The aim of this study is to review the academic papers written in Turkey on the subject of school readiness, with regard to one of the dimensions of school readiness, that of schools’ readiness for children. The examinations were carried out using one of the qualitative research designs, namely the nested case study design. The study universe consists of 45 articles in Turkish that include the subject of school readiness published in 26 academic journals between the years 2012-2017. With the purposeful sampling method, 14 academic papers that include the dimension of schools’ readiness for children were taken as the study sample. The obtained data were analyzed by descriptive content analysis. The analysis results show that half of the studies reviewed were published in the year 2014. It was observed that in the papers, among the components of the dimension of schools’ readiness for children, the schools’ physical readiness component was most often mentioned. In the articles including the schools’ physical readiness component, it was observed that mainly, findings indicating that schools were not physically suitable for first-year pupils’ level of physical development had been made. As for the component of teachers’ readiness, research findings were accessed relating to the fact that teachers were not prepared for students in terms of their attitudes and values as well as their professional knowledge and skills. Moreover, in the articles, in terms of readiness of the schedule for students, findings were accessed regarding the fact that primary school programmes were not suitable for the levels of the students or for their levels of readiness.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of lessons conducted in out-of-school learning settings on 5th graders science achievement within the scope of a guidance material that was prepared to be used in out-of-school learning settings in accordance with the “Let’s Solve the Riddle of Our Body” chapter objectives. The pretest / posttest equalized control group design, which is one of the quasi-experimental designs, was used in this study. The sample of this study was composed of a total of 31 5th grade students (15 were in experimental group, 16 were in control group) that were selected from secondary schools in the first semester of the 2015-2016 academic year in Tokat Province. Let’s Solve the Riddle of Our Body Chapter Achievement Test (LeSROBAT) was administered before and after the implementation of the guidance material to measure the students’ achievements and retention. The lessons were conducted as suggested by the current curriculum in the control group. The data were analyzed using independent samples t-test and covariance analysis (ANCOVA). As a result of the analyses, it was found that the LeSROBAT post-test scores of experimental group were significantly higher than the control group. Within this context, it was concluded that the out-of-school learning settings positively contributed to academic achievement and the guidance material that was developed within the scope of this study was effective. The results of retention test analyses didn’t reveal any significant difference between the posttest and retention test scores of experimental and control groups. When the LeSROBAT retention test scores were examined, it was observed that the scores of experimental group was higher than the control group.

Firstly, the researcher provides an insightful introduction into the phenomenon focused on to explicate the learners’ views about the role of school counselors in line with career selection. To attain the study objectives, the researcher used a multi-unit case study to investigate the perceptions among high-school students about school counselors’ roles and career selection. The investigator used open-ended questionnaires to harness information and then utilized the qualitative descriptive approach to analyze the data. Analysis of the information collected via open-ended questionnaires was done through thematic analysis, which was a subset of the broader qualitative descriptive technique. The findings denoted that high-school learners have varied perceptions with regards to the roles of school counselors and career selection.

Gender differences in mathematics learning outcomes are still evident in many countries participating in large scale international testing, as well as in national testing in Israel, the context in which the study reported here was conducted. The participants were 281 students from three Israeli elementary schools and were in grades 4 and 6. The students completed a questionnaire with items based on a selection of variables included in explanatory models for gender differences in mathematics. It was found that many students held gendered beliefs related to mathematics learning, particularly when the questions asked related to themselves or to significant others in their lives (parents and teachers); the views of the majority of students were gender neutral. When presented with two photographs -a man, and a woman- and asked who was the one more likely to work with mathematics, it was clear that the students’ choices and explanations echoed perceptions of mathematics as a male domain.

This paper aims to test the reliability and validity of the Turkish adaptation of DeBaryshe and Binder's Parent Reading Belief Inventory (PRBI) and to investigate parents' literacy beliefs. The primary focus of this paper is to explore parents’ beliefs and practices and their relatedness on the emergent literacy of their children aged 3–7 (M=69.8 months; SD= 9.33 months). As data collection tools, we availed ourselves of the Parent Reading Belief Inventory,(PRBI), Home Literacy Inventory (HLI) and Child Literacy Behaviours (CLB). In addition, the Personal Information Form, prepared by the researchers, was utilized. Moreover, confirmatory factor analyses were performed on samples of parents from Adana, a city in southern Turkey (N= 952). The study showed that a seven-factor structure in the original form of the PRBI was validated , excluding items 8, 30 and 31. Consistent with the results of the confirmatory factor analysis and reliability analysis, it can be concluded that the PRBI is a valid and reliable tool to investigate the process of parents' literacy activities with their children in Turkey.

Technology is an indispensable part of the educational curriculum, and large budgets have been allocated to provide technological infrastructure in secondary education institutions in Turkey. It is important that teachers have the technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPCK) to successfully integrate technology into their courses. The aim of this study is to examine the development of the TPCK of a mathematics teacher who participated in in-service training course organized for the use of Geogebra software in geometry teaching. The in-service training is designed in accordance with the Technology Integration Model stages, and Geogebra software is used taking into account the learning outcomes of 9th and 10th grade secondary school geometry. The case study method has been employed, and data was collected through interviews, observation, self-assessment forms, and field notes. The findings show that the in-service training helped the maths teacher integrate technology in the teaching and developed the knowledge of curriculum, students’ understandings and learnings, and instructional strategies and methods. With regard to research recommendations and results, professional development programs that will provide TPCK development can be organized so that teachers can use the ever-evolving technologies in their classes along with the appropriate pedagogical approaches.

Recent science education standards emphasize the importance of the instruction of nature of science (NOS) concepts at all levels of schooling from pre-K to K-12. Delivering a proper NOS education to students is excessively dependent on their teachers with an adequate understanding of NOS concepts. The present study investigated the science conceptions of preschool and elementary teacher candidates. The data collected from a total of 506 prospective teachers were analyzed with respect to the following demographic variables: majors, genders, grade levels, high schools and GPAs of teacher candidates. “Student Understanding of Science and Scientific Inquiry (SUSSI)” developed originally by Liang et al. (2008) was the instrument used to collect data in this study. The data analyses were conducted using MANOVA and Pearson Correlation Coefficient. The corresponding mean scores of the teacher candidates in specific aspects of NOS ranged from “poor” to “informed” conceptions of science. All but one of the demographic variables yielded statistically insignificant results on the NOS conceptions of teacher candidates. The majors of the teacher candidates were detected as a significant variable influencing the conceptions of the teacher candidates. The results of the study were discussed in reference with the relevant literature.

The purpose of the present study is to test a hypothetical model in order to examine the association between students’ sense of classroom belonging along with four other university class-level variables including faculty-student relationships, connected classroom climate referring peer relationships, loneliness and classroom identity. It is intended to draw attention of teacher educators to the importance of creating sense of community at classroom level through this study in order to improve the quality of teacher education. With this aim, pre-service teachers attending the faculty of education were selected as sample of the study (N= 1425). Each measures used in this study was adapted for college-level students through confirmatory factor analysis in order to test specific predictions concerning each measure’s structure and the results revealed that  all measures have adequate psychometric properties. The model examined with structural equation modeling was an excellent fit with the data, and the results indicated that the fitted model explained 50% of the variance in classroom identity; 47% of the variance in sense of classroom belonging; 14% of the variance in classroom climate; and 9% of the variance in loneliness. Results and implications are discussed.

Teacher education programs are often accused of failing to prepare preservice teachers for real life classroom situations. In the case of research on classroom management, the focal point is often classroom teachers and their educational and behavioral goals rather than students’ experiences. This study aims to explore the perspectives of preservice teachers on their attitudes and behaviors in the university classrooms. For this purpose, 40 preservice teachers, who studied in the Early Childhood Education department at a state university in Turkey, were selected. The interview was chosen as the data collection method. The interview questions were based on the questions that Cothran, Kulinna and Garrahy (2003) used in their study with the secondary physical education students. The collected data were analyzed by the constant comparison method (Glaser & Strauss, 1967) and common themes were constructed through the analytic induction method (LeCompte & Preissle, 1993). In this study, the findings indicated that incompatible behaviors served different functions in teacher education classrooms. The preservice teachers perceived punitive teacher responses to students’ negative behaviors as compelling, ineffective and mostly humiliating practices. The preservice teachers provided three main elements that affect their attitudes, behaviors and experiences in a teacher education classroom. These elements were related to students, teachers, and the context of the classroom. The preservice teachers perceived their positive or negative behaviors mostly as reactions to the behavior of the teacher and the classroom environment.

The present study aims to explore the experiences of prospective physical education teachers on active gaming. The study, which used qualitative case study design enrolled 2 prospective physical education teachers (1 male, 1 female) who were included in extracurricular activities and physical education classes in 2015-2016 academic year. For data collection, semi-structured interview forms, diaries and extended field notes were used. For data analysis, the content analysis method was used: following the transcription process, coding was performed in two categories and themes and sub-themes were created that reflect common codes. The findings have revealed that according to prospective teachers, active gaming ensures active participation of students and facilitates classroom management in physical education classes, which, in turn contributes to the learning environment where every student can participate. It also has been found that active gaming in the extracurricular activities contributes to the arousal of the initial participation desire in students, and establishment of an environment suitable for the improvement of physical competence. According to prospective teachers, active gaming should be used not in every part, but in certain parts of classes or of extracurricular activities.

The primary goal of this research is to explore absenteeism tendency, and the attitudes towards absenteeism and cheating of students who attended the teacher certificate program. In addition, this research aims to identify the views of students and lecturers on cheating and absenteeism. A sequential explanatory mixed-method research design was employed in this research. The sample of the quantitative data was 321 teacher certificate program students studying at Mugla Sitki Kocman University, Turkey. Absenteeism tendency, cheating attitude and absenteeism attitude scales were used to collect the data. Descriptive statistics, correlation, independent t-test, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Tukey HSD tests were used to analyze the data. Qualitative data was collected through semi-structured interview forms. 14 students and 14 lecturers were interviewed, recorded, and transcribed. Qualitative data was analyzed through quantitative content analyses and descriptive analyses. Research findings show that verbal field students have significantly more positive cheating attitudes than quantitative field students. While cheating attitudes show no significant difference between genders, students in physical education departments have higher scores in the dimensions of environmental conditions and opportunity and ability than verbal and quantitative field students. Both students and lecturers describe cheating as “unfair behavior and plagiarism,” and absenteeism as a “right” in unavoidable situations. It is emphasized that the active participation of students in classes mostly depends on the instructor.

A variety of teacher training system was implemented in Turkey until today. One of these systems is pedagogical formation training. The aim of this study was to determine the strengths and weaknesses of the pedagogical formation training according to the opinions of pre-service teachers and the experiences during the pedagogical formation training, to gather information about whether these experiences contributed to their teaching, and to evaluate the place of the pedagogical formation training in teacher employment in the light of this information. The research was carried out using an interview technique of qualitative analysis methods. The study group comprised of 20 pre-service teachers from different undergraduate programs, and they participated in a 14-weekinternship program at a high school in Ankara during the 2017-2018 academic year as a requirement for a training course.  Content analysis method was used for data analysis. As a result of the research, the pre-service teachers stated that they found the internship training in practice schools as useful for future teaching lives, but they did not find the theoretical training given in the classes useful for various reasons. They considered that there are some weak points of the program: the duration of the formation course is short, lessons are late in the evening, classes are crowded, and the teaching staff have negative effects on the students: they are indifferent, and there are almost the same topics in each lesson. This means that they were mostly not satisfied with its overall quality, and so its operability was enough. Like some of the suggestions, it is recommended that duration of the program should be extended to a long period, and the instructors should be selected from those who can give energy to the class, have communication skills, can create discipline in the classroom, and have experience in traditional classroom teaching.

The paper is part of the qualitative research project Educational Aspirations, Opportunities and Challenges for Immigrants in University Education in Iceland, conducted in Iceland’s three biggest universities. The main goal of the paper is to investigate immigrant students’ experiences of communication with teachers during the learning process and their perspectives on multicultural group work. Furthermore, the paper explores immigrant students’ experiences of learner-centred approach and culturally responsive teaching methods applied by some teachers. The data was collected through focus group interviews and qualitative, semi-structured individual interviews with immigrant students. The theoretical framework is mainly based on the constructivist theory, which emphasises the importance of communication and the learner-centred approach. Additionally, the theoretical framework includes multicultural education theory, which puts an emphasis on applying culturally responsive teaching methods in classrooms with diverse student populations. The analysis of the interviews revealed that the participants’ experiences of communication with teachers and peers were mostly positive. However, culturally responsive teaching is still a rare phenomenon in Icelandic universities. When it comes to the participants’ perspectives on group work, the experiences ranged from being highly positive to negative.

The analyses described in this paper permitted an evaluation of whether capacity-building professional development practices were related to early childhood intervention practitioners’ reported use of capacity-building family-centered practices. This was ascertained by structural equation modeling for two different types of family-centered practices (participatory and relational) where the two models were compared to determine the better fitting model and the sizes of effects for the relationships among the variables in the models. Results provided converging evidence that capacity-building professional development engenders practitioners’ use of capacity-building family-centered practices. Implications for practice are described.

The aim of this study was to investigate the attitudes of music teacher candidates on computer self-efficacy perceptions and digital technology according to different variables. In this research, correlational survey model is used as a general survey model and also during data collection process of research, criterion sampling is used as purposive sampling.   The focus group of the research consists of 102 students studying music education at Ondokuz Mayis University in the 2018-2019 academic year. Computer Self-Efficacy Perception Scale and Attitude Scale towards Digital Technology Scale were used as data collection tools for the study. According to the results of the study, it was found that there was a significant relationship between the levels of computer self-efficacy perception and the attitudes towards digital technology of the music teacher candidates who participated in the research. The self-efficacy perceptions of the students significantly differed according to their gender, to have a personal computer and the time they first used the computer for educational purpose and their attitudes towards digital technology significantly differed according to their gender, class level and computer ownership.

This study considers the interaction between an e-learning system, the Blackboard system, and the students who use it in Saudi Arabia. While previous work exists, there is limited consideration of the assessment of the preferences of e-learning system usability variables based on students’ perspectives, especially in developing countries such as Saudi Arabia. This paper attempts to fill the gap by investigating the relative importance of the design criteria developed for e-learning system usability evaluation from the students’ perspective in Saudi tertiary education. Based on reviewed literature, a set of usability principles was developed that have had an influence in the students’ learning process and use of the e-learning system. The list includes system navigation, system learnability, visual design, information quality, instructional assessment and system interactivity. An exploratory study was carried out to identify the most important usability design characteristics from a student’s perspective and then evaluate the overall usability of the current e-learning system, based on this subset. A quantitative approach was adopted to weigh usability design characteristics, based on 181 learners’ perceptions. The sample consists of undergraduates who are users of a web-based e-learning system in a university in Saudi Arabia. The research instrument was tested for construct validity and reliability. The analysed results have shown that information quality is the most important dimension followed by the navigation of the e-learning system. The study has also revealed that the system learnability and visual design came third and fourth in order of importance of e-learning system usability assessment. Finally, the least important design categories that influenced the e-learning system usability assessment were instructional assessment and system interactivity. The empirical results of this study may help to provide insights for designers and evaluators leading to a more effective approach to improve the usability and uptake of the e-learning system.

In almost all European countries, many schools offer a form of bilingual education provision according to which content subjects are taught either through two different languages or through one foreign language. This approach is known as Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL). The main problem addressed in this research article is the need to examine and describe the contribution of CLIL methodology to the development of bilingual language competence of students of a secondary vocational school. In addition, the study looks at the teaching and learning within a bilingual Slovak-English study program of the school, specifically at the implementation of CLIL methodology in content subjects taught within the program. Specifically, the extent, approaches, materials used in the study program to enhance bilingualism at school in general and the bilingual language competence of the students through CLIL methodology in particular, as well as opinions and perceptions of teachers and students were investigated. Three data collection tools were used – interviews with teachers and students, classroom observations and document review. The results of the study indicate that various factors inside and outside the classroom and school enhance students’ bilingual language competence with CLIL methodology playing an important but not a decisive role.

The study aims to promote relevant and effective environmental education (EE) through extracurricular clubs. For this, we studied the state of play of environmental activities (EA) carried out by 48 environmental clubs belonging to urban and rural areas of the Regional Academy of Education Fez-Meknes, Morocco. These extracurricular environmental clubs remain so far without formal environmental education programs. In this study, we identified the bulk of programs offered by extracurricular environment clubs, including types of scheduled activities and percentages of achievement and student beneficiaries in urban and rural settings. In addition, we have identified the main barriers to achieving certain environmental activities. The significant correlations detected between some of the variables studied allowed us to better explain the achievements and the weaknesses of these clubs. Finally, we have made recommendations to promote relevant and effective extracurricular environmental education.

In recent years, cyberbullying, which can be considered as a new form of bullying, has emerged as a result of developments in the field of technology and communication. Cyberbullying has become a social problem which has affected individuals’ lives negatively. The key to success in the elimination of cyberbullying and its negative effects lies in cyberbullying sensitivity. The present study aims to analyze teachers’ cyberbullying and cyber victimization experiences and levels of cyberbullying sensitivity based on some variables which are supposed to develop awareness regarding cyberbullying. Using survey as a research model, the present study focused on 346 teachers working at schools affiliated with Ministry of National Education in Tasova District located in Amasya (Turkey). “Personal Information Form”, “The Revised Cyberbullying Inventory for University Students” and “Cyberbullying Sensitivity Scale” were used as data collection tools. SPSS package program was used for data analysis and frequency and percentage values of demographic variables. Independent T test was used for gender and marital status variables, and One-Way ANOVA test was used for age and level of education variables. The findings of the present study revealed that most of the participants used social media websites actively and spent at least 2 or 3 hours on these websites on a daily basis. Teachers usually have a Facebook and/or Instagram account, and benefit from social media for research purposes and playing games. It can be stated that teachers have a significantly high level of cyberbullying sensitivity. However, it was also indicated that even though participants worked as a teacher, they still did cyberbully and suffered from cyber victimization in the past. While a significant difference was observed only in the dimension of cyber sensitivity in terms of marital status, age and level of education, a significant difference wasn’t observed in the dimensions of cyberbullying, cyber victimization and cyber sensitivity in terms of gender.

The structure sense is a part that must be learned in order to help understand and construct connection in abstract algebra. This study aimed at building the pattern of a structure sense as a profile of the structure sense in group property. Using a qualitative study, the structure sense of group property was explored through lecturing activity of abstract algebra course from two individual assignments given to the students. The students who could provide the best answers from the first and second individual assignments were chosen to be the respondents. The data from the second assignment, then, was analyzed through presentation, interpretation, coding, making a pattern, leveling and continued with clarification through an interview. The results of the study show that there were six patterns of structure sense answers and five levels of structure senses made by the students as the profile of structure sense. The conclusion is the inability to recognize the structure of the set elements, operation notations, and binary operation properties is one of the causes of the constraints in structuring the proof construction of the group. Thus, a thinking of mathematics connection is needed in structure understanding as a connection between symbol in learning and the symbol of abstract.