This study examined Turkish in-service early childhood education teachers&rsquo / self-reported beliefs and self-reported practices in relation to classroom assessment, to see if there were any relationships among in-service early childhood education teachers&rsquo / philosophies, their self- reported practices, their educational backgrounds, and their professional backgrounds. A survey method was conducted for his study. Participants consisted of in-service early childhood education teachers from early childhood centers serving children 3 to 6 years located in Ankara, Turkey. Questionnaires were applied to 200 teachers in 62 ECE centers from authorized 81 centers, who represents different educational and professional backgrounds. Results revealed that in-service early childhood education teachers&rsquo / beliefs are correlated with their classroom practices. Earned educational degree and year of experience in their professions, and number of teaching staff in the classroom were found to be related to their self-reported beliefs as well as their self-reported classroom practices.

The purpose of the current study was to investigate the classroom teachers&rsquo / and science and technology teachers&rsquo / views on science and technology curriculum. In this nation-wide study, survey design was utilized. The participants of the study consisted of 960 teachers in 26 provinces across Turkey and 601 of the teachers were classroom teachers and 359 teachers were science and technology teachers. In order to investigate teachers&rsquo / views, Teachers&rsquo / Views on Science and Technology Curriculum Questionnaire was developed by the researcher. The questionnaire was composed of 3 parts: demographic information part, science and technology teachers&rsquo / views questionnaire and open ended questions. To analyze the data, descriptive statistics and inferencial statistics (MANOVA) were used. The responses to open-ended questions were subjected to qualitative analysis. Results of the descriptive analyses revealed that classroom teachers and science and technology teachers had positive views towards attainments-content, learning-teaching process and assessment component of science and technology curriculum. Results of MANOVA analysis demonstrated that graduation fields affect teachers&rsquo / views towards attainments-content and assessment component of the Science and Technology Curriculum / whereas graduation fields did not affect teachers&rsquo / views towards learning-teaching process. Similarly, teaching experiences affect teachers&rsquo / views towards attainments-content and assessment component of the curriculum. As for teaching field, the results showed that teaching field affects teachers&rsquo / views towards attainments-content and assessment component of the curriculum and classroom teachers had more positive views on these components. Gender did not illustrate statistically significant results on teachers&rsquo / views on science and technology curriculum components.

The purpose of this study was to investigate primary school and mathematics teachers&rsquo / efficacy beliefs and perceptions in the context of the new primary mathematics curriculum and identify differences, if any, in teachers&rsquo / efficacy beliefs and perceptions based on their area of certification, gender, experience and number of students in classroom. The sample consisted of 805 teachers, 696 of whom were primary and 105 of whom were mathematics teachers working in elementary schools located in Mersin, Eskisehir, Bolu, Ankara and Istanbul. The questionnaire administered to participants was adapted by the researcher throughout the study. Results of exploratory factor analysis suggested six dimensions: Utility and Impact of the Curriculum, Impact of the Curriculum regarding Efficacy Beliefs, Efficacy Beliefs regarding the New Curriculum, Utilization of Curriculum, Utilization of Special Techniques, and Teachers&rsquo / Sense of Efficacy. The results of the MANOVA analysis indicated that teachers&rsquo / area of certification and experience had a significant role on the collective dependent variables, while number of students and gender did not. Analysis further revealed that primary teachers had significantly stronger efficacy beliefs about the new curriculum than mathematics teachers. Moreover, teachers with 11-15 and 21 and more years of experience were significantly found to perceive a higher utilization of special techniques than teachers with 10 years or less experience. In a similar sense, teachers with 16-20 years of experience were found to have a significant higher perceived utilization of special techniques than teachers with 5 years or less experience.

The current study aimed to explore middle school mathematics teachers&rsquo / use of mathematics textbooks and examine their integration of tasks in the textbooks into teaching. The framework of a mixed methods research design guided data collection in this study. A questionnaire called the Use of Mathematics Textbooks Questionnaire was developed and validated to identify the ways teachers benefit from textbooks. The factor analysis revealed four dimensions, namely Reading Student Edition Textbook, Selecting Questions from Workbook, Reading Teacher Edition Textbook, and Selecting Tasks and Problems from Auxilary Books. The results of the study showed that teachers used the student edition textbook for mostly during class and for lesson preparation. Teachers also used the student edition textbook for explaining the topic and the introductory tasks. However, they rarely used it for selecting problems and examples. Teachers read the student edition textbook mostly during and prior to class / and mostly use it for topic explanation, but rarely for problems and examples. They stated that they frequently selected questions from the workbook that were not included in the textbook. However, they occasionally picked questions to use during lessons. They frequently used auxilary books to select questions similar to the ones in the high school entrance exam problems. In examining the process of teachers&rsquo / use of mathematics textbooks, it was argued that there were interpretive processes as teachers engage with and use textbooks. The analysis of interviews and observations showed that teachers read textbooks and select tasks and questions from those books. In their decisions about using tasks from textooks, teachers usually considered the nature of tasks and students&rsquo / characteristics.

The purpose of this study was to reveal and define the problems middle school mathematics teachers experienced in applying transformational geometry and the solutions they proposed to overcome these problems. A total of six elementary mathematics teachers (grades 5-8) in Ankara participated in the study. The data were collected by means of one-to-one interviews with the participants. The findings indicated that the participants&rsquo / problems divided into three parts. These problems were problems arising from teachers, problems arising from students and problems arising from resources. The participants expressed challenges in teaching due to lack of materials, textbooks, and visualization ability of teachers, classroom size, and time. According to the findings, rotation was the most problematic issue. The participants claimed insufficient technological materials were the reason of this problem. Participants did not feel confidence enough to implement transformational geometry especially in rotation since they lacked adequate training and support. The participants claimed that the Ministry&rsquo / s support should be increased, concrete and technological materials should be sufficient in number, and the duration of transformational geometry lesson should be increased.

This study aims at finding out instructors&rsquo / perceived competencies in Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) and Ministry of Education (MONE) competencies, and accordingly exploring strengths and weaknesses of the ELT undergraduate program as well as providing suggestions for a more effective and fruitful program. At the first phase of the research, a questionnaire is given to seventy-five participants, working in the department of Foreign Languages at various universities. For the second phase of the study, an interview prepared in the light of the questionnaire results is conducted with thirty-four of aforementioned participants. The results of this study illustrate that the participants find themselves more competent in learning, language proficiency, planning, instructing, and content than assessing, identity and context, and commitment and professionalism since the participants believe in the need of improving themselves in latter standards. Similarly, they consider the methodology, general education and language components of the ELT undergraduate program effective because they find those components practical and focused during the program while the literature and linguistics components are thought to be ineffective in preparing them for the profession as the methodology of these components, which is not integrated with ELT enough. Lastly, in the lights of these findings, some suggestions are made for improving the program. For further research, all ELT teachers&rsquo / perceptions in Turkey can be investigated and suggestions for a better undergraduate program can be asked.

This purpose of this study is to find out the teachers&rsquo / perceived computer competencies and their expectations toward &ldquo / Bilgiye EriSim Portali&rdquo / prepared by Ministry of National Education. Study focused on 30 teachers and 5 administrators from six different schools in Ankara in 2005-2006 fall semester. A none-experimental descriptive survey research design was employed by administrating a 5-point Likert type Computer Competency Scale and an open-ended interview schedule. The statistical analysis of the data obtained through the Likert type scale questionnaire indicated that the teachers feel themselves partially competent about computers. The highest mean score for scale was observed for in Word Processing, and the lowest mean score was observed in Presentation and Desktop Publishing Software. It was also demonstrated that there was no significant difference between having a computer course and buying notebook given by MONE and computer competency score. It was found that although there was no significant difference in teachers&rsquo / perceived computer competencies in terms of gender, male teachers had higher mean scores than female teachers. It was revealed that the less experienced teachers&rsquo / mean scores are higher than the more experienced teachers&rsquo / mean scores. Even though there obtained differences in possession of computer at home and at school, it was not determined as a significant factor. The analysis of the qualitative data assisted the identification of expectations of teachers toward &ldquo / Bilgiye EriSim Portali&rdquo / . Under the light of the study results recommendations are suggested for both implication and further studies.

This study aims to find out teachers&rsquo / and learners&rsquo / perception of language learning strategies (LLSs). Three psycho-social variables regarding the teachers&rsquo / use of strategy instruction at BaSkent University were considered: 1. Level of awareness of language learning strategies 2. Beliefs in the effectiveness of language learning strategies 3. Ease of strategy instruction. These results were compared with the students&rsquo / reported use of LLSs to increase our awareness of students&rsquo / strategy use and needs so that teachers would be able to help learners facing problems in learning English. This study employed both qualitative and quantitative research tools. The relevant data were obtained by means of two questionnaires: a teacher and a student version of Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL, Oxford, 1990), and a semistructured interview. A total of 70 teachers teaching at the English language department of BaSkent University and 100 students studying in the same department were involved in the study. Data collected from the questionnaire were analyzed quantitatively by employing descriptive statistics, such as frequencies, percentages, means, and standard deviations. Content analysis was performed to analyze the interview data. v The results of the study suggest that for most of the items in the strategy inventory, if the teachers are aware of learning strategies, believe in the effectiveness of LLSs instruction and find them easy to apply in the classroom, they may use them more often in their classes. Furthermore, in variance analysis, the only variable that made a difference in teachers&rsquo / perceptions of LLSs was found to be the level of education, Finally, when the teachers&rsquo / and students&rsquo / frequency of LLSs use was compared, it was found out that teachers reported a higher frequency of LLSs use than their learners. However, there was a great similarity between the two parties in terms of frequency of strategy use in the most and least preferred strategy categories. It is essential to find the reasons for the difference in the frequency of LLSs among the two parties before planning a LLSs training.

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between teachers&rsquo / sense of efficacy in student engagement, instructional strategies, and classroom management and perceived openness to change in schools as regards willingness of the teachers to embrace change and teachers&rsquo / perception related to principal&rsquo / s openness to change, and teachers&rsquo / willingness to respond to community pressure for change. The research was designed as a correlational study and participants of the study consisted of 552 teachers working at primary and secondary level public schools selected from the four school districts in Ankara. Cluster sampling approach was used in selecting the overall sample of the study. In order to measure teachers&rsquo / sense of efficacy and their perceived openness to change in schools, Turkish adaptation of Teachers&rsquo / Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES) and newly adapted The Faculty Change Orientation Scale (FCOS) were utilized in the research as data gathering instruments, as well as the administration of a demographic survey. For the data analysis, both descriptive and inferential statistics techniques (Canonical Correlation Analysis) were used in the study. Exploratory Factor Analysis was also performed for Faculty Change Orientation Scale and Teachers&rsquo / Sense of Efficacy Scale to ensure construct validity of the instruments. The results of the analyses in the study indicated that there is a low relationship between teachers&rsquo / sense of efficacy in student engagement, instructional strategies, and classroom management and perceived openness to change in schools as regards teachers&rsquo / willingness for change, teachers&rsquo / perception about principal&rsquo / s openness to change and teachers&rsquo / willingness to respond community pressure for change.

This research aimed at investigating pre-service and in-service preschool teachers&rsquo / views regarding creativity in early childhood education by determining similarities and/or differences among their views. The data of the study was gathered from 10 pre-service and 11 in-service teachers by asking their views about creativity in early childhood education. This study has been realized by the qualitative research method and the data was gathered through a type of interview, namely focus group technique. The seven basic interview questions developed by Aslan &amp / Cansever (2009) for primary school teachers were rephrased considering early childhood education context. In the data analysis procedure, four basic themes were constituted: &ldquo / teachers&#039 / views on creativity&rdquo / , &ldquo / teachers&#039 / views on creative people&rdquo / , &ldquo / teachers&rsquo / views on the importance of creativity in early childhood education&rdquo / , and &ldquo / teachers&rsquo / views on the obstacles to creativity in early childhood education&rdquo / . The results demonstrated that although every participant had their own creativity definitions, they agreed on some common ideas about creativity. The participants were aware of the value of creativity in preschool education and they stated that they prepare and implement creative activities to nurture children&rsquo / s creativity as well as stating that there are many obstacles to achieve this goal. They indicated that these obstacles are mostly based on school administrators, teachers, and parents. Moreover, it was concluded that the most striking difference between pre-service and in-service early childhood teachers&rsquo / views was the fact that unlike in-service teachers, only the pre-service teachers gave some recommendations to tackle with the obstacles to children&rsquo / s creativity.