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The aim of this study was to reveal pre-service teachers' informal reasoning regarding nuclear energy use in terms of informal reasoning modes, decision modes, and argument types. The exploratory sequential mixed method was used to collect data. The informal reasoning of pre-service teachers was investigated thoroughly and holistically by examining the qualitative data first, and then by making qualitative findings quantitative. The findings revealed that pre-service teachers adopted social and ecological-oriented informal reasoning more. As far as argument modes are concerned, the number of supportive arguments was higher compared to rebuttal arguments. The study further revealed that most of the pre-service teachers had a high level of informal reasoning. Our study showed that pre-service science teachers used multiple informal reasoning modes and demonstrated high-quality informal reasoning. Integrating socio-scientific issues in the curriculum may help pre-service teachers improve the quality of their informal reasoning and produce more arguments. Teachers can relate a subject in their lessons to a socio-scientific issue, which can help enhance students' use of arguments and the quality of informal reasoning.

The purpose of this study is to develop a valid and reliable Oral History Attitude Scale. The 25-item trial form created under the supervision of an expert opinion was applied to 714 elementary school third and fourth grade students, 345 female and 369 male students in Sakarya province. Then the obtained data were analyzed. As a result of the Explicit Factor Analysis (EFA), a structure consisting of two dimensions, which are named "individual" and "social", and a total of 15 items have been found out. It has been determined that the model's goodness of fit indexes is quite high. Validation Factor Analysis also confirms EFA results. It was determined that the reliability coefficient of the scale was 0.76, the split-half half reliability was 0.74, the test-retest reliability coefficient was 0.91, and all the differences between the averages of the 27% upper and lower groups were significant. In the study, it was concluded that the scale can be perfectly used as a valid and reliable instrument in research to determine the attitudes of primary school students towards oral history.

This study aims to reveal how Turkish social studies teachers regard performance projects in elementary education, to determine problems experienced and to find out their recommendations for them. The study is based on phenomenology, a qualitative study design. The population of the study is comprised of 20 social studies teachers working for schools located in the city of Sakarya. They were provided with the interview form designed by the researchers. The interview form consists of six questions designed in a way that will reveal how social studies teachers regard performance projects. The data were analyzed through descriptive analysis. The study concluded that the great majority of the teachers use performance projects for evaluation purposes. However, they do not believe that performance projects serve their purpose. They also stated that both teachers and students experience a number of problems during implementation and evaluation. According to the participants, both students and parents have a negative attitude towards performance projects. [This study was presented in ERPA International Congresses on Education on 2-4 June, 2016 as a verbal statement.]

The aim of this study is to examine primary school teachers' opinions related to current events. The study group is consisted of total 30 primary school teachers who take part in the groups of 15 female (%50) and 15 male (%50) in Sakarya during 2015-2016 the education year. The study is carried out under science facts pattern of qualitative research designs. In order to reveal teachers' views on current events, the form of semi-structured interviews from which is qualitative data collection tools is used. There are two sections in this study. First section is about teachers' personal information and second section is about teachers' questions to determine their views on current events. For the content validity of the questions in the negotiation form, it has been consulted with three experts and made the necessary adjustments in line with their proposals. In addition, the clarity of the questions in the negotiation form has been checked by discussing with five teachers and then the form has been finalized. The data obtained from teachers are analyzed by using content analysis. In the study, it is concluded that 97% of the teachers follow the current events. It is shown that 93% of female teachers and 100% male teachers follow the current events. Furthermore, it is indicated that %100 of the teachers use the internet in their house.

The purpose of this study was to identify prospective teachers' consumption patterns on special days. The sample was comprised of 29 prospective teachers (22 females and 7 males) who studied Primary School Teaching in the Faculty of Education at Sakarya University during the 2014-2015 Academic Year. The study was designed as a phenomenological one, a qualitative research design. The data were collected with a semi-structured interview form, a qualitative data collection instrument. The interview form consisted of two parts. The first one contained questions as to descriptive information about the prospective teachers while the second was intended for the identification of their views on their consumption patterns on special days. The content validity of the questions was examined by three specialists, and they were revised in accordance with their recommendations. In addition, the comprehensibility of the questions was tested by five prospective teachers, and the form was finalized. The data were subject to content analysis. The results showed that the great majority of the prospective teachers (90%) considered Mother's Day, Father's Day, Valentine's Day and birthdays to be special days. Furthermore, 69% of them regarded shopping on special days as meaningful.

The purpose of this study is to develop the Tendency to Tolerance Scale and to analyze the tendencies of primary school students to tolerance through certain variables. The population of the study was comprised of 899 students who studied at five different primary schools located in Sakarya. The exploratory factor analysis yielded an 18-item measurement tool with 3 sub-factors, which accounted for 47.97% of the total variance. The sub-dimensions were "value", "acceptance" and "empathy". It was discovered that the internal consistency coefficient for the whole scale, the first factor, the second factor and the third factor are 0.89, 0.86, 0.70 and 0.63 respectively. The test-retest coefficient for the whole scale, the first factor, the second factor and the third factor are 0.84, 0.83, 0.73 and 0.82 respectively. The study found that the item-total correlation varied between 0.43 and 0.63 and all the differences between the 27% upper group and 27% lower group were significant. Furthermore, it was discovered that primary school students have a high tendency to tolerance, that female students are relatively more tolerant, that the tendency to tolerance is lowered as students proceed to higher grades, that the tendency to tolerance gets higher as mothers have a higher educational status, and that educational status of fathers has no influence on the tendency to tolerance. (Contains 1 footnote.)

The purpose of this study is to analyze the teaching materials employed during social studies lessons on the basis of certain variables. Specifically, the researcher tried to find out whether teachers' gender, service length, having a personal computer, receiving an in-service training regarding the use of teaching materials, having an interest on using technological devices and sufficiency of the teaching materials in schools effect the usage of printed materials, audiovisual materials or experience-giving methods (e.g. field trips, a visit to an institution) in social studies lessons. The data were collected from 160 teachers (N=87, female; N=73, male) who worked in Istanbul and Sakarya during 2008-2009 spring semester. A scale was developed and applied by the researcher on the participating teachers to score and measure the usage of teaching materials in the Social Studies lessons. The results of the study showed statistically significant differences on the usage of printed materials and experience-giving methods based on the gender of the teacher and in service training, in favor of both female teachers and teachers who have received an in-service training. Moreover, statistically significant differences were also observed on the usage of print materials, experience-giving methods and the total score due to the service length of the teacher. The teachers, who have been working for 16-years or more, had significantly higher scores on the aforementioned variables. In addition, it was found that if schools had sufficient materials/equipment, the teachers tended to use the teaching materials more in their lessons. No correlation was found between the service length and the usage of audiovisual materials by teachers, as well as between having a personal computer and usage of teaching materials. (Contains 7 tables.)

The purpose of this is study is to analyze the level of conscious consumerism of primary school students. For that purpose, a 19-item scale consisting of three sub-dimensions was developed. In order to test conduct validity and reliability, the scale was administered on 113 students studying in Sakarya. In accordance with the data obtained, an exploratory factor analysis was conducted for construct validity purposes. The scale with a Cronbach Alpha reliability coefficient of 0.77 accounts for 49.5 of the variance. The sub-dimensions of the scale are "consciousness of consumer responsibility", "consciousness of quality" and "consciousness of budget-price". The fit index values which obtained from confirmatory factor analysis showed that the three-dimensional level of conscious consumerism scale fit well. The scale was administered on 473 4th grade students--223 females and 250 males--who studied in Sakarya during the educational year of 2009-2010. The study concluded that there were meaningful differences in consciousness of consumer responsibility, consciousness of quality and the whole scale depending on the educational status of mothers. Results were discussed in light of literature and some suggestions were given for further studies.