today’s vocational inventories,
which are widely used, name specific vocational activities. Harmon (1999) divided
the measuring scales used for vocational interest into two parts: those based on
empirical and homogeneous items, and the other according to developing style. In
empirical scales, some expressions are given to people who work in a vocational
areas and they are queried about whether they like or dislike the expressions. Using
this format the most liked expressions can be determined for each vocation. In order
to measure the vocational interest, it is accepted that these expressions reflect that
area. For example, the expression “playing chess” is given to two different vocational
groups such as law and education and the like-dislike conditions are determined.
Presuming that jurists liked the expression 75%, and educators liked the expression
20%, the vocational interest of people who choose the expression “playing chess” is
then reconciled with law. This example can be seen as overly simplified, but the
thinking style associated with playing chess can also be a guideline for determining
interests. Some scales that exemplify this group include the Strong Vocational
Interest Blank, the Strong Interest Inventory-SII and the Kuder Occupational Interest
Scales-KOIS. In the other scales based on homogeneous items the item groups are
constituted reasonably or with various statistical technics (such as factor analysis) or
using both methods. According to the fixed factor structures, the factors that the
research incorporates can be concluded. The first scale developed using this
technique was the Kuder Preference Record which contains ten factors (Harmon,
1999).
166
In Niles and Haris-Bowlsbey’s (2002) opinion, in the twenty-first century people’s
choices of vocation will differ from the choices of the twentieth century. When some
vocations disappear, other unknown vocations come to light and some vocations
likely undergo big changes. As a result, the vocational expectations of individuals are
sure to change, and for this reason the developed scales must be frequently updated.
There are some interest inventories which are currently used in Turkey, such as
the Kuder Preference Record-Vocational, theKuder Career Search – KCSonline, the
Self-Directed Search-SDS, the Academic Conceit Search, the Self-Rating Inventory,
and Newspaper Reports Testing. However, there have not been any updated studies
conducted on these scales. Additionally, none of the inventories have been
standardized to reflect the Turkish culture.
The standard scores or cut scores are determined from the raw scores after the
administration of the scale. Standard scores enable interpretation of the scores
obtained from different ranges. When the tests having standard scores are
administered, the results of the person’s performance on the test are interpreted as
norm-referenced (APA, 1999). Any standardization study should incorporate the
norm values of the culture in question. While establishing such values, it is extremely
important that the population that is being targeted by the scale be selected from
throughout the country using a random sampling method based on probability.
Although it has been determined that standardization studies have been conducted
on certain scales that are used in social sciences throughout the Republic of Turkey,
there are very few real standardizations. The studies that have been performed by
collecting purposeful sampling cannot be deemed real standardization studies.
Hovardaoğlu and Sezgin (1997) and APA (1999) concur that it is very difficult
and expensive to establish national norms. Therefore, the norms of some scales are
generated by using the scores of a particular sample calculated in a certain period.
According to APA (1999), these norms are named as user norms or program norms.
There are some studies in which user norms have been used, e.g., Löwe et al., 2010;
Löwe et al., 2008; Polat, 2006; Kılıç, Irak, Koçkar, Şener & Karakaş, 2002; Karakaş,
Erdoğan, Sak, Soysal, Ulusoy, Ulusoy & Alkan, 1999.
The aim of this research is to create a standardization process which incorporates
the values which will ultimately be used as norms in Occupational Field Interest
Inventories (Mesleki Alan İlgi Envanteri-OFII)’s for specific sub-dimensions,
according to age (13-19+ years old) and gender in the Republic of Turkey.
Method
Research Model
The research design for this study is considered survey research because the OFII
was administered online. In addition, the study is quantitative in nature with the
data being easily accessible.
167
Within the scope of this research, a cluster sampling technique has been used.
Cluster sampling is a probability sampling technique, a method by which samples
are gathered in a process that gives all the elements in the population an equal
chance of being selected. It is used when "natural" but relatively homogeneous
groupings are evident in a statistical population. It also may be used when it is either
impossible or impractical to compile an exhaustive list of the elements that make up
the target population. In this technique, the total population is divided into groups
(clusters/subpopulations) and a simple random sample of the groups is selected.
Then the required information is collected from a simple random sample of the
elements within each selected group. This may be done for every element in these
groups or a subsample of elements may be selected within each of these groups. The
research group sampling method was based on probability sampling.
The application has been performed in Level 1 of the Nomenclature of Territorial
Units for Statistics (NUTS). In this application there were 12 provinces with one
province from each region, and there were 24 counties bound to those 12 provinces
(Artvin [Merkez, Borçka], Bitlis [Merkez, Tatvan], Hatay [Merkez, Dörtyol], İstanbul
[Bakırköy, Pendik], Kars [Merkez, Sarıkamış], Konya [Hüyük, Meram], Manisa
[Merkez, Gördes], Samsun [Havza, Atakum, İlkadım], Tekirdağ [Merkez, Malkara],
Yozgat [Merkez, Akdağmadeni], Yalova [Merkez, Çiftlikköy] ve Kilis [Merkez]).
Additionally, 184 schools were used. The distribution of the sample according to
NUTS for Turkey is shown in Table 1.
Table 1.
Distribution of the Sample for Turkey According to NUTS
Codes of
regions
NUTS 1
(12 regions)
NUTS 2
(26 sub-regions)
NUTS 3
(81 provinces)
n
TR1
İSTANBUL
İSTANBUL
İSTANBUL
313
TR2
BATI MARMARA
TEKİRDAĞ
TEKİRDAĞ
383
TR3
EGE
MANİSA
MANİSA
320
TR4
DOĞU MARMARA
KOCAELİ
YALOVA
304
TR5
BATI ANADOLU
KONYA
KONYA
233
TR6
AKDENİZ
ADANA
HATAY
335
TR7
ORTA ANADOLU
KAYSERİ
YOZGAT
356
TR8
BATI KARADENİZ
SAMSUN
SAMSUN
370
TR9
DOĞU KARADENİZ
TRABZON
ARTVİN
298
TRA
KUZEYDOĞU
ANADOLU
ORTADOĞU ANADOLU
AĞRI
KARS
333
VAN
BİTLİS
334
GÜNEYDOĞU
ANADOLU
GAZİANTEP
KİLİS
220
TRB
TRC
Total
3799
168
Table 1 indicates that a total of 3799 participants were distributed equally
throughout 12 regions, which constitute the first level. The region with the most
participants was Batı Marmara with 383 people, and the region with the least
participants was Güneydoğu Anadolu with 220 people.
The participants were students from classrooms ranging from the 7th to the 12th
grade. The number of students and grades were similar. Distribution of participants
according to grades were as follows: 7th grade, 12% (n=447); 8th grade, 12% (n=450);
9th grade, 19% (n=730); 10th grade, 20% (n=782); 11th grade, 19% (n=708); and 12th
grade, 18% (n=682).
A total of 184 schools participated including 68 primary schools (n=925) and 116
high schools (n=2874). The distribution of 116 high schools were according to types:
basic high schools, 22 (n=571), anatolian high schools, 22 (n=602); vocational and
anatolian vocational high schools, 21 (n=555); vocational religious and anatolian
vocational religious high schools, 20 (n=441); girls’ vocational and anatolian
vocational high schools, 16 (n=396); science high schools 8 (n=125); tourism and hotel
vocational high schools, 4 (n=103); and fine arts high schools, 3 (n=81).
Participants ranged in age from 11 to 26 but most of them (98.8%) were between
13 and 20. Students’ age mean was 16.17 (median=16) and standard deviation 1.84. In
addition, skewness 0.03 and kurtosis -0.35. It can be said that the sampling was
distributed normally in terms of age. Fifty-one percent of the participants were men
(n=1936) and 49% women (n=1863).
Research Instrument
Occupational Field Interest Inventory (Mesleki Alan İlgi Envanteri [MAİ], OFII).
This inventory was developed by Deniz (2009) and comprised of 14 dimensions,
namely mathematics, computer, foreign language, visual arts, psychology, education,
Turkish language, law, agriculture-outdoor, communication-mass media,
engineering, political-financial sciences, sciences, and health. The OFII has two
different applicable forms: a short form (72 items) and a long form (156 items). In this
research the long form with 156 items was utilized. A description of the OFII subdimensions is given in Table 2.
169
Table 2.
Description of OFII Sub-Dimensions
OFII Fields
Description of Interest Fields
Education
(Edu.)
Individuals willing to work in this field are keen on sharing their knowledge with other
people as well as imparting information. They like to communicate with people and to
deliver public speeches.
Agricultureoutdoor
(Agr.)
Individuals eager to work in this field enjoy working in nature. They are fond of
undertaking work that is related to soil and agricultural products and working outdoors.
PoliticalFinancial
Science (PF.)
Individuals enthusiastic to work in this field are keen on guiding, governing and leading
the community. They like carrying out work associated with money and monetary policy,
addressing crowds, and directing the masses.
Health (H.)
Individuals who enjoy working in this field love people and animals. They are interested
in subjects related to human and animal health. They enjoy working in places such as
hospitals and clinics for a long period of time.
Communicati
on-Mass
Media (Com.)
Individuals willing to work in this field like to communicate with people. They are fond of
interviewing people and sharing the obtained information. They enjoy reaching people
and the masses either through face-to-face communication or via mass media such as TV,
radio and newspapers. They like to interpret people’s ideas and to share their own.
Foreign
Language
(FL.)
Individuals enthusiastic to work in this field are interested in different languages and
cultures. They are fond of finding out about various languages and cultures, learning more
than one language, and making verbal and written translations among languages.
Turkish
Language
(TL.)
Individuals who are keen on working in this field enjoy investigating, learning and
teaching Turkish language and culture. They are sensitive about the proper usage of the
Turkish language.
Psychology
(P.)
Individuals willing to work in this field have a very warm and understanding approach
toward people. They find pleasure in taking care of people’s psychological problems and
in helping them. They also like to listen to people with patience and to show them a way
out.
Law (L.)
Individuals eager to work in this field like to persuade people to their own ideas and
beliefs. They are fond of seeking solutions to people’s legal problems. They take pleasure
in making contributions to proper realization of law in order to make the society equal and
harmonious.
Computer
(Comp.)
Individuals willing to work in this field enjoy working with computers. They prefer
working with computers rather than communicating with people face-to-face. They prefer
creating computer systems, working with mathematical codes, and writing computer
programs.
Mathematics
(Mat.)
Individuals who are keen on working in this field like to work alone and to deal with
numbers. They enjoy spending extended hours working to solve problems that other
people have difficulty in solving.
Science (Sci.)
Individuals enthusiastic to work in this field are keen on working in nature or in
laboratories. They prefer completing their work alone to communicating with people. They
like to conduct research, to perform experiments, and to work with plants, animals,
chemical formulas and mechanical tools.
Engineering
(Eng.)
Individuals willing to work in this field prefer working in industry facilities such as
factories, mines, construction areas and open fields. They prefer working with machines,
electronic and mechanical devices rather than people. They enjoy designing and drawing
things.
Visual
(Vis.)
Individuals willing to work in this field are fond of reflecting their emotions and
imagination through works of art such as paintings, sculptures and graphics. They like to
work alone. They attach great importance to art and aesthetics.
Arts
Retrieved from Deniz (2009)
170
Validity and Reliability
The validity and reliability of the results obtained during the development period of OFII.
Validity was conducted through an inventory of opinions from 88 academicians who
have earned a PhD, all of whom were queried as to if the items reflected their areas
of study. Also an exploratory factor analysis was completed and oriented toward the
OFII’s construct validity. At the end of this analysis the conclusion was that these 14
factors explained 49% of total variance. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted
and it was determined that fit indexes have values between 0.87 and 0.99. Other
construct validity, inter-correlations between the 14 sub-dimensions of the inventory,
have been examined and the values were between -0.43 and 0.50 including the
median of calculated correlations r=0.07.
The estimated Cronbach α value for every dimension of the inventory changes
between 0.79 (agriculture-outdoor) and 0.95 (law), and it was shown that the median
value of reliabilities was 0.89. With the result of test/retest it was observed that
reliability values changed between 0.79 (agriculture-outdoor) and 0.95 (law) and that
the median value of reliabilities was 0.89. According to these results it was accepted
that this inventory was reliable and valid. Also, because this inventory can be
administered in 15-20 minutes, it has been accepted that this inventory is useful
(Deniz, 2009).
In practice, this inventory can be answered in two different methods. In the first
method, the participant chooses one item from each trio group and rates the chosen
item (1 = Interests me very little, 5 = Interests me very much). In the second
answering method, the participant rates every item on a scale from1 to 5. In this
study, the data was collected using the second answering style format.
The results of the validity and the reliability for OFII gathered in this study
In some of the scale development and adaptation studies only confirmatory
factor analysis (Kocayörük, 2010) was used in order to determine validity, while in
some others exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses (Baltacıoğlu-Göktalay &
Cangür, 2008; Talepasand, Alijani, & Bigdeli, 2010; Eren-Gümüş, 2010; Kapıkıran &
Kapıkıran, 2011; Wu, Valcke, & Keer, 2012) were performed. In the study for
developing the OFII (Deniz, 2009) and in this study, both exploratory and
confirmatory factor analyses were applied to the OFII. The results of validity of the
inventory within the context of this study were that for the exploratory factor
analysis it was observed that there were 17 factors with eigenvalues above 1. It was
also observed that in three of them there was only one item number (cutoff point
0.40) which had enough value to constitute factors, so 14 factor styles were upheld.
After reducing the factor numbers to 14, the factor analysis was repeated and at the
end of this analysis the explained variance level increased to 65% difference from the
result of the original factor analysis. It was also recognized that some items of the
sub-science dimension were related to the health dimension. This difference may be
associated with the answering method thatwas used in order to develop the
inventory. This method has been explained previously; for example, there are triogroup items and the participants choose one item.
171
Cronbach α coefficients of internal consistency regarding the sub-dimesions of
the inventory were between 0.92 and 0.96. Health had the least coefficients of internal
consistency, and mathematics and computers had the highest. It is expected that this
value should be over 0.70 for inventory affective domain. It can be said that these
values were adequately high.
Procedure
The data for this study was collected online from schools bound to the Turkish
Ministry of Education. Meetings about the online usage of the inventory were
arranged with managers of each of these schools. Whenever possible the inventory
was performed in dedicated computer laborataries within the school. In schools
which did not have computer laboratories the study was performed in the Counselor
Researching Center accompanied by the counselor and school managers. A
substructure of this online system was prepared and administered by the Ministry of
Education General Management of Education Technologies(Eğitim Teknolojileri
Genel Müdürlüğü). The system was open for nearly a month and the applications
were completed within this time frame. A total of 3799 participants who fully
completed the inventory were included in the study.
Analysis of Data
From the collected data, descriptive statistics were obtained for every subdimension according to gender and age. In order to designate the significance of the
difference between the means of inventory scores of gender groups, an independent
samples t test was used. In order to designate the significance of the difference
between age and gender groups two-way ANOVA was used.
The OFII scores regarding the age and sex of individuals was calculated with the
help of t score. The mean and the standard deviation values belonging to each subdimensions were used for calculated t score. T score was used for the level of a
person’s interest:
(formula 1)
t= 10.z+50 (formula 2)
An example. An individual who is 13 years old and a male. The raw score of
mathematics sub-dimension is 52. When Table 4 has been analyzed, it has been seen
that
=36,2 Sx=12 is belong to 13 years old men.
t=1,32*10+50 = 63,2
Findings and Results
According to gender, the descriptive statistics related to the 14 sub-dimensions
were calculated. The results of the t test directed towards comparisons of means for
every independent group were gathered. It was observed that there was no
important deviation from the normal distribution for every sub-dimension.
172
Descriptive statistics of the 14 sub-dimensions of the OFII according to gender have
been provided in Table 3.
Table 3.
Descriptive Statistics of The 14 Sub-Dimensions of the OFII According to Gender
OFII’s subdimensions
1
.
2
.
3
.
4
.
5
.
6
.
7
.
8
.
9
.
1
0.
1
1.
1
2.
1
3.
1
4.
M
at.
C
omp.
F
.L.
V
is.
P
.
E
du.
T
.L.
L
aw
A
gr.
C
om.
E
ng.
P
.F.
S
ci.
H
.
Men (n=1936)
M
3
2,61
3
9,47
3
3,74
3
4,76
3
2,32
3
6,32
3
2,96
3
4,74
3
2,17
3
4,02
3
7,53
3
7,07
3
4,56
3
4,96
Mdn (n=1936)
Sx
3
3,00
4
1,00
3
4,00
3
5,00
3
3,00
3
7,00
3
3,00
3
5,00
3
2,00
3
4,00
3
9,00
3
7,00
3
5,00
3
6,00
Women (n=1863)
S.
1
2,52
1,82
2,65
0,42
0,73
0,80
1,28
1,53
0,93
0,39
0,28
1,27
1,33
0,53
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
0
,00
0,50
0
,05
0,14
0,07
0,31
0,13
0,21
0,02
0,17
0,47
0,13
0,18
0,28
K.
M
1,01
0,67
0,87
0,63
0,70
0,69
0,78
0,81
0,75
0,62
0,39
0,67
0,79
0,63
2
9,60
3
0,63
3
4,74
3
5,73
3
7,97
4
0,01
3
4,64
3
5,88
2
7,71
3
4,62
3
1,40
3
4,01
3
1,91
3
7,54
M: Mean, Mdn:Median, S:Skewness, K:Kurtosis
Mdn.
29,00
30,00
34,00
36,00
39,00
42,00
35,00
37,00
27,00
35,00
31,00
33,00
32,00
39,00
Sx
(n=1863)
13,
22
12,
44
14,
13
11,
20
11,
15
11,
16
12,
42
12,
78
11,
25
11,
45
11,
11
11,
96
12,
20
11,
09
S.
K.
0
,26
,18
0
0
,09
0,16
0,37
0,62
0,15
0,23
0
,35
0,12
0
,07
0
,18
0
,08
0,36
When Table 3 has been analyzed it is seen that agriculture has the lowest mean
both men and women (Mmen=32,17, Mwomen=27,71), and for women education has the
highest mean (M=40,01) for men computer has the highest mean (M=39,47). It has
been seen that means and medians in every sub-dimension are similar. In addition
co-efficients of skewness and kurtosis are generally between -1; +1 which is accepted
as standard normal distribution. The results of t test related to if there is a significant
difference in sub-dimensions according to gender are provided in Table 4.
1,03
0,98
1,08
0,85
0,72
0,46
0,94
0,99
0,78
0,84
0,89
0,75
1,00
0,75
173
Table 4.
The Results of t Test According to Gender
Men(n=1936)
M
1.
Mathematics
2.
Computer
3.
Foreign Language
4.
Visual Arts
5.
Psychology
6.
Education
7.
Turkish Language
8.
Law
9.
Agriculture-Outdoor
1
0.
1
1.
1
Communication-Mass
Media
Engineering
2.
1
3.
1
4.
Political-Financial
Sciences
Sciences
Health
***p<.001; **p<.01; *p<.05
Md(n=1936)
Sx
32,6
39,41
33
33,77
34,74
34
32,36
36,32
33
32,92
34,76
33
32,14
34,07
32
37,52
37,03
34,57
34,96
6
41
35
37
35
34
39
37
35
36
Women(n=1863)
M
Mdn
12,5
11,82
29,60
29
30,63
30
12,62
10,45
34,74
34
35,73
36
10,72
10,83
37,97
39
40,01
42
11,20
11,58
34,64
35
35,88
37
10,93
10,33
27,71
27
34,62
35
10,29
11,28
11,37
10,53
3
31,40
31
34,01
33
31,91
32
37,54
39
Sx
(n=1863)
13,2
12,42
t
7,20***
22,42***
14,14
11,23
-2,77**
11,10
11,15
15,90***
-10,35***
12,46
12,72
-4,36***
11,28
11,45
12,39***
11,15
11,91
17,61***
12,26
11,00
-2,30*
-2,90**
-1,70
8,11***
6,92***
-7,35***
9
When Table 4 is analyzed, it is evident that there is an significant difference in the
13 sub-dimensions with the exception of communication-mass media. There were
significant differences in favor of men in six sub-dimensions such as mathematics,
computers, agriculture-outdoor, engineering, political-financial sciences and sciences
(p<.001). To the contrary, there were significant differences in favor of women in
seven sub-dimensions such as psychology, education, Turkish language, health
(p<.001), fine arts, law (p<.01), and foreign languages (p<.05). The results of two-way
ANOVA related significant differences in sub-dimensions according to gender, age
and common effect of gender and age. These are listed in Table 5.
174
Table 5.
The Results of Two-Way ANOVA According to Gender, Age and Common Effects of Gender
and age
Men (n=1936)
Age
Mat.
Comp.
F.L.
Vis.
P.
n
M
13
166
36,2
14
224
15
Sx
Women (n=1863)
Two-way ANOVA
n
M
Sx
Source
12,0
173
36,8
13,0
G
35,3
12,1
226
32,4
13,2
292
33,9
12,4
300
31,1
16
335
33,0
12,6
365
17
354
31,7
12,6
18
352
30,1
12,3
19+
213
30,3
13
166
14
224
15
Sum of
squares
df
1
A
Sum of
9772,2
Squares
24172,5
12,8
G*A
29,5
13,1
341
26,4
12,1
331
27,6
13,3
12,3
127
25,4
12,4
41,6
11,2
173
34,6
42,1
10,6
226
32,6
292
40,4
10,9
300
16
335
39,6
11,5
17
354
39,0
12,2
Mean
square
F
61,4
***
6
Mean
9772,2
Square
4028,8
25,3
***
2389,4
6
398,2
2,5
**
Error
601937,4
3785
159,0
Total
637100,3
3798
12,0
G
76422,3
1
76422,3
529,0
***
12,6
A
10469,3
6
1744,9
12,1
***
31,0
11,9
G*A
1152,4
6
192,1
1,3
365
30,9
12,4
Error
546828,2
3785
144,5
341
28,5
12,6
Total
632540,8
3798
18
352
37,8
12,6
331
30,1
12,5
19+
213
37,2
12,6
127
27,3
11,5
13
166
37,4
11,8
173
40,2
13,9
G
661,0
1
661,0
3,8
14
224
35,4
12,3
226
37,2
14,3
A
17787,3
6
2964,6
17,0
15
292
35,2
12,7
300
36,6
13,3
G*A
2477,5
6
412,9
2,4
*
16
335
33,0
12,4
365
35,5
14,4
Error
661181,4
3785
174,7
17
354
32,8
12,8
341
31,2
13,7
Total
682391,5
3798
18
352
32,1
13,1
331
32,8
14,1
19+
213
32,6
12,2
127
30,8
12,9
13
166
36,3
10,3
173
38,9
10,3
G
771,2
1
771,2
6,7
**
14
224
36,4
10,1
226
36,3
11,5
A
3851,4
6
641,9
5,5
***
15
292
33,9
9,8
300
35,4
11,2
G*A
1689,6
6
281,6
2,4
*
16
335
34,2
10,3
365
36,4
10,7
Error
438463,1
3785
115,8
17
354
34,5
10,4
341
34,0
11,2
Total
444900,6
3798
18
352
34,5
10,9
331
36,2
11,4
19+
213
34,6
11,1
127
32,9
11,6
13
166
34,8
9,6
173
37,5
11,1
G
30154,5
1
30154,5
253,0
14
224
32,9
10,4
226
37,7
11,4
A
553,6
6
92,3
0,8
15
292
31,6
10,7
300
37,9
11,4
G*A
2542,3
6
423,7
3,6
16
335
30,9
10,4
365
39,1
10,9
Error
451043,7
3785
119,2
17
354
32,3
10,5
341
38,1
11,1
Total
484369,6
3798
18
352
32,0
11,5
331
37,6
11,0
19+
213
33,6
11,1
127
36,7
11,3
***
***
**
Edu.
T.L
Law
Agr.
Com.
Eng.
175
13
166
38,7
9,9
173
44,2
9,0
G
13108,0
1
13108,0
110,1
***
14
224
37,6
10,6
226
40,3
11,9
A
5543,9
6
924,0
7,8
***
15
292
35,2
10,9
300
39,9
10,7
G*A
1078,6
6
179,8
1,5
16
335
34,7
10,5
365
39,5
11,3
Error
450813,7
3785
119,1
17
354
36,3
10,5
341
38,9
11,3
Total
470337,2
3798
18
352
36,3
11,0
331
39,2
11,5
19+
213
37,5
11,6
127
40,6
10,7
13
166
35,8
10,2
173
37,7
10,9
G
2596,0
1
2596,0
18,7
***
14
224
35,4
10,0
226
36,8
12,4
A
7198,9
6
1199,8
8,6
***
15
292
32,6
11,4
300
34,8
12,5
G*A
694,7
6
115,8
0,8
16
335
31,0
10,8
365
34,2
12,8
Error
525733,8
3785
138,9
17
354
32,8
11,2
341
33,7
12,2
Total
536307,6
3798
18
352
32,5
12,1
331
33,2
12,5
19+
213
32,9
11,8
127
34,0
12,7
13
166
36,9
10,8
173
37,4
12,0
G
1197,1
1
1197,1
8,1
**
14
224
36,0
10,6
226
37,6
12,6
A
3067,7
6
511,3
3,5
**
15
292
34,2
11,4
300
36,7
12,9
G*A
987,7
6
164,6
1,1
16
335
33,4
11,0
365
35,7
12,8
Error
557121,0
3785
147,2
17
354
34,5
11,8
341
34,5
13,1
Total
562420,7
3798
18
352
34,8
12,4
331
35,2
12,6
19+
213
35,0
11,8
127
34,8
12,8
13
166
33,1
10,5
173
32,0
11,2
G
19240,4
1
19240,4
158,7
***
14
224
33,7
10,0
226
29,4
11,4
A
5533,1
6
922,2
7,6
***
15
292
32,4
10,9
300
28,1
11,4
G*A
2177,7
6
363,0
3,0
**
16
335
31,6
11,3
365
28,1
11,4
Error
458788,5
3785
121,2
17
354
31,4
10,8
341
25,8
10,5
Total
485377,2
3798
18
352
31,6
11,4
331
26,5
11,1
19+
213
32,8
11,1
127
25,2
10,6
13
166
35,1
9,9
173
37,4
11,0
G
285,4
1
285,4
2,4
14
224
35,7
10,2
226
35,9
11,0
A
3151,2
6
525,2
4,4
15
292
33,4
10,2
300
34,5
11,2
G*A
865,7
6
144,3
1,2
16
335
33,2
10,6
365
34,6
11,4
Error
449006,5
3785
118,6
17
354
33,9
10,0
341
33,6
11,3
Total
453368,5
3798
***
18
352
34,1
10,8
331
34,4
11,8
19+
213
33,7
10,7
127
32,4
12,2
13
166
38,2
10,0
173
35,8
10,5
G
36658,4
1
36658,4
326,1
***
14
224
38,4
9,7
226
33,5
11,5
A
6020,9
6
1003,5
8,9
***
15
292
38,2
10,0
300
31,1
10,8
G*A
2808,3
6
468,1
4,2
***
16
335
37,7
10,0
365
32,1
10,9
Error
425505,9
3785
112,4
17
354
36,9
10,6
341
29,1
10,8
Total
469913,7
3798
18
352
36,8
10,8
331
31,0
11,2
19+
213
37,0
10,6
127
27,8
10,6
176
Table 5 continue…
P.F.
Sci.
H.
13
166
38,8
10,6
173
36,5
11,6
G
8934,5
1
8934,5
66,6
***
14
224
37,8
10,5
226
35,6
12,5
A
3293,1
6
548,9
4,1
***
15
292
36,3
11,1
300
34,4
12,3
G*A
1197,0
6
199,5
1,5
16
335
35,6
11,0
365
33,3
11,6
Error
507721,7
3785
134,1
17
354
37,3
11,5
341
32,6
11,8
Total
521102,4
3798
18
352
37,4
11,9
331
34,2
11,8
19+
213
37,3
11,5
127
32,2
11,8
13
166
39,4
10,4
173
38,3
11,4
G
7733,7
1
7733,7
59,3
***
14
224
37,7
10,6
226
36,2
11,8
A
29896,2
6
4982,7
38,2
***
15
292
35,7
10,5
300
33,8
11,8
G*A
1783,1
6
297,2
2,3
16
335
34,5
11,4
365
31,8
11,8
Error
493991,8
3785
130,5
17
354
33,1
11,3
341
28,9
11,6
Total
532319,9
3798
18
352
32,0
11,9
331
29,3
12,1
19+
213
32,8
11,0
127
26,6
11,2
13
166
38,4
9,4
173
40,6
10,6
G
5802,1
1
5802,1
50,9
***
14
224
36,6
9,9
226
40,3
10,6
A
11221,0
6
1870,2
16,4
***
15
292
35,6
10,4
300
39,5
10,8
G*A
1428,8
6
238,1
2,1
16
335
34,3
10,8
365
37,7
10,4
Error
431048,9
3785
113,9
17
354
34,0
10,3
341
35,5
11,5
Total
450019,9
3798
18
352
33,3
11,0
331
35,4
11,5
19+
213
34,9
10,6
127
34,6
10,4
G:Gender, A:Age, G*A:Gender *Age;
***p<.001; **p<.01; *p<.05
Note: In this study 19+ is utilized as meaning 19-26 age groups
In Table 5, the differences according to gender in mathematics, computer,
psychology, education, Turkish language, agriculture-outdoor, engineering, politicalfinancial sciences, sciences, health (p<.001), visual arts and law (p<.01) are
significant, but in foreign language and communication the differences are not
significant.
The differences according to age in mathematics, computer, foreign language,
visual arts, education, Turkish language, agriculture, communication, engineering,
political-financial sciences, sciences, health (p<.001) and law (p<.01) are significant,
but in psychology the differences are not significant. If it is necessary to summarize
the comparisons of post-hoc in addition to these results.
It is seen that:

In the mathematics sub-dimension, 13 year old individuals differ from all the
other age groups except 14 year old individuals; 14 and 15 year old
individuals differ from 16, 17, 18, 19+ year old individuals;
*








177
In computer sub-dimension, 13 year old individuals differ from17, 18, 19+;
In foreign language sub-dimension, 13, 14, 15 year old individuals differ from
17,18,19+;
In visual arts sub-dimension, 13 year old individuals differ from 17 and 19+;
In education sub-dimension, 13 year old individuals differ from 15, 16, 17 and
18;
In Turkish language sub-dimension, 13 year old individuals differ from 16, 17
and 18; 14 year old individuals differ from 16 and 18;
In agriculture sub-dimension, 13 year old individuals differ from 17 and 18;
In engineering sub-dimension, 13 year old individuals differ from all the other
age groups except 14; 14 year old individuals differ from 16, 17, 18 and 19+; 15
year old individuals differ from 17, 18 and 19+;
In health sub-dimension, 13 year old individuals differ from 16, 17, 18 and19+;
14 year old individuals differ from 17, 18 and 19+; 15 year old individuals
differ from 17 and 18.
According to the common effect of gender and age, the differences in engineering
(p<.001), mathematics, psychology, agriculture-outdoor (p<.01), foreign language,
visual arts, sciences (p<.05) are significant, but in computer, education, Turkish
language, law, communication, political-financial sciences and sciences the
differences are not significant. In summary, without mentioning post-hoc
comparisons because there are hundreds of them, it can be seen that in engineering,
mathematics, psychology and agriculture sub-dimensions in parallel with the results
of age variability both men and women who are 13 and 14 years old usually have
significant differences when they were compared to upper age groups. Also, there
are significant differences both in the same or near age groups and the opposite sex
in engineering and mathematics sub-dimensions which are significant in terms of
gender. In some sub-dimensions such as agriculture-outdoor and psychology the
significant differences are usually from the opposite sex.
Discussion Conclusion
In this study, research findings related to the OFII, which were obtained from the
responses of 3799 students who study in public schools and are between 13-20 years
old, have been shared. The aim of this study, by administering this inventory to these
age groups and different genders, was to constitute standard values in order to put
forth for consideration the level of vocational interest.
At the conclusion of this study, a significant difference was observed in the
younger age groups’ interests in many sub-dimensions, as 13, 14 and 15 (especially
13), significantly differed from the opposite sexes who were 16, 17, 18, and 19+ years
old. So it can be said that there are serious differences between pre-15 year olds and
post-15 year olds when determining interests. This is an important finding for
Turkey in terms of high school types and area choices. Therefore, vocational interests
can change after selecting an area of study in high school. The results noted that the
first year in high school is early to choose a domain. In addition to this finding, it has
178
been seen that in every sub-dimension the interests of 17, 18, and 19+ year old
individuals do not significantly differ from each other. This finding is concurrent
with the age border which has been clarified in the literature in order to make
interests clear or stable (Hansen, 2005; Rottinghaus, Coon, Gaffey, & Zytowski, 2007).
The results of this study are the results of a cross-sectional study; however, according
to Rottinghaus et al. the longitudinal studies that have been conducted in this field
support these results (Hansen & Swanson, 1983; Lubinski, Benbow, & Ryan, 1995).
Low, Yoon, Roberts, and Rounds (2005) have analyzed the stability of interests in
different age groups with meta analysis which is a combination of 66 studies. It has
been said that even the interests of early adolescents (for example, between 12-14) are
very stable, yet after 18 the interests are very fixed throughout the rest of one’s life.
In another study, which supports Yoon et al.’s study, regarding stability of interest,
Roberts and Delvecchio (2000) have compared the stability of interests and
personalities. The study indicates that in all of different age groups between 12 and
40 interests give more permanent results than personalities. According to the
findings of this study, the results of the OFII calculated as 19+, can be used for the
individuals who are between 20 and 25 years of age.
According to gender comparisons, it was evident that men show interest in
numerical and asocial areas (such as mathematics, computer, engineering, sciences)
and women show interest in verbal and social areas (such as psychology, education,
health, law), so these results can be viewed as concurring with Tay, Drasgow,
Rounds, and Williams (2009); Su, Rounds, and Armstrong (2009); Deng, Armstrong,
and Rounds (2007); Lippa (1998 and 2005); Low et al. (2005); Sayın, (2000); Rounds
(1995). In a study that was conducted on children of ages 5-6 in Turkey, it was
concluded that girls are more social than boys (Gülay, 2011). This is also consistent
with the fact that girls tend to choose more social professions.
The significant differences in terms of age, gender and the common effect of age
and gender reveal that there should be seperate reference scores according to age and
gender groups in vocational interest inventories. The main statistics are mean and
standard deviation, and they are used as reference scores in the studies of
standardization. In these studies the critical border is used in order to display if they
are decomposed or not in terms of the named feature. The cutoff point is
+1,5Sx(z
score=1,5; t score=65) in some research (Nyenhuis et al., 1998; Butcher, 2011; Greene,
2011). For example, 65 t score has been chosen as the cutoff point for the Minnesota
Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2), which has a standardization study,
but many researchers say that in some special groups which have generally low
values, this cutoff point can be reduced to 60 or 55. Also, Macmillan and Harpur
(2003) point out that Kovacs (1992) used a 65 t score in the Children Depression
Inventory and Reynolds and Richmond (1985) used a 66 t score as cutoff point in the
Revised Children Manifest’s Anxiety Scale. It is also cited that some researchers have
used a 60 t score as cutoff point (Black et al., 2002; Achenbach, 1991).
By considering the obtained results and literature, an individual’s interest score
for one of 14 sub-dimensions should be calculated with the help of the formulas
179
below and from Table 5. First, the z score and then t score should be calculated. Then
it is suggested that 60 t score should be used as the cutoff point in order to identify in
which area the individual has more interest, but if the interests of the individual
cannot be seperated clearly, the 65 t score should be used as the second cutoff point.
If we interpret the example of the method section (in analysis of data), it can be
said that the person’s interest in the mathematics sub-dimension is higher than the
normal borders of his group. This comparison should be done in the other subdimensions. Those scores too which come from the other dimensions should be taken
into consideration and then the individual should be informed.
There are many important points in interest inventories. One of them is that the
results are not absolute. As a result, the individual should be informed that these
results are flexible. Another point is that as with every inventory, the results of the
OFII have some limitations. There should be another dimension other than 14 subdimensions of the OFII and this should be explained to the individual.
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183
(Özet)
Problem durumu
İlgi, bireyin isteği doğrultusunda, bir objeye karşı özel bir çaba olmaksızın dikkat
ettiği, dikkatini uzun süre devam ettirdiği, farkında olduğu ve bunu tepki ve
davranışa dönüştürmeye hazır olduğu içsel bir süreç olarak tanımalanabilir. Mesleki
ilgi ise bir kişinin bir mesleğe ya da meslekle ilgili etkinliklere karşı gösterdiği
hoşlanırım hoşlanmam veya fark etmez şeklindeki tepkileri olarak ifade
edilmektedir. Yurt dışında yapılan pek çok çalışma ilgilerin cinsiyete ve özellikle
ergenlik dönemindeki yaş aralıklarına göre farklılaştığını göstermektedir. Bu nedenle
mesleki ilgi envanterlerinde cinsiyete ve ergenlik döneminin farklı yaş aralıklarına
göre ayrı normlar oluşturulması gerektiği açıktır. Mesleki ilgilerin ölçülmesi
konusunda Türkiye’deki ölçek sayısı oldukça sınırlıdır. Ayrıca bu ölçekler arasında
güncel olanların sayısı daha da azdır. Bunun yanı sıra, bir ölçeği uyguladıktan sonra
hangi değere göre ilgisi düşük ya da yüksek? Sorusuna yanıt olacak bir ölçüt değer
de olması gerekir. Türkiye’deki en güncel ilgi envanterlerinden birisi araştırmacı
tarafından 2008 yılında geliştirilen Mesleki Alan İlgi Envanteri (MAİ)’dir. MAİ 14 alt
boyuta göre bireylerin ilgisini ortaya koyan bir ölçektir.
Bu çalışmanın amacı MAİ’nin yaş (13-19+ yaşları) ve cinsiyete göre norm olarak
kullanılabilecek sınırlarını belirleyerek ölçeğin Türkiye genelinde, bu yaş aralığı için,
standardizasyonunu yapmaktır.
Araştırmanın Yöntemi
Uygulama, Türkiye İstatistiki Bölge Birimleri Sınıflandırmasına göre (Nomenclature
of Territorial Units for Statistics NUTS – Türkiye İBBS) düzey 1 içinden, her bölgeden
bir il olmak üzere, 12 il’e bağlı 24 ilçede, kur’a yöntemiyle seçilen ve 184 devlet
okulunda yapılmıştır. Uygulama yapılan 184 okuldan 68’i ilköğretim okulu ve 116’sı
lisedir. Araştırma kapsamında olasılığa dayalı küme örnekleme yöntemi kullanıldığı
için sonuçlar Türkiye’de 13-19+ yaşları arasındaki devlet okullarında eğitim gören
bireylere genellenebilir. Katılımcıların yaşları 11 ile 26 arasında değişmekte olup
çoğunluğu (%98,8) 13 ile 20 yaşları arasındadır. Araştırmaya katılan öğrencilerin yaş
ortalaması 16,17 (medyan=16) ve standart sapması 1,84’tür. Katılımcıların %51’i
(n=1936) erkek, %49’u (n=1863) kız öğrencilerden oluşmaktadır. Araştırmanın
verileri MEB’e bağlı okullarda rehber öğretmen ve/veya okul yöneticisi eşliğinde
bilgisayar ortamında toplanmıştır. Veriler 2009 yılında toplanmış olup, EĞİTEK
tarafından oluşturulan sistem yaklaşık bir ay boyunca açık kalmış ve araştırmaya
katılan öğrenciler 14 alt boyuttan oluşan MAİ’nin 156 maddelik formunu
doldurmuşlardır. Çalışmada MAİ’nin geçerlik ve güvenirlik değerleri de test edilmiş
ve MAİ geliştirme çalışmasındaki sonuçlarla uyumlu olduğu gözlenmiştir. Verilerin
analiz edilmesinde betimsel istatistiklerin yanı sıra dağılımların normalliğinin test
edilmesinden sonra bağımsız gruplar için t testi ve iki faktörlü ANOVA
kullanılmıştır.
184
MAİ alt boyutlarına göre iletişim dışındaki 13 alanda anlamlı bir farklılık olduğu
gözlenmiştir. Matematik, Bilgisayar, Ziraat, Mühendislik, Siyasal-Mali Bilimler ve
Fen Bilimleri(p<.001) olmak üzere altı alanda erkekler lehine yüksek anlamlı fark
varken, Psikoloji, Eğitim, Türk Dili, Sağlık(p<.001), Görsel Sanatlar, Hukuk(p<.01),
Yabancı Dil(p<.05) olmak üzere yedi alanda kızlar lehine yüksek anlamlı fark elde
edilmiştir. Yaşa göre Matematik, Bilgisayar, Yabancı dil, Görsel sanatlar, Eğitim,
Türk dili, Ziraat, İletişim, Mühendislik, Siyasal-Mali bilimler, Fen bilimleri, Sağlık
(p<.001) ve Hukuk (p<.01) alanlarındaki fakların anlamlı olduğu, Psikoloji alanında
ise anlamlı olmadığı görülmektedir. Cinsiyet ve yaşın ortak etkisine göre
Mühendislik (p<.001), Matematik, Psikoloji, Ziraat(p<.01), Yabancı dil, Görsel
sanatlar, Fen bilimleri(p<.05) alanlarındaki farkların anlamlı olduğu, Bilgisayar,
Eğitim, Türk dili, Hukuk, İletişim, Siyasal-Mali bilimler ve Fen bilimleri alanlarında
ise ortak etkinin anlamlı olmadığı görülmektedir. Ortak etki konusunda post-hoc
karşılaştırmalarını özetlemek gerekirse, Mühendislik, Matematik, Psikoloji ve Ziraat
alanlarında yaş değişkeni sonuçlarına paralel olarak 13 ve 14 yaşındaki hem kız hem
de erkeklerin üst yaş gruplarındaki hemcinsleriyle ve karşı cinsleriyle çoğunlukla
anlamlı farklılık gösterdiği gözlenmiştir.
Sonuç ve Öneriler
İlgilerin tespitinde 15 yaş öncesi ile sonrası dönem arasında ciddi değişikliklerin
olduğu sonucuna ulaşılabilir. Bu durum Türkiye’de sıkça tartışılan lise türleri ve alan
seçimi konusu için oldukça önemli bir bulgudur. Bu bulguya ek olarak 17, 18 ve 19+
yaş gruplarındaki bireylerin tüm alanlardaki ilgilerinin birbirlerinden anlamlı bir
şekilde farklılaşmadığı sonucuna ulaşılmıştır. Bu da ilgilerin durağanlık ya da
netleşmesi için literatürde (boylamsal ve kesitsel çalışmalarda) belirtilen yaş sınırıyla
tutarlı görünmektedir. Cinsiyet açısından kadınların mesleki ilgilerinin sosyal
alanlarda, erkeklerin ise nesne veya soyut kavramlarla çalışma gerektiren alanlarda
anlamlı olarak yüksek çıktığı gözlenmektedir. Bu sonuca göre mesleki tercih yapacak
olan kişiler cinsiyetlerini de dikkate almalıdır. Yaşa, cinsiyete ve yaş*cinsiyetin ortak
etkisine göre elde edilen bu anlamlı farklılıklar mesleki ilgi envanterlerinde yaş ve
cinsiyet gruplarına göre ayrı birer referans noktası olması gerektiğini ortaya
koymaktadır. Standardizasyon çalışmalarında referans noktası olarak kullanılan iki
temel istatistik aritmetik ortalama ve standart sapmadır. Bu istatistikler ve kişinin
puanı kullanılarak önce z sonra da t puanı hesaplanır. Daha sonra o boyuta ilişkin
ilgisinin yüksek olup olmadığını ortaya koyacak bir ölçüt (kesme puanı) belirlenir.
Bazı çalışmalarda bu ölçüt 65 t puanı iken bazılarında ise 60 t puanıdır. Bu çalışmada
kullanılması önerilen ölçüt 60 t puanıdır. Yani birey MAİ’nin hangi alanlarında 60 t
puanından yüksek aldıysa o alanlarda ilgisi yüksek demektir. Çalışma sonunda
Tablo 5’e dayanarak bir kişinin Türkiye ortalamasına göre cinsiyet ve yaş açısından
MAİ’ye ait t puanının nasıl hesaplandığı ve yorumlandığı örnekle gösterilmiştir.
Anahtar Sözcükler: Mesleki Alan İlgi Envanteri(MAİ), ulusal standardizasyon, yaş
normu, cinsiyet normu,
The Relationship between the Perceptions of the
Fairness of the Learning Environment and the Level
of Alienation
Çağlar ÇAĞLAR*
Suggested Citation:
Caglar, C. (2013). The Relationship between the Perceptions of Fairness of the
Learning Environment and the Level of Alienation. Egitim Arastirmalari Eurasian Journal of Educational Research, 50, 185-206.
Abstract
Problem Statement: The phenomenon of justice, which is defined as
conformity to what is right and legal, is conceptualized into three aspects:
distributive justice, procedural justice and interactional justice in educational
organizations. The more students perceive their learning environment to
be fair, the more they enjoy their school life. Otherwise, they experience
dissatisfaction and alienation. Having such components as powerlessness,
normlessness, isolation, and meaninglessness, the concept of alienation
refers to a situation where the student is indifferent to the place he is in,
i.e. the school.
Considering that all educational activities mainly aim to intentionally
change learner behaviors, it is apparent that any negative attitudes like a
feeling of alienation towards the school will considerably obstruct the
educational organizations’ ability to achieve their goals. Therefore, it is
important for schools to identify the school-related factors underlying the
students’ feelings of alienation at the school and to alleviate their adverse
effects. Some of the factors causing the feeling of alienation stem directly
from the procedures in educational organizations. It is believed that the
perception of fairness regarding the learning environment is one of the
factors.
Purpose of Study: The purpose of this study was to determine the students’
level of alienation and to investigate the relationship between their levels
of alienation and their perceptions of a fair learning environment.
Methods: This survey study was conducted on 952 student teachers, of
whom 509 were female and 443 were male. The researcher investigated
both the correlation between students’ perceptions of a fair learning
environment and the actual, experienced alienation, and whether these
*
Asst. Prof. Dr., Adiyaman University Faculty of Education, Turkey, [email protected]
185
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Çağlar Çağlar
variables differ significantly in terms of gender, type of program, grade
and time of program. The data were collected using the “Personal
Information Form,” the “Fair Learning Environment Questionnaire” and
the “Student Alienation Scale.”
Finding and Results: Results indicated that students’ perceptions of
fairness and their level of alienation differ significantly in terms of gender,
type of program, grade and time of program. Perception of fairness is a
significant predictor of their feelings of alienation.
Conclusions and Recommendations: Based on the research findings, it can be
suggested that creating a fairer learning environment may decrease the
feeling of experienced alienation. Involving students in administrative
decisions, arranging events to increase student-faculty interaction, as well
as extensively using objective measurement and evaluation procedures
may improve students’ perceptions of fairness regarding the learning
environment. Improving students’ perceptions of fairness can be said to
have a positive impact on their feelings about school.
Keywords: Higher education, learning environment, fairness, alienation
The phenomenon of justice, which is defined as conformity to what is right and
legal, and something that distributes to people what they deserve (TDK, 2009), is a
concept with significant consequences both for individuals and society. The direct
effect of justice on the behaviors of workers in an organization necessitates the
attempt to enhance organizational efficacy, which is an indication of the degree of
achieving the goal, to concentrate on the phenomenon of justice. From this
perspective, in educational institutions, where individual dimension is more
sensitive than institutional dimension, the informal side is heavier than the formal
side and the effect area is wider than the authorization area (Bursalıoğlu, 1994), the
perception of justice is fast becoming more important than in other organizations.
Organizational Justice
Organizational justice refers to perceptions regarding the extent to which workers
in an organization are treated fairly and the consequences caused by these
perceptions. A number of approaches regarding organizational justice define the
concept as composed of three aspects: distributive, procedural and interactional
(Bies, 2001; Greenberg, 1990; Özmen, Arbak & Özer, 2007).
Distributive justice is the workers’ perceptions of whether the sources of the
organization are distributed fairly or not (Folger & Konovsky, 1989). A similar
process of judgment is experienced in the classroom. Students can judge how fair the
teacher’s evaluation is by comparing their exam scores with the score that they have
expected or that they think they deserve, or with other students’ scores (Chory-Assad
& Paulsel, 2004b). If the student believes that his actual score does not correspond
with how much he invested, he is likely to judge it as an example of unfair
distribution. Being exposed to distributive injustice may cause psychological stress in
187
students, can be perceived as directly or indirectly grievous, or can influence
students to participate in behaviors which they believe will restore justice (Lizzio,
Wilson & Hadaway, 2007).
Procedural justice refers to how decisions about the distribution of sources are
made. Procedural justice means the equal treatment to all shareholders during
procedures like refraining from under- or over-payment, involving shareholders in
decision-making, and informing shareholders about results (Colquitt & Chertkoff,
2002). In terms of education, procedural justice refers to teachers’ policies about
student behaviors, their approaches in classroom management and evaluating
student performance (Chory-Assad & Paulsel, 2004a). Procedural justice involves not
only the rules and procedures about how to grade student performance but also
policies about instructional services, how the exams are done, learner behaviors with
deceptive intentions, and cheating (Rodabaugh, 1996).
Interactional justice emphasizes interpersonal relations (Bies, 2001), as well as the
quality of these relations and especially the relationship between authorities and
other people. Interactional justice in the classroom refers to judgments about how fair
the teachers are in their communication and behaviors with students (Chory-Assad
& Paulsel, 2004a). If a faculty member acts in accordance with the principles of
interactional justice, that means he treats every student equally while acting as a
resource or facilitator without any discrimination. Students generally pay attention to
the smallest details about interactional justice that affect their behaviors. A faculty’s
actions regarding interactional justice not only affect the student on target but also
other students witnessing that action, thus causing the learning environment to be
perceived as unfair in general (Rodabaugh, 1996).
Because of the missions of school, they are organizations where organizational
justice must be at its highest level (Titrek, 2010). If the value systems in a school can
be formed as a lifestyle, by taking democracy and human rights as a basis, it may be
possible to make important contributions in assisting students to gain democratic
attitudes and behaviors with the help of hidden curriculum (Akar-Vural &
Gömleksiz, 2010). A suitable classroom environment and a teacher with appropriate
attitudes, expertise, and behaviors allow students to develop their critical thinking
skills (Tanriverdi, Ulusoy & Turan, 2012).
There is a large body of research which investigated students’ perceptions of
fairness in the learning environment (Chory-Assad, 2002, 2007; Chory-Assad &
Paulsel, 2004a, 2004b; Houston & Bettencourt, 1999; Lizzio, et al., 2007; Mauldin,
2009; Özer & Demirtaş, 2010; Paulsel & Chory-Assad, 2005; Rodabaugh & Kravitz,
1994; Rodabaugh, 1996; Tata, 1999; Tomul, Çelik & Taş, 2012; Walsh & Maffei, 1994).
A significant relationship has been found between teachers’ fairness towards
students and positive outcomes. Teachers’ fair treatment of students enhances
learner motivation and performance (Rodabaugh & Kravitz, 1994), quality of
learning outcomes (Walsh & Maffei, 1994), learner-teacher interaction (Lowman,
1984; as cited in Houston & Bettencourt, 1999), and learner satisfaction and
achievement (Marsh & Overall, 1980).
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Çağlar Çağlar
When students perceive their exam scores, the way the teacher instructs, or the
way the teacher communicates as unfair, they are quite likely to develop a directly
aggressive stance and hostile attitudes towards the teacher, or a resistance against
demands from the teacher (Chory-Assad & Paulsel, 2004b; Paulsel & Chory-Assad,
2005). If the students believe that most of the teachers are fair, school experiences
tend to be satisfactory. The belief that teachers are not fair in general, however,
would cause a considerable amount of dissatisfaction (Rodabaugh, 1996). One
possible outcome of this dissatisfaction would be indifference towards the school or a
feeling of alienation from the school.
Alienation
Alienation can be defined from various perspectives such as a feeling of
detachment in a desired or expected relationship (Case, 2008), the distrust one feels
for other people or society, and the feelings of powerlessness, meaninglessness,
normlessness, isolation and self-alienation caused by social, institutional or
interpersonal problems (Seeman, 1959), or the detachment of a person from himself,
his yield, his natural and social milieu and then being predominated by them (Tolan,
1981). Alienation in education is characterized by an estrangement of individuals
from knowledge, learning and relevant procedures; increased meaninglessness of
these processes for individuals; decreased attention to the learning process and the
gradual transformation of the learning process into a more boring and unpleasant
state (Sidorkin, 2004).
Though research on alienation defines different dimensions of the concept, it
seems more functional for the educational organizations to define four dimensions of
alienation including powerlessness, normlessness, isolation and meaninglessness
(Brown, Higgins & Paulsen, 2003; Mau, 1992; Sanberk, 2003).
Powerlessness refers to the lack of control by an individual on the products he
yields and on the results of the instruments he used in this process (Seeman, 1959),
and the situations where, though having high aspirations, an individual has weak
expectations for achieving them. Those students who wish to achieve better grades
but show poor academic achievement suffer from feelings of powerlessness more
often than their peers (Mau, 1992). When students believe that they are directed by
administrators, teachers, other staff at school and the system in general, they tend to
withdraw themselves from schooling when they believe they have little chance of
determining their academic future at school on their own (Brown et al., 2003).
Normlessness means a disapproval of the necessity of the actions deemed
necessary to achieve goals (Seeman, 1959). Normlessness in terms of schooling refers
to a rejection by a student of the decisions and rules that concern him and that are
made by the school administration and teachers (Mau, 1992). This situation may
cause the students to ignore the rules about the learning environment. Students
experiencing feelings of normlessness say what the school administers and teachers
want to hear and believe that breaking school rules and regulations is an appropriate
behavior as long as they are not detected (Brown et al., 2003).
189
Isolation refers to a lack of friendship ties or minimal participation in the
organizational environment (Seeman, 1959). Isolation can be experienced both when
the individual withdraws himself from society and because others exclude him
(Yılmaz & Sarpkaya, 2009). Isolation defines such feelings as estrangement from
school, friends, and teachers, and failure to integrate with or belong to the school
(Erjem, 2005). Students who perceive themselves isolated do not embrace school
goals, thus they do not find them valuable (Rafalides & Hoy, 1971).
Meaninglessness refers to an individual’s failure to find his actions meaningful. It
can be defined as a feeling caused by a person’s failure about what to believe
(Tezcan, 1991). Meaninglessness refers to a failure to establish a connection between
now and the future (Manneheim, 1954, as cited in Mau, 1992). Students may
sometimes feel suspicious about why they have to participate in activities in school.
Such students perceive a limited connection in terms of the relevance of what they
learned during activities at school for their future life (Brown et al., 2003).
Major factors that cause and intensify alienation at school include students’ lack
of control over their life, lack of autonomy, lack of a feeling of pride in academic
achievement, failure to establish a connection between school learning and actual
life, teachers’ being intolerant, poor parental awareness and authoritarian school
rules (Kunkel, Thampson, & Mcelhinney). There is well-documented literature which
has investigated the level of alienation in educational organizations (Bayhan, 1995;
Calabrese, 1987; Çağlar, 2012; Çelik, 2005; Çivitçi, 2011; Duru, 1995; Liu, 2010; Kunkel
at al., 1973; Sanberk, 2003; Taylor, 1999; Trent, 2001; Valverede, 1987; Wiseman, Emry
& Morgan, 1988).
Individuals feeling a considerable amount of alienation from their organization
gradually isolate themselves from their social milieu, develop ignorance about their
environment and go into their shells (Eryılmaz & Burgaz, 2011). It is observed that
alienation has a considerable impact on organizations in general and schools in
particular. Educational organizations’ failure to adapt to the needs of the times and
social changes causes the services they provide to gradually turn into a set of
meaningless and useless activities. Incompatibility between school activities and
actual life outside the school, as well as deterioration in the sense of interconnection,
develop negative attitudes towards the school over time. Considering that all
educational activities mainly aim to intentionally change learner behaviors, it is
apparent that any negative attitudes like alienation towards schools will considerably
obstruct the ability of educational organizations to achieve their goals. Therefore, it is
important for schools to identify any school-related factors underlying the students’
feelings of alienation at school and to alleviate their adverse effects. Some of the
factors causing feelings of alienation stem directly from procedures in educational
organizations. It is believed that a perception of fairness regarding the learning
environment is one of the factors. The purpose of this study was to determine
students’ perception of fairness regarding their learning environment and to
investigate the relationship between their perception of fairness and their levels of
alienation.
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Çağlar Çağlar
Method
This study was designed as a descriptive and associative survey model. In this
respect, this study aimed to analyze the relationship between students’ perceptions
of the fairness of the learning environment and their feeling of alienation, and also to
investigate whether these variables differ significantly in terms of gender, program,
grade and time of program.
Participants
The population of the study is comprised of 2600 undergraduate students
studying at Adıyaman University School of Education. The sample of the study
included 960 students selected from all programs using a stratified sampling
technique. All students in the sample were administered the data collection
instruments. After eight incomplete or defective forms were discarded, the
remaining 952 forms were taken into further analysis. Descriptive statistics about the
participants are presented in Table 1.
Table 1.
Descriptive Statistics About The Participants
Frequency
(f)
Percent (%)
Female
509
53.5
Male
443
46.5
Science
115
12.3
Math
137
14.3
Preschool
61
6.4
Guidance
135
14.2
Sınıf
261
27.4
Social studies
160
16.8
Turkish language
83
8.7
1st
259
27.2
2nd
233
24.5
3rd
242
25.4
4th
218
22.9
Day program
611
64.2
Night program
341
35.8
Variables
Gender
Program
Grade
Time of program
191
Data Collection
Personal Information Form: This form was designed to collect information about
participating students’ gender, type of program, grade and time of program (day or
night).
Fair Learning Environment Questionnaire: The “Fair Learning Environment
Questionnaire” was developed by Lizzio et al. (2007) to measure how the university
students perceive the fairness of their learning environment. The validity and
reliability studies of the questionnaire for Turkish were done by Özer and Demirtaş
(2010). The analysis produced a two-factor structure in accordance with the original
construct with explaining the 44.71 % of the total variance [Factor 1: 35.82, Factor 2:
8.89]. Internal consistency of the scale was estimated to be .87 for the entire
questionnaire [Factor 1= .81; Factor 2= .76]. In the present study, the internal
consistency coefficients for the questionnaire were estimated to be .79 for the first
factor, .64 for the second factor, and .82 for the entire questionnaire. Descriptive
statistics on the scale of justice are presented in Table 2.
Table 2.
Descriptive statistics on the scale of justice
n
# of
items
The
lowest
total
score
The
highest
total score
Respectful partnership
952
9
9
39
2,46
0,72
Systemic fairness
952
6
6
30
2,68
0,79
Total
952
15
69
2,55
0,66
Dimensions
15
M
SD
Student Alienation Scale: “Student Alienation Scale (SAS)” was developed by
the Çaglar (2012) to measure students’ feelings of alienation. SAS is composed of 20
items under four factors: powerlessness (six items), normlessness (five items),
isolation (five items), and meaninglessness (four items). The KMO value was found
to be .91 and the Bartlett Test of Sphericity value was found to be 5226.28 (p= .000),
and SAS was found to explain 53.56 % of total variance [Factor 1= 16.17; Factor 2=
13.07; Factor 3= 13.06; Factor 4= 11.25]. The internal consistency coefficients for SAS
were estimated to be .79 for first factor, .75 for second factor, .76 for third factor, .76
for the fourth factor, and .86 for the entire scale. The internal consistency coefficients
estimated for the present study for SAS were found to be .83 for the entire scale, .77
for the powerlessness factor, .68 for the normlessness factor, .67 for the isolation
factor, and .71 for the meaninglessness factor. Descriptive statistics on the scale of
alienation are presented in Table 3.
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Çağlar Çağlar
Table 3.
Descriptive Statistics on The Scale Of Alienation
N
# of
items
The lowest
total score
The highest
total score
M
Powerlessness
952
6
6
30
3,02
0,88
Normlessness
952
4
4
20
2,90
0,97
Isolation
952
5
5
25
2,82
0,88
Meaninglessness
952
5
5
25
3,13
0,99
Total
952
20
25
100
2,38
0,67
Dimensions
SD
Data Analysis
Frequency and percentage as descriptive statistics were used to analyze the
independent variables distributions. The perception level of students on alienation
and fairness of learning environment, mean and standard deviation were also used
as descriptive statistics. As the data set was found, a normally distributed
independent samples t test was used to analyze whether students’ scores differed
significantly in terms of gender and program time variables. Also, in order to test
whether their scores differed significantly in terms of type of program and grade
variables, a One Way ANOVA test was used, followed by a LSD post hoc test to find
the source of difference. To test the effects of independent variables on dependent
variables, a multiple linear regression analysis was done. In order to analyze
obtained points, the following intervals were used. These are (1.00-1.79) very lowlevel, (1.80-2.59) low-level, (2.60-3.40) moderate-level, (3.41-4.21) high-level and (4.225.00) very high-level.
Results
Fair Learning Environment Perceptions and Alienation Level according to Gender
The results of the t-test to find whether students’ fair learning environment
perceptions and alienation levels differ significantly according to gender are
presented in Table 4.
193
Table 4.
The Results of the t Test Find Students’ Fair Learning Environment Perceptions And
Alienation Level According to Gender
Dimension
Gender
Fair learning
environment
perceptions
Respectful
partnership
Systemic fairness
Alienation
Powerlessness
Normlessness
Meaninglessness
n
M
SD
1.Female
509
2,68
0,67
2.Male
443
2,48
0,65
1.Female
509
2,52
0,72
2.Male
443
2,41
0,71
1.Female
509
2,77
0,82
2.Male
443
2,60
0,74
1.Female
509
2,88
0,65
2.Male
443
3,08
0,67
1.Female
509
2,92
0,86
2.Male
443
3,15
0,89
1.Female
509
2,77
0,94
2.Male
443
3,06
0,99
1.Female
509
2,97
0,99
2.Male
443
3,32
0,95
t
p
3.139
.002*
2.328
.020*
3.413
.001*
-4.810
.000*
-4.005
.000*
-4.681
.000*
-5.592
.000*
*p<.05
Significant differences were found between students’ scores from the total fair
learning environment scale [t(950)= 3.139; p< .05], and from the respectful partnership
[t(950)= 2.328; p< .05] and systemic fairness [t(950)= 3.413; p< .05] subscales according to
gender. An analysis of the mean scores revealed that while female students perceive
the learning environment to be moderately fair (M= 2.68), male students perceive the
learning environment to be less fair (M= 2.48).
While no significant difference was established in an isolation subscale of the
student alienation scale, significant differences were found in total alienation scores
[t(950)= -4.810; p< .05], and powerlessness [t(950)= -4.005; p< .05], normlessness [t(950)= 4.681; p< .05] and meaninglessness [t(950)= -5.592; p< .05] subscales according to
gender. Though both groups have moderate levels of feelings of alienation, male
students’ means from the total alienation scale, and powerlessness, normlessness and
meaninglessness subscales were significantly higher than those of female students.
This means female students experience less alienation compared to male students.
194
Çağlar Çağlar
Fair Learning Environment Perceptions and Alienation Level according to Type of
Program
The results of the ANOVA test to find whether students’ fair learning
environment perceptions and alienation levels differ significantly according to type
of program are presented in Table 5.
Table 5.
The Results of the ANOVA Test to Find Students’ Fair Learning Environment Perceptions And Alienation
Level According to Program
Dimension
Fair learning
environment
perceptions
Respectful
partnership
Isolation
*p<.05
Program
N
M
SD
F
P
0,69
Difference
(LSD)
Science
115
2,45
1< 2, 1< 3
Math
137
2,71
Preschool
61
2,74
0,65
Guidance
135
2,48
0,65
Sınıf
261
2,61
0,65
Social studies
160
2,44
0,67
Turkish language
83
2,48
0,65
Science
115
2,35
0,75
Math
137
2,68
0,68
Preschool
61
2,65
0,79
Guidance
135
2,40
0,70
Sınıf
261
2,52
0,69
Social studies
160
2,31
0,73
Turkish language
83
2,37
0,66
7<2,
Science
115
3,00
0,88
Math
137
2,71
0,77
1>2, 1>3,
1>4,
2<6, 2<7
Preschool
61
2,64
0,80
3<6, 3<7
Guidance
135
2,75
0,89
Sınıf
261
2,74
0,85
Social studies
160
2,91
0,98
Turkish language
83
3,03
0,88
0,62
3.996
.001*
2>4,
2>7
3>4,
3>7
2>6,
3>6,
5>6
5.300
.000*
1<2, 1<3,
1<5
2>4, 2>5,
2>6
3>4, 3>6,
3>7
5>6
3.298
.003*
4<7
5<1, 5<6,
5<7
195
While significant differences were observed according to the type of program in
the total fair learning environment, in the perception scores [F(6, 945)= 3.996; p< .05],
respectful partnership [F(6, 945)= 5.300; p< .05] and isolation [F(6, 945)= 3.298; p< .05]
subscales, no significant differentiation was observed in other dimensions. The post
hoc analysis revealed that the means of students from math and preschool programs
from the fair learning environment scale in total and from the respectful partnership
subscale were significantly higher than those of students from social studies and
science programs.
Isolation scores of students from the Turkish teaching program and the science
teaching program were found to be significantly higher than those of students in the
preschool and math programs.
Fair Learning Environment Perceptions and Alienation Level according to Grade
The results of the ANOVA test to find whether students’ fair learning
environment perceptions and alienation levels differ significantly according to grade
are presented in Table 6
Table 6.
The Results of the ANOVA Test to Find Students’ Fair Learning Environment Perceptions
And Alienation Level According to Grade
Dimension
Fair learning
environment
perceptions
Respectful
partnership
Systemic
fairness
Alienation
Grade
N
M
SD
1st
259
2,72
0,68
2nd
233
2,61
0,64
3rd
242
2,48
0,67
4th
218
2,39
0,61
1st
259
2,61
0,74
2nd
233
2,52
0,69
3rd
242
2,37
0,71
4th
218
2,35
0,70
1st
259
2,88
0,83
2nd
233
2,76
0,79
3rd
242
2,64
0,78
4th
218
2,44
0,67
1st
259
2,83
0,68
2nd
233
2,93
0,62
3rd
242
3,04
0,64
4th
218
3,13
0,68
F
p
Difference
(LSD)
1>3, 1>4
11.716
.000*
2>3, 2>4
1>2, 1>4
7.094
.000*
3<1,
1>3, 1>4
13.476
.000*
1<3, 1<4
8.938
.000*
2<4
196
Çağlar Çağlar
Powerlessness
Normlessness
Meaninglessness
1st
259
2,83
0,89
2nd
233
2,96
0,86
3rd
242
3,13
0,87
4th
218
3,19
0,86
1st
259
2,69
0,97
2nd
233
2,87
0,90
3rd
242
2,99
0,98
4th
218
3,11
1,00
1st
259
2,87
0,92
2nd
233
2,86
0,86
3rd
242
2,79
0,89
4th
218
2,74
0,84
1<3, 1<4
8.914
.000*
2<4
1<3, 1<4
8.388
.000*
1<3, 1<4
13.304
.000*
2<4
*P<.05
According to grade, variable significant differences were observed in students’
scores from the entire fair learning environment scale [F(3, 948)= 11.716; p< .05] and
from the respectful partnership [F(3, 948)= 7.094; p< .05] and the systemic fairness
[F(3,948)= 13.476; p< .05] subscales. While 1st and 2nd graders perceive the learning
environment to be moderately fair, 3rd and 4th graders perceive it to be poorly fair.
In terms of alienation, while no significant difference was established in the
isolation subscale, significant differences were found between student’s means
obtained from the entire alienation scale [F (3, 948)= 8.938; p< .05], and the
powerlessness [F(3, 948)= 8.914; p< .05], normlessness [F(3, 948)= 8.388; p< .05] and
meaninglessness [F(3, 948)= 13.304; p< .05] subscales. The post hoc analysis revealed
that 3rd graders’ and 4th graders’ means from the entire scale and the powerlessness,
normlessness and meaninglessness subscales were significantly higher than 1 st and
2nd graders. Though students across four grades experience moderate levels of
alienation, it can be said that the level of alienation increases as the grade level
increases
Fair Learning Environment Perceptions and Alienation Level according to Time of
Program
The results of the t-test to find whether students’ fair learning environment
perceptions and alienation levels differ significantly according to the time of program
are presented in Table 7.
197
Table 7.
The Results of the t Test to Find Students’ Fair Learning Environment Perceptions And
Alienation Level According to the Time of Program
n
M
SD
Dimension
Time of Program
Fair learning
environment perceptions
1.Day program
611
2,50
0,65
2.Night program
341
2,66
0,67
Respectful partnership
Systemic fairness
Alienation
Powerlessness
Normlessness
1.Day program
611
2,41
0,72
2.Night program
341
2,57
0,71
1.Day program
611
2,63
0,77
2.Night program
341
2,79
0,80
1.Day program
611
3,01
0,67
2.Night program
341
2,91
0,65
1.Day program
611
3,07
0,87
2.Night program
341
2,94
0,89
1.Day program
611
2,95
0,99
2.Night program
341
2,82
0,92
t
P
3.588
.000*
-3.378
.001*
-2.915
.004*
2.081
.038*
2.165
.031*
1.975
.044*
*p<.05
According to the type of schooling variable, significant differences were found
between students’ scores from the entire fair learning environment scale [t(950)= 3.588; p< .05], and the respectful partnership [t(950)= -3.378; p< .05] and systemic
fairness [t(950)= -2.915; p<.05] subscales. Night schooling students perceive the
learning environment to be moderately fair while day schooling students perceive
the learning environment to be poorly fair.
In terms of type of schooling, while no significant difference was observed
between students’ mean scores from isolation and meaninglessness subscales,
significant differences were found between students’ scores from the entire
alienation scale [t(950)= 2.081; p< .05], and the powerlessness [t(950)= 2.165; p< .05] and
normlessness [t(950)= 1.975; p< .05] subscales. An analysis of the significant differences
via post hoc tests revealed that, although both groups of students experienced
moderate levels of alienation, day schooling students’ means from the entire
alienation scale, and the powerlessness and normlessness subscales were
significantly higher than those of night schooling students.
Correlation between Fair Learning Environment Perceptions and Alienation Level
The results of the analysis to find whether students’ fair learning environment
perceptions significantly predict their levels of alienation are presented in Table 8.
198
Çağlar Çağlar
Tablo 8.
Alienation
The Results of Analysis to Find Whether Students’ Fair Learning Environment Perceptions
Significantly Predict Their Levels of Alienation.
Variables
B
Constant
84.922
Respectful
partnership
Systemic fairness
R=
.498(a)
F(2, 949) = 156.796
Standart
error
1.498
-.736
.070
-.563
.096
R2 =
.248
Beta
-.357
-.200
R2adj =
t
p
r
56.701
.000
10.458
-5.842
.000
-.470
.000
-.402
.247
P = .000
Bivariate correlation analyses between predictive variables and alienation
revealed a negative moderate level of significant correlation (r=-.47) between
respectful partnership and alienation and a negative moderate level of significant
correlation (r=-.40) between systemic fairness and alienation. Combined together,
respectful partnership and systemic fairness were significantly and moderately
correlated with alienation (R= .498, R2= .25, p<.01), and explained about 25 % of the
variance in alienation. When the t test results regarding the significance of regression
coefficients were examined, respectful partnership and systemic fairness were found
to be significant predictors of alienation.
The results of the study revealed that students’ perceptions of fairness and levels
of alienation significantly differed according to their gender, type of program, grade
and type of schooling. It was found that the perception of fairness had a predictive
impact on feelings of alienation.
In terms of gender variables, female students perceived the learning environment
to be moderately fair, fairer than male students. Though there are findings regarding
fairness perceptions which indicate no differentiation between genders (Lizzio et al.,
2007; Mauldin, 2009), this finding is consistent with those of Özer & Demirtaş (2010)
and Tomul, Çelik & Taş (2012). Both research studies found that more female
students perceive the learning environment to be fairer than male students. This
finding can be associated with female students’ expectations and conformity. Though
there is a legally equal situation in terms of gender roles in society, females are
imposed some inequalities in having access to educational opportunities. This can
cause lower levels of expectations among female students, which in turn may cause
the learning environment to be perceived to be relatively fairer.
Female students experienced less alienation than male students. While this
finding contradicts some research findings about alienation (Çelik, 2005; Williamson
and Cullingford, 1998), it corresponds with the results of similar studies (Brockner
199
&Adsit, 1986; Donnerstain, 1988; Jackson & Grabski, 1998). Less prevalence of
alienation among female students may be related to their expectations from the
school. Social inequalities about gender roles cause females to benefit from
educational opportunities less often, which may cause female students to be content
with whatever possibilities they have obtained and thus develop lower levels of
expectations.
In terms of type of program, students enrolled in math and preschool programs
perceived their learning environment to be moderately fair, and fairer than students
enrolled in social studies and Turkish language teaching programs. The relatively
fairer perceptions of students from math and preschool programs compared to
students from social studies and Teaching Turkish programs may stem from the
attitudes and evaluation methods of the academic staff in these programs.
Considering that academic staffs from the educational sciences department teach in
every program in the faculty and the impact of faculty administration is similar
across different programs, this difference can be said to be caused by each program’s
own academic staff who teach most of the courses.
In terms of grade variables, it was found that as the grade level increases,
students’ perceptions of a fair learning environment decrease. This finding is
consistent with the finding by Özer & Demirtaş (2010). This differentiation can be
because during the first years, the freshmen are not informed and experienced
enough to adequately evaluate the learning environment and the academic staff;
however, in the following years, they become more informed and experienced. As
the grade level increases, students get more experienced, thus gaining enough data to
make reasonable judgments.
Though students across four grades experience moderate levels of alienation, it
can be said that the level of alienation increases as the grade level increases.
Considering that negative outcomes and experiences increase the feeling of
alienation, as the grade level increases, quantitatively negative feelings and
experiences also increase. Therefore, the increase in negative experiences may
increase feelings of alienation.
In terms of type of schooling, students studying at night programs were found to
perceive the learning environment to be moderately fair, while students at day
schooling perceived the learning environment to be poorly fair. This difference is
most likely to stem from requirements for admission to the day and night schooling.
That night schooling students are admitted to the university with lower scores from
university entrance exams, are regarded as equivalent to the day schooling students
when they graduate, and have fewer expectations with regard to these scores may be
some reasons for this difference. As the day students have higher expectations about
programs that they have won with higher admission scores, they may perceive the
learning environment to be less fair.
Also, it was found that day schooling students experienced more alienation
compared to night schooling students. This difference can be a result of day
schooling students’ higher expectations from the faculty as a result of being admitted
200
Çağlar Çağlar
to their programs with higher scores. Failure to satisfy students’ higher expectations
may increase their level of alienation.
Analyses of the individual items concerning the extent to which students perceive
the learning environment to be fair provide clear ideas. To illustrate, 70% of the
students either strongly disagree or partially agree with the item about the
consideration of students’ opinions in the decision-making process in faculty.
Similarly, 74% of the students think that while some improvements are made
concerning faculty, students’ opinions are never or partly considered.
Analyses of students’ levels of alienation revealed that about two-thirds of the
students do things they find wrong for the sake of completing school and believe that
though they find the procedures senseless and meaningless, they must endure them.
This finding suggests that though teacher training institutions try to provide student
teachers with democratic traits, they themselves have not yet internalized these traits
enough.
For student teachers to be able to create a fairer learning environment, acting as a
more democratic, integrative and caring teacher in their future classes is possible as
long as they gain the necessary skills. Considering that these skills are gained
through experience, the learning environment they are trained in as teachers
becomes more important. Though it is desired that students at schools of education
are trained to be teachers of future who perceive the learning environment within the
faculty to be exceedingly fair and experience less alienation, the results of the present
study show that that level has not yet been achieved.
Based on the findings of this research, it can be said that turning the learning
environment into a fairer place can decreased the experienced alienation. Thus, some
of the possible actions to be taken to make the learning environment fairer are
presented below:

Caring about the students’ views on the administration and faculty, thus
making the student representation and consultancy procedures more
functional to involve the students in faculty administration.

Arranging activities within each program in certain intervals to increase
student-faculty interaction. Providing settings based on mutual trust where
students can request for their expectations from academic staff.

Extensive use of objective measurement and evaluation procedures across the
faculty that will decrease possible biased judgments and endure credibility.
201
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behaviors affecting the student professor relationship. Journal on Excelence in
College Teaching, 5 (2), 23-50.
Williamson, I. & Cullingford, C.(1998). Adolescent alienation; Its correlates and
conseqences. Educational Studies Journal, 24(3), 211-333.
Wiseman, R.L.,Emry, R. & Morgan, D.(1988). Predicting academic succes for disabled
students in higher education. Research in Higher Education, 28(3), 255-269.
Öğrenme Ortamına İlişkin Adalet Algısı İle Yabancılaşma Düzeyi
Arasındaki İlişki
Atıf:
Caglar, C. (2013). The Relationship between the Perceptions of Fairness of the
Learning Environment and the Level of Alienation. Egitim Arastirmalari Eurasian Journal of Educational Research, 50, 185-206.
205
(Özet)
Problem Durumu: Hak ve hukuka uygunluk, herkese hakkı olanı verme olarak
tanımlanan adalet olgusu, bireysel olduğu kadar toplumsal yaşam açısından da
önemli sonuçlar doğuran bir kavramdır. Belirlenen amacı gerçekleştirmek üzere
kurulan örgütlerin etkiliği, örgütte var olan adalet ile yakın ilişkilidir. Adaletin,
örgütteki bireylerin davranışlarını etkiliyor oluşu, amacı gerçekleştirme derecesi olan
örgütsel etkililiği artırma çabalarının, adalet olgusu üzerinde yoğunlaşmasını
zorunlu kılmaktadır.
Örgüt içinde bulunan bireylere ne kadar adil davranıldığına ilişkin algılar ile bu
algıların yarattığı sonuçları ifade eden örgütsel adalet kavramı, eğitim örgütlerinde;
dağıtımsal, işlevsel ve etkileşimsel olmak üzere üç boyutlu olarak
kavramsallaştırılmaktadır.
Öğrenciler, öğrenme ortamını adil algıladıkları ölçüde, okul yaşantılarından doyum
sağlamakta,
tersi
durumda
doyumsuzluk
ve
yabancılaşma
duygusu
yaşamaktadırlar.
Güçsüzlük,
kuralsızlık,
soyutlanmışlık
ve
anlamsızlık
boyutlarından oluşan yabancılaşma kavramı, öğrencinin bulunduğu ortama,
okuluna karşı kayıtsızlık gösterdiği bir durumu tanımlamaktadır.
Eğitim etkinliklerinin temel amacının öğrenci davranışlarındaki değişim olduğu göz
önünde tutulduğunda, okula ilişkin gelişen yabancılaşma gibi olumsuz tutumların,
eğitim örgütlerinin amaçlarını gerçekleştirmede önemli sorunlar üreteceği açıktır. Bu
nedenle öğrencilerin okulda yaşadıkları yabancılaşma duygusunun altında yatan
etkenlerden okula ilişkin olanlarının belirlenebilmesi ve bu duygunun olumsuz
etkilerinin azaltılabilmesi okullar açısından önemlidir. Yabancılaşma duygusuna yol
açan etkenlerin bir bölümü doğrudan eğitim örgütlerinde bulunan süreçlerden
kaynaklanmaktadır. Okullardaki öğrenme ortamına ilişkin adalet kavramının bu
etkenlerden biri olduğu düşünülmektedir.
Araştırmanın Amacı: Bu çalışmada öğrencilerin yaşadıkları yabancılaşma
duygusunun düzeyi ile okuldaki öğrenme ortamına ilişkin algılanan adalet algısı
arasındaki ilişkinin belirlenmesi amaçlanmıştır.
Araştırmanın Yöntemi: Tarama modelindeki bu çalışma, 509’u kadın, 443’ü erkek
olmak üzere 952 eğitim fakültesi öğrencisinin katılımı ile gerçekleştirilmiştir.
Araştırmada, öğrencilerinin öğrenme ortamına ilişkin algıladıkları adalet algıları ile
yaşadıkları yabancılaşma düzeyi arasındaki ilişkinin belirlenmesi, her iki düzeyin;
cinsiyet, program, sınıf ve öğrenim türü değişkenlerine göre farklılık gösterip
göstermediği incelenmiştir. Araştırmada veri elde etmek için, “Kişisel Bilgi Formu”,
“Adil Öğrenme Ortamı Ölçeği” ve “Öğrenci Yabancılaşma Ölçeği” kullanılmıştır.
Araştırmanın Bulguları: Araştırma bulguları, öğrencilerin adalet algıları ve
yabancılaşma düzeylerinde, cinsiyet, program türü, sınıf ve öğrenim türü
değişkenleri açısından farklılaşmalar olduğunu, adalet algısının yabancılaşma
duygusu üzerinde yordayıcı bir etki yarattığını göstermektedir. Cinsiyet değişkeni
açısından; kadın öğrenciler öğrenme ortamını orta düzeyde ve erkek öğrencilere
oranla daha adil algılamakta ve erkek öğrencilere oranla daha az yabancılaşma
206
Çağlar Çağlar
duygusu yaşamaktadırlar. Bu durum kadınların toplumsal yaşamdaki rolleri ile
ilişkilendirilebilir.
Program değişkeni açısından; matematik ve okul öncesi programlarında okuyan
öğrencileri, öğrenme ortamını orta düzeyde, sosyal bilgiler ve Türkçe
programlarında okuyan öğrencilere oranla da daha adil algılamaktadırlar. Bu
durum, programlarda görev yapan alan öğretim elemanlarının davranışları ve
öğretmenliğe atanma koşulları ile ilişkilendirilebilir.
Sınıf değişkeni açısından; sınıf düzeyi yükseldikçe öğrencilerin, öğrenme ortamına
ilişkin adil algılama düzeyleri azalırken, yabancılaşma düzeyleri artmaktadır. Bu
durum okul ortamında geçirilen süre ve bu süre içinde yaşanan deneyimler ile
ilişkilendirilebilir.
Öğrenim türü değişkeni açısından; ikinci öğrenimde okuyan öğrenciler, öğrenme
ortamını orta düzeyde adil olarak algılarken, normal öğretimde okuyan öğrenciler
düşük düzeyde adil algılamaktadırlar. Yabancılaşma düzeyi açısından normal
öğrenim öğrencileri, ikinci öğrenim öğrencilerine oranla daha fazla yabancılaşma
yaşamaktadırlar. Bu durum, öğrencilerin programlara giriş koşulları ve buna bağlı
beklenti düzeyleri ile ilişkilendirilebilir.
Öğretmen adaylarının gelecekte, kendi sınıflarında daha adil bir öğrenme ortamı
oluşturmaları, daha demokratik, katılımcı ve öğrencilerini önemseyen bir yaklaşım
sergilemeleri ancak gerekli becerileri edinmeleri ile gerçekleşebilir. Bu becerilerin
yaşantılar yoluyla kazanılacağı göz önüne alındığında yetiştikleri ortamlar önem
kazanmaktadır. Eğitim fakültesinde okuyan ve geleceğin öğretmenleri olacak
öğretmen adaylarının fakülte ortamını daha yüksek düzeyde adil olarak algılamaları
ve daha düşük düzeylerde yabancılaşma duygusu yaşamaları istenen bir durum
olmasına rağmen araştırma bulguları henüz bu noktaya ulaşılamadığını
göstermektedir.
Araştırmanın Sonuçları ve Öneriler: Araştırma bulgularına dayanarak, öğrenme
ortamının daha adil hale getirilmesinin yaşanan yabancılaşma duygusunu
azaltabileceğini söyleyebiliriz. Buradan hareketle öğrenme ortamının daha adil
algılanmasına dönük olarak yapılabilecek bazı etkinlikler şunlar olabilir;

Fakültenin yönetim sürecinde, öğrenci görüşlerinin önemsenmesi, onların
okul yönetimine katılımlarını sağlamak amacıyla, öğrenci temsilcilikleri ve
danışmanlık sistemleri daha işlevsel hale getirilebilir.

Öğrenci- öğretim elamanı etkileşimini arttırmak amacıyla belirli aralıklarla
programlar düzeyinde etkinlikler düzenlenebilir. Bu etkinliklerde
öğrencilerin öğretim elamanlarından beklentilerini açıkça paylaşabilecekleri
güvene dayalı ortamlar sağlanabilir.

Öğretim elamanlarının öğrenci başarılarını değerlendirirken oluşabilecek
yanlı davranışları azaltabilen ve hesap verilebilirliği sağlayan değerlendirme
biçimleri fakülte düzeyinde yaygınlaştırılabilir.
Anahtar Sözcükler: yüksek öğretim, öğrenme ortamı, adalet, yabancılaşma.
A Study of the Epistemological Beliefs of Teacher
Candidates in Terms of Various Variables
Kemal Oğuz ER*
Suggested Citation:
Er, K.O. (2013). A Study of the Epistemological Beliefs of Teacher Candidates
in Terms of Various Variables. Eğitim Araştirmalari - Eurasian Journal of
Abstract
Problem Statement: Epistemological beliefs have a significant impact on
both learning and the learning process. The levels of epistemological
beliefs of teachers and students closely affect their ways of teaching and
learning, their perceptions, efforts and acquisition. Thanks to the recent
studies, the epistemological belief levels of students in different grades are
researched in terms of different variables. It is important that the
epistemological belief levels of the teacher candidates at teacher training
institutions are defined continuously and regularly and that their beliefs
are taken into account in teacher training programs.
Purpose of Study: The purpose of this study is to explore the
epistemological beliefs of teacher candidates in terms of various variables.
Method: The study made use of a survey technique in which teacher
candidates were asked to respond to an Epistemological Beliefs Inventory
(EBI). The study group consisted of students at Balıkesir University
Necatibey Faculty of Education (NFE) and Faculty of Science and
Literature (FSL). Of the 533 students participating in the study, 216 were
from the Necatibey Faculty of Education and 317 from the Faculty of
Science and Literature. Of the total students, 341 were female while 192
were male. For data analysis, t test and ANOVA were used. In situations
where the analysis of variance proved to be significant, Scheffe’s test was
applied to determine the direction of the variation.
Findings and Results: The findings of the study led to the conclusion that
epistemological beliefs of teacher candidates were moderately developed.
Teacher candidates believed that learning is more dependent on ability
rather than effort. The students in the Faculty of Science and Literature
Assist. Prof. Dr., Balıkesir University Necatibey Faculty of Education,
[email protected]
*
207
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Kemal Oğuz Er
had a stronger belief that learning is dependent upon effort rather than
ability, while the students in the Necatibey Faculty of Education, however,
had more of a belief that learning is dependent upon ability and that there
is only one unchangeable truth. The research revealed that epistemological
belief levels exhibited significant differences in terms of departments and
teaching types. Epistemological belief levels also differed significantly in
terms of genders. It was found that male students, more than females,
believed that learning is more dependent on effort rather than ability. It
was found that there wasn’t any difference between the epistemological
beliefs of teacher candidates in terms of the educational levels of their
parents.
Conclusions and Recommendations: It was concluded that the
epistemological beliefs of teacher candidates had matured moderately and
they believed that learning was more related with ability rather than
effort. Determining the levels of epistemological beliefs of teacher
candidates at the faculties of education is important in terms of improving
their beliefs positively and getting to know these students better.
Moreover, it is thought-provoking to discover the high level of maturation
of teacher candidates’ beliefs that learning is dependent upon ability and
that there is only a single truth. Qualitative research should be carried out
especially to understand why the level of belief in a single truth is so high.
Keywords: teacher education,
epistemological beliefs
teacher
candidates,
epistemology,
Epistemology, one of the fundamental areas of philosophy, essentially analyzes
the nature, sources, boundaries, conceptual components of knowledge, and even
whether the existence of that knowledge is possible (Baç, 2007). Related literature
reveals that the first studies related to epistemological beliefs were conducted by
Perry. In the studies mentioned, epistemological beliefs were interpreted as what
information means and how it is acquired (Güven, 2009; Brownlee, Purdie &
Boulton–Levis, 2001). Moreover, the term epistemology can be defined as “the
resource, the nature, the limitations and the accuracy of the human knowledge”
(Hofer & Pintrich, 2002). Kaya (2003) defines epistemology as “a theory of knowledge
that is related to the knowledge of entity and how this knowledge is acquired, in
other words, the science of knowledge related to the knowledge of the outside
world” (p.35). Epistemological beliefs are the ideas of individuals about what
knowledge is and the subjective beliefs of individuals are how knowledge and
learning come to exist (Erdem, Yılmaz & Akkoyunlu, 2008).
Kitchener and King (1981), Ryan (1984), and Songer and Linn (1991) pointed that
individuals’ beliefs about the nature of knowledge and learning, or epistemological
beliefs, have been directly linked to their comprehension, meta-comprehension,
persistence, and interpretation of information (Schommer, 1998). In addition,
Schommer (1998) stated that there is a growing body of evidence indicating that in
209
regards to beliefs individuals have about the nature of knowledge and learning,
epistemological beliefs affect their academic performance. Epistemological beliefs
have a determining effect on variables such as the ways individuals process and
interpret new information, their levels of understanding, their criteria of controlling
their levels of understanding, the strategies they use to study, higher-order thinking
and problem solving approaches and the time and effort they spend on learning
(Deryakulu & Büyüköztürk, 2002, p.6). Epistemological beliefs also have a significant
impact both on learning and teaching. Hofer (2001, cited in Walter, 2009) states that
in order to develop students’ skills in critical thinking and discovering the nature of
knowledge, teachers should create the right learning environments and students’
epistemological beliefs should be developed. Students’ epistemological beliefs
should be reviewed and considered while developing instructional curricula. It may
be thought that this is a long and difficult process. Roth and Roychoudhury (1994,
cited in Brownlee, Purdie & Lewis, 2001), for example, have asserted that changing
epistemological beliefs of the students is difficult, even in environments that support
a constructivist perspective. On the other hand, if teaching programs, and
particularly teacher training programs, could include different activities that show
students different ways of reaching knowledge and learning how to learn, it may be
possible to develop students’ epistemological beliefs with time.
The levels and development of the epistemological beliefs of university students,
teacher candidates, and students have been the frequent subject of studies conducted
by many educators in Turkey (Aypay, 2011; Meral & Çolak, 2009; Terzi, 2005). It is
thought that recent research abroad showing the fact that epistemological beliefs
constitute a determining factor in learning, may have contributed to this growing
interest (Deryakulu & Büyüköztürk, 2005). The Turkish literature starts with
Deryakulu and Büyüköztürk’s validity and reliability testing and adaptation (2002)
for Turkish university students of the Epistemological Beliefs Inventory developed
by Schommer. This is followed by another study by Deryakulu and Büyüköztürk
(2005) in which the researchers review the factor structure of the epistemological
beliefs inventory and make a comparison of epistemological beliefs according to
gender and type of the training program. Deryakulu and Büyüköztürk’s studies are
followed by other researches that have examined epistemological beliefs in terms of
other variables. The following can be cited in this context: Gürol, Altunbaş and
Karaaslan (2010) on the self-efficacy and epistemological beliefs of teacher
candidates; Öngen (2003), Aksan and Sözer (2007), on the relation between university
students’ epistemological beliefs and problem-solving skills; Yılmaz (2007) on the
relation between the epistemological beliefs of nursing students and locus of control;
Başçiftçi, Güleç, Akdoğan and Koç (2011) on the value choices and epistemological
beliefs of teacher candidates; Güven and Belet (2010) on the views of classroom
teacher candidates concerning their epistemological beliefs and cognitive knowledge;
Topçu and Tüzün (2009) on the metacognitive and epistemological beliefs of primary
students and their success in science, their gender and socio-economic status; Erdem,
Yılmaz and Akkoyunlu (2008) on the knowledge literacy, self-efficacy beliefs and
epistemological beliefs of teacher candidates; Demir (2007) on the epistemological
beliefs and authoritarian tendencies of teacher candidates; Uysal (2010) on the
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Kemal Oğuz Er
epistemological beliefs of primary students, their perception of their learning
environments, their approaches to learning and the relation of these to their
achievement in science. All of these studies have established significant differences
between epistemological beliefs in terms of the various variables researched.
Silverman (2007) has set forth that the attitudes and beliefs of teachers have a
direct impact on their relationships with their students and also in fact, on the
classroom climate and what students gain from the class. Chan (2003) has stated that
the values and epistemological beliefs of teachers affect their perceptions of learning
and teaching. Nespor (1987, cited in Brownlee, Purdie & Lewis, 2001) has pointed out
that teacher candidates’ epistemological beliefs are generally overlooked in teacher
training programs. Brownlee, Purdie and Lewis (2001) assert that students should be
encouraged to reflect their epistemological beliefs openly if their beliefs about
learning are to be changed or facilitated. Pajares (1993) has pointed out that students
do not always share their beliefs with teachers and it is for this reason that
identifying with and understanding students is such a difficult task.
In the knowledge that epistemological beliefs have a determining effect on
learning, these beliefs must be taken into consideration in teachers’ education and it
is important that epistemological beliefs are identified in addition to students’
demographic characteristics. In other words, research shows that various variables
(such as gender, department of study, and faculty) are interrelated to epistemological
beliefs. For example, Schommer (1993) studied the difference between the technology
sciences and social sciences university students’ epistemological beliefs, and tried to
determine the dimensions of differences. In the study, it was found that there was a
significant difference regarding the epistemological beliefs of the technology sciences
university students and social sciences students. Furthermore, Deryakulu and
Büyüköztürk (2005) noted that the epistemological beliefs of the students from the
field of social sciences and related areas were more developed/mature than of the
ones from the field of basic and applied sciences and related areas. In addition, Banks
(2005, cited in Ertekin at al. 2010) stated that studies in different disciplines,
especially in the domains of mathematics and science, show that epistemological
beliefs can change from one domain to another. As an example, in a study carried out
by Ertekin et al. (2009) on teacher candidates in the domains of mathematics and
social sciences, it was determined that the candidates’ beliefs in the subscale of
“belief that learning requires talent” in the epistemological belief scale were quite
different. Chai, Khine and Teo (2006, cited in Güven, 2009) also studied the
epistemological beliefs of Singaporean pre-service teachers and their learning levels.
As a result of the study, they concluded that their epistemological beliefs differed;
particularly there was a considerable difference in terms of gender, for the benefit of
females. However it was found that there was no difference in terms of the
participants’ learning levels.
Scheurman (1995, cited in Silverman, 2007) has in fact set forth that
epistemological belief levels of teacher candidates should be identified at the very
beginning of their training and the results must be taken into account of the teachers’
training programs. Pajares (1993) says that the beliefs of students at the faculties of
211
education should be explored logically and legally, also underlining that this might
be more difficult in environments where instructors may be keen on encouraging the
beliefs of students with whom they share a common perspective while challenging
those students whose beliefs are inconsistent with their own. It was because of these
different needs that the epistemological beliefs of students at Balıkesir University
Necatibey Faculty of Education and Faculty of Science and Literature were chosen as
subjects for this research.
The general purpose of this study was to explore the epistemological beliefs of
teacher candidates in terms of various variables. In order to reach this purpose,
answers to the following questions were sought:
1. What are the levels of the epistemological beliefs of teacher candidates?
2. Do teacher candidates’ epistemological beliefs differ according to the faculty
in which they are studying?
3. Do teacher candidates’ epistemological beliefs differ according to the
department in which they are studying?
4. Do teacher candidates’ epistemological beliefs differ according to gender?
5. Do teacher candidates’ epistemological beliefs differ according to the kind of
teaching types?
6. Do teacher candidates’ epistemological beliefs differ according to the
educational level of their parents?
Method
The Model and the Study Group
This research is a descriptive study that aims to determine the epistemological
beliefs of teacher candidates in terms of various variables. Using survey method, the
teacher candidates were queried with the help of an Epistemological Beliefs
Inventory (EBI). The students of Necatibey Faculty of Education at Balıkesir
University, as well as students from the university’s Faculty of Science and Literature
studying in the “Pedagogical Formation” teacher eligibility program initiated by
permission of the Board of Higher Education, constituted the study group of the
research. Of the 533 students responding in the study, 216 were from Necatibey
Faculty of Education (NFE) and 317 were students at the Faculty of Science and
Literature (FSL). Female students accounted for 341 of the students while 192 were
males.
The students who were recruited into the study group from Necatibey Faculty of
Education, Department of Science and Mathematics for High Schools and
Department of Social Fields of Education for High Schools were fourth- and fifthyear students studying in the Department of Physics Education (n=32), the
Department of Chemistry Education (n=47), the Department of Biology Education
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Kemal Oğuz Er
(n=39), the Department of Mathematics Education (n=60) and the Department of
Turkish Language and Literature Education (n=36). Students taken into the study
from Faculty of Science and Literature were fourth-year students from the
Department of Physics (n=48), the Department of Chemistry (n=81), the Department
of Biology (n=94), the Department of Mathematics (n=40) and the Department of
Turkish Language and Literature (n=56). The reason fourth- and fifth-year students
were recruited from Necatibey Faculty of Education and only fourth-year students
were taken in from the Faculty of Science and Literature was because the student
population in the Faculty of Science and Literature was larger than in the Necatibey
Faculty of Education. More students from their fourth and fifth years of Necatibey
Faculty of Education were recruited into the study group to make up for this
difference. The teaching programs of the departments in the Faculty of Science and
Literature are four-year programs, while the Necatibey Faculty of Education is a fiveyear program. The field courses in the fourth- and fifth-year sections of the Necatibey
Faculty of Education that were included in the study group are equivalent to the
courses taken by final-year students at the Faculty of Science and Literature.
Data Collection Tool
This study, which is based on a quantitative research approach, used an
Epistemological Beliefs Inventory (EBI) that was originally developed by Schommer
(1990) and then tested for validity and reliability for use with Turkish university
students by Deryakulu and Büyüköztürk (2005) and questions exploring the
participants’ demographic characteristics such as academic department, age, gender,
and parents’ educational levels.
Epistemological Belief Inventory (EBI)
The inventory was developed by Schommer (1990) on the basis of a four-factor
format of 63 items. Deryakulu and Büyüköztürk (2002) implemented the inventory,
testing for validity and reliability, with Turkish students. The analysis resulted in an
inventory that differed from the original in that it was finalized as three-factor and
composed of 35 items, constituting the final form adapted for use with Turkish
students. Deryakulu and Büyüköztürk reviewed the Epistemological Belief Inventory
structure later in 2005 and their factor analysis resulted in one question being
removed from the inventory altogether and one being transferred to another factor
(the tenth item in the first factor was transferred to the second factor). The inventory
has maintained its three-factor format.
The Epistemological Belief Inventory is a five-item Likert-type scale with
responses that range as follows: (1) I absolutely disagree; (2) I disagree; (3) I have no
idea; (4) I agree; and (5) I absolutely agree. The first factor in the scale, “The Belief
that Learning Depends on Effort” comprises 17 items; its Cronbach Alpha internal
consistency coefficient is .84. The second factor is “The Belief that Learning
Depends on Ability” and contains nine items; the Cronbach Alpha internal
consistency coefficient is .69. The third factor, composed of eight questions, is “The
213
Belief that there is Only One Truth” and the Cronbach Alpha internal consistency
coefficient for this factor is .64. The Cronbach Alpha internal consistency coefficient
for the scale as a whole is .81.
Scores on the Epistemological Beliefs Inventory are evaluated on a factor basis; all
of the scores taken from the scale are generally not considered. This is because each
factor on the scale is an independent dimension of belief and it has been found that
each dimension has a different impact on learning. Higher scores in any of the
factors indicate that the individual’s beliefs in that particular factor have not
developed/matured; lower scores show that the individual’s beliefs have
developed/matured (Schommer, 1990, cited in Deryakulu & Büyüköztürk, 2005).
Personal Data Form: To collect information on demographic variables, the
participants were asked short questions about their faculty, department, age, gender,
parents’ education and other similar personal information.
Data Analysis
Analysis of research data, descriptive statistics and for independent samples the
t-test and one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) were used. In cases where the
analysis of variance pointed to significant differences, the Scheffe test was used to
determine the direction of the difference.
Findings and Results
The findings obtained from the data collection tools that were implemented are
presented below.
Findings and interpretation of the epistemological beliefs of teacher candidates
An examination of Table 1 shows that the mean scores of the teacher candidates
were 65.74 in “The Belief that Learning Depends on Effort” (Factor 1), 18.74 in “The
Belief that Learning Depends on Ability” (Factor 2), and 26.74 in “The Belief that
there is Only One Truth” (Factor 3). When it is considered that low scores on the
inventory indicate that the individual’s beliefs have matured and developed, it can
be said that teacher candidates showed the greatest maturation in “The Belief that
Learning Depends on Ability” and the least maturation in “The Belief that Learning
Depends on Effort.” In other words, teacher candidates had a stronger belief that
learning depends on ability rather than on effort.
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Kemal Oğuz Er
Table 1
Some Values Regarding the Epistemological Beliefs of Teacher Candidates
M
SD
65.74
9.39
18.74
5.42
26.75
5.31
Sub-Factors
The Belief that Learning Depends on
Effort
The Belief that Learning Depends on
Ability
The Belief that there is Only One Truth
N
533
Findings and interpretation of the relationship between teacher candidates’ faculty and
their epistemological beliefs
An unrelated t-test was used to determine whether there was a difference in the
attitudes toward epistemological beliefs of teacher candidates according to the
faculty they are attending. All of the scores taken from scale were not used in the
analysis; scores were evaluated on the basis of factor.
Table 2
T-Test Results on the Epistemological Beliefs of Teacher Candidates by Faculty
Factor 1: The Belief that Learning Depends on Effort
Faculty
N
SD
NFE
216
67.03
9.26
FSL
317
64.86
9.39
F
t
p
531
2.64
.009*
F
t
p
531
3.18
.002*
Factor 2: The Belief that Learning Depends on Ability
Faculty
N
SD
NFE
216
17.84
4.98
FSL
317
19.35
5.61
Factor 3: The Belief that there is Only One Truth
N
SD
Faculty
NFE
216
25.06
5.04
FSL
317
27.89
5.19
p<0.05
F
t
p
531
6.26
.000*
215
A review of Table 2 shows that the epistemological beliefs of teacher candidates
displayed significant differences in all three sub-dimensions according to the faculty
they were attending. Table 2 indicates that the beliefs of the students in the Faculty of
Science and Literature in regards to the sub-dimension of “The Belief that Learning
Depends on Effort” (Factor 1) (t(531)= 2.64, p<.009) are at a higher level of
maturity/development than the beliefs of the students in Necatibey Faculty of
Education. In other words, the students in Faculty of Science and Literature have a
stronger belief that learning depends on effort rather than ability, compared to the
students in the Necatibey Faculty of Education.
According to Table 2, in the sub-dimensions of “The Belief that Learning Depends
on Ability” (Factor 2) (t(531)= 3.18, p<.002) and “The Belief that there is Only One
Truth” (Factor 3) (t(531)= 6.26, p<.000), the beliefs of the students in Necatibey Faculty
of Education were more developed than those of the students in the Faculty of
Science and Literature. In other words, the students in Necatibey Faculty of
Education had a stronger belief that learning depends on ability and that there is a
single unchangeable truth.
Findings and interpretation of the relationship between teacher candidates’ departments
and their epistemological beliefs
Another comparison of the epistemological beliefs of teacher candidates was
carried out in terms of the departments the students were enrolled in. For this,
instead of analyzing total scores, the three different factors were examined separately
in order to understand whether there were significant differences in attitude using
the scores of the students from the 10 different departments.
When the mean scores for Factor 1 are examined in terms of the departments, it is
observed that the students of Departments of Mathematics (x=64.43), Turkish
Language and Literature (x=66.94), Chemistry (x=64.01), Physics (x=64.43) and
Biology (x=65.74) in Faculty of Science and Literature had more developed beliefs in
the sub-dimension of “The Belief that Learning Depends on Effort” (Factor 1),
compared to the students of the Departments of Mathematics Education (x=65.16),
Turkish Language and Literature Education (x=68.07), Chemistry Education
(x=67.40), Physics Education (x=68.40) and Biology Education (x=67.20) in Necatibey
Faculty of Education.
An analysis of the mean scores by departments, it is observed that the
epistemological beliefs of students in Departments of Mathematics Education
(x=17.90), Turkish Language and Literature Education (x=17.93), Chemistry
Education (x=16.08), Physics Education (x=18.93) and Biology Education (x=19.07) in
the Necatibey Faculty of Education in the sub-dimension of “The Belief that Learning
Depends on Ability” were more developed compared to the beliefs of the students in
the Departments of Mathematics (x=19.86), Turkish Language and Literature
(x=18.48), Chemistry (x=19.90), Physics (x=18.60) and Biology (x=19.45) in the Faculty
of Science and Literature.
An analysis of the mean scores for the third factor, it is observed that the
epistemological beliefs of the students in the Departments of Mathematics Education
216
Kemal Oğuz Er
(x=24.58), Turkish Language and Literature Education (x=24.87), Chemistry
Education (x=23.85), Physics Education (x= 26.12) and Biology Education (x=26.48) in
the Necatibey Faculty of Education were more mature in the sub-dimension of “The
Belief that there is Only One Truth” compared to the students in the Departments of
Mathematics (x=27.22%), Turkish Language and Literature (x=27.41), Chemistry
(x=28.09), Physics (x= 27.39) and Biology (x=28.52) in Faculty of Science and
Literature.
Table 3
Anova Results for the Epistemological Belief Scores of Teacher Candidates by
Department
Source of Variance
SD
Total Sum of
Squares
Mean
Square
F
p
Between groups
9
1512.42
168.04
Within Groups
523
45417.32
86.84
1.93
.045
Total
532
46929.75
F
p
Source of Variance
SD
Total Sum of
Squares
Mean
Square
Between groups
9
615.79
68.42
Within Groups
523
14989.81
28.66
2.38
.012
Total
532
15605.61
Total Sum of
Squares
Mean
Square
F
p
5.58
.000
Source of Variance
SD
Between groups
9
1316.19
146.24
Within Groups
523
13684.81
26.16
Total
532
15001.01
p<0,05
An analysis of Table 3 shows that the epistemological beliefs of teacher
candidates displayed significant differences in all three factors by department.
However, it was determined from the Levene F-test that the variance in the first
factor was not equal or homogeneous. Büyüköztürk (2007) stated that one of the
main assumptions of the Anova is that the variances of the dependent variable
should be equal for each sample. The variances related to the independent variable
were found equal in the second and third factors.
217
The Scheffe test was used to find out in which departments the difference is in the
second and third factors between the departments. Concerning “The Belief that
Learning Depends on Ability” (Factor 2), a comparison of the Department of
Chemistry Education with the Department of Biology, the Department of Chemistry
and the Department of Mathematics revealed a significant difference in favor of the
Department of Chemistry Education. In the analysis for Factor 3, the Department of
Mathematics Education was compared with the Department of Biology and in the
Department of Chemistry the difference was significant in favor of the Department of
Mathematics Education; the analysis between the Department of Turkish Language
and Literature Education and the Department of Biology showed a significant
difference in favor of the Department of Turkish Language and Literature Education.
The Department of Chemistry Education was compared with the Department of
Biology, the Department of Turkish Language and Literature was compared with the
Department of Chemistry and the Department of Physics the difference was
significant in favor of the Department of Chemistry Education.
Findings and interpretation of the relationship between teacher candidates’ gender and
their epistemological beliefs
An unrelated t-test was used to determine whether there was a difference in the
attitudes toward epistemological beliefs of teacher candidates in terms of gender
factor (Table 4). Total scores were not used in the analysis; the scores were evaluated
on the basis of factor.
Table 4
T-Test Results for the Epistemological Beliefs of Teacher Candidates’ in terms of
Gender
Gender
N
Mean
SD
Women
341
66.96
7.89
Men
192
63.56
11.28
F
t
p
531
4.07
.000*
Factor 2: Belief that Learning Depends on Ability
Gender
Women
Men
N
Mean
SD
F
t
341
192
18.26
19.58
5.16
5.75
p
531
2.72
F
t
p
531
.206
.572
.008*
Gender
Women
Men
p<0,05
N
Mean
SD
341
26.71
5.16
26.81
5.58
192
218
Kemal Oğuz Er
When Table 4 is examined, it could be seen that there are significant differences in
terms of gender in the epistemological beliefs of teacher candidates for Factors 1 and
2. In the sub-dimension in Table 4 on “The Belief that Learning Depends on Effort”
(Factor 1) (t(531)= 4.07 p<.000), it is observed that the beliefs of male students are more
developed compared to those of female students. This finding could be interpreted to
mean that male students have a stronger belief that learning depends on effort rather
than ability compared to female students. Table 4 shows that in the sub-dimension of
“The Belief that Learning Depends on Ability” (Factor 2) (t(531)= 2.72 p<.086), female
students were more developed in their beliefs than male students. Expressed
differently, it could be said that female students are more of a belief that learning
depends on ability compared to male students.
Findings and interpretation of the relationship between the teaching types and their
epistemological beliefs
An unrelated t-test was used to determine whether there was a difference in
attitudes toward the epistemological beliefs of teacher candidates according to the
kind of teaching program they were attending (Table 5). Total scores were not used
in the analysis; the scores were evaluated on the basis of factor.
Table 5
Epistemological Belief T-Test Scores of Teacher Candidates in terms of the Kind of
Teaching Program
Teaching
Program
N
Mean
SD
Teaching
Prog.I
426
66.12
9.09
Teaching
Prog.II
107
64.23
10.41
F
t
p
531
1.86
.036*
F
t
p
531
1.94
.003*
F
t
p
531
3.60
.557
Teaching
Program
N
Mean
SD
Teaching
Prog.I
426
18.51
5.17
Teaching
Prog.II
107
19.64
6.23
Teaching
Program
N
Mean
SD
Teaching
Prog.I
426
26.33
5.19
28.38
5.47
Teaching
Prog.II
p<0.05
107
219
A review of Table 5 shows that there are significant differences in the
epistemological beliefs of teacher candidates for Factors 1 and 2 in terms of the kind
of teaching program. In the sub-dimension of “The Belief that Learning Depends on
Effort” for Factor 1 in Table 5 (t(531)= 1.86 p<.036), it is seen that the students in the
second teaching program have more mature beliefs than the students in the first
teaching program. This finding could be interpreted as evidence that the students of
the second teaching program have more of a belief that learning depends not on
ability but on effort, compared to the students in the first teaching program.
It could be seen in Table 5 that in the sub-dimension of “The Belief that Learning
Depends on Ability” (Factor 2) (t(531)= 1.94 p<.003), the students in the first teaching
program have more developed beliefs than those in the second teaching program. In
other words, the students of the first teaching program have more of a belief that
learning depends on ability, compared to the students of the second teaching
program.
Findings and interpretation of the relationship between teacher candidates’ parents’
education level and their epistemological beliefs
Table 6
Anova Results for the Scores of Teachers Candidates’ Epistemological Beliefs in
terms of Parents’ Level of Education
Source of Variance
SD
Sum of
Squares
Between Groups
6
340.17
Within Groups
526
46589.58
Total
532
46929.75
Source of Variance
SD
Sum of
Squares
Between Groups
6
112.352
Within Groups
526
15493.259
Total
532
15605.61
Mean
Square
56.69
88.57
Mean
Square
18.72
29.120
Source of Variance
SD
Sum of
Squares
Mean
Square
Between Groups
Within Groups
Total
p<0,05
6
526
532
210.055
14790.956
15001.01
35.00
28.12
F
p
0.640
.698
F
p
.636
.702
F
p
1.245
.282
The analysis of Table 6 shows that there is no significant difference between
teacher candidates’ epistemological beliefs in terms of their parents’ level of
education in any of the three factors.
220
Kemal Oğuz Er
In this study, which explored the levels of epistemological beliefs of teacher
candidates in terms of some selected variables, it was found that teacher candidates
had developed the greatest in the dimension of “The Belief that Learning Depends on
Ability” and the least in the dimension of “The Belief that Learning Depends on
Effort.” Gürol, Altunbaş and Karaaslan (2010), Erdem, Yılmaz and Akkoyunlu’s
(2008) studies, too, arrived at the conclusion that teacher candidates exhibited the
least maturation in “The Belief that Learning Depends on Effort”. In the mentioned
researches, it was reported that teacher candidates had developed the greatest in
“The Belief that there is Only One Truth” in contrast to this study.
Significant differences were found between faculties in the sub-dimensions of
epistemological beliefs that hold that learning depends on effort, learning depends
on ability, and that there is only one truth. Compared to the students in Necatibey
Faculty of Education, the students of Faculty of Science and Literature had a stronger
belief that learning depends on effort. When it is considered that students in
Necatibey Faculty of Education received higher scores on the university placement
test compared to students who placed in the Faculty of Science and Literature, it was
understandable that Necatibey Faculty of Education students had more matured
beliefs that support the concept that learning depends on ability. On the other hand,
it was considered that the students of Necatibey Faculty of Education are the teachers
of the future without completing any further educational programs; it was thought
provoking that their beliefs were more mature about the concept that there is one
single truth.
Significant differences were also found among departments in the subdimensions of epistemological beliefs that assert that learning depends on ability and
that there is only one truth. A significant difference was found in favor of the
Department of Chemistry Education in the sub-dimension of the belief that learning
depends on ability when the Department of Chemistry Education was compared
with the Department of Chemistry, the Department of Biology and the Department
of Mathematics. In the sub-dimension of the belief that there is only one truth,
significant differences were found between the Department of Turkish Language and
Literature Education and the Department of Biology in favor of the Department of
Turkish Language and Literature Education, between the Department of Chemistry
Education and the Department of Biology, the Department of Turkish Language and
Literature, the Department of Chemistry and the Department of Physics in favor of
the Department of Chemistry Education. These findings support the results of the
analysis based on the faculties. It had already been stated above that the beliefs of the
students in Necatibey Faculty of Education had matured to a greater extent in the
sub-dimensions of the belief that learning depends on ability and the belief that there
is only one truth.
Significant differences were found between genders in the sub-dimensions of the
epistemological beliefs that learning depends on effort and that learning depends on
ability. The results were achieved that in the sub-dimension of the belief that learning
depends on effort, male students had more matured beliefs than female students and
that females had more matured beliefs about learning being dependent on ability.
While this result is consistent with some other studies (Başçiftçi, Güleç, Akdoğan &
Koç, 2011; Öngen, 2003), the findings do not agree with studies (Deryakulu &
Büyüköztürk, 2005; Eroğlu & Güven, 2006; Güven, 2009) that have reached the
221
conclusion that compared to males, female students have more of a belief that
learning is dependent on effort. In some other research (Erdem, Yılmaz &
Akkoyunlu, 2008; Gürol, Altunbaş & Karaaslan, 2010), it has been found that the
epistemological beliefs of male students in both sub-dimensions of the belief that
learning depends on effort and that learning depends on ability are more developed
than in female students. Kurt (2009) in a study on elementary and middle school
students reached to the conclusion that girls have more matured beliefs compared to
males on the truth of knowledge. In a study by Aksan and Sözer (2007), Terzi (2005),
and Tümkaya (2012) no significant difference was found in any of the three
dimensions of epistemological belief in terms of gender. Chan’s research (2004)
carried out in an educational institute in Hong Kong also indicated no significant
difference between the epistemological beliefs of teacher candidates according to age,
gender, and department.
The present study found that the students in the first teaching program had more
matured beliefs in the sub-dimension of the epistemological belief that learning
depends on effort but that the second teaching program students had beliefs that
were more developed in the sub-dimension of the belief that learning depends on
ability. In addition, there was no evidence of a difference between the
epistemological beliefs of teacher candidates according to the educational level of
their parents. This result is consistent with the findings of both Oğuz (2007) and
Yılmaz (2007). Eroğlu and Güven (2006), however, found that students whose
fathers were middle school, high school, and university graduates had more
developed epistemological beliefs compared to students whose fathers were
elementary school graduates. In the same study no significant difference was found
between the epistemological beliefs of university students with the educational status
of their mothers. Güven (2009) reported that there was significant difference between
epistemological beliefs of the distance education students in the sub-dimension of the
belief that learning depends on ability with the educational level of parents or family.
In the study it was found that students with a low educational level of family had
more developed beliefs in the dimension that learning depends on ability, compared
to students within a family of medium and high levels of education. Schommer
(1990, cited in Deryakulu & Büyüköztürk, 2002) arrived at the conclusion that
students with parents with a higher level of education had been given more
responsibility to them in the family and had been supported more to build their own
beliefs and opinions, and at that level they have sophisticated epistemological beliefs.
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students]. Afyon Kocatepe Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, 7 (2),298-311.
Tümkaya, S. (2012).The investigation of the epistemological beliefs of university
students according to gender, grade, fields of study, academic success and
their learning styles. Educational Science: Theory & Practice, 12 (1), 88-95.
Yılmaz, A. (2007). Hemşirelik öğrencilerinin epistemolojik inançları ile denetim odağı
arasındaki ilişki [Relationship between nursing students’ epistemological beliefs and
locus of control]. Unpublished Master’s Thesis, İstanbul University, İstanbul,
Turkey.
Topçu, S.M., & Yılmaz-Tüzün, Ö. (2009). Elemantary students’ metacognition and
epistemological beliefs considering science achievement, gender and
socioeconomic status. İlköğretim Online, 8 (3), 676-693.
Uysal, E. (2010). A Modeling Study: The interrelationships among elementory students’
epistemological beliefs, learning enviroment perceptions, learning approaches and
science achievement. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Middle East Technical
University, Ankara, Turkey.
Walter, B.A. (2009). Epistemological beliefs: differences among educators. Unpublished
Master’s Thesis, Wichita State University, Kansas.
Pajares, F. (1993). Preservice teachers' beliefs: A focus for teacher education. Action in
Teacher Education, 15(2), 45-54.
225
Öğretmen Adaylarının Epistemolojik İnançlarının Çeşitli Değişkenler
Açısından İncelenmesi
Atıf:
Er, K.O. (2013). A Study of the Epistemological Beliefs of Teacher Candidates
in Terms of Various Variables. Eğitim Araştirmalari-Eurasian Journal of
(Özet)
Problem Durumu: Epistemolojik inançların hem öğrenme hem de öğretme sürecinde
önemli etkileri vardır. Öğretmenlerin ve öğrencilerin sahip olduğu epistemolojik
inanç düzeyleri, onların öğretme, öğrenme biçimlerini, algılarını, çabalarını,
kazanımlarını yakından etkilemektedir. Son yıllarda yapılan çalışmalarla farklı
öğretim düzeyinden öğrencilerin sahip oldukları epistemolojik inanç düzeyleri çeşitli
değişkenler açısından araştırılmaktadır. Özellikle, öğretmen yetiştiren kurumlarda
öğretmen adaylarının epistemolojik inanç düzeylerinin sürekli ve düzenli olarak
belirlenmesi ve öğretmen yetiştirme programlarında öğretmen adaylarının
epistemolojik inançlarının da dikkate alınması önemlidir.
Araştırmanın Amacı: Bu araştırmanın genel amacı, öğretmen
epistemolojik inançlarını çeşitli değişkenler açısından araştırmaktır.
adaylarının
Yöntem: Tarama yönteminin kullanıldığı bu çalışmada öğretmen adaylarına
Schommer (1990) tarafından geliştirilen ve Deryakulu ve Büyüköztürk (2002)
tarafından Türk öğrencilerine uygulanarak geçerlik güvenirlik çalışması yapılmış
olan Epistemolojik İnanç Ölçeği (EİÖ) uygulanmıştır. Epistemolojik İnanç Ölçeği; on
yedi maddeden oluşan “Öğrenmenin Çabaya Bağlı Olduğu İnanç”, dokuz maddeden
oluşan Öğrenmenin Yeteneğe Bağlı Olduğuna İnanç” ve sekiz maddeden oluşan
“Tek Bir Doğrunun Var Olduğuna İnanç” olarak isimlendirilen üç alt faktörden
oluşmaktadır. Epistemolojik İnanç Ölçeğinde puanların değerlendirilmesi faktör
bazında yapılmakta, ölçeğin bütününden alınan puanlar genellikle pek
kullanılmamaktadır. Bunun nedeni, ölçeğin her bir faktörünün diğer faktörlerden
bağımsız bir inanç boyutunu olması ve her boyutunun öğrenme üzerinde farklı
etkileri olduğunun saptanmasıdır. Ölçeğin her bir faktöründen alınan yüksek puan,
bireyin o faktöre ilişkin olgunlaşmamış /gelişmemiş inançlara sahip olduğu, düşük
puan ise bireyin o faktöre ilişkin olgunlaşmış /gelişmiş inançlara sahip olduğunu
göstermektedir. Bu araştırmanın çalışma grubunu
Balıkesir Üniversitesinde
Necatibey Eğitim Fakültesi ve Fen Edebiyat Fakültesi’nde öğrenim gören öğrenciler
oluşturmaktadır. Çalışmayı yanıtlayan 533 öğrenciden 216’sı Necatibey Eğitim
Fakültesi, 317’si Fen Edebiyat Fakültesi öğrencisidir. Araştırmada Necatibey Eğitim
Fakültesi Ortaöğretim Fen ve Matematik Alanları Eğitimi Bölümünden Fizik
Öğretmenliği (n=32), Kimya Öğretmenliği (n=47), Biyoloji Öğretmenliği (n=39),
Matematik Öğretmenliği (n=60) ve Ortaöğretim Sosyal Alanlar Eğitimi Bölümünden
de Türk Dili ve Edebiyatı Öğretmenliği (n=36) 4 -5 sınıf öğrencileri çalışma grubuna
alınmıştır. Fen Edebiyat Fakültesinden ise Fizik Bölümü (n=48), Kimya Bölümü
226
Kemal Oğuz Er
(n=81), Biyoloji Bölümü (n=94), Matematik Bölümü (n=40) ile Türk Dili ve Edebiyatı
bölümü ( n=56) 4 sınıf öğrencileri çalışma grubuna alınmıştır. Bu öğrencilerin 341’i
kız, 192’si erkektir. Araştırma verilerinin analizinde, betimsel istatistikler, bağımsız
örneklemler için t testi ve tek faktörlü varyans analizi (ANOVA) kullanılmıştır.
Varyans analizi testinin anlamlı çıktığı durumlarda, farklılığın ne yönde olduğunu
belirlemek için de Scheffe testi uygulanmıştır.
Bulgular ve Sonuçlar: Araştırmada öğretmen adaylarının epistemolojik inanç
düzeyinin orta düzeyde olgunlaştığı sonucuna ulaşılmıştır. Öğretmen adayları
öğrenmenin çabadan çok yeteneğe bağlı olduğuna inanmaktadırlar. Fen Edebiyat
Fakültesi öğrencileri, öğrenmenin yetenekten çok çabaya bağlı olduğuna Eğitim
Fakültesi öğrencilerine göre daha çok inanmaktadırlar. Eğitim Fakültesi öğrencileri
ise öğrenmenin yeteneğe bağlı olduğuna ve tek bir değişmez doğrunun olduğuna
Fen Edebiyat Fakültesi öğrencilerine oranla daha güçlü bir biçimde inanmaktadırlar.
Araştırmada epistemolojik inanç düzeyi ile bölümler ve öğretim türleri arasında
anlamlı farklılıklar bulunmuştur. Öğrenmenin Yeteneğe Bağlı Olduğuna İnanç” (2.
Faktör) için Kimya öğretmenliği ile Biyoloji Bölümü, Kimya Bölümü, ve Matematik
bölümü arasında Kimya öğretmenliği lehine anlamlı bir farklılık tespit edilmiştir.
Üçüncü faktör “Tek Bir Doğrunun Var Olduğuna İnanç” için yapılan analiz
sonucunda ise Matematik öğretmenliği ile Biyoloji ve Kimya bölümleri arasında
Matematik öğretmenliği lehine, Türk Dili Edebiyatı Öğretmenliği ile Biyoloji Bölümü
arasında Türk Dili ve Edebiyatı Öğretmenliği lehine, Kimya Öğretmenliği ile Biyoloji,
Türk Dili ve Edebiyatı, Kimya ve Fizik Bölümleri arasında Kimya Öğretmenliği
lehine anlamlı bir farklılık görülmüştür. Epistemolojik inanç düzeyi ile cinsiyet
arasında da anlamlı farklılıklar bulunmuştur. Erkek öğrencilerin öğrenmenin
yetenekten çok çabaya bağlı olduğuna kız öğrencilere oranla daha çok inandıkları
belirlenmiştir. Son olarak, öğretmen adaylarının anne-babalarının eğitim seviyeleri
ile epistemolojik inançları arasında ise anlamlı bir farklılık bulunmamıştır.
Tartışma ve Öneriler: Öğretmen adaylarının epistemolojik inanç düzeyinin orta
düzeyde olgunlaştığı ve öğrenmenin çabadan çok yeteneğe bağlı olduğuna
inandıkları sonucuna ulaşılmıştır. Üniversiteye giriş puanları göz önüne alındığında
Fen Edebiyat Fakültesi öğrencilerine göre daha yüksek puanlarla bölümlerine
yerleşen Eğitim Fakültesi öğrencilerinin öğrenmenin yeteneğe bağlı olduğuna olan
inançlarının daha olgunlaşmış olması normal karşılanabilir. Ancak, Eğitim Fakültesi
öğrencilerinin, doğrudan ek bir formasyon gerektirmeden geleceğin öğretmenleri
olarak düşünüldüğünde tek bir doğrunun var olduğuna olan inançlarının daha
olgunlaşmış olması düşündürücüdür. Öğretmen adaylarının epistemolojik inanç
düzeylerini belirlemek ve olumlu anlamda yükseltmek için Eğitim Fakültelerinde
öğrencilerin epistemolojik inanç düzeylerinin belirlenmesi onları daha yakından
tanımamız açısından da önemlidir. Özellikle farklı üniversitelerde karşılaştırmalı
nitel araştırmalar yapılarak özellikle tek bir doğruya olan inanç düzeyinin Eğitim
Fakültesi öğrencilerinde neden gelişmiş olduğu araştırılmalıdır.
Anahtar Sözcükler:
epistemolojik inanç
öğretmen
yetiştirme,
öğretmen
adayları,
epistemoloji,
Parents’ Voluntary Contributions to Primary
Schools Which Are Not Directly Monetary
Hüseyin YOLCU*
Suggested Citation:
Yolcu, H. (2013). Parents’ Voluntary Contributions to Primary Schools Which Are
Not Directly Monetary. Egitim Arastirmalari-Eurasian Journal of Educational
Research, 50, 227-246.
Abstract
Problem statement: A significant decrease has been recently observed in the
resources for education allocated from Turkey’s public budget, despite the
increasing number of teachers and students. It is possible to better observe
this trend at the primary education stage, which is compulsory and free at
public schools through law no 42 under the Constitution. Allocating fewer
resources from the public budget for primary education has led to parents’
contributing more to primary education financing. Moreover, parents’
contributions to these schools are not limited to monetary contributions.
Through various projects and regulations, parents are expected to
contribute voluntarily and in an indirectly monetary way, such as helping
with office work, working in measurement-assessment services,
participating in school trips, etc.
Purpose of the study: This study aims to present the type of parents’
voluntary, but not directly monetary, contributions to schools according to
school administrators’ views, and assess whether these contributions
differ in sub dimensions of the scale and in other variables.
Method: The research is a survey model, and 443 public schools located in
five central districts (Altındağ, Mamak, Keçiören, Yenimahalle, and
Çankaya) within the borders of Ankara Metropolitan Municipality
constitute the population of the research. The data in the study were
obtained by using a scale of 26 items. This scale measures parents’ nonmonetary but voluntary contributions to schools in three dimensions.
Descriptive analyses, t test, and one-way variance analysis were used in
data analysis.
Assist. Prof. Dr. University of Kastamonu, Faculty of Education, Department of Education
Sceinces, Kastamonu/TURKEY e-mail:[email protected]
*
227
228
Hüseyin Yolcu
Results: The school administrators’ opinions on parents’ voluntary and
indirectly monetary contribution to schools did not differ meaningfully in
regards to age, gender, seniority level, position, or educational
background in any of the dimensions in the scale. Furthermore, observed
results differed in the SEL of the schools, such as where they are located
and the number of students.
Discussion and conclusion: According to the findings of the research,
parents’ non-monetary but voluntary contributions to school
management, educational and social-cultural activities increase as the SEL
of the area where the school is located changes from the lowest to the
highest. Furthermore, while parents’ non-monetary but voluntary
contributions to school management and instructional activities do not
change meaningfully in relation to the student population, they differ
meaningfully regarding their contributions to social-cultural activities in
parallel to the student population.
Keywords: neo-liberal
voluntary contribution
policies,
primary
education,
volunteering,
The Turkish economy experienced an economic crisis in the late 1970s because of
high inflation, deficits in the balance of payments, lack of foreign currency, and
overdue debts. Due to this, neo-liberal policies were put into practice which
stipulated the diminishing of the state, liberalized the economy, and therefore led to
an open economy by the IMF and the WB (Sezen, 1999). As a result of these policies,
whereas a significant decrease has been observed in social expenditures since the
1980s, an increase has occurred in interest payments which seem to support the
capital indirectly. Through this process, which is occurring as a solution to the
process of depreciation of the capital, finding solutions to the capital crisis by
eliminating the decrease in profitability with means of high yielding domestic debt
was tried. When viewed within the context of public expenditure, an attempt at
compensating for the cost of crisis was made by reducing the expenditure on service
areas, the social sides of which were dominant so as to be defined as social expenses
(Temelli, 2003). Education comprises one of the major areas of expenditure among
social expenses. Neo-liberals predicate their stand on this issue upon the fact that
public resources have become insufficient for the rapidly increasing demand on
education: the system does not work efficiently, foreign debt has increased, and the
previous age when everything was expected from the state has already ended
(Eğitim Sen, 1998). The influence of these claims on the practices has appeared as a
decrease in the amount of public resources allocated to education, as it may be
estimated.
In parallel to the decrease in resources allocated for education from the public
budget, a process has commenced that transfers the service of education from the
public to local authorities, non-governmental organizations, families, and even to the
personal responsibility of citizens. Therefore, large numbers of people have become
229
involved in the repair, maintenance, and equipment of all schools, to a certain extent.
Its meaning in view of education is to eliminate the dependence on public resources
for the service of education and to put social finance into effect instead, which is one
of the private financial resources. Behram, Deolalikar & Soon (2002) stated that there
are several ways in practice to apply social finance in education. Firstly, while the
society allocates an area of land for school, constructs school buildings, and supplies
equipment, the state employs educational personnel and pays their salaries.
Secondly, whereas some parents and schools supply monetary contributions directly
for for constructing, equipping, maintaining, and repairing school buildings, some
are encouraged to supply voluntary contributions which are not directly monetary,
such as providing tools and materials for the construction, equipment, maintenance,
and repair of school buildings, and supplying teachers and students with food.
Thirdly, parents—especially those living in rural areas—are expected to participate
in some indirectly monetary but voluntary contributions such as the construction,
maintenance, and repair of school buildings as a labor force, along with planting and
harvesting the crops to be used in cooking at schools.
An attempt to increase the public’s participation in educational finance in Turkey
has been made since the early 1980s under different names and through
comprehensive education campaigns and projects. The contribution of the public was
1,7% in 1982, 4,9% in 1985, 1,8% in 1990, 3% in 1995, %2,4 in 2000, and %4,1 in 2011
within the budget of the Ministry of National Education (MoNE). In parallel to the
increase in the public’s rate of participation in educational finance, the rate of
investments within the budget of MoNE has decreased significantly. For example,
the rate of 15% in 1997 changed to 5,85 % in 2005. Moreover, 18% of 159,951
classrooms constructed between 2003 and 2011 were constructed by citizens’
contributions (Writer, 2007; MNE, 2012). When the law no 42 under the
Constitutional Law stipulating primary education to be compulsory and free at
public schools is considered, it becomes possible to more clearly observe the situation
articulated above. According to the research by the writer (2007), the expenditure
rate on primary education in 1974-2003 decreased at the rate of 6,2 % within the MNE
expenditure. The same is true for the investment expenditure on primary education.
Despite the continuous increase in the student population in the stated period, a
continuous decrease was observed, whereas an increase was supposed to occur at the
same rate. Özkan’s (2008) research found that school repair and maintenance work is
what school administrators expect the most contribution for, other than monetary
aids and student affairs complying with the explanations above. Allocating fewer
resources for primary education from public resources has led to parents’ significant
level of contribution to primary education in view of the educational finance. The
studies conducted in the related literature show that parents contribute to the
educational finance via giving money directly for course materials or making
compulsory monetary contributions, besides management expenses such as repair,
maintenance, and cleaning (Kavak, Ekinci & Gökçe, 1997; Öztürk, 2002; Akça, 2002;
Süzük, 2002; Sarıbal, 2005; Writer, 2007; Yamaç, 2010; Özdemir, 2011).
230
Hüseyin Yolcu
Voluntary contributions to public schools in Turkey are not a new incident. It is
known that parents have participated for a long time in activities to provide income,
besides their voluntary supports such as buying course materials and books,
donating, etc. For example, 42 primary schools and 12 secondary schools were
constructed by citizens in 1973. Moreover, mukhtars, citizens, and other
organizations have also contributed to primary schools by providing televisions,
radios, cupboards, libraries, and books (Bircan, 1979). However, the difference of the
practice of volunteerism is that it relies upon creating an organic bond among
schools, parents, and a majority of the community in an increasing rate. This bond is
fulfilled through WB and EU controlled projects and regulations that aim to make
structural reforms in the whole education system. The first is Curriculum Laboratory
Schools (CLS), put into practice as suggested by the Project of Supporting National
Education, a WB Project. CLS are pilot study schools where education programs and
new education, instruction, and administration approaches are experimented before
generalizing, and where technological advances are reflected. The second may be
exemplified through regulations on CLSs, Permanent Staff, Educational Regions,
Total Quality Management, School–Parent Associations, School–Parent–Student
Agreement, address based registry system, and Social Activities of Primary
Educations and High Schools. They aim at supplying financial resources from the
close neighborhood by adopting an administration approach of sharing and a
collaborative school culture (Şahin, 2009). Thus, parents’ voluntary monetary
contributions to educational finance become prominent. Parents’ voluntary
contributions to schools to increase their children’s academic successes are not
restricted to only directly monetary contributions. Parents are encouraged to sacrifice
more for their children by including them in all activities and work groups in the
School Development Management Committee, as prescribed by the approach of
TQM. Among these activities are the following: helping students as private tutors,
helping with the office work, working in measurement-assessment services, and
participating in school trips. Hence, schools’ current problems are intended to be
solved via solidarity among the related parts of the community.
In the literature, volunteerism is described as the spontaneous emergence of
privatization. Volunteerism, as a frequently encountered method of privatization in
practice, includes gathering people to work on a public kind of service without
paying them (Köksal, 1993; Murphy, 1996; Murphy, Gilmer, Weise & Page, 1998).
The rate of volunteerism practices in public services and programs was 1,1% in the
USA in 1998 (The Florida School Boards Association & Florida Tax Watch). In the
UK, it has become a sector for the last 30 years. The contribution of this sector to
education is approximately £40 billion, and half of the population is estimated to
work in voluntary activities (Bussell & Forbes, 2002). Volunteerism is given a
significantly wide area of application in the Turkish education system.
The studies conducted in Turkey focus on revealing parents’ monetary
contributions to the educational finance (Kavak, et. al.,1999; Öztürk, 2002; Akça, 2002;
Süzük, 2002; Sarıbal, 2005; Writer 2007; Yamaç, 2010; Özdemir, 2011). Nonetheless,
parents’ indirectly monetary yet voluntary contributions to schools should be
revealed, too. The research completes the dimensions left incomplete by others in the
231
literature. Therefore, the research is expected to contribute to the literature within
this direction. Moreover, as this issue has not been researched before, it will allow for
shedding a light on future studies.
The purpose of this research is to reveal parents’ non-monetary but voluntary
contributions to primary schools. Answers to the following were sought:
1. What are the school administrators’ opinions on parents’ non-monetary but
voluntary contributions regarding each item in the scale “Assessing parents’
non-monetary but voluntary contributions to primary schools”?
2. Do school administrators’ opinions on parents’ non-monetary but voluntary
contributions differ in the sub-dimensions of “school management”,
“instructional activities”, and “social-cultural activities”?
3.
Do school administrators’ opinions on parents’ non-monetary but voluntary
contributions differ in regards to their age, seniority level, duty, educational
background, SEL of the area where the school they work at is located, and
student population?
Method
Since this research described the existing occasion as it is, a survey model
approach was adopted.
Sample
The research population is comprised of 443 public schools located in five central
districts of Ankara (Altındağ, Mamak, Keçiören, Yenimahalle and Çankaya) within
the borders of Ankara Metropolitan Municipality. Thus, rather than gathering
samples, the entire population was preferred. The data gathering tool was applied to
330 schools (74,4%) of those in the research; therefore, the research population
became a sample.
Of 330 school administrators participating in the research, 2,7 % were 21-30 years
old; 30,6% were 31-40, 42,4% were 41-50, and 24,2% were 51 years old and over.
16,7% of them were female, while 83,3% were male administrators. When the
distribution ratio of their duties are viewed, 30% were school principals, 10,9% were
head assistant principals, and 58,8% were assistant principals. Of all the participants,
12,1% had associate degrees, 72,7% had undergraduate degrees, and 15,2% had
graduate degrees. Moreover, 53,6% were classroom teachers and 46,4% were branch
teachers. 10,3% had 1-10 years of experience, 37,3% had 11-20 years of experience,
30,9% had 21-30 years of experience, and 21,5% had 31 years of experience or more.
The SEL in 32,4% of the schools was low, while it was medium in 61,2% and high in
6,4% of the schools. 12% of these schools had 500 students or less, the population in
35,8% of them was 501-1000, the population in 27% of the schools was 1001-1500, the
population in 18,2% of the schools was 1501-1200, and 7% of the schools was 2001 or
more students.
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Hüseyin Yolcu
Development and Implementation of the Data Collection Tool
Firstly, the related literature was searched while developing the data gathering
tool. Moreover, interviews were held with the school administrators and teachers.
Through these interviews, the intention was to gather information on parents’
voluntary contributions to schools which are not directly monetary. 45 items in total
were created regarding parents’ voluntary contributions which are not directly
monetary. The scale designed as a draft was presented to 15 field experts for
opinions and suggestions. Under the direction of the specialists’ opinions and
suggestions, the number of items was reduced to 35. The scale was prepared as a 5point Likert scale; (1) never, (2) slightly, (3) moderate, (4) much, (5) absolutely.
In order to determine the validity and the reliability of the scale, factor analysis
and reliability analysis were carried out. Kaiser–Meyer Olkin (KMO) coefficients and
Barlett’s tests were examined prior to the factor analysis (Büyüköztürk, 2004; Balcı,
1995). The value from the KMO test was 0,94, and the value from the Barlett’s Test
was χ2 =6,073 p<0,000. The values from both tests were found to be significant. The
principal components factor analysis was then applied so as to determine the factor
structure of the scale.
In this analysis, done by 6-factor and Varimax rotation method, factor loads were
examined. The items whose factor load values were under .30, the items which were
found to be in more than one factor, and the items in which the difference between
the factor loads were less than .10 were omitted from the scale. By using a Screen Plot
graph, the scale was determined to be formed in a 3-factor structure (Büyüköztürk,
2004). Following the analysis, the scale was composed of 26 items and 3 factors
covering these items. 9 items that were incompatible with the criteria were omitted
from the scale.
When designating the sub-dimensions of the scale—(1) School Management, (2)
Instructional Activities, and (3) Social–Cultural Activities—similar studies in the
related field were examined and utilized (Kebece 2006; Polat, 2007; Özkan, 2008;
Şahin, 2009). 9 of the remaining 26 items of the scale were taken under the subdimension of “school management”; 8 of them were taken under the sub-dimension
of “instructional activities”; and 8 of them were taken under the sub-dimension of
“Social–Cultural Activities”.
The reliability results obtained after carrying out the structural validity of the
scale are as follows: The “school management subscale” consists of 9 items (1, 2, 3, 4,
5, 6, 7, 8 and 19), the factor load of these items range from .61 and .74, and the total
correlations range from .50 and .72. The total variance which the school management
explains is 51%, and the Cronbach alpha reliability coefficient is .86. 8 items in total
(9, 11, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 and 26) are included in the “instructional activities” subscale.
Factor loads of these items range from .61 and .75, whereas their total correlations
range from .62 and .82. The total variance explained by the instructional activities
subscale is 53%, and the Cronbach alpha reliability coefficient is .87. There are 9 items
(10, 12, 13, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 and 25) in the “socio-cultural activities subscale”. The
factor load values of the mentioned subscale range from .61 and .75, and item total
233
load values range from .41 and .59. The total variance which the socio-cultural
activities subscale explains is 53%, and the Cronbach alpha reliability coefficient
is .90.
Data Analyses
Besides descriptive statistics such as arithmetic average, standard deviation,
percentage, and frequency, a t test, one-way variance analysis was used first in
analyzing the data. Whether parametric test hypotheses were implemented was
checked via homogeneity of variances test. As a result of the one-way ANOVA test,
Tamhane’s T2 test was applied to find the reason for the difference if the variances
were not equal; if the variances were equal, a Tukey HSD test was used, one of the
multiple comparative tests. In all meaningfulness tests, alpha value α=.05 was
considered the meaningfulness level.
Findings
The distribution of school administrators’ opinions on parents’ voluntary
contributions to schools which are not directly monetary, according to each item, are
given in Table 1.
Table 1.
The Distribution of School Administrators’ Opinions on Parents’ Voluntary Contributions to
Schools Which are Not Directly Monetary, According to Each Item in the Scale
Order
No
Item
N
M
SD
1.
Providing materials for the physical maintenance
and repair of school
330
1,42
0.77
2.
Helping in transporting the materials provided
for the physical maintenance and repair of school
330
1,42
0.72
3.
Doing physical maintenance and school repair
work such as plumbing, electricity, and painting
330
1,46
0.76
24.
Helping on Teachers’ Day by cooking pastries
(cakes, cookies, etc.)
330
2,72
1,02
25.
Working on special occasions such as charity
sales, tea parties, graduation parties, etc.
330
2,85
1,12
26.
Working at student clubs
330
2,90
1,15
234
Hüseyin Yolcu
Table 1 shows the items in which school administrators participated at the
highest level regarding parents’ voluntary contributions to schools, excluding
directly monetary contributions: “Working at school clubs (M=2,90)”, “Working on
special occasions such as charity sales, etc. (M=2,85)”, and “Helping on Teachers’
Day by cooking pastries (M=2,74)”. The qualitative correspondents of school
administrators’ opinions on these three items are at the “moderately” level.
The items with the lowest average points are as follows, with the average score
(M=1,42): “Providing materials for the school’s physical maintenance and repair such
as surrounding walls, plumbing, etc.”, and “Helping in transporting the materials
provided for the physical maintenance and repair of the school such as surrounding
walls, etc.”. These items are followed, respectively, by “Doing physical maintenance
and school repair work such as plumbing, electricity, and painting (M=1,46)”. The
qualitative correspondent of school administrators’ opinions on three items are at
“never” level.
The data on school administrators’ agreement levels on parents’ voluntary
contributions to schools which are not directly monetary, according to dimensions,
are given in Table 2.
Table 2.
The Distribution of School Administrators’ Opinions on Parents’ Voluntary Contributions to
Schools Which are not Directly Monetary, According to the Dimensions in the Scale
Dimensions
N
M
SD
School management
330
1,82
0,61
Instructional activities
330
1,66
0,60
Social – cultural activities
330
2,39
0,72
Table 2 shows the dimension in which, according to school administrators,
parents’ indirectly monetary but voluntary contributions to schools are at the highest
level: “social-cultural activities (M=2,39)”. The qualitative correspondent of school
administrators’ opinions on this dimension is “moderately”. It is followed,
respectively, by “school management (M=1,82)” and “instructional activities
(M=1,66)”. While the qualitative correspondent of school administrators’ opinions on
the former is “slightly”, it is “never” for the next dimension.
According to the results of the t-test and one-way variance analysis, school
administrators’ opinions on parents’ contribution to schools did not differ in relation
to their age, gender, seniority level, position, or educational background in any of the
dimensions. Furthermore, observed results differed in the SEL and population of
schools.
235
The results of One-way ANOVA regarding the school administrators’ opinions
on parents’ voluntary contributions to the school which are not directly monetary are
given in Table 3, according to the SEL of the neighborhood.
Table 3.
The Results of One-way ANOVA Regarding the School Administrators’ Opinions on
Parents’ Voluntary Contributions to the School Which Are Not Directly Monetary,
According to the SEL
Dimension
Sum of
df
Squares
School Management
Instructional
activities
Socio-cultural
activities
Mean
F
p
10,17
.000
10,83
.000
7,402
.001
Square
Among groups
7,403
2
3,70
Within groups
119,00
327
.36
Total
126,41
329
Among groups
7,58
2
3,79
Within groups
113,70
325
.350
Total
121,29
327
Among groups
741,44
2
370,72
Within groups
16378,36
327
50,08
Total
17119,806
329
Table 3 shows that the school administrators’ opinions on parents’ voluntary
contributions which are not directly monetary differed meaningfully in the SEL of
the neighborhood in the dimensions of “school management” [F(2-327) = 10.17, p<.05],
“instructional activities” [F(2-325) = 10.83, p<.05], and “social-cultural activities” [F(2-327)
= 10.83, p<.05]. The school administrators’ opinions on parents’ indirectly monetary
but voluntary contributions to schools differed meaningfully in the SEL of the
neighborhood.
The school administrators’ opinions differed meaningfully in the SEL of the
neighborhood in the dimension of “school management” [F(2-327) = 10.17, p<.05]. A
Tamhane test was applied to detect from which groups the difference among groups
resulted from. Considering these results, when the parents from schools at high (M=
2,16) and medium (M=1,89) SEL are compared with those at low SEL (M=134,09), it is
understood that they contribute voluntarily, but not directly financially, more than
others in the school management dimension.
236
Hüseyin Yolcu
The school administrators’ opinions on parents’ indirectly monetary but
voluntary contributions to schools differed meaningfully in the SEL in the dimension
of “instructional activities” [F(2-325) = 10.83, p<.05]. As a result of the Tamhane test,
which was applied to find out the resource of this difference, it was detected that
parents from schools located at high (M= 2,10) and medium (M=1,71) SEL provided
more voluntary contributions that are indirectly monetary than those at low (M=1,49)
SEL in the dimension of instructional activities.
The school administrators’ opinions differed meaningfully in the SEL in the
dimension of “social-cultural activities” [F(2-327) = 10.83, p<.05]. A Tukey HSD test
was applied to detect from which groups the difference among groups resulted from.
Consequently, it was detected that parents from schools located at high (M=28,52)
and medium (M=24,35) SEL provided more voluntary contributions that are
indirectly monetary than those at low (M=22,36) SEL in the dimension of socialcultural activities.
The results of One-way Variance Analysis regarding the school administrators’
opinions on parents’ indirectly monetary but voluntary contributions are given in
Table 4.
Table 4.
The Results of One-Way ANOVA Regarding the School Administrators’ Opinions on
Parents’ Non-monetary Voluntary Contributions to the Primary Schools, according to the
Schools’ Population
Dimension
Sum of
df
Squares
Social-cultural
activities
Mean
F
p
4,69
.003
Square
Among groups
709,51
3
236,50
Within groups
16410,294
326
50,33
Total
17119,806
329
Table 4 shows that the school administrators’ opinions on parents’ non-monetary
voluntary contributions to the primary schools according to the school population
differ significantly in the “social-cultural activities” sub-dimension of the scale [F(3326)=4.69, p<.05], whereas for the other sub-dimensions of the scale, the school
administrators’ opinions do not differ significantly.
A Tukey HSD test was applied to detect from which groups the difference among
groups resulted from. According to this test, parents from schools with 1501-2000
students (M=26,08) provided more voluntary contributions that not directly
monetary than those from schools with 1001-1500 students (M=23,23) and 0-500
(M=21,27) in the dimension of social-cultural activities.
237
Of all voluntary but indirectly monetary contributions, those with the highest
average points depending on the school administrators’ views are “working at
student clubs”, “working for school charity sales, etc.”, and “cooking pastries for
Teachers’ Day”. Parents’ making more voluntary contributions that are not directly
monetary to the item “working at student clubs” may be explained with the
“Regulations of MoNE on the Institutions of Primary and Secondary Education”
(MoNE, 2008). The activities within the direction of the related regulation may be
conducted within the scope of student clubs and community service by benefiting
from the opportunities in and out of school. Voluntary parents can help and guide
students’ participation in social activities, together with classroom/branch teachers.
Parents’ increased voluntary contributions to items other than this may result from
their being voluntary contributions provided for a long period of time.
The items with the lowest average points are the following: “providing materials
for the physical maintenance and repair of school such as surrounding walls, etc. ”,
“helping in transporting the materials provided for physical maintenance and repair
of the school such as surrounding walls, etc.”, “doing physical maintenance and
repair works of the school such as plumbing, electricity, and painting”, and “helping
in repairing tools and materials at school”. The reasons for parents’ voluntary and
indirectly monetary contributions to the items at the lowest level is that supplying
and transporting them to school would result in some certain level of expenses and
require a certain amount of time to be spent besides the necessity of professional
knowledge and expertise to deal with these issues. When this finding is handled
along with of Writer’s (2007) and Özkan’s (2008) findings, it appears to be far from
meeting school administrators’ expectations on this issue.
According to school administrators, the dimension with the highest average score
is the dimension of “social-cultural activities”. Its reason may be explained by
parents being more inclined to contribute voluntarily but not directly monetarily to
social-cultural activities. It may be seen in parents’ efforts in preparing their children
for ceremonies such as the Republic Day and April 23rd National Sovereignty and
Children's Day. Especially at schools with low SEL, providing directly monetary
contributions to school causes trouble, and in cases when the teacher appears to be
unskillful in this issue, (s)he supplies contributions from parents in teaching folk
dances to children. Similarly, Kebeci (2006) suggested that 68,4% of parents
contributed to social-cultural activities, and 30,7% of them express that they did not
demand this support. According to school administrators, the dimension with the
lowest average score is the dimension of “instructional activities”. This may result
from the fact that the activities included in this dimension require pedagogical
formation, experience, and communicative and persuasive skills.
The school administrators’ opinions differ meaningfully in the dimensions of
school management, instructional activities, and social-cultural activities, and the
SEL of the area. This mentioned difference is between the schools at medium SEL
and lower SEL, and also between the school at higher SEL and lower SEL in the
238
Hüseyin Yolcu
school management dimension in the scale. Parents from schools at medium SEL
make more voluntary but not directly monetary contributions to the school
management than those at lower and higher SEL. This fact may result from parents’
expectations from education and the importance they place on their students’
education. Şahin (1999) observed parents making voluntary but not directly
monetary contributions by dealing with repair works and painting schools,
depending on their professions. Kebeci (2006) suggested that 53% cooperate with the
school administration to keep schools clean and hygienic, 20% provide support,
which is not enough, and 26,4% do not contribute at all. Bray (1999) states that in
rural Cambodia, parents are expected to contribute as a work force, besides
supplying necessary materials for school maintenance and repair. Therefore, it was
viewed that while some parents work at school construction, some contribute by
supplying construction materials or equipment. Families in the Kampong Cham state
in the rural areas contribute by giving rice. It was observed that some contribute to
schools voluntarily but not directly financially by supplying construction materials
such as sand, cement, and bricks; some provide equipment for schools in the same
state. Some families even repair fences and mow the grass, as well. Despite variations
depending on the country, in Nepal, Bangladesh, Uganda, Sri Lanka and Kenya,
families make voluntary contributions to schools which are not directly monetary,
such as maintaining and repairing school buildings, cleaning, and supplying
construction, cleaning materials, and cereals (Boyle, Brock, Mace and Sibbons,
2002).
The difference among groups in the instructional activities dimension in the scale
is between schools at higher and lower SEL, and also between those at medium and
lower SEL. Thus, parents from schools at higher SEL make more voluntary but not
directly monetary contributions to instructional activities than those at lower and
medium SEL. This may result from parents’ expectations that their children receive a
more qualified education by providing voluntary but not directly monetary
contributions to instructional activities at schools. This finding complies with those of
Şahin’s (1999).
The findings on the management expenditure and instructional activities comply
with the findings of other studies in the literature on parents’ monetary contributions
to schools. These direct expenditures are the financial contributions parents must
make under different names. These include painting, cupboards, boards, photocopy
and stationery costs, fees for school-parents associations, resource books, registration
costs, computers, cinema and theatre costs, and costs regarding school management,
educational, and social-cultural activities. (Kavak, et al., 1997; Öztürk, 2002; Akça,
2002; Süzük, 2002; Sarıbal, 2005; Writer, 2007; Yamaç, 2010; Özdemir, 2011). A
research by the Turkish Statistical Institute (2006) shows parents’ contributions to
primary schools constituted 13% of the household expenditure on education.
Writer’s (2007) and Özdemir’s (2011) studies the increase of parents’ directly
monetary contributions to primary schools depending on the SEL. For example,
Özdemir (2011) stated that when schools’ budgets are compared, schools’ budgets
with the highest SEL are four times as big as those with the lowest SEL, and twice as
239
big as those with medium SEL. Thus, schools with the highest SEL supply more
financial resources. It is also confirmed with the fact that schools with the highest
SEL search less for out of budget resources than those with medium and lowest SEL
in the writer’s (2007) related study. All these factors force parents to choose whether
to contribute to educational expenses and whether to receive more qualified
education. Thus, contributing to educational expenses cause injustice to the
detriment of students in poor families, rather than the wealthy (Polat, 2007).
Therefore, contributing to educational expenses preclude poor people from
benefiting from education equally or in similar qualities.
In the social-cultural activities dimension, parents from schools at higher SEL
make more non-monetary but voluntary contributions to social-cultural activities
than those at medium and lower SEL. There may be several causes for these results.
Firstly, activities involving indirectly monetary but voluntary contribution are
included more often at schools with the highest SEL, and parents show interest in
them. Şahin (1999) suggested that parents generally contribute by watching the
national ceremonies and celebrations at school, participating in activities such as tea
parties, charity sales, etc. Furthermore, it was observed that parents’ interest in
schools increases as the schools’ SEL increase. Secondly, this may result from the
efforts of encouraging parents to sacrifice more for their children by including them
in all activities and work groups within the SDMC, as prescribed by the TQM
approach. For instance, an SDMC representative’s duty is to take a role in and
organize activities to develop the collaboration of schools with its neighborhood and
parents, to contribute to improve the school’s physical resources, and to organize
school publicity activities. The third may be the students’ success. Parents who
participate in and support the school activities are significant for students’ success.
Parents’ roles may differ, ranging from direct participation in educational, social, and
cultural activities at school to being the audience. Parents, herein, are expected to be
in contact with school administration and take roles in school activities in parallel to
their strength (Gümüşeli, 2004). Kebeci (2006) expressed that whereas 2/3 of the
families support social and cultural activities at school, 1/3 do not support them at
all.
The school administrators’ opinions differ meaningfully in the social-cultural
activities dimension depending on the school population regarding parents’
voluntary and indirectly monetary contributions to schools. Thus, parents from
schools with 2001 students make more not directly monetary but voluntary
contributions to social-cultural activities than those with 0-500 students; parents from
schools with 501-1000 students contribute more than those with 0-500 students;
parents from schools with 1501-2000 students contribute more than those with 0-500
students; parents from schools with 1501-2000 students contribute more than those
with 501-1000 students; parents from schools with 1501-2000 students contribute
more than those with 1001-1500 students; and parents from schools with 1501-2000
students contribute more than those with 1001-1500 students. This may result from
the differentiation in parents’ profiles in parallel to the increase in student
population.
240
Hüseyin Yolcu
Parents’ not directly monetary but voluntary contributions to schools could be
said to increase as SEL increases. Whereas this leads to parents at the highest SEL to
exploit schools according to their expectations, it also results in discrimination
against students from lowest SEL. This serves to reproduce social inequalities as well
as differentiation in educational acquisitions.
Several suggestions may be made regarding future research based upon the
findings and results of this research. Firstly, research presenting the monetary values
of parents’ voluntary contributions to schools that are not directly monetary should
be conducted. Secondly, the methods and techniques school administrators and
teachers employ to provide parents’ indirectly monetary but voluntary contributions
should be identified, and the difficulties experienced at this stage should be revealed.
Thirdly, a research study dealing critically with parents’ roles in school life should be
made.
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Ailelerin İlköğretim Okullarına Doğrudan Parasal Olmayan Gönüllü
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(Özet)
Problem Durumu
Türkiye’de son yıllarda, kamu bütçesinden eğitime ayrılan kaynak miktarındaki
azalmaya paralel olarak, eğitim hizmetinin sunumunun kamudan yerel birimlere,
sivil toplum örgütlerine, aileler ve hatta bireylerin kendi sorumluluklarına
indirgendiği bir süreç başlatılmıştır. Böylelikle toplumun geniş bir kesiminin
okulların bakım, onarım ve donanımına kadar belli etkinler içinde yer almalarının
önü açılmıştır. Bunun eğitim finansmanı açısından anlamı, eğitim hizmetinin
sunumunda kamu kaynaklarına duyulan bağımlılığı ortadan kaldırmak ve bunun
yerine özel finansman kaynaklarından biri olan toplum finansmanını uygulamaya
koymaktır. Behram, Deolalikar & Soon (2002), toplum finansmanın uygulamaya
yansımasının birkaç biçimde olduğunu belirtmektedir. Bunlardan ilki toplumun
okulların arsasını tahsis etmesi, binasını yaptırması ve donanımını üstlenmesi gibi
sermaye giderlerini karşılarken, devletin ise, yalnıza, eğitim görevlilerini ataması ve
onların maaşlarını ödemesidir. İkincisi ailelerin ve toplumun bir kısmının okul
binasının yapımı, donatımı ile bakım ve onarımı için doğrundan parasal katkı
sağlarken, bir kısmının da okul binasının yapımı, donatımı, bakım ve oranımı için
malzeme temin etme, öğretmen ve öğrencilere yiyecek sağlama gibi gönüllü katkılar
sunmaya teşvik edilmesidir. Üçüncüsü ise, ailelerin okul binasının yapımı, bakım ve
onarımında işgücü olarak yer almalarının yanı sıra okulda yemek yapımında
kullanılacak mahsullerin ekim ve hasadında çalışma gibi parasal olmayan gönüllü
katkılarda bulunmasıdır.
Türkiye’de halkın eğitim finansmanına katılımında 1980’li yılların başından
günümüze kadar geçen sürede kayda değer bir artış gözlenmektedir. Halkın eğitim
finansmanı katılım oranındaki artışa paralel olarak, MEB bütçesi içerisindeki yatırım
harcamalarının oranı kayda değer biçimde azalmıştır. Örneğin 1997’de % 15 olan bu
oran 2005’te % 5,85’e kadar düşmüştür. Bu söylenenler biraz daha somutlaştırılmak
istenilirse, 2003-2011 yılları arasında yapılan 159.951 dersliğin % 18’i halk katkılarıyla
yapılmıştır (Yazar, 2007; MEB, 2012). Bunu, Anayasanın 42. maddesinde zorunlu ve
devlet okullarında parasız olduğu dile getirilen ilköğretim düzeyinde daha somut
olarak görmek mümkündür. İlköğretime kamu kaynaklarından daha az kaynak
ayrılması beraberinde, bu öğretim düzeyinde, ailelerin belirgin biçimde eğitimin
finansmanına katılmalarına yol açmıştır. İlgili alanyazında yapılan araştırmalar,
ailelerin ilköğretim okullarının bakım ve onarım temizlik gibi işletme maliyetlerinin
244
Hüseyin Yolcu
yanı sıra ders araç ve gereçleri için doğrudan para verme ya da zorunlu bağış yapma
gibi yollarla bu okulların finansmanına katıldıklarını göstermektedir (Kavak, Ekinci
& Gökçe, 1997; Öztürk, 2002; Akça, 2002; Süzük, 2002; Sarıbal, 2005; Yazar, 2007;
Yamaç, 2010; Özdemir, 2011). Ailelerin bu okullara katkıları doğrudan parasal
katkılarla sınırlı değildir. Bunun yanı sıra, ailelerin çeşitli projeler ve yasal
düzenlemelerle, okulların büro hizmetlerine yardımcı olması, ölçme ve
değerlendirme hizmetlerinde çalışması ve okulda yapılacak gezilere eşlik etmesi vb.
doğrudan parasal olmayan gönüllü katkılarda bulunmaları da beklenmektedir.
Böylelikle, okulların var olan sorunlarının toplumun ilgili kesimleri arasında
gönüllülüğe dayalı bir dayanışma örneği sergilenerek çözümlenmesi
amaçlanmaktadır. İlgili alanyazında gönüllük, özelleştirmenin kendiliğinden ortaya
çıkış biçimi olarak nitelendirilmektedir. Amerika’da kamu hizmet ve
programlarındaki gönüllülük uygulamalarının oranı 1998’de yılında % 1,1’dir (The
Florida School Boards Association & Florida Tax Watch). Dahası, gönüllülük
uygulamaları Birleşik Krallık’ta ise, son 30 yıldan buyana, bir sektör konumuna
gelmiştir. Bu sektörün ekonomiye katkısı yaklaşık 40 milyar £ olup ülke nüfusunun
yarısının gönüllü etkinlerde görev aldığı tahmin edilmektedir (Bussell & Forbes,
2002).
Türkiye’de son yıllarda ilköğretimin finansmanına ilişkin yapılan araştırmaların,
aillelerin ilköğretim okullarına yapmış oldukları parasal katkılar üzerinde
yoğunlaştıkları gözlenmektedir (Kavak at al., 1997; Öztürk, 2002; Akça, 2002; Süzük ,
2002; Sarıbal, 2005; Yazar , 2007; Yamaç, 2010; Özdemir, 2011). Oysa ailelerin
okullara yaptığı doğrudan parasal olmayan gönüllü katkılarının da ortaya konulması
gerekmektedir. Bu nedenle araştırma ilgili alanyazında yapılan diğer araştırmaların
eksik bıraktığı bir boyutu tamamlar niteliktedir. Dolaysıyla, araştırmanın ilgili
alanyazına bu yönde bir katkı yapması beklenmektedir. Ayrıca araştırmanın
konuyla ilgili yapılan ilk araştırma olması nedeniyle, bundan sonraki yapılan
araştırmalara da ışık tutacağı düşünülmektedir.
Okul yöneticilerinin görüşlerine göre, ailelerin okullara hangi tür doğrudan parasal
olmayan gönüllü katkılarda bulundukları ve bu katkıların ölçeğin alt boyutları ve
çeşitli değişkenler bakımından farklılaşıp farklılaşmadığını ortaya koymaktır.
Yöntem
Araştırma tarama modelinde olup çalışma evreni Ankara Büyükşehir Belediyesi
sınırları içerisindeki beş büyük merkez ilçede (Altındağ, Mamak, Keçiören,
Yenimahalle ve Çankaya) bulunan 443 kamu ilköğretim okulundan oluşmaktadır.
Araştırmanın verileri, ailelerin ilköğretim okullarına doğrudan parasal olmayan
gönüllü katkılarını üç boyutta ölçen ve 26 maddeden oluşan bir ölçek kullanılarak
toplanmıştır. Verilerin analizinde betimsel istatistikler, t testi ve tek yönlü varyans
analizi kullanılmıştır.
Ailelerin doğrudan parasal olmayan gönüllü katkılarına ilişkin okul yöneticilerinin
görüşleri, ölçeğin hiçbir boyutunda; yaş, cinsiyet, kıdem, görev, mezuniyet durumu
245
bakımından anlamlı bir farklılık göstermemektedir. Bunun dışında okulların içinde
bulunduğu çevrenin SED’i (Sosyo-Ekonomik Düzey) ve okulların öğrenci sayısına
göre anlamlı bir farklılık gösterdiği gözlenmiştir.
Araştırmanın Sonuç ve Önerileri
Araştırmada alt SED’den üst SED’de doğru gittikçe ailelerin okullara yapmış
olduklar doğrudan parasal olmayan gönüllü katkılarının artmış olduğu gözlenmiştir.
Bu durum üst SED’de bulunan ailelerin kendi beklentileri doğrultunda, bir anlamda,
okulları dönüştürmenin/sömürgeleştirmenin yolunu açarken, alt SED’den gelen
ailelerin çocuklarının ise ayrımcılığa uğramasına neden olmaktadır. Bütün bunlar,
eğitim yoluyla elde edilen kazanımlardaki farklılaşmayı beraberinde getirmenin yanı
sıra toplumsal eşitsizliklerin de yeniden üretilmesine yol açmaktadır.
Araştırmada elde edilen bulgu ve sonuçlara dayalı olarak ileride yapılacak olan
araştırmalara ilişkin birkaç öneride bulunulabilir. Bunlardan ilki, ailelerin okullara
yapmış oldukları doğrudan parasal olmayan gönüllü katkıların parasal değerini
ortaya koyan bir araştırma yapılması gerektiğidir. İkincisi, okul yöneticilerinin,
öğretmenlerin ailelerin doğrudan parasal olmayan katkılarını sağlamada
başvurdukları yöntem ve stratejiler ile bu süreçte karşı karşıya kaldıkları güçlüklerin
ortaya konulmasıdır. Üçüncüsü de ailelerin okul yaşamındaki yerini sorgulayan bir
çalışmanın yapılmasıdır.
Anahtar Sözcükler: Neo-liberal politikalar, ilköğretim, gönüllülük, gönüllü katkı
246
Hüseyin Yolcu
Grade Level and Creativity
Füsun G. ALACAPINAR
Suggested Citation:
Alacapinar, F.G. (2013). Grade Level and Creativity. Egitim Arastirmalari-Eurasian
Journal of Educational Research. 50, 247-266.
Abstract
Problem Statement: Creativity has been addressed by many scientists and
thinkers. Among them, Guilfort regards creativity as the ability to
generate new ideas, and relates it to intelligence. According to Thurstone,
creativity must develop and be implemented within a theoretical
framework, and a solution must result. Torrance thinks of creativity as a
scientific research process and sequences its steps.
Purpose of Study: This study was conducted to explore whether significant
differences in average fluency, flexibility, originality, elaboration, and total
scores of students are observable on the basis of class level or gender, to
determine whether a primary school curriculum that has been
implemented for 6 years has significantly improved the creative thinking
skills of students.
Methods: The quantitative and qualitative methods were applied in the
study. To this end, 172 students from grades 3 to 8 attending a primary
school in Çankaya District of Ankara were selected randomly. Descriptive
data analysis was conducted on the qualitative data. The data gathered
from focus groups were analyzed using qualitative content analysis.
Findings and Results: Significant differences were found in average fluency,
flexibility, originality, elaboration, and total scores of classes. Fluency,
flexibility, originality, elaboration, and total scores of the 5th graders were
the highest compared to other classes. On the other hand, the 6 th grade
students’ scores were the lowest. Fluency, flexibility, originality,
elaboration and total scores increased from the 3 rd to the 5th grade, but
declined to their lowest levels in the 6th year. Scores increase once more in
the 7th grade, only to fall again in the 8th grade.
Conclusions and Recommendations: Significant differences were found in
average fluency, flexibility, originality, elaboration and total scores with

Assistant. Prof. Dr. Füsun G. Alacapınar, Necmettin Erbakan University, Ahmat Keleşoğlu
Faculty of Education, Konya,Turkey, [email protected]
247
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Füsun G. Alacapınar
respect to class levels and gender. These findings are also supported by
the outcomes of some other studies. It is stressed that there is a significant
relation between class level, gender, and creativity. The significant
difference exhibited by the 5th grade students in terms of four areas and
total creativity scores can be explained by the fact that their ideas and
products related to creativity enjoyed the support of their friends, families,
and teachers. In order to improve children’s creative thinking, teachers
and the parents should be supported by further training programs.
Keywords: Primary school, curriculum, student, creativity, classroom.
Education seeks to help students attain top-level targets. These targets fall within
the category of “synthesis” in Bloom’s taxonomy. At the level of synthesis, the
student is expected to come up with an original and new theory, model, suggestion
for a solution, etc. that goes beyond what is already known. In this context, the
person has to present an invention, suggest a model, etc.
Creativity has been addressed by many scientists and thinkers. Among them,
Guilfort regards creativity as the ability to generate new ideas, and relates it to
intelligence (Guilfort, 1950, 1968). Kris supports the same view. There are also others
who understand creativity as the ability to solve problems (Mumfort & Gustafson,
1988).
According to Thurstone, in order for creativity to exist, there must first be a
theoretical framework, this framework must be put into practice, and the identified
problem should be solved at the end. The theoretical framework may be related to all
spheres of life, including thought, the arts, the sciences, etc. What matters is the
novelty and originality of the theoretical framework. It is also important that creative
thinking go beyond existing known solutions and models (Torrance, 1965a; Taylor,
1972; San, 1979; Urban, 1991).
These criteria for creativity can be grouped with respect to three dimensions:
production, professional criteria, and social criteria. In terms of production, reference
can be made to patent rights acquired by the person concerned. In terms of
professional criteria, the reference may be to person’s fame and reputation in his or
her profession, and social criteria may consider what his or her colleagues say about
the person concerned (Amabile, Hennessey &Grossman, 1986). Personal
characteristics may also be added to these criteria (MacKinnon, 1962; Getzels&
Jackson, 1962). These criteria regard the end product as primary in describing
creativity.
Torrance considers creativity to be a scientific research process, and identifies its
by describing steps within a sequence. First, there must be awareness and sensitivity
regarding what is conceived as a problem or what is missing. Then, hypotheses must
be advanced—in other words, approximated solutions that are tested over and over
again. If some hypotheses prove to be inappropriate, they are either improved or
replaced by others to be tested again, and the process of testing continues until a
249
solution to the problem is reached (Torrance, 1962). In a sense, this process follows
the experimental research logic of Dewey (Dewey, 1910).
Mott defines four steps in creativity: Preparation, incubation, discovery
(inspiration), and control. In the first step, data relating to the problem are collected,
and various responses are developed and tried as solutions. The person is engaged in
a process of trial and error. This first step may be too short or too long. At the
incubation stage, the brain concentrates on what the solution could be. It organizes
data and synthesizes it with earlier experiences. At the stage of discovery
(inspiration) the solution suddenly appears, just like Archimedes running out of the
bath naked, declaring, “I found it!” At the control stage, the solution is applied to the
problem. If the problem is indeed solved, then the result is confirmed and the
solution is proven. As can be seen in this process, creativity is a mental activity in
which all potential capabilities inherent in human beings are mobilized and further
developed. Human beings are gifted with curiosity, interest, invention and
discovery, and the ability to synthesize and remould thoughts (Mott, 1973). There are
also some who defend the idea that there is a relationship between a given cultural
structure and creativity (Öncü, 1989, 2000, 2003).
If the given cultural structure provides support and reinforcement to creative
persons, then creative activities flourish (Taylor, 1972; Cohen, 1988). Scholars also
state that levels of intelligence, monetary rewards, and environments with ample
occasions to engage in warm, flexible, and creative activities are the factors that
improve a person’s ability to engage in divergent thinking (Thistlewaite, 1963;
Knapp, 1963; Torrance, 1965a). However, some other researchers assert that
monetary rewards and reinforcement are detriments to creativity, and there is no
significant relationship between intelligence and creativity (Mumford & Gustafson,
1988). Moreover, investigations have also been carried out to see whether there is a
meaningful relationship between creativity and factors such as education and school
systems, teachers’ attitudes, or training in creativity and intelligence games. Results
are divided: while some studies found this relationship meaningful, others did not
(Feldhusen & Treffinger, 1975; Thomas & Berk, 1981; Woodman & Feldt, 1990; Wang
& Tzeng, 2007). In some studies conducted in Turkey, a significant relationship was
found between the level of creativity and a set of other factors including the
following: Level of education, school performance and success in courses, fields of
education, secondary school attended, leisure time activities, sex, age, class level,
intelligence games, playing, ways of learning, problem-solving skills, training in arts,
economic status, father’s educational background, socio-demographic characteristics,
teachers’ behaviour, and type of school (Öncü, 1989; Sungur, 1992; Ataman, 1992;
Öncü, 2000; Öncü, 2003; Görgen & Karaçelik, 2009; Ersoy & Başar, 2009).
Starting in 2005, the Turkish Education System began to design curricula using a
constructivist approach and started to implement the curricula beginning in primary
education. One of the basic objectives of this approach is to help students reach highlevel achievements. Creative thinking is among these achievements.
250
This study aimed to find out the following: Does the existing primary school
curriculum meaningfully affect students’ creative thinking skills? Do significant
differences between average fluency, flexibility, originality, elaboration, and total
scores exist by class level and sex? What are the opinions of students in this regard?
Method
Working Group
The study was conducted with 172 students from grade 3 to 8 attending a
primary school in Çankaya District of Ankara. Grades 1 and 2 were excluded from
the survey. A purposive convenience sampling technique was used in the study.
Since it was necessary to reach individual students directly and three students were
randomly selected from the third, fifth, and sixth grades, respectively, the most
convenient group was used in the qualitative survey.
Data Collection and Data Analysis
The Torrance test of creative thinking was given students by grades. Students’
scores on the fluency, flexibility, originality, and decorative part of the test, as well as
their total scores, were calculated by two experts in the field.
Semi-structured focus group interviews were conducted with these groups and
students’ opinions were recorded. These records were analyzed by two experts. Due
to some articulation problems, statements made by some students were later
corrected after asking them for clarification.
Results
This section examines, comments on, and explains data on creativity-related
fluency, flexibility, originality, elaboration and total scores of students from grade
three to grade eight covered by the survey.
Data Relating to the First Sub-problem
Data relating to the question of whether there are significant differences between
the average fluency scores of grades are given below in Table 1.
Table 1
Class Level and Fluency Scores
Grades
N
3rd grade
34
4th grade
40
5th grade
21
6th grade
17
7th grade
16
8th grade
44
M
33.44
32.17
37.95
29.23
35.06
30.23
SD
9.51
7.70
3.91
7.29
8.64
9.62
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As can be seen in Table 1 above, average fluency scores are as follows: year 3:
33.44; year 4: 32.17; year 5: 37.95; year 6: 29.23; year 7: 35.06; and year 8: 30.23. T-tests
were used to check for significant differences between fluency scores. The findings
are given in Table 2 below.
Table 2
t Values for Differences Between Fluency Scores, by Class
Grades
4rd.
5th.
6.th
7th.
8th.
3rd.
.63
2.44*
1.6
.59
1.46
3.2*
1.33
1.22
1.01
4.37*
1.36
3.51*
2.09*
.44
4th.
5th.
6th.
7th.
1.04
According to Table 2, differences between grade 5 and grades 3, 4, and 8, as well
as between grade 6 and grade 7 are significant at various degrees of freedom, with a
level of significance of .05. According to the same table, students in grade 5 have the
highest score in fluency. Based on this data, it is possible to say that fluency scores
first increased in grade 5, decreased to its lowest level in grade 6, increased again in
grade 7 and then fell once more in grade 8. It can be said that there is a significant
difference between classes in terms of fluency scores, and the lowest score in this
regard belongs to grade 6. Given this fact, focus group interviews were conducted
with three randomly selected students from grade 5, which had the highest score,
and three from grade 6, which had the lowest. Outcomes obtained are presented
below after some corrections in articulation that do not slant the content:
K.5. I tried to use my imagination. I closed my eyes and thought “What I can
make out of these figures.” Nobody blocked me?
K.5. No friend blocked me. I can convert the letter “S” into a rose.
K.5. I did it on my own without receiving help from anybody else.
K.6. I drew those pictures inspired by people around me and their behavior.
Nobody stood in my way; my family helped me a lot.
K.6. I usually observe outside while developing my ideas. Usually nobody helps.
K.6. My father and mother help me.
Fluency: Fluency can be described as the talent of using words or pictures to
produce several acceptable ideas concerning a specific subject and selecting the most
valuable ones among them. A person can further develop this talent if placed in an
environment that supports creativity. In such an environment, the person concerned
252
is encouraged, supported and provided various means to succeed; the person is not
degraded or scolded in cases of failure. This allows the person to build selfconfidence by using his or her imagination and thinking without taking outside help.
He/she becomes a good observer, and tries again and again. This process supports
the development of creative thinking (Milne, 1996).
As can be inferred from their responses, the 5th grade students confirmed this
conclusion by saying “I used my imagination,” “I drew it on my own,” “I received
help from nobody,” “I observed outside,” and “I tried it again.” Students from the 6 th
grade, on the other hand, said they received help from their parents or other family
members. Receiving help means parents too are involved, and in such cases children
may act under their parents’ influences, which may block creativity.
Data Related to the Second Sub-problem
Table 3 below provides data on whether there is any significant difference
between the average flexibility scores of classes.
Table 3
Grades and Flexibility Scores
Grades
3rd
4th.
5th.
6.th
7.th
8th.
N
34
40
21
17
16
44
M
20.38
20.92
25.38
17.00
23.00
19.00
SD
5.41
5.15
4.36
4.80
7.60
6.10
According to Table 3, the average flexibility scores of each grade are as follows:
grade 3: 20.38; grade 4: 20.92; grade 5: 25.38; grade 6: 17.00; grade 7: 23.00 and grade
8: 19.00. A t-test was used to determine whether there are significant differences
between the flexibility scores. Findings are given in Table 4 below.
Table 4
t Values for Differences in Flexibility Scores, by Grades
Grades
4th.
5th.
6th.
3rd.
.44
3.75*
2.28*
4th.
3.55*
2.75*
5.th
5.62*
6th.
7th.
7th.
1.39
1.18
1.20
2.72*
8th.
1.00
1.51
4.76*
1.39
2.06*
253
Table 4 shows that with the exception of the fifth and seventh grades, the
differences between classes as well as the difference between the sixth and seventh
and seventh and eighth grades are significant at a .05 significance level and various
degrees of freedom. According to the data in Table 3, the 5th grade has the highest
score on flexibility. Given these data, it can be said that flexibility scores rise in the
fifth grade, reach their lowest level in sixth grade, increase again in seventh grade,
and then fall in eighth grade. It can further be stated that there are significant
differences between classes in terms of flexibility scores, with the 6 th grade being the
lowest. Given these findings, focus group interviews were conducted with three
randomly selected students from the fifth grade, which scored the highest, and three
from the sixth grade, i.e. the lowest scoring class. Outcomes obtained are presented
below after some corrections in articulation.
K.5. My family supports me a lot. So do my friends.
K.5. They had no influence in any behavior of mine.
K.5. They just supported me in my ideas and that’s all.
K.6.For example, if I think different in any matter and if it is reasonable, they
receive it well. But if it is absurd, they show me the correct way.
K.6. They do not interfere with my ideas. I have reasonable ideas in general.
There are cases when I fly too high, but they approve if they find it logical. If not,
they correct what does not make sense.
K.6. They say “come on..., it is just impossible.”
Flexibility is when a person can think about many aspects of an issue and can
change his ideas. Flexibility requires one to see an issue or an event from different
angles and change a specific stance when it becomes necessary (Torrence, 1966). To
improve flexibility scores, it is necessary to provide educational environments that
allow students to develop new ideas in addition to what has been said about fluency.
In such environments, students’ new ideas should be given due account, they should
not be made fun of or corrected. Their desire and zeal for changing their ideas should
be supported. As a matter of fact, when creativity declines, there are also significant
drops also in scores on personal traits such as excitement and understanding (Öncü,
1989). If children develop low levels of trust in parents, teachers, and friends, it
becomes more difficult to develop original ideas since the cultural and educational
environment that students are immersed in will often lead them to think in
stereotypes. In such cases, students who move beyond stereotypes may be
considered annoying, and this may undermine original thinking.
The responses of students in the fifth grade confirm this: “My family supports
me and my ideas a lot. They had no influence in any behavior of mine.” Students
from grade six, on the other hand, say “They say ‘come on... when they find
something illogical. They show the correct way if then find something absurd.” Such
behavior may undermine creativity. It can be said that the difference between the
fifth and sixth grade derives from this point.
254
Data Related to the Third Sub-problem
Table 5 below provides data on whether there is are significant differences
between the average originality scores of classes.
Table 5
Grades and Originality Scores
Grades
3rd.
4th.
5th.
6th.
7th.
8th.
N
34
40
21
17
16
44
M
10.38
13.65
17.14
11.56
14.25
11.40
SD
5.34
6.86
6.51
6.70
5.38
6.87
According to Table 5, the average originality scores of the classes are as follows:
grade 3: 10.38; grade 4: 13.65; grade 5: 17.14; grade 6: 11.56; grade 7: 14.25; and grade
8: 11.40. T-tests were used to check for significant differences between originality
scores, and findings are given in Table 6 below.
Table 6
t Values for Differences Between Originality Scores, by Gardes
Grades
4th.
5th.
6th.
3rd.
2.19*
3.95*
.65
4th.
1.92
1.05
5th.
2.57*
6th.
7th.
7th.
2.29*
.31
1.47
1.25
8th.
.70
1.49
3.25*
.09
1.67
Table 6 shows that all differences between grades, with the exception of those
between fourth and third grade and between fifth and fourth and seventh grade are
significant at a .05 significance level and various degrees of freedom. According to
the data in Table 6, the fifth grade has the highest score in originality. Given these
data, it can be said that originality scores rise in fifth grade then decline in sixth
grade, increase in seventh grade and then fall again in eighth grade. It can further be
stated that there are significant differences between classes in terms of originality
scores, with the third grade scoring the lowest . As a result, focus group interviews
were conducted with three randomly selected students from the fifth grade, which
had the highest score, and three from the third grade. Outcomes obtained are
presented below, with some corrections in articulation.
255
Originality can be described as a person’s skill and competence in developing
new and original ideas, or producing and presenting invaluable works. It is the talent
of generating unique original responses regarding an issue or an event (Torrence,
1966). In addition to what has been said above concerning creativity, students’
extraordinary or divergent ideas must be supported and encouraged. In fact,
students are hesitant to express such ideas for fear of being scolded or mocked by
their teachers, parents, and friends. In such environments, if students are not
comfortable with parents, teachers, and friends it becomes more and more difficult to
think originally; this means that the cultural and educational environment
surrounding the student will produce stereotypical thought. Moves beyond these
stereotypes may be found annoying, and inhibited, thus precluding original
thinking.
K.5. Of course my family supports me a lot. So do my friends.
K.5. We talk about and discuss places that I have never thought of or seen. I
receive positive or negative responses depending upon the case.
K.5. I asked them and they accepted it if it sounded plausible and rejected if not. I
received normal responses.
K.6. For example when I talk about my supernatural powers, they say it is not so
desirable since everything would be too easy if I had and life would have no
meaning.
K.6. In general I receive positive responses. I think my ideas make sense.
K.6. They say there is too much exaggeration; it is too difficult to have it.
As can be inferred from the responses given, students in fifth grade confirmed the
conclusion above with statements like “my family supports me a lot”, “we talk about
and discuss places that I have never thought of or seen” and “I received normal
responses.” On the other hand, students in sixth grade say, “when I talk about my
supernatural powers, they say it is not so desirable since everything would be too
easy” or “they say there is too much exaggeration in my ideas.” Such responses or
reactions may undermine creativity, and it is possible to conclude that the difference
between the fifth and sixth grades derives from this point.
Data Related to the Fourth Sub-problem
Table 7 below provides data on whether significant differences exist between the
average elaboration scores of classes.
256
Table 7
Grades and Elaboration Scores
Grades
3rd.
4th.
5th.
6th.
7th.
8th.
N
34
40
21
17
16
44
M
56.44
53.37
59.95
51.94
55.93
52.56
SD
17.42
14.29
12.41
23.05
10.27
14.40
According to Table 7, the average elaboration scores of the classes are as follows:
grade 3: 56.44; grade 4: 53.37; grade 5: 59.95; grade 6: 51.94; grade 7: 55.93; and grade
8: 52.56. T-tests were used to check for significant differences between elaboration
Table 8
t Values for Differences Between Elaboration Scores, by Class
Grades
4rd.
5th.
6th.
3rd.
.81
.87
.77
4th.
1.86
.28
5th.
1.28
6th.
7th.
7th.
.10
.65
1.07
.63
8th.
1.07
.25
2.01*
.12
1.02
In Table 8, the difference between grades five and eight is significant at a level of
.05 with 63 degrees of freedom. Data in Table 7 shows that students from the fifth
grade have the highest scores in elaboration. It can thus be concluded that
elaboration scores rise in fifth grade and fall in eight. It can further be stated that
there is a significant difference between the elaboration scores of grades five and
eight, while the sixth graders had the lowest scores on elaboration. Focus group
interviews were conducted with three randomly selected students from the fifth
grade, which had the highest score, and three from the sixth grade. Outcomes
obtained are presented below with some corrections in articulation.
Elaboration (enriching, detailing) requires lengthening the process of thinking,
giving details and synthesizing ideas. Elaboration is observed in some works that are
meant to be more complex by adding some simple stimulus (Torrence, 1966; Rıza,
1999). In this step, students were asked to create an original composition out of a
given figure. Students may act freely and embellish the original figure while doing
this exercise. Success in this step depends on imagination, the ability to think of as
many changes as possible, and level of maturity.
K.5. While developing my ideas I am inspired by pictures and it helps me as I try
to interpret.
257
K.5. First I imagined to strike a new idea and then I tried to draw it on paper. I
modified those parts that I found not so good.
K.5. I make lots of changes and I use a variety of colors and figures.
K.6. While making this I thought about how I should proceed.
K.6. I try to give a shape to the figure in line with what I think it should look like.
My feelings at that moment, happiness, sadness, excitement, etc., affect what
the figure eventually looks like.
K.6. By observing the outside world and by imagining.
As can be inferred from the responses of students, this conclusion is supported by
statements made by fifth grade students such as “I get inspiration from pictures,” “I
imagined,” “I made a lot of changes,” etc. Students from sixth grade, on the other
hand, made remarks such as “I thought about how I should proceed,” “I thought
about what it should look like,” “My feelings at that moment, happiness, sadness,
excitement, etc., affect the figure,” and “by observing the outside world and by
imagining.” These orientations may also support creativity. The difference between
the two classes may derive from the level of maturity that each displays.
Data Related to the Fifth Sub-problem
Table 9 below provides data on significant differences between the average total
scores of classes.
Table 9
Classes and Total Creativity Scores
Gradees
N
3rd.
34
4th.
40
5th.
21
6th.
17
7th.
16
8th.
44
M
121.08
120.12
140.42
110.41
127.62
113.09
SD
30.43
22.57
19.95
33.17
28.44
29-36
According to Table 9, the average creativity scores of the classes are as follows:
grade 3: 121.08; grade 4: 120.12; grade 5: 140.42; grade 6: 110.41; grade 7: 127.62; and
grade 8: 113.09. T-tests were used to check significant differences between creativity
258
Table 10
T Values for Differences Between Total Creativity Scores, by Class
Classes
4rd.
5th.
6th.
7th.
3rd.
0.15
2.58*
1.14
0.74
4th.
3.46*
1.28
1.04
5th.
3.45*
1.61*
6th.
1.60
7th.
8th.
1.74
1.22
3.85*
0.30
1.70
According to Table 10, the fifth graders had the highest total creativity score,
while the sixth grade had the lowest. The differences between the total creativity
scores of class five and all other classes were found to be significant at a level of .05
and various degrees of freedom. Hence, it can be concluded that total creativity
scores of students increase from grades three to five and then fall from grades five to
eight.
Focus group interviews were conducted with three randomly selected students
from fifth grade, which had the highest score, and three from the sixth grade, which
had the lowest. Outcomes obtained are presented below with some corrections in
articulation.
K.5. We were engaged in discussion over a case. Everybody spoke out his ideas;
each of us presented some real case and we were engaged in brainstorming
over it. I enjoyed it.
K.5. He posed a question to solicit responses from us. I get curiosity and pleasure
out of it.
K.5. Yes, we discuss a lot in classes. We say this is not the way and the other is the
right one. We practice brainstorming a lot.
K.6. Yes I used it. I gave thought to the course matter and I put it in practice.
K.6. There is brainstorming.
K.6. We do it, though not so frequently. In our Turkish class we read out texts
and discuss them.
As can be inferred from the responses of the students, students from grade five
supported this conclusion by making such statements as “We were engaged in case
study and brainstorming; I like it and I am so curious.” Students from grade six, on
the other hand, say, “Yes, I’ve used it; we do brainstorming, not so frequently, but
we do it.” The reason why there are significant differences between the total
creativity scores of grades five and six can be explained by referring to the comments
made in the previous four sub-problems. The difference may also be related to
enjoyment, curiosity, and desire for novel experiences. On the basis of this
information, the curricula in effect cannot be said to have a significant impact on total
creativity scores, since all students say they use brainstorming methods in their
259
classes. There is a significant increase in total creativity scores through fifth grade,
and they fall from grade five to eight.
Data related to the Sixth Sub-problem
Table 11 below gives information on significant differences between fluency,
flexibility, originality, elaboration, and total scores by grade and gender.
Table 11
Fluency, Flexibility, Originality, Elaboration, and Total Creativity Scores by Grade and
Gender and F Value
Source
TcsII Sum of
Squares
df
Mean Square
F
Sig
Intercept.
1987382,022
1
1987382,022
3149,948
,000
Gender
4385,491
1
4385,491
6,951
,009
Error
107257,312
170
630,925
Table 11 uses variance analysis to determine whether average fluency, flexibility,
originality, elaboration, and total scores of students vary significantly with respect to
class level and gender. Observed F values were found to be meaningful at a level of
.05 with 1-170 degree of freedom. On the basis of these results, it can be said that
there is a significant relationship between gender and creativity scores. Creativity
scores are affected by gender and grade level. These findings are supported by the
outcomes of other surveys.
A significant difference was found between average fluency, flexibility,
originality, elaboration, and total scores of classes. Scores increased significantly from
third to fifth grade and then fall from sixth to eighth grade. The sixth and eighth
grades had the lowest average scores. Yet, in any effective curriculum, creativity
scores are expected to rise as class level increases. These findings are also supported
by the findings of some other studies (Torrance, 1965b; Emir, 2001; Görgen&
Karaçelik, 2009). A meaningful relationship between age and gender was
demonstrated as well. In cases where creativity scores decline, there are also
decreases in scores related to excitement and understanding, and vice-versa. In focus
group interviews students confirmed this conclusion with statements like “I like it,”
“I am curious about it,” “I enjoy it,” and “they expect something different.” The
significant difference between class five and others in terms of the four areas and
total creativity scores can be explained by the support given to these students in their
creative activities by their families, teachers, and friends. As a matter of fact, some
studies suggest that such activities flourish in cases where parents, teachers, and
260
closer environments reward and consolidate creative behavior (Taylor, 1972; Cohen,
1988; Mumford& Gustafson, 1988). In addition, strategies, methods, techniques and
materials used in educational environments may also affect creativity (Kırmızı, 2007;
Alacapınar, 2007; Alacapınar, 2008; Balım, 2009; Sayan & Hamurcu, 2011). On the
basis of these findings, it can be said that there are many variables affecting creativity
(San, 1979; Sönmez, 1992; Senemoğlu, 2007).
According to these findings, the following may be supportive of creative
thinking: Asking students to come up with new, different, and original ideas and
giving them support in this process; giving them positive feedback when they do;
avoiding punishment, degradation, or teasing; encouraging them to think creatively
by emphasizing that they are talented in this respect; encouraging them to ask
questions; listening to their ideas carefully and respectfully; letting them find their
own mistakes in the process rather than immediately marking them; and supporting
their individual learning endeavors and mobilizing different methods, strategies, and
techniques of learning and teaching in education environments (Torrance,1965a,b;
Ataman, 1992; Sünbül, 2001; Tezci & Dikici, 2003). Moreover, for an individual to
engage in creative activity it may be necessary to be practical, appreciative, and
skillful in the cognitive, affective, and psychomotor domains. Without having current
and correct information, skills, and feelings, one cannot be expected to develop new,
original, and unique thinking and put it into practice. It is also necessary for any
society to respect and reward creative ideas, products, practices, and those engaged
in these endeavors. Yet, in our culture and education system, most of the elements
mentioned above that promote creativity are absent or unused. Even worse, there are
cases where those who think creatively are punished, mocked, or despised.
Traditional structures still predominate, a finding that is widely supported.
It may be necessary for teachers and parents to undergo training in creativity. No
students should be mocked for their “fantastic” views or ideas. Furthermore, there
should be more time and space in education environments for projects,
brainstorming, multiple intelligence theory, decision-making processes, station
techniques, case studies, problem solving, and systematic teaching, and such
environments should be further enriched. Students who produce creative output
should be rewarded. New experimental and qualitative research is necessary on both
the grade and course level.
261
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Sınıf Düzeyi ve Yaratıcılık
Atıf:
Alacapinar, F.G. (2013). Grade Level and Creativity. Egitim Arastirmalari-Eurasian
Journal of Educational Research. 50, 247-266.
(Özet)
Problem durumu: Eğitimde üst düzey hedeflerin öğrencilere kazandırılması amaçlanır.
Bu hedefler Bloom taksonomisinde sentez düzeyinin kapsamı içindedir. Sentez
düzeyinde öğrencinin özgün, bilinenin dışında, yeni bir kuram, çözüm önerisi,
model vb. ortaya koyması beklenir.
Yaratıcılık pek çok bilim adamı, düşünür tarafından ele alınıp incelenmiştir.
Bunlardan Guilfort yaratıcılığı yeni düşünceler oluşturma olarak ele alır ve zekayla
ilişkili olduğunu ileri sürer. Bunun yanı sıra yaratıcılığı problem çözme yeteneği
olarak düşünenler de vardır. Thurstone’a göre yaratıcılık düşünsel açıdan kuramsal
bir çerçeve oluşturmalı, bu kuramsal çerçeve uygulanmalı ve uygulama sonucunda
sorun çözülmelidir. Kuramsal çerçeve düşün, sanat, bilim vb. yaşamın tüm
alanlarıyla ilgili olabilir.
Torrance, yaratıcılığı bir bilimsel araştırma sürece gibi düşünür. Onun basamaklarını
sırasıyla belirler. Önce sorunun fark edilmesini, yani duyarlı olmayı ve eksik
yanlarının saptanmasını ister. Sonra denenceler kurulmasını, yani tahmini
çözümlerde bulunulmasını, denencelerin test edilmesini, eğer bu denenceler uygun
değilse onarılmasını, ya da yenilerinin kurulmasını ve tekrar test edilmesini ve bu
işin sorunun çözümüne kadar sürdürülmesini savunur. Bu süreç, bir bakıma
Dewey’in bilimsel araştırma mantığını içerir, ama Torrance bu sürecin yalnız bilim
adamlarıyla ilgili olmadığını, aynı zamanda düşünürlerin, sanatkarların da bu süreci
kullandıklarını belirtir. Yaratıcı düşünme sürecini başka türlü ele alanlar da vardır.
Yaratıcılığın aşamalarını Mott dört basamak olarak belirler. Birinci basamak hazırlık,
ikincisi kuluçka, üçüncüsü buluş (ilham), dördüncüsü ise denetlemedir.
Kültürel ortamla yaratıcılık arasındaki ilişki, bazı araştırmacılar ve düşünürler
tarafından ele alınmıştır. Ayrıca kişinin zeka düzeyinin, parasal ödüllerin, sıcak
esnek ve yaratıcı etkinliklerin yoğun olduğu ortamların kişinin ıraksak (divergent)
düşünme ölçümlerindeki yeterliğini yükselttiğini; bazıları ise bunların yaratıcılığı
düşürdüğünü ileri sürmüşlerdir.
Araştırmanın Amacı: Uygulanmakta olan ilköğretim yetişeği, öğrencilerin yaratıcı
düşünme becerisini anlamlı derecede etkilemekte midir? Bu konuda öğrencilerin
görüşleri nedir? Türk eğitim Sistemi 2005 yılından itibaren yapılandırmacılık
anlayışına göre yetişeklerini düzenledi ve ilköğretimden itibaren uygulamaya koydu.
Bu eğitim anlayışının temel amaçlarından biri, bireyleri üst düzey kazanımlarla
donatmaktır. Bu üst düzey kazanımlar arasında yaratıcı düşünme de vardır.
265
Araştırmanın Yöntemi: Araştırmada, nicel araştırmanın tarama modeli ile nitel
araştırmanın yarı yapılandırılmış odak grup görüşmesi kullanıldı. Nitel veriler
üzerinde betimsel veri analizi yapıldı. Öğrencilerin sınıf düzeyine göre Torrance’ın
yaratıcı düşünme testi A formunun akıcılık, esneklik, özgünlük, süsleme
bölümlerinden aldıkları puanlarla toplam puanları iki uzmanca belirlendi. Bu
puanlar arasında anlamlı bir farkın olup olmadığı t testiyle yoklandı. Bu araştırmada
evren ve örneklem saptanmasına gidilmedi. Uygun durum çalışma grubu kullanıldı.
Araştırma Ankara’da Çankaya ilçesinde bir ilköğretim okulunun üçüncü sınıfından
sekizinci sınıfa kadar olan toplam 172 öğrenci üzerinde yapıldı.
Araştırmanın Bulguları: Sınıf düzeyi ve cinsiyete göre akıcılık, esneklik, özgünlük,
süsleme ve toplam puan ortalamaları arasında anlamlı bir fark bulunmuştur. Beşinci
sınıfların akıcılık, esneklik, özgünlük, süsleme ve toplam puanları, diğer sınıflara
göre en yüksektir. Buna karşın tüm alanlarda en düşük puan ise, altıncı sınıf
öğrencilerine aittir. Akıcılık, esneklik, özgünlük, süsleme ve toplam puanlar üçüncün
sınıftan beşinci sınıfa doğru yükselmekte, altıncı sınıfta en düşük düzeye inmekte,
yedide tekrar yükselmekte ve sekizde yeniden düşmektedir. Bu verilere dayanarak
uygulanmakta olan ilköğretim yetişeğinin yaratıcılıkla ilgili becerileri istenilen
düzeyde gerçekleştirdiği söylenemez; çünkü beşinci sınıfa doğru yükselen yaratıcılık
puanları, beşinci sınıftan itibaren anlamlı derecede düşmüştür. Bu konuda en yüksek
puan alan beşinci sınıf öğrencileri ve en düşük puanı alan altıncı sınıf öğrencileri
arasından şans yoluyla seçilen üçer öğrenciyle odak grup görüşmesi yapılmıştır.
Beşinci sınıf öğrencileri “ Hayal ediyorum. Resimlerden ilham alıyorum. Çok fazla
değişiklik yapıyorum. Kafamı kullandım. Beyin fırtınası yaptık. Tartıştık. Merak
ettim. Zevk aldım. Hoşuma gitti.” gibi düşüncelerini belirtmişledir. Altıncı sınıf
öğrencileri ise “Yapmayın derler. Hadi canım bu olmaz. Vay canına bu da çok
abartılı olmuş. Bunu yapmak çok zor.” demişlerdir. Bu yanıtlardan da anlaşılacağı
gibi beşinci ve altıncı sınıflar arasındaki anlamlı farkın ailenin, öğretmenlerin
tutumlarından, eğitim ortamında kullanılan öğrenme-öğretme yöntemlerinden,
öğrencinin duyuşsal alandaki gelişmelerinden kaynaklandığı söylenebilir.
Araştırmanın Sonuçları ve Önerileri: Sınıfların akıcılık, esneklik, özgünlük, süsleme ve
toplam puan ortalamalı arasında anlamlı bir fark bulunmuştur. Bu bulgular bazı
araştırma sonuçlarıyla da desteklenmektedir. Sınıf düzeyi ile yaratıcılık arasında
anlamlı bir ilişkinin olduğu vurgulanmıştır Ayrıca yaş ve cinsiyetle de yaratıcılık
arasında anlamlı bir ilişkiden söz edilebilir. Yaratıcılık puanlarının düştüğü
dönemlerde heyecanlılık, anlayışlık puanlarında da düşüşler olmaktadır. Yükseldiği
dönemlerde de yaratıcılık puanlarının buna paralel olarak arttığı saptanmıştır.
Yapılan odak grup görüşmesinde de öğrenciler “Zevk alıyorum. Merak ediyorum.
Hoşuma gidiyor. Farklı bir şey istiyorlar” diyerek, bu görüşleri desteklemişlerdir.
Beşinci sınıf öğrencilerinin dört alandaki ve toplam yaratıcılık puanlarındaki anlamlı
fark; arkadaşlarının, ailelerinin, öğretmenlerinin yaratıcılıkla ilgili ürünlerini,
görüşlerini desteklemeleriyle de açıklanabilir. Nitekim yapılan bazı araştırmalarda
ailenin, anne-babanın, öğretmenin, çevrenin yaratıcı davranışlara ödül vermesi,
pekiştirmesi, bu tür etkinlikleri artırdığını göstermektedir.
266
Öğretmenlerin, Anne-babaların yaratıcılıkla ilgili bir eğitimden geçirilmeleri gerekli
olabilir. Öğrencilerin uçuk düşünceleriyle, görüşleriyle alay edilmemelidir. Ayrıca
eğitim ortamında yaratıcılığı geliştirebilen proje tekniğine, beyin fırtınasına, çoklu
zeka kuramına, karar verme sürecine, istasyon tekniğine, örnek olaya, problem
çözmeğe, dizgeli eğitime daha sık yer verilmeli ve ortam zenginleştirilmelidir.
Yaratıcı ürünler ortaya koyan öğrenciler çeşitli biçimde ödüllendirilmelidir.
Anahtar Sözcükler: İlköğretim, eğitim programı, öğrenci, yaratıcılık, sınıf düzeyi

eurasian journal of educational research e ğ i̇ t i̇

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