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This study aimed to investigate distance education practices in higher education during the pandemic, focusing on lived experiences, and proposing a policy decision framework for future distance education in similar conditions. Additionally, the study aimed to establish a design framework for an Emergency Action Plan for similar crisis periods. In the study, a case study was used to provide a detailed examination of the current situation's characteristics. The study group consisted of 63 administrators from 34 universities who actively participated in decision-making during the pandemic. Data were collected through 11 online focus group interviews, and the Miles-Huberman Model was used for analysis. The study proposed a policy decision framework for distance education in the post-pandemic period, consisting of 11 headings such as blended learning, open course materials, and Distance Education Center structuring. Additionally, the study presented an emergency action plan framework consisting of six components, including keeping the technological infrastructure working and supporting face-to-face courses with distance education. This study provides valuable insights for universities in preparing for potential crises and improving their distance education practices.

The present study aimed to analyze the views of pre-service teachers, expressed through metaphors, about the adequacy of mentors and teaching practice schools and their recommendations for effective mentoring. A phenomenological design was adopted, and participants included 105 mentees. The current mentors and teaching practice schools had attributes that were not adequate for active mentoring. The mentor should be selected based on criteria such as professional competence, ability to perform mentoring roles, and positive interpersonal relationships. The teaching practice schools should be selected based on human relations, educational activities, the quality of education and instruction, and the physical conditions of the school.

This research aims to analyze the views of parents of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) regarding their burnout using a meta-synthesis method. A total of 456 articles published between 2010 and 2023, using qualitative methodologies, were analyzed, examining 10 studies. Google Scholar, DergiPark, ERIC, EBSCO, EBCSCO Academic Search Ultimate, Elsevier, SCOPUS, Web of Science (WOS), and Wiley databases were used for study selection. The subject headings and keywords used in the searches were: 'autism spectrum disorder, parent, family, burnout, child, perspective, qualitative research. Content analysis was the preferred method during the data analysis. Using content analysis, the sampling methods, research purposes, data collection tools, and results obtained in the studies were examined. The identified data were interpreted based on frequency and occasionally presented using tables and graphs. The findings were categorized under identified themes based on the collected data. The studies examined within the scope of the research were evaluated as a whole, and five themes were reached: getting support, isolation, disruption of daily routine, anxiety, and emotional outbursts. The study's conclusions also provide recommendations for educators, parents, and future research directions.

This study examined the prevalence and correlates of psychopathology in gifted children (GC) and explored whether giftedness confers protection or risk for mental health problems. We used a comparative design to analyze a population-based sample of 100 GC and 100 controls matched by age and sex in Turkey. We assessed psychiatric diagnoses with the Development and Well-Being Assessment (DAWBA), a valid diagnostic tool for child and adolescent mental health, and measured resilience and temperament with standardized scales. GC and controls did not differ significantly in the frequency of psychiatric disorders. However, GC showed lower resilience and higher negative reactivity and activity than controls. Negative reactivity was a significant predictor of psychopathology in GC. Sex did not moderate the effects of giftedness on mental health outcomes, resilience, or temperament. Our findings suggest that GC may have increased vulnerability to stress and reduced coping skills. We highlight the need to identify and support GCs who experience mental health problems and face psychological challenges. Our results emphasize the importance of early intervention and prevention to enhance resilience and well-being in this population. Future research should investigate the underlying mechanisms and develop tailored strategies to support the mental health and well-being of GC.

Instructors are the most important component for the development of a Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) because of many MOOCs have been developed by instructors and offered free of charge. In this study we examine the benefits of sharing and course design actions during the enforcement of a MOOC. In this study a qualitative research design, case study, was used. Interviews were made with 12 instructors who have offered MOOC on AtademiX in Turkey to understand their gains while developing and teaching MOOCs. The data obtained through semi-structured interviews were subjected to content analysis and the gains of instructos were revealed in an inductive manner. According to the results of the research, instructors have made professional development and achieved new academic outcomes such as tendency of material sharing, satisfaction, recognition, self-confidence, and effectiveness in face-to-face lessons. As a result, it can be said that MOOC contributes professionally and academically to instructors.

This study explored language teachers' beliefs on learner autonomy in different educational contexts at a university setting in Turkey adopting an explanatory mixed methods design. Teacher cognition has been investigated extensively all over the world. Yet, teacher cognition on learner autonomy has received less attention. Regarding teachers' voices as essential to understand how they perceive learner autonomy, the study was structured in two phases--questionnaire survey and narrative inquiry. SPSS Version 23 and content analysis were utilized to analyse the quantitative and qualitative data emanated from the research. The findings revealed that while teachers considered learner autonomy from different perspectives, their gender and academic status did not indicate a difference in their cognition of learner autonomy. However, their teaching context displayed a small distinction, which should be investigated in the following studies. The study yielded several implications for the consideration of learner autonomy in teaching and teacher education.

We know that the socioeconomic structure of the areas around schools affects schools and their educational activities. Considering this fact, in the present study we sought to stress how the socioeconomic structure of the areas of schools where teachers carried out their duties affected the teachers. In the phenomenological study, we aimed to reveal the inequalities faced by the teachers who carried out a duty in a socioeconomically disadvantageous area in the southeast of Turkey. In order to collect data, we conducted face-to-face interviews with the teachers who experienced educational inequalities in their schools. We found that the teachers experienced both physical and educational inequalities, and these inequalities had individual and organizational effects. Due to these effects, the teachers had social and individual expectations. As a consequence, it is possible to state that the teachers had similar job definitions; however, they did not have similar opportunities in terms of the areas where they carried out a duty. We stress the necessity of actualizing fair applications that pay regard to the qualities of areas where teachers carry out a duty.

Objective: This research was conducted to determine the relationships between psychological well-being, social support, and work-life balance and the mediating effect of psychological well-being on the relationship between social support and work-life balance. Methods: Data were collected from a convenience sample of 277 participants. Data analysis was done with regression and the Pearson correlation coefficient. Regression-based mediation analysis developed by Hayes (2013) was used to examine the mediation effect of psychological wellbeing. Results: Work-life balance is negatively related to social support (r=-0.51) and, positively related to psychological well-being (r=0.50). As a result of the mediation analysis based on regression to determine the mediating effects, it was concluded that psychological well-being had a mediating effect on the relationship between social support and work-life balance. The bootstrapp (10000) method was used to determine whether the mediation analysis was significant. Conclusions: These findings suggest that the inverse relationship between social support and work-life balance is at least partly explained by the level of psychological well-being.

In today's world, where digitalization is inevitable and necessary, it is extremely important to raise individuals with digital competence. For this reason, it is of great importance that textbooks, which are important instruments of the education environment, are prepared in a way that contributes to digital competence skills. The aim of the study carried out in this context is to determine to what extent digital competence is included in secondary school mathematics textbooks. Document analysis, one of the qualitative research methods, was used in the study. The documents of the study consist of eight secondary school mathematics textbooks belonging to different publishers and being taught in public schools in the 2022-2023 academic year. The documents determined within the scope of the research were analyzed with the content analysis technique using a technology-supported qualitative data analysis software. The analysis of the data was based on the content, learning areas, and DigComp 2.2 framework that included digital competence. The results obtained from the study show that textbooks generally do not pay much attention to DigComp dimensions, more digital competence is included in the textbooks of MoNE Publications compared to the textbooks of other publishers, but in general, the concept of digital competence, which has an important place in the curriculum, is not sufficiently included in secondary school mathematics textbooks. In line with the results obtained from the study, suggestions were made to textbook authors and researchers.

The aim of this research is to examine the effectiveness of the concrete-pictorial-abstract learning strategy presented with the direct teaching method in teaching the subject of mixtures, which is one of the science subjects, to students with intellectual skills disabilities. The study used multiple-probe model with a probe phase, one of the single-subject research models. While the dependent variable of the research was the level of showing the mixtures of the students participating in the study; the independent variable is the concrete-pictorial-abstract learning strategy presented with the direct teaching method. The research was conducted with two girls and one boy living in Bolu, diagnosed with intellectual disability, and attending primary school. The data collected in the study were analyzed through visual analysis. As a result of the research, it has been observed that the concrete-pictorial-abstract learning strategy is effective in teaching the subject of mixtures to students with intellectual skills disabilities, that the permanence of this subject learned by the students can be maintained one and three weeks after the end of the education, and that all students can generalize this learning to different environments and tools.

This study examines science, mathematics, and classroom teacher candidates' attitudes towards mistakeinstant feedback. A total of 531 undergraduate students from different universities in Türkiye participated in the study. "Mathematics and science teachers' attitude scale towards mistakes and instant feedback to mistakes" (MST-AS) was used to collect data. Data analysis was conducted using descriptive statistics, t-tests, and ANOVA tests. A statistically significant difference between the external and internal attitude dimensions, along with the departments' overall attitude scores, was found. Based on a Tukey's Post Hoc test significant differences were determined between science and mathematics teacher candidates, and between mathematics and classroom teacher candidates in their overall scores, in favour of the science and classroom teacher candidates. The differences among the attitudes of the teacher candidates according to their grade level and achievement was not statistically significant. To better understand the attitudes of teacher candidates, more in-depth or longitudinal studies can be conducted on the variables correlated with high and low attitudes.

Being able to move between different representations levels (macroscopic, submicroscopic, and symbolic) is important to understand a chemical phenomenon meaningfully. The current study investigated how pre-service science teachers moved from symbolic representation to sub-microscopic representation. A total of 205 pre-service science teachers, first, balanced the three chemical reactions and then drew the reactions' sub-microscopic views if they were able to observe them. The findings revealed that pre-service science teachers are most successful at the symbolic level. Yet, this is not a valid conclusion for the sub-microscopic representation level. The drawings were analyzed concerning atomic size and molecular geometry and found that pre-service science teachers have common alternative concepts. Furthermore, they mostly have a superficial knowledge of the molecular geometry of chemical compounds. In conclusion, because preservice science teachers will teach in their future careers, it is important to encourage them to comprehend chemical phenomena at each representation level and shift between them to prevent alternative concepts they may have.

The aim of this study is to reveal the views of teachers on distance education, which is carried out using various platforms due to the pandemic in Turkey. The case study design, one of the qualitative research methods, was used in the research. Convenience sampling method was used in the selection of the participants. The participants were selected on the criteria that they conducted live lessons through distance education platforms and worked at a public school during the pandemic. The data of the study were collected through an interview form prepared by the researchers. The data collection instrument consists of two parts. The first part consisted of questions related to demographic information of the participants. The second part of the form included questions to determine teachers' views on distance education. The data of the study were analyzed with a computerassisted qualitative data analysis program. The participants stated that distance education has the advantages in terms of communication, flexibility in time and place, high number of participants, and economy. On the other hand, they stated that distance education has limitations in terms of technological reasons, limited active learning, socio-economic reasons, receiving instant feedback, supervision and control, and disadvantaged groups' inability to benefit. Although it was concluded that the participants considered themselves sufficient to manage the distance education process effectively, it was determined that the teachers did not receive any in-service training in order to plan, implement and evaluate the distance education processes. In this context, the participants stated that they want to receive in-service training on the use of Web 2.0 tools, live lesson management, distance education planning training, infrastructure training, presentation techniques. The participants offered suggestions to teachers, students, parents, and other stakeholders about the solutions of the problems they experienced.

This mixed-method study examines problems, practices, and suggestions associated with writing education in Turkish language courses. The study involved 96 Turkish teachers working in secondary schools. Using the responses from teachers, the results of the survey were presented on the basis of dimensions such as teachers' competencies in teaching writing, students' habits and competencies in writing, and teacher education programs' adequacy. Additionally, the study examined the additional support teachers provide to students with writing difficulties and the evidence-based practices they employ. This study found Turkish teachers participating in the study to have poor writing practices. The teaching of writing was problematic on several levels, including teacher training and student and teacher competence. Furthermore, teachers reported that secondary school writing instruction was unrelated to teacher training. It was also reported that students often lacked writing habits and had below-average writing skills. Despite the importance of evidence-based practices in effective writing instruction, teachers were deficient in providing additional support to students with writing difficulties. Last but not least, teachers' self-efficacy in evidence-based writing was not influenced by gender, educational background, school location, age, or years of teaching experience. The results point to the necessity of continuous improvement in writing education.

The effectiveness of professional development programs for teachers in Turkey is limited because the programs are not designed to meet individual teacher needs. Although teachers are implementers who perform classroom practices, they are in the role of students in these programs. The project supported by The Scientific and Technological Research Institution of Turkey (TUBITAK) 1001-Grant 220K080 entitled "Designing and Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Scientific Inquiry Supported by Online Mentoring (e-scaffolding) in In-service Teacher Training" aims to examine and evaluate a professional development model. The project involves various strategies, such as mentorship, coaching, peer learning, and collaboration, for prioritizing teachers' ideas and expectations. This study intends to reveal the readiness of the stakeholders (participating teachers and mentors) in the online mentoring model supported by scientific inquiry as part of the professional development process of teachers. The prominent results of the research are that teachers have positive opinions about the importance of scientific inquiry-based learning and teaching, teachers' expectations from professional development programs vary by their levels of experience. In conclusion, this study is important in terms of making teachers' voices heard and designing professional development programs in line with their expectations.

The aim of this research is to examine the level of European Credit Transfer System tools in Vocational Secondary School in Erasmus+ mobility projects carried out and granted by the Turkish National Agency. European Credit Transfer System tools in Vocational Secondary School has been developed as a tool of policy which aims recognition, verification and transfer of the documents, certificates and diplomas acquired in European Union countries, regardless of where they have been obtained. The data of the research are obtained from school principals, vice principals, branch managers and vocational teachers working at vocational schools which, in the 2019-2020 Erasmus+ project application period, applied to The Turkish National Agency for a grant and announced that ECVET tools would be used. Furthermore, vocational skills, qualifications, certificates and the recognition of the acquisitions obtained abroad by the students within the scope of Erasmus+ mobility project have been evaluated in this study. It has been concluded that vocational school principal, vice principal and teachers use European Credit Transfer System tools in Vocational Secondary School in Erasmus+ mobility projects, apply these tools and consider them to be favorable. In the study, suggestions regarding the application and use of European Credit Transfer System tools were made for the institutions that are planning to carry out Erasmus+ mobility project in vocational secondary school.

The special education teaching program in Turkey was united under a single roof with the decision taken by the Council of Higher Education in 2016. With this decision, the programs for teachers of the hearing impaired, the mentally disabled, the visually impaired and the gifted/special talented were organized as a new and single undergraduate program under the name of "Special Education Teaching." This research aimed to enhance the teaching practice process within the new special education program. For this purpose, the study was designed as action research. The research was conducted in a special education department in a province with a medium-sized population in Central Anatolia. The research participants included 19 faculty members, 24 undergraduate students, 12 special education teachers, one Ministry of National Education official, and one Directorate of National Education official. Semi-structured interviews, participant information forms, video recordings, documents, and a researcher diary were used for data collection. The data obtained from the research were analyzed using a systematic analysis approach. As a result of the research, arrangements were made in the new special education teacher training program in the areas needed in the teacher training process. Steps such as reorganizing the evaluation criteria and creating guidelines to determine the responsibilities of stakeholders are among these arrangements. With the COVID-19 pandemic, activities were carried out for material design and use in distance education and transfer of theoretical knowledge to the online teaching practice environment.

This study aims to examine the contribution of ArtiBos, which is designed as a Gamified Adaptive Intelligent Tutoring System for students' problem-solving skills. In the study, first of all, the system's design features to improve problem-solving skills were examined, and then the effect of the system on problem-solving skills was evaluated. The study was carried out with 12 students studying in the ninth class of a High School in Türkiye and 6 mathematics teachers with different experiences working in the same school. A case study, one of the qualitative research methods were applied in this study through which ArtiBos system logs, student interviews, and teacher interviews were evaluated. Data pertaining to the number of solved problems, the number of problems created, the number of problems solved correctly, the duration of being online in the system, the rate of correct problem-solving, and the average solving time were examined to evaluate system logs. Interview questions have been prepared so that the contribution of system features to problem-solving skills can be evaluated. The data from the interview were analyzed and some codes for problem-solving skills were created. And then, sub-themes were created by combining the codes. The results show that ArtiBos affects students' problem-solving skills positively.

This study examined the relationships among school principals' distributed leadership, teachers' psychological capital, trust in the principal, work engagement, and turnover intention. The research sample consisted of 397 primary and secondary school teachers. The study employed a cross-sectional survey design using quantitative methods. Distributed Leadership Scale, Psychological Capital Questionnaire-Short Form, Utrecht Work Engagement Scale-Ultra short version, Trust in the Principal Scale, and Teachers' Intent to Move to Another School Scale were used to gather the data. Multiple mediator analysis in structural equation modeling (SEM) with the bootstrapping method was used to analyze the direct and indirect effects of dependent variables on teachers' turnover intentions. 95 % confidence intervals were calculated using 2000 samples to examine the mediating effects. The results indicated that the direct effects of distributed leadership and psychological capital on teachers' turnover intentions are insignificant. Psychological capital negatively and indirectly affects turnover intentions through work engagement while distributed leadership negatively and indirectly influences turnover intentions via work engagement and trust in principal. The study emphasized the role of job and personal resources in understanding teachers' turnover intentions. Based on the results, principals are recommended to demonstrate distributed leadership behaviors to build trust and use intervention strategies to strengthen teachers' psychological capacities if they want to lower teachers' turnover intentions.

Comparative education is very important in terms of addressing the similarities, differences, interactions, and interaction levels of education systems. In comparative education studies the similarities and differences between the education systems implemented by the countries under consideration are investigated and presented within the framework of certain criteria. This study aims to compare Iranian and Turkish special education systems in terms of aims and principles. In the study, a qualitative study based on the document/document analysis method is adopted to compare the special education principles of the two countries. In this study, which focuses on the aims and principles of special education in Turkey and Iran, the data were collected using the relevant laws, regulations, legislation, theses, books, articles, publications, and websites of ministries and institutions. The obtained data were analyzed by descriptive analysis method in terms of similarities and differences in accordance with document analysis in comparative education. According to the results, Iran and Turkey have a similar general purpose in special education: to prepare the individual for society and the future. The main purpose of special education is to meet the educational needs of individuals with special needs. While the Turkish special education approach is more family-oriented and cares about the child's environment, the Iranian special education approach focuses on the individual in need of special education.

Some students have misconceptions. Students' misconceptions make difficult to learn the new subject. Teachers need to know students' misconceptions and take precautions. One of the misconceptions in mathematics is about limits and continuity. In order for teachers to take precautions in this regard, they must have this experience during their education. For this, we have developed explanatory concept exchange texts on limit and continuity for preservice mathematics teachers. What is the views of preservice mathematics teachers the against the concept change texts prepared about limit and continuity is the research question. The 46 preservice mathematics teachers were informed about the subject in "misconceptions in mathematics" lesson and the concept change texts were presented. An open-ended questionnaire was prepared to determine the opinions of preservice mathematics teachers. In this questionnaire, questions whose validity and reliability were checked together with experts were used. The answers were analyzed by thematic analysis and some of the opinions were direct quoted. Some preservice mathematics teachers said that the concept change texts were "awareness" raising and "informative". Some preservice mathematics teachers said it was "difficult". Some of the positive comments that have emerged; they find the concept change texts interesting and enjoy reading, they are surprised and noticed the errors that exist in them.

The study aims to examine whether the interaction of parents' education and income levels has a significant effect on the creativity scores of preschool children. The research was conducted in a district of Ankara, where parents are thought to vary in terms of income and education level. 123 children studying in independent kindergartens affiliated with the Ministry of National Education participated in the research. "Early Childhood Creativity Scale" was used as a data collection tool in the study. In the study, a 2x3 two-way analysis of variance was preferred because it was aimed to examine the possible effects or interaction effects of categorical independent variables on the continuous dependent variable. Test procedures were run after ANOVA assumptions were checked and it was observed that the assumptions were met. As a result of the research, it was determined that the interaction between parents' education levels and income levels had an effect on their children's creativity. When looking only through the main effects, independent of the interaction effect, it was determined that the level of parental education was influential on the creativity scores of the children, but the income level alone was not.

One of the main courses that have been affected by instructional technology is science education since the nature of topics covered by the science curriculum may require the usage of technology to teach them better. The aim of the current study was to investigate the effects of virtual laboratories on the development of gifted children's conceptual knowledge and the improvement of inquiry skills. A total of 43 sixth-grade gifted learners were the participants: 22 in the control group, in which hands-on experimentation was conducted, and 21 sixth-grade pupils in the experimental group, where virtual laboratory environments were used. Two different data-gathering tools, namely a multiple-choice conceptual knowledge test and an inquiry skills test, were used in this study. The results revealed that although both groups enhanced their conceptual knowledge and improved their inquiry skills throughout the study, the students in the experimental group reached significantly higher scores than their counterparts for both of the tests. Several suggestions are made for both science teachers and researchers concerning the outcomes of the current study.

The study investigated the relationships among principals' paternalistic leadership, teachers' trust in principal, work engagement, and organizational citizenship behaviors. Specifically, the study tested a moderated mediation model of paternalistic leadership's effect on teachers' organizational citizenship behaviors, with work engagement as mediator and trust in principal as moderator. In this cross-sectional research, data was gathered from 346 teachers working in primary and secondary schools in three different provinces in Turkiye. Paternalistic Leadership Scale-short form, Trust in Principal Scale, UWES-ultra short, and Organizational Citizenship Scale-short form were used to collect the research data. The results revealed that trust in principal was a significant moderator in paternalistic leadership's direct effect on teachers' organizational citizenship behaviors. It was also found that trust in principal moderated paternalistic leadership's indirect effect on teachers' organizational citizenship behaviors through work engagement. This study showed the critical role of trust in principal in the relationship between leadership and organizational citizenship behaviors. Moreover, it contributed significantly to the existing literature regarding teachers' work engagement. Some limitations of the study were reported, and theoretical and practical implications were noted within the framework of the findings.

Bayesian Networks (BNs) are probabilistic graphical statistical models that have been widely used in many fields over the last decade. This method, which can also be used for educational data mining (EDM) purposes, is a fairly new method in education literature. This study models students' science success using the BN approach. Science is one of the core areas in the PISA exam. To this end, we used the data set including the most successful 25% and the least successful 25% students from Turkey based on their scores from Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) survey. We also made the feature selection to determine the most effective variables on success. The accuracy value of the BN model created with the variables determined by the feature selection is 86.2%. We classified effective variables on success into three categories; individual, family-related and school-related. Based on the analysis, we found that family-related variables are very effective in science success, and gender is not a discriminant variable in this success. In addition, this is the first study in the literature on the evaluation of complex data made with the BN model. In this respect, it serves as a guide in the evaluation of international exams and in the use of the data obtained.

In recent years, the proliferation of online and distance education has dramatically changed the landscape of education. With the growing demand for flexible and accessible learning opportunities, learners are increasingly turning to online and distance education programs to pursue their academic, personal, and professional goals. However, this modality of learning also presents unique challenges for learners, particularly when it comes to e-learning readiness and self-regulated learning. To explore these factors within the context of the online distance learning environment, this study used a cross-sectional quantitative research method to examine the differences in self-regulated learning skills of open and distance learners in terms of e-learning readiness in the Open Education System of Anadolu University. For the purpose of the study, an online survey was used to collect data. The participants of the study comprised 466 online distance learners. Results indicated that learners with high e-learning readiness levels had higher self-regulated learning skills compared to those with low levels. It was also determined that self-regulated learning skills did not differ in terms of the gender of the learners while they differed in terms of the time the learners spent on the learning management system.

This study aims to investigate the situation of science teachers regarding out-of-school learning activities and to investigate how their participation in out-of-school learning activities as an observer within the scope of science courses creates a change in the situation of teachers. A case study was used in this study. Twenty-one science teachers in the study group participated as observers in the activities carried out with the seventh-grade students for seven different out-of-school learning areas. Pre- and post-interview forms were given to the study group. The findings demonstrate that a significant number of science teachers did not receive training for such practices before participating in the activities. They were aware of the benefits and importance of out-of-school activities but did not feel sufficient in learning practices. Another result of this study is that there are positive developments in the situation of teachers by showing a significant reduction in anxiety about aspects such as determining out-of-school learning environments according to the subject and performing out-of-school activities. In addition, this study reveals that teachers' observation experience makes them aware of different aspects of out-of-school learning.

This study aimed to analyze the effect of the 8-week swimming training applied to secondary school students on their motor skills and 50-meter freestyle swimming ratings. 24 students having swimming license in the age range of 11 to 14 participated in the study voluntarily. Munich fitness test (MFT) protocol was used to determine the motor skill levels of the athletes, and 50-meter freestyle swimming ratings were used to determine the swimming performances. According to the test of normality results, it was determined that the data collected had a normal distribution. Paired samples t-test was used to determine the difference between the MFT pre-test and post-test. According to the statistical analysis results, a significant difference in favor of the post-test was determined in Goal Throwing, Flexibility, Flexed Arm Hanging, Step Test, MFT total score and 50-meter swimming ratings of the participants. It is believed that the swimming training applied to the students improved their swimming performances and motor skill levels. It may be recommended that swimming exercises, as well as other factors, should be used in the cases where it is desired to improve children's motor skills.

This study aims to clearly describe how to design and develop a digital game with a concrete example for preschoolers to acquire Self-Care Skills (SCS). The study is in the model of design-based developmental research and includes such participants as subject-matter experts, practitioner teachers, and preschoolers in the development steps. RETRO game development model was adapted and followed in the game development process by integrating Digital Game-Based Learning (DGBL) approach with entertainment game development. Each step of the model involves gathering, analyzing data and yielding informative findings that guide the next step. The views of participants indicate that some behaviors in SCS can be cognitively acquired and internalized by the game with latent learning. While realizing learning outcomes, the developed game succeeded in motivation, engagement and design features as in commercial entertainment games. As the model recommends, if all the bases are covered, the design and development process may be executed right. Since the study reports the entire process of the concrete example, it can help guide novice digital game developers (can be a teacher, a trainer as well) repeat the game development or develop a new one based on DGBL.

In this study, the value of patriotism, which is one of the ten core values that students should acquire in the science course, was selected. In this context, the aim of the study is to reveal the views of pre-service science teachers on the teaching of patriotism and examine them in the context of value teaching. In this study, holistic single-case design, one of the qualitative research methods, was used. The research was conducted with pre-service science teachers studying at Süleyman Demirel University Faculty of Education in the 2019-2020 academic year. All the data in the study were obtained with the "Semi-Structured Interview Form," developed by the researcher and consisting of open-ended questions. To ensure the reliability of the research, three expert opinions were consulted. The reliability of the research was calculated using the Miles and Huberman formula (reliability = agreement / agreement + disagreement) by determining the number of agreements and disagreements in the comparisons. In the analysis of the data in the study, both descriptive and content analysis were used as qualitative analysis techniques. According to the findings obtained in the study, most pre-service science teachers do not have much knowledge about value teaching approaches (indoctrination, value clarification, value analysis, moral dilemma, etc.), they consider patriotism as consciousness, responsibility, sacrifice and sense of unity and solidarity, they think that patriotism value is not sufficiently included in the curriculum, they have almost half and half different opinions about the effectiveness of the science course in teaching patriotism value, that it is necessary to go beyond the official curriculum when teaching this value, that they will mostly use methods such as excursion and drama when teaching values, that they will mostly prefer materials such as films and documentaries when teaching values, that scientists will want to serve their own countries more in the context of patriotism, and that most of the pre-service teachers have high beliefs about teaching the value of patriotism. As a result of this research, it was concluded that for pre-service science teachers to teach the value of patriotism effectively, they should encounter more value teaching studies both in the dimension of curriculum and during their education life in the faculty to increase their awareness levels about this value.

Problem behaviors negatively affect the lives of special education students in different ways. Individuals with special needs may exhibit problem behaviors such as aggression, harming themselves or others, and excessive hyperactivity in general. It can be said that intervening, taking precautions, and changing these behaviors in a positive way before the emergence of problem behaviors are of critical importance in facilitating these children's lives. In this sense, the examination of postgraduate theses in the field of behavior management in special education is important in terms of describing the innovations, developments, current trends, and, if any, incomplete situations in the field of behavior management. Within the scope of the research, it is aimed to examine the studies on behavior management in the field of special education in Turkey between the years 2016-2022 in terms of various variables (type of publication, publication year, publishing university, research method, subject, study group). Document analysis, one of the qualitative research methods, was preferred in this study. According to the research findings, it was concluded that most master studies were done as postgraduate publications, the most publications were made in 2019, the university that made the most publications was Eskisehir Anadolu University and the most used research method in the studies carried out was the quantitative research method. It has been revealed that it is important for other universities to design behavior management studies in special education.

This study aimed to carry out a meta-evaluation of the curriculum evaluation research studies conducted in K12 schooling levels between 2004 and 2022 in Turkey based on the Joint Committee's standards for educational evaluation to present an overview of the evaluation studies and enhance understanding of evaluation. Through a systematic review, 42 studies were included in the meta-evaluation. The data were collected through a descriptive matrix and a meta-evaluation checklist and were analyzed through document analysis. The findings revealed that most of the eligible articles were published between 2018-2022. Most studies focused on primary and secondary education, and only a few of them dwelled upon preschool education. Among the studies, Mathematics and English are the most evaluated courses. Moreover, data were often gathered from one or two data sources, such as teachers and students, through qualitative research designs and without referring to any evaluation models. Besides, curriculum evaluation research studies made recommendations regarding practice and further research and mainly focused on including stakeholders, in-service training, and curriculum development and evaluation. As for the data gathered through the meta-evaluation checklist, the results showed that most articles demonstrated more than half of the indicators stated in the items of the checklist. While utility seemed to be a successful area for the articles evaluated, feasibility and accuracy criteria were not fully met, and most articles did not refer the propriety criteria. In line with the findings, the evaluation studies need to be planned in a way to provide a more complete and deeper understanding of the evaluated curricula by considering its complexities. [This article includes an extended summary in Turkish.]

This study examines how the earthquake that occurred on February 6, 2023, in Kahramanmaras, Turkey, has affected educational activities in the region. The research utilized questionnaires to survey teachers and gather information about the main problems they experienced after the earthquake and their solution suggestions. The findings provide valuable insights for educators and policymakers to tackle the challenges teachers and students face after a natural disaster. The study employed a basic qualitative research design within qualitative research methods. The study group comprised 42 volunteer teachers from eleven different Turkish provinces at various education levels who experienced the February 6, 2023, earthquake centered in Kahramanmaras and participated in educational activities in the same area following the earthquake. The group of research participants was selected through easily accessible case sampling, one of the types of purposeful sampling. The data collected underwent content analysis. As per the study results, teachers detected issues that have arisen after the earthquake in the realms of educational infrastructure, psychosocial well-being, security, communication, and other factors. They then devised individual and collaborative solutions to address these challenges. Additionally, the study discussed the proposed solutions of teachers for addressing the psychosocial issues that students face in the aftermath of an earthquake. It provides crucial insights for comprehending the problems in post-earthquake education and extending support to students. Teachers' recommendations for enhancing earthquake education and awareness can significantly aid future preparedness and crisis management.

The aim of this study is to investigate the level of social acceptance of students with typical development in inclusive classes towards individuals with special needs in terms of certain variables. In this study, the screening model was used, which is one of the quantitative research methods. The reason for choosing the screening model in the research is to determine the relationship between different variables such as gender, parents' education level, and whether there is a person with disability in the student's immediate environment and the level of social acceptance. In the 2019-2020 academic year, 1083 6th, 7th, and 8th-grade students in inclusive classes in public secondary schools in Türkiye participated in the study. The Social Acceptance Scale was used in the study. The statistical package was used to analyze the data. The results of the study revealed that there was a significant difference in social acceptance levels of students with typical development towards their peers with special needs (p<0.001) according to the variables as gender, father's education level, grade level, Having a person with disability among relatives, previous attendance to kindergarten and nursery in the past, family status. However, it was found out that there was no statistically significant difference between the mother's level of education of the students with typical development and their social acceptance levels towards their peers with special needs. [Note: The page range (470-492) shown on the PDF is incorrect. The correct page range is 469-492.]

This study aims to explore the trends and the perceived benefits and challenges of flipped language instruction regarding student achievement and attitudes in Turkiye. To that end, the databases, including Web of Science Core Collection, Scopus, ERIC and DergiPark were reviewed, and a total of 20 articles were analyzed. Systematic review was utilized as the research methodology. The findings revealed that flipped instruction in ELT has gained importance since 2015 in Turkiye and has been gradually receiving more attention in research and practice. In the reviewed studies, the most employed research method turned out to be the mixed method, whilst the purely quantitative and qualitative studies were not abundant. It is seen that writing has been the most frequently researched language skill with respect to flipped instruction, whereas the other skills were not subject to investigation considerably. Furthermore, apart from language skills as the primary focus, the studies also concentrated on students' perceptions, achievement, self-directed learning, attitudes, and classroom engagement. Finally, the reviewed studies illustrated the challenges and benefits of the flipped classroom in relation to students' achievement and attitudes towards learning. In the light of the findings, implications for practice and recommendations for future research are provided.

This study identified preservice teachers' perceptions toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The study group comprised 22 Turkish preservice primary school teachers. The Q-methodology was adopted, the statements of which concerned the 17 SDGs. The data analysis revealed two main perspectives: the prioritization of basic human needs and the prioritization of future human needs. As a common perception, preservice teachers placed a higher priority on peace, justice, and strong institutions, no poverty, and quality education than on any of the other SDGs. The results shed light on how preservice teachers perceive the SDGs. Different perspectives of preservice teachers on the SDGs may influence their future teaching practice. This study highlights the importance of considering different perspectives among preservice teachers to ensure the effective implementation of SDGs in education.

Objective: This study was carried out to determine the knowledge levels of nurses working in Family Health Centers (FHCs) about childhood autism. Methods: This study is a descriptive and cross-sectional study. The sample of the study consisted of 361 nurses working in FHCs in the province with the highest child population rate in Turkey. Data were obtained using the personal information form and the Knowledge about Childhood Autism among Health Workers (KCAHW) questionnaire. Results: The findings show that the mean score for the KCAHW questionnaire was 10.95 ± 3.7. Gender, education level, previous employment in a mental health clinic, the presence of a person with autism in their environment or family, their previous participation in any autism-related education program, and knowledge of the autism screening and follow-up program conducted by the Ministry of Health significantly affected the scores that were obtained from the KCAHW questionnaire (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Educational practices that will increase the knowledge and awareness of nurses about autism can contribute to the diagnosis of children with autism at an earlier age.

Within the scope of the current study, the researchers developed activities for middle school students to raise their awareness on the harm of plastics and microplastics, which are detrimental to nature and living things. In addition, through the activities developed, the study aimed to provide students with knowledge of and experience with bioplastics, which have emerged as an alternative to plastic materials and are environmentally friendly. Twelve eighth grade students participated in the current study. The activities developed by the researchers within the framework of the REACT strategy covered a four-week period. The researchers made sure that the activities designed included each step of the REACT strategy (Relating, Experiencing, Applying, Cooperating, Transferring) and the researchers used different tools (mind map, concept map, Vee diagram). The study suggests that activities designed for classroom use should be integrated with tools such as Vee diagram, concept map and mind map in order to increase students' knowledge and awareness about global environmental problems as well as support students' ability to produce solutions to such problems.

The objective of this study is to investigate the environmental factors such as supports and barriers that have been faced by those children with SLD between the before and after COVID-19 lockdown and their involvement, participation frequency and desire for change. The participation features as well as the environmental factors at home, school and community settings of these children (n: 61; mean age: 9.37 ± 1.50 year) during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown were assessed by using the Participation and Environment Measure for Children and Youth (PEM-CY) instrument via Internet access. The differences in participation frequency, involvement, desire for change, and environmental factors (supports and barriers) for school and community settings between the pre and post COVID-19 pandemic lockdown were found to be p < 0.01. There were no statistical differences at home settings in terms of participation frequency and supports (p > 0.05). This study provides information about the participation levels of children with special needs during the COVID-19 pandemic and the environmental factors faced by these children. The results are expected to contribute to the rehabilitation program that may improve the participation levels of children with special needs, and determine where greater efforts are needed to support so as to raise their participation levels and improve environmental features after the quarantine process.

The aim of the study is to examine the mediator role of positivity in the relationship between loneliness at work and organizational identity in school counselors. The research group consists of 304 school counselors from preschool to high school at the time of the study. A personal information form, developed by researchers, along with a Positivity Scale, Loneliness at Work Scale, and Organizational Identity Perception Scale were administered to collect data. Mediation analysis revealed that positivity was a partial mediator in the relationship between loneliness at work and organizational identity in school counselors.

Background/purpose: Psychological resilience is considered a factor that can support teachers' adaptation to rapidly changing situations such as COVID-19, and in turn help to reduce the fear they may experience. The current study aims to examine the effect of COVID-19 fear on happiness through the mediating effect of psychological resilience based on teachers' perceptions. Materials/methods: The study was designed according to the relational survey model, and was conducted with the participation of 346 teachers. Research data were collected through online surveys. The study used the Sobel, Aroian, and Goodman tests to test the significance of the effect of the mediator variables between the dependent and independent variables Results: The results of the study showed that teachers' fear of COVID-19 significantly affected their happiness level. However, it was found that fear related to COVID-19 significantly predicted resilience and teachers' resilience level had a significant effect on their happiness. Conclusion: Fear and resilience associated with COVID-19 have a significant impact on happiness. In addition, psychological resilience was found to have a mediating effect on the relationship between fear and happiness associated with COVID-19. The findings of this study will lead the other researchers to expand their studies to assess other behavioral variables, such as apathy and depression that might influence the relationship between fear of COVID, resilience and happiness.

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are considered learning environments that eliminate many learning barriers. Online courses in MOOCs have become an opportunity for everyone during the lockdown of the COVID-19 outbreak. However, usability issues may cause problems such as high dropout rates and lack of learner's motivation. Therefore, in this study, the usability of Coursera, one of the most known MOOCs in the world, was evaluated. The evaluation was performed with ISO 9241-11 standard. The environment's effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction were evaluated with the authentic tasks requested to be done in Coursera. Additionally, the findings were supported by eye-tracking metrics such as fixation duration, fixation counts, heat maps, and gaze plots. Twelve individuals (six females, six males) participated in the authentic tasks, and three individuals (two females, one male) participated in the eye-tracking phase. Results of the study revealed that most participants successfully performed the authentic tasks and are generally satisfied with the usability of the environment. However, considering eye-tracking findings and Coursera Usage Satisfaction Survey, some usability problems such as inadequate language support and the difficulty of using the search feature emerged. In the end, possible reasons were discussed, and the suggestions were presented for usability improvements.

Conceptually, although the effectiveness of communication is generally associated with the development of language skills, studies that model this relationship comprehensively are limited. Based on this, the current study examines the relationship between different linguistic variables (listening skills, attitude towards reading habits, speech self-efficacy, and writing disposition) and their own and communication skills. The study data was collected from 566 prospective teachers in Turkey. As a result of the study, the theoretical structure between linguistic variables and communication skills has been statistically proven. In the model, it was seen that the model-data fit was at a good level (X[superscript 2]/df=4.46, CFI=0.955, RMSEA=0.078, SRMR=0.033). The proposed model indicates that listening skills affect communication skills at a medium level and speech self-efficacy at a high level. In addition, writing disposition affects communication skills indirectly through speech self-efficacy, and reading habits affect communication skills indirectly through both listening skills and speech self-efficacy. The highest relationship is between listening skills and speech self-efficacy. Also, the relationships between all the variables are significant. The study supports existing hypotheses about the role language plays in communication skills.

Despite the adoption of modern educational approaches such as activity-based, laboratory-based, technology enhanced science education, it is known that in most cases, students have difficulties in achieving desired learning goals such as developing inquiry skills and engineering knowledge. The efforts of science educators to ensure that students reach the desired learning goals have led to the development of new educational approaches. It is then necessary to put the emerging educational approaches into practice, to determine their effects in practice, and to determine the level of achieved learning goals. Therefore, the study intends to examine the effect of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) supported science teaching on the perception of inquiry learning skills and engineering knowledge level of 8th graders regarding Basic Machines unit. Quasi experimental research design was adopted. The study was conducted with 8th grade students. The participant students were recruited through easily accessible sampling method. This study was implemented during five weeks. The Inquiry Learning Level Perception Scale (ILSPS) and the Engineering Knowledge Level Scale (EKLS) were data collection tools. The data obtained revealed that STEM supported science teaching was effective on 8th graders inquiry learning skill perception and engineering knowledge levels. It is recommended to carry out comprehensive studies to reveal the effect of STEM-supported science teaching on students' design skills in the 21st century.

This study aims to develop a 'Teacher Expectation Scale' (TES) to accurately and reliably measure teachers' expectations from their students. The development process of TES has an exploratory mixed method research design. The maximum variety sampling method was used when collecting qualitative data for the study, and the simple random sampling method was used for quantitative data. In the study groups of the research, there are 27 teachers for semi-structured interviews, 423 teachers for Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and 750 teachers for Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). For the content and face validity of the scale, six experts' opinions were obtained. A structure consisting of 36 items and 2 factors was revealed, which explains 73.54% of the total variance as a result of EFA. It has been seen that the items contained in TES show high levels of affiliation to the relevant factors and that all items are discriminative. The explored structure with EFA was evaluated using CFA. The following results were obtained when examining the compliance indices of the obtained model: X[superscript 2]/df=4.53<5; CFI=0.99; TLI=0.99; RMSEA=0.07; SRMR=0.05. From the calculated reliability coefficients, McDonald's Omega (0.98) and stratified alpha coefficient (0.96) for the scale overall and Cronbach alpha coefficient (0.98) for the dimensions were obtained. Reliability and validity results, obtained from TES showed that it is a valid and reliable measurement tool with two factors and 36 items. The subject of teacher expectation can be examined in terms of many variables using TES developed in the current research.

In STEMNET's report, 76% of 500 teachers interviewed stated that joining the STEM Club increased students' ability to solve real-world problems. This study aims to develop a valid and reliable measurement tool for evaluating STEM clubs. The research sample consisting of 149 teachers who carry out STEM club activities in schools in Turkey was determined using the purposive sampling method. Content and construct validity and reliability analyses have been performed for this purpose. To ensure content validity, (1) a pool of questions based on the literature was created, (2) draft scale items were determined, (3) an expert was allowed to check them, and (4)item difficulty and discrimination index were calculated. To ensure construct validity, (1) exploratory factor analyses (EFA) and (2) confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) were performed on both the same and different samples. As a result of the analyses, having the same data set be analyzed with different software was sufficient for verifying the factor structure. A three-factor structure consisting of 29 items was obtained, which explains 52% of the variance. Cronbach's alpha of reliability for the overall scale was calculated as 0.92. As a result, a valid and reliable scale was determined to have been developed for researchers and program practitioners to evaluate STEM clubs. Suggestions have been made that the scale can be used on STEM clubs at the provincial, district, and school levels to determine their efficiency and productivity.

The purpose of this study is to examine the attitudes of middle school 7th and 8th grade students towards STEM education in Turkey and Ghana. The research was conducted to a total of 974 grade 7 & 8 middle school students (480 from Turkey-Mugla Province and 494 from Ghana-Accra Province) during the spring semester of 2018-2019 academic year. A quantitative research method was used in this research. The attitudes of the students towards STEM show statistically significant difference in each dimension depending on which country the schools are located. The study revealed that the students' attitudes towards STEM education were "positive". While there was no significant relationship between students' attitudes towards STEM and their gender and grade levels, there was a significant difference between their attitudes and the place where their schools were located.

The enhancement of English writing skills is essential for academic success, and as one form of alternative assessment, peer feedback implementations are utilized to enrich writing instruction process. The advent of Web 2.0 tools has helped writing practitioners utilize various Cloud-based technologies including Google Docs to encourage learners collaborate and exchange comments on their written products. Responding to the frequent calls to conduct further investigations utilizing diverse e-platforms to find out the most effective ones, thereby helping informed practitioner decisions, the current study examined the opinions of preparatory students enrolled in an English Language and Literature Department towards peer collaboration through Google Docs. Overall, computer-supported collaborative writing process created a sense of community and was found welcoming both for feedback provider and receivers who had diverse gains. Yet, the implementation is not without its limitations with personal and technical dimensions. The findings suggest that for a rewarding online peer editing experience, practitioners need to justify their attempts to extend writing instruction and assessment outside school borders, negotiate the e-platform with learners, and train them about how to comment on written products objectively.

Teacher competency is a key research area because of the strong link between child development and the quality of early childhood education. This study aims to examine early childhood teachers' self-reported pedagogical competency profiles and to determine the factors affecting their profiles. To reach that aim, a mixed-method study was designed as an explanatory sequential design. The participants comprised 290 early childhood teachers for the quantitative portion and 15 for the qualitative. The Early Childhood Teachers Competencies Assessment Rubric and an interview form, both developed and proved valid and reliable by researchers, were used. Two-step cluster analysis and inductive content analysis approaches were used to analyze the data. Some important findings are as follows: the teachers were grouped into high-, mid-, and low-competence clusters based mainly on the differences in the areas of instructional technology and educational planning competency. As the teachers indicated, social and individual factors determine their competency profiles. Furthermore, the teachers explained about their ongoing professional development endeavors to improve their competency profiles. The results of the study are discussed in detail, and suggestions are presented for planners/practitioners of teacher professional development programs, curriculum developers and faculty members at higher education institutions, and policymakers at the national and international levels in the hard way to reach out to more qualified early childhood education.

Although it is desired to be integrated into education quickly with the advancement of technology, it takes time to embed such changes in education. Teachers and teacher candidates are expected to have sufficient readiness and technological infrastructure in order to keep up with the targeted and rapid transformations. The study aims to determine the views of elementary mathematics teacher candidates (EMTC) on the use of digital technology (DT) in mathematics education. A case study, one of the qualitative research methods, was used in the research. The data of the study conducted with 83 elementary mathematics teacher candidates were collected within the framework of nine open-ended questions. In line with the analyses carried out, it was concluded that undergraduate courses positively affect the use of digital technologies in mathematics education. It has been stated that the COVID-19 pandemic has opened the door to the use of digital technologies in mathematics education, and opinions on what digital technologies can be used in mathematics education have been put forward. Suggestions were made that teacher candidates should increase the courses on the use of digital technologies in their undergraduate education.