Search

This study aims to develop a scale that will determine the factors causing professional obsolescence in the field of education. In this context, the Professional Obsolescence Scale (POS) has been developed to determine the professional and organizational obsolescence of primary, secondary and high school administrators. In this scale development process, steps were followed in line with the suggestions of Crocker and Algina (2006) and Cronbach (1984). Firstly, 63 items were prepared and 991 school principals participated the study. R (version 4.0.1) software was used to analyze the data. Item and test parameters and information functions have been estimated using Samejima's Graded Response Model based on Item Response Theory. Principal Axis Analysis was performed for the construct validity of the scale, and four-dimensions structure with 47 items has been obtained. These dimensions are named as "Being Open to Professional Development", "Job-Ability Harmony in Profession", "Organizational Support in Professional Development", "Professional Burnout". The scores obtained from each dimension are evaluated within themselves. It has been observed that each dimension fulfills the conditions of unidimensionality, local independence, model-data fit and parameter invariance. According to the Classical Test Theory, Cronbach Alpha coefficients are between 0.807 and 0.945. The Stratified Alpha coefficient calculated for the whole scale is 0.94. According to the Item Response Theory, the marginal reliability coefficients were between 0.857 and 0.936 and the empirical reliability coefficients were found between 0.854 and 0.938.

This study aimed to determine and interpret norms of the Preschool Social Skills Rating Scale (PSSRS) teacher form. The sample included 224 independent preschools and 169 primary schools. The schools are distributed among 48 provinces and 3324 children were included. Data were obtained from the PSSRS teacher form. The validity and reliability evidence was re-obtained from the norm sample, and it was concluded that the sample preserved the structure comprising 4 factors and 49 items. The alpha coefficient obtained from the PSSRS for the whole norm sample was determined at 0.96. PSSRS norm values were obtained for four factors and the total scale at each age. Children's social development skills are interpreted in accordance with the percentile norms pie charts, which include the total scores from the full scale score and sub-scales. Findings obtained with regard to the validity and reliability of PSSRS scores indicated that the scale can be used as an auxiliary tool in determining children's social skill levels. Consequently, children's PSSRS scores should be recorded and compared to future results, and the degree of improvement should be assessed. Furthermore, each child should be evaluated individually. It is important to consider children's ages and other developmental characteristics when interpreting the results of the scale.

The outcomes which cannot be generalized are specific for a sample but are unable to be reflected to the rest of the population. The parameters that are reached at the end of the statistics that are scarce in sample arise doubts in the aspect of generalization. In these cases, parameter estimation may not be very stable and outlier values can produce false outcomes in the model. The situation that there is sample size is not adequate enough in numbers, reliability and generalizations that are reached at the end of restricted sets of data necessitate questioning with a dubious approach. Some statistical methods test the confidence intervals of the parameter values of the samples and the generalization of the parameter estimation values of the samples. These methods are known as "resampling" or "domestic-self copying." Jackknife is one of these methods. The sample in this study is composed of 18 students. The status of the "self-respect" of individuals in making decisions has been tried to be determined for the sample by the application of the Melbourne Decision-making Scale I. In this research, the dependent variable was determined to be the total item score related to the self-respect manners of individuals whereas independent variables were determined to be the academic success averages of the students (acdave), the financial income of their families (economy) and the number of siblings (sibling) they have. It has been seen that the academic success independent variable has a considerable effect at a significance level of 0.05 on the dependent variable of self-respect dependence of decision making (p less than 0.05) and Jackknife has confirmed this generalization.

This study gives results of the first phase of the 12-18 year old Turkish students' norm study of The Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ), which developed by Pintrich, Smith, Garcia & McKeachie (1993). The scale was administrated to 1114 students from 3 primary schools and 3 high schools in Ankara in Turkish language, science, mathematics and social science courses. After eliminating the questionnaires which have missing and extreme values, the analyses were done on 762 valid questionnaires for motivation subscale and 1100 valid questionnaires for learning strategies subscale. Results of the confirmatory factor analyses show that the first subscale, Motivation, has six factors, and the second subscale, Learning Strategies, has nine factors according to original scale's factor structures. Depending on the results of the confirmatory factor analysis; 6 items from motivation subscale and 5 items from learning strategies subscale were removed due to their low factor loadings. The corrected item total correlations ranged 0.58 to 0.15 for motivation subscale, and 0.68 to 0.19 for learning strategies subscale. (Contains 2 figures and 2 tables.)

The primary aim of this study was to examine the reliability and validity of a Turkish version of the Distance Education Learning Environment Survey (DELES) in post-secondary distance education. The second aim was to investigate empirically the conceptualisation of the distance education learning environment as a singular latent construct, within a second-order factorial structure that consists of six first-order factors. The DELES is a 34-item instrument for assessing social-psychological perceptions among distance education students. The tested hypotheses concerned key antecedents and consequences of the factorial structure of DELES in the Turkish context using confirmatory factor analyses. Principal component analysis of the Turkish data revealed six main factors of interest, which corresponded to the hypothesised constructs in the original DELES. The data suggested good reliability and validity for the Turkish DELES (DELES-TR) relative to the original version. Further, second-order analyses were conducted with two complementary samples to demonstrate the validity of six dimensions of the DELES-TR and their contributions to an overall factorial structure of social-psychological learning environment in distance education. Initial support for the second-order factorial validity of DELES-TR was found. Results indicate that a dimensional model of DELES-TR with the six first-order factors provided a superior fit to the data than first-order DELES-TR with six factors. Additionally, an investigation was conducted regarding associations between the DELES-TR's psychosocial scales and a student satisfaction scale. This study is unique in its focus on the learning environment in distance education in the Turkish setting.

Studies examining the important predictors of academic achievement of elementary teacher education students help us to understand the predictors of student achievement. These studies (House, 2000b; Ting & Bryant, 2001; Zheng, Saunders, Shelley, & Whalen, 2002)focus on the relationship between academic achievement and a number of cognitive as well as noncognitive variables. Cognitive variables include high school achievement, standard aptitude tests, and university admission examinations. Noncognitive variables, often called psychosocial variables, include psychological, cultural, and social characteristics. In Turkey, in order to enroll in undergraduate programs, students are required to take a centralized exam, the University Entrance Exam (UEE), which measures general academic aptitude and mental reasoning. The assumption here is that the UEE places students into programs where they can be successful. This study investigates the relationship between current academic achievement and previous academic achievement such as high school grade point average (HSGPA), UEE, attitudes toward the teaching profession (ATTEACH), integration into the university environment (INTEG), gender (GENDER), high school type (HSTYPE), accommodation type (ACCOM), weekly study hours (WSHOURS), travel to campus (TRAVEL), and some psychological variables. It also determines the important predictors of academic achievement of sophomore and senior students in classroom teacher education programs within elementary education departments at faculties of education in Turkey. (Contains 6 tables.)

In this study, an Interpersonal Cognitive Distortions Scale was developed to assess cognitive distortions in individuals' interpersonal relationships. The sample comprised 425 university students. A factor analysis yielded three factors: Interpersonal Rejection, Unrealistic Relationship Expectation and Interpersonal Misperception. To examine construct validity the correlations between the scores on the Interpersonal Cognitive Distortions Scale and the Automatic Thoughts Scale (.54), the Irrational Belief Scale (.54), and the Conflict Tendency Scale (.53) were estimated. The first factor, the second factor, and the total scale discriminated married individuals who had low and high conflict intensity and conflict frequency. The reliability of the scale was estimated by performing a test-retest correlation (.74). Cronbach internal consistency coefficient alpha was .67.

Problem solving skill is a skill that needs to be acquired by children in their childhood, which is needed throughout their lifetime. This skill holds an important place in the achievement of social targets and success in the learning processes. Primary education period, in which the building blocks of personality are laid and certain habits and social values are gained, consists of the most fruitful years in terms of education aiming at acquisition of problem solving skills. Acquisition of problem comprehension and solution strategies can be ensured easily and naturally by children of this age. Ensuring that children become good problem solvers is important in terms of the solution of personal, professional and social problems by using their cognitive skills. For this reason, tests are needed to measure the problem solving skills especially in early childhood. As the subject is a measurement of a skill which is needed throughout lifetime, the elaboration of a new scale rather than adaptation of a scale which has been created in another culture is deemed important in terms of the contributions it shall make to the academic studies and the education system of our country. In order to respond to the demand for a Problem Solving Scale in Turkey, a project, supported by TUBITAK and called "The Development and Turkish Norm Study of a Problem Solving Scale for the Children who are elementary school [Grades K - 5]" was started on July 1, 2008. In this framework, it has been represented that preparing a Problem Solving Scale for children who are in elementary school [Grades 1-5]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]