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STEAM education puts professional learning communities on the agenda by requiring teacher collaboration along with disciplinary integrity. In this study, a professional learning community in STEAM education was investigated by observing 49 teachers from different disciplines working in different districts during 16 weeks of interdisciplinary training and their practice with students. Teachers' perceptions of skills teaching self-efficacy, design self-efficacy and perceptions of interdisciplinary teaching were assessed using pre-post tests. The research concluded that the STEAM professional learning community study positively improved teachers' perceptions of skill teaching self-efficacy and interdisciplinary teaching, but was not sufficient to develop design self-efficacy. It was found that teachers' views of practice were positive and that interdisciplinary collaboration contributed to this. In light of the research findings, it was suggested that the use of professional learning communities in STEAM education may be an effective example of the interdisciplinary functioning of hands-on workshops.

This research aimed to investigate the impact of word decoding speed and accuracy on reading comprehension in Turkish, which is characterized by a highly transparent and morphologically complex orthographic system. The study involved 160 students, half of whom were identified as poor readers, while the other half were classified as good readers. These participants were selected from the second and fourth grades of public elementary schools. The assessment process involved evaluating participants' isolated word decoding skills using a task that measured their ability to decode both real words and pseudowords. Additionally, reading fluency and comprehension were measured using grade-level appropriate reading texts. The analysis included a series of MANOVAs as well as a mediation model (Model 7) employing Haye's PROCESS macro for SPSS. The findings indicated that the poor readers' limited reading comprehension abilities were primarily attributed to their overall deficiency in word decoding fluency, with a particular emphasis on their inadequate phonological decoding skills. These results are significant as they shed light on the challenges that children with reading comprehension difficulties may face in transparent orthographic systems. The attainment of proficient reading comprehension in such languages appears to be influenced by the specific aspects of word decoding fluency.

This study aims to reveal the mediating role of teachers' moral courage (MC) behaviours in the relationship between school principals' authentic leadership (AL) behaviours and teachers' positive psychological capital (PPC) according to the views of teachers working in primary and secondary schools. In this study "AL Questionnaire", "PC Scale" and "PMC (Professional Moral Courage) Scale" were used. 8665 teachers working in primary and secondary schools in Antalya city centre comprise the population of this study. The sample of the study consists of 474 teachers reached by using the convenient sampling method. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and (Cronbach Alpha Coefficient) alpha coefficients were benefited from the validity and reliability analysis of the scales, and Spearman's Correlation Coefficient, which was used for data that were not normally distributed, was used to determine the relationships between the variables, and structural equation modelling (SEM) was used for mediating analysis. A low-level positive and significant relationship was found between school principals' authentic leadership behaviours and teachers' psychological capital and moral courage behaviours. Following the results of the Structural equation modelling (SEM) analysis, it has been determined that the moral courage behaviours of the teachers have a mediating role in the relationship between the authentic leadership behaviours of the school principals and the positive psychological capital of the teachers.

In this study, a valid and reliable scale was developed to measure parents' perceptions of their children's social development in physical education classes. In the first part of the research, the relevant literature reviewed and student-parent interviews were held. As a result of the data obtained from the interviews, a 30-item draft scale was created. The draft scale was applied to 30 parents of students, and as a result of the feedback received, 5 items were removed from the pool. The remaining draft scale items were submitted to expert opinion and the number of items was reduced to 22. The 22-item scale was applied to 240 volunteer parents for Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and to 216 different volunteer parents for Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). As a result of the analyses, the final scale consisting of 15 items and four sub-dimensions was obtained. The Cronbach's Alpha values of the sub-dimensions were found to be between 0.74-0.79. In the final part, the 15-item scale was applied to 540 volunteer parents. Accordingly, while it was observed that parents' PSDSPEL scores were higher in the sub-dimension of showing positive behavior, it was determined that male parents' perception levels were higher than female parents. As a result of the study, it was found that the validity, reliability and internal consistency coefficients of the scale were at acceptable levels.

The focus of this study is to investigate the effects of using Web 2.0 tools in the social studies "Global Connections" learning area on students' digital literacy levels. A quasi-experimental model was used and 38, seventh graders participated the research. The digital literacy scale, created by Ng (2012) and translated into Turkish by Hamutoglu, Güngören, Kaya-Uyanik, and Gür-Erdogan (2017) was employed for data collection. Pre-testing was carried out using the digital literacy test. Courses were imparted according to the current curriculum in the control group and through Web 2.0 tools to the experimental throughout the application. For the experimental group, WordArt, StoryJumper, Canva, YouTube and Renderforest were used in the teaching of learning outcomes, along with Edmodo, which also allowed students interacting with teacher and among themselves outside the classroom. Then a digital literacy test was administered as a post-test. Ultimately, it was determined that the experimental group's digital literacy skills differed statistically significantly from the control group. It is thought that this research, which is limited to the seventh grade "Global Connections" learning area, should be conducted at different learning areas, levels and results should be evaluated.

This study aims to develop a valid and reliable scale for determining the self-efficacy of teachers toward context-based science education. This study employed a survey design. The sample has formed 433 science teachers working in Kayseri province in the 2020-2021 spring semester. Firstly, an item pool of 85 items was developed by reviewing the literature. Secondly, a five-point Likert-type draft scale consisting of 67 items was developed. Required arrangements have been performed according to expert opinions to provide content validity. Explanatory and confirmatory factor analyses have been run to provide construct validity. As a result of explanatory factor analysis, a structure with four factors as "Learning/Teaching Process", "Self-efficacy Resources", "Academic Self-efficacy" and "Planning Instruction" consisting of 47 items has been reached. Factors have been confirmed by confirmatory factor analysis. Cronbach Alpha internal consistency coefficient has been calculated as 0.98. To provide criterion validity, the Pearson correlation coefficient has been found as 0.86 between the draft and criteria scales. Based on the findings, researchers have determined that the scale was valid and reliable, and they recommended that this scale should be used to determine self-efficacy beliefs towards context-based learning of science teachers.

The aim of this study is to develop a theoretically sound, valid, and reliable scale to examine seventh and eighth grade students' attitudes towards so-called skill-based mathematics questions (SBMQ). The sample of the study was 820 seventh and eighth grade students at three different middle schools in Etimesgut District of Ankara Province. A draft item pool was crafted after a detailed literature review and the scale was finalized for the implementation after receiving expert opinions. This version of scale was administered shortly before the national examination which included skill-based questions in the 2022-2023 academic year. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis methods were used to examine the construct validity of the scale. The analysis resulted in 16 items in three factors (affective, cognitive, and motivational) which explained 46% of the total variance. Cronbach's alpha and composite reliability scores were above 0.70 for each factor and whole scale. The results indicated that the Attitudes Towards SBMQ Scale developed for seventh and eighth grade students is valid and reliable.

This study was designed to determine the psychometric properties of the School Readiness Assessment Tool (SRAT), a new measurement tool for assessing school readiness. The measure aims to assess preschool children's school readiness by estimating their academic, motor, social, emotional, and self regulation skills. Both academic and motor skills are assessed through direct child observation while teacher ratings evaluate social-emotional and self-regulation skills. 228 children attending preschool participated in the study's first phase and 185 children in the second phase. The results show that the items of the new measurement tool had sufficient internal consistency. Both study phases also showed strong evidence of face (content) and construct validity (i.e., convergent and concurrent validity). Overall, the results show that SRAT is a promising new measure for school readiness among preschoolers in Türkiye. In addition to the evidence from randomized control trials, studies should be conducted to determine its psychometric properties with diverse samples, such as rural children and children not enrolled in preschool education.

This study examined experiences and viewpoints of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners' regarding the integration of QR codes into writing and speaking practices at the tertiary-level L2 learning. Employing an action research design, researchers collected qualitative data through online interviews, a survey of open-ended questions, and learners' written reflections during class hours and brief field notes. Inductive thematic analysis was used for data analysis to form codes and themes. As a result, the learners identified QR codes as time-saving, useful, and enjoyable pedagogical tools for writing and speaking practices. The facilitative role of QR codes was centered on increasing motivation and interaction with classmates during different phases of productive skill-based activities, particularly in the idea-generation steps. The learners reported that QR code-based mobile learning practices make learning environments more participatory, safe, inclusive, and cooperative. The study presents instructional implications for transforming conventional student-teacher interaction into a peer-learning-oriented and autonomous atmosphere in higher education.

This study explored and compared metaphorical perceptions of "Innovative Education" among 100 in-service teachers from Turkey and South Africa during the 2020-2021 academic year. A phenomenological research design was adopted for this qualitative investigation. Teachers accessed an online platform to complete the open-ended prompt: "Innovative Education is like a ……because……". The data was categorized through content analysis into four themes: vision, value, novelty, and process. Rogers' Diffusion of Innovation theory provided a framework for interpreting the findings. The results revealed that teachers in both countries perceived innovation as a relative advantage, likely due to the significant changes experienced during the pandemic. However, South African teachers' metaphors also indicated complexity, potentially reflecting a lack of adequate training and support during the implementation of innovative practices. Conversely, Turkish teachers' metaphors suggested a more welcoming attitude, possibly due to sufficient support structures. Based on these findings, the study recommends that promoting teacher confidence during educational innovation should involve strong advocacy alongside comprehensive training and support programs.

The student exchange programs are venues for learning opportunities by offering multicultural contexts. This study reports on the experiences of ten prospective English language teachers in a virtual student exchange program to investigate likely skill development in a multicultural and open and distance learning setting. This descriptive study used the qualitative method. The textual data were elicited through eighty reflective essays written by the participants. Virtual classroom observations and WhatsApp chat data ensured data triangulation. The results revealed the themes as developed learning and life skills and enhanced internal gains. It was found that internal outcomes, such as self-confidence, empathy, and self-reliance, were enhanced rather than external gains. One of the limitations of this study was the brevity of the exchange program, which lasted only eight days. Additionally, the current study is a small-scale study, which limits the generalizability of the results. Last but not least, only two participants placed in the researcher's class were observed. The study poses a few implications for education policymakers, curriculum developers, and teachers. In light of the results, it is posed that adding a multicultural aspect to the teacher training curriculum is imperative for teacher empowerment. Though the literature on student exchange reports findings on the gains and challenges, there is a scarcity of studies delving into what skills students develop and how with vivid examples. In this respect, this study adds to the relevant literature.

This systematic literature review (SLR) scrutinizes the trends and interrelationships prevalent in Virtual Reality (VR) applications within educational frameworks, analyzing a comprehensive pool of 43 theses conducted in a Eurasian country. The primary objectives encompass investigating learning-teaching theories, learning domains, design elements, VR typology, and the departments undertaking VR research. Findings from the SLR underscore a significant concentration of VR research activities within technology-oriented departments. The prevalent approach involves experimental assessments of diverse variables within VR learning environments, yet a conspicuous dearth of design-centric investigations is observed. This highlights a critical need for comprehensive studies elucidating the design and developmental processes within VR applications, especially in light of the current characterization of VR research as lacking established standards. Moreover, a noteworthy revelation is the prevalent absence of a robust theoretical framework across the majority of studies. This absence may pose impediments to the widespread adoption of VR within educational paradigms, given the pivotal role of learning-teaching theories in guiding pedagogical processes. Examination of design elements highlights the prominence of realistic experiences, passive observation, mobility, and interaction with the environment. Recognizing the potential impact of diverse design elements on enhancing realism, aligning specific elements with distinct learning domains holds promise for augmenting the immersive quality of VR experiences. This research emphasizes the critical need for more comprehensive, theory-guided, and design-focused VR studies to propel its integration effectively within educational landscapes.

Türkiye with its multifaceted soft power, it aspires to strengthen its influence throughout the surrounding countries of the Arabian Gulf. Türkiye is applying the maximum prominent cultural and educational diplomatic strategies for boosting knowledge and cooperation to preserve its impact inside the Gulf location. By establishing the Yunus Emre Institutes (YEE), the implementation of cultural and educational activities, the ties between Türkiye and the member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has been reinforced. As a result of the world's rapid change soft power has become essential in the international arena. This article significantly assesses Türkiye's soft power tasks in the GCC area and its implication on the Arabian Gulf regional dynamics. It examines Türkiye's public diplomacy initiatives in the GCC through cultural and educational diplomacies on domestic and regional attitudes.

Developments in information and communication technologies, especially with the increase in internet use, have caused some important changes in the tourism industry, as in all sectors. Marketing strategies in the tourism sector have also undergone a transformation affected by these changes. As information and communication technologies develop, not only there is a decrease in communication costs, but also the regional borders of marketing activities have expanded and global studies have emerged. Transition to the digital world with the Internet; sharing information that will affect consumers' purchasing decisions, from destinations to tourism businesses and the diversity of services in tourism, has become one of the important variables of tourism marketing. The widespread use of information and communication technologies in the tourism sector has significantly changed the strategies and activities in tourism marketing, and especially the widespread use of social media has led to radical changes in the structure of promotional activities in tourism. In this study, which compares the social media usage of 5-star chain hotels, which are tourism businesses operating in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, the Greek Administration of Southern Cyprus, the Republic of Turkey and France, it is aimed to evaluate the effects of developments in information and communication technologies on tourism business marketing and the consumer-educational role of social media used in tourism marketing. Study; in addition to the advantageous and disadvantageous effects of technology and social media on tourism marketing, it also reveals the dimensions of the educational aspect.

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Organizational cynicism can stem from differences in organizational practices and behaviors, as well as individual differences (Johnson & O'Leary-Kelly, 2003; Bommer et al., 2005). Studies reveal that the experiences of educational employees with organizational cynicism are significantly influenced by factors such as psychological contract violation, workload, organizational justice, organizational stress, ethical leadership, job security, political discrimination, organizational silence, organizational culture, organizational communication, organizational trust, and organizational exclusion and isolation. The aim of this research is to uncover the perspectives on organizational cynicism of academics who have held similar positions both in Turkey and in Europe or USA. In this study, qualitative research methods were employed to conduct interviews with 12 participating academics. The codes and anecdotes obtained were analyzed under three themes, forming the findings. According to the research results, the organizational situations experienced by academics during their duties in Turkey differ from those they encounter in organizations in Europe or USA.

The ability to interact or engage with the instructor, other students, and the content i.e., to experience online student engagement, is one main difference between traditional and digital media employed in teaching and learning processes. As literature on this topic in the Turkish context has proliferated, to date, virtually no systematic reviews of this research have been carried out in order to identify potential gaps in the literature. To address this issue, this study investigated previously conducted research in chronological order on student engagement at the post-secondary level in the Turkish context using a PRISMA-based systematic review screening process. The results show that online engagement research and practices have clearly increased and diversified over time. Specifically, online engagement research in the Turkish context has tended to focus on computer science students studying in online-only, LMS-supported environments where their behavioral engagement has been investigated quantitatively. Considering these findings, this systematic review suggests that future studies in the Turkish context should examine other fields besides computer science education, focus more on collaborative tools and the social dimension of engagement, use more qualitative methods, and investigate blended environments as well as online-only.

A sudden shift to distance education during the COVID-19 pandemic in Turkiye strained teaching and learning activities, placing K-12 teachers in a novel context with challenges and opportunities to investigate. This study explores the teaching experiences and opinions of K-12 teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on challenges, advantages, and suggestions. Search queries were executed in leading databases (DergiPark, ULAKBIM TRDizin) to locate potential studies. Twenty-two studies meeting the predetermined inclusion and exclusion criteria were subjected to a rigorous and iterative thematic analysis using the qualitative meta-synthesis approach. The results revealed significant challenges categorized into ten themes: shortcomings in technology and infrastructure, student motivation and engagement, technology literacy, and social and emotional well-being. The results also highlighted key advantages of distance education in eight categories such as learning improvement, flexibility and convenience, and digital tools and resources. Additionally, the study identified valuable suggestions that contribute to the success of distance education, such as adapting curriculum, increasing access to technology, strengthening internet infrastructure, providing teacher training and support, developing engaging and interactive instructional materials, and improving communication and collaboration between students and teachers. The study results inform the development of evidence-based practices and policies that can support K-12 teachers in providing quality online education during times of crisis.

It is imperative to use new technologies in a supportive manner to meet the learners' and teachers' demanding needs as educational environments change in the digital age. The continuous expansion of online learning and distance education opportunities responds to the demands of learners and teachers while pioneering the use of technology in education. One advancement in English language teaching and learning in online environments, which assists teachers in reducing their workload and providing students with instant digital feedback, is the automated writing evaluation (AWE) tools. To gain a deeper understanding of the potential and limitations of these digital tools, this study aims to investigate the effectiveness of AWE feedback in error reduction in writing in English and the explore views of students regarding the utility of AWE tools. For this purpose, a total of 38 students at a university in Turkiye participated in the study, and three of their essays were evaluated. Within a concurrent triangulation mixed-method design, the changes in errors of the experimental group (n=18) receiving AWE feedback, and the control group (n=20) receiving teacher feedback were analyzed quantitatively, and the written reflection reports and semi-structured interviews conducted with the students were analyzed qualitatively. The results indicated that teacher feedback and AWE feedback were both effective in reducing errors in 11 categories. AWE feedback appeared to minimize errors in mechanics and usage more efficiently and teacher feedback was required more in content and organization issues. As a result, AWE was found as a complementary and effective tool supporting the improvement of target language writing skills saving time and energy for teachers. Furthermore, students expressed positive views regarding the use of AWE despite minor limitations. The findings of this study in general sheds light on using online digital tools of ubiquitous nature such as AWE to assist language improvement outside the class.

This study examined the relationship between physical activity, digital game addiction, and academic success among university students. Participants were university 704 students from Turkiye who did physical activity and played digital games. The sample group consisted of 704 university students (342 women and 362 men), selected through random sampling. Data were collected using demographic information forms, a digital game addiction scale, and an international short-form questionnaire about physical activity. The data were analyzed using Pearson correlation, t-tests, one-way ANOVA, and post-hoc tests. The findings revealed a significant negative relationship between academic success and both physical activity and digital game addiction. Men exhibited higher levels of digital game addiction compared to women, but there was no significant gender difference in physical activity levels. Students who were categorized as academically successful had lower levels of both digital game addiction and physical activity.

This research was conducted to see if using ChatGPT prompts students to think more deeply through reflection reports. The case study method and qualitative research methodology were used to carry out this study. Five graduate students in the Curriculum and Instruction department at Aksaray University's Social Sciences Institute who were teachers in various subjects and employed at various state school levels participated in the study. It was found that the majority of participants accepted all of the information presented by ChatGPT based on a citation as true, did not feel the need to control data reliability, and could be manipulated by ChatGPT while doing self-evaluation. Additionally, despite the fact that they prepared reflective reports in which they compared their essays with ChatGPT and included questions that prompted them to think critically and reflectively, as well as the fact that they had taken a graduate-level course on the teaching of higher order thinking skills, it was acknowledged that they could not demonstrate the expected performance in using higher order thinking skills other than to a limited extent. The onus should be on educators to pioneer positive examples of how to utilize ChatGPT and provide direction on how to harness its potential, supported by critical thinking, rather than to avoid using it and identify it as a tool to be avoided.

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between early childhood teacher candidates' empathic tendencies and social problem-solving skills. A total of 187 teacher candidates studying in the department of Early Childhood Education at Duzce University participated in this study. The relational research model, a quantitative research method, was used. The data of this study were collected through a personal information form, the Empathic Tendency Scale, and the Social Problem-Solving Inventory (SPÇE-SF). The researchers analyzed the data using Pearson Correlation and one-way ANOVA with the SPSS program. According to the findings of the study, the empathic tendency levels and social problem-solving skills of the early childhood teacher candidates participating in the research are at moderate levels. In addition, there was a moderate positive relationship between participants' empathic tendencies and social problem-solving skills. Finally, it is seen that the empathic tendencies of the participants do not differ according to personal data such as gender, educational level, mother's and father's educational level, family type, family attitude, number of siblings, and birth order. The participants' social problems-solving skills differed only by gender and number of siblings.

Designed by the Harvard University Project Zero team, Artful Thinking is basically a program that aims to improve students' awareness of art and increase their critical thinking skills by interpreting works of art and discussing them. In this way, students will acquire twenty-first century skills such as critical thinking and aesthetic understanding. The primary objective of this research was to investigate the impact of the Artful Thinking program on the development of critical thinking skills and attitudes towards art in 6th grade students, by implementing it as action research. This study was conducted in a middle school in Gaziantep, Turkey. 23 students and a Turkish teacher participated in the study. A total of twenty-four works of art (paintings, graffiti and ancient mosaics) were shown to students over eight weeks. Students expressed their opinions about each picture for 10-15 minutes. In order to make the students think in higher-order about art, the teacher asked questions prepared by the researcher. Thus, students were enabled to develop critical and higher order thoughts about the paintings. The findings from the students, teacher, and researcher indicated that the Artful Thinking program had a favorable impact on the students' perceptions of art, and that the students' cognitive abilities and capacity for articulation were enhanced by this program.

In an era of major advances in the digital world, artificial intelligence has been a part of programs, tools, applications, and platforms. It has also been integrated into fields of education including language teaching and learning. To this end, ChatGPT, one of the most recent AI-driven systems, has been proposed to support language learners' personalized studies. Thus, this paper presents a qualitative study aiming to explore how Turkish EFL learners in higher education use ChatGPT for speaking. For a deeper understanding, the study was designed as a case study which used multiple sources to collect qualitative data. In this sense, semi-structured interviews were held with the participants, and through open-ended questions, they were asked about their study habits and any background knowledge about ChatGPT. In a following session, they were introduced the chatbot and instructed on possible ways to use it for speaking practice. Screen recordings of the usage by the participants were another source to observe and later describe the process for the researcher. A final session of the interviews planned as a stimulated recall was held to explore the participants' ChatGPT use experience through their reflection. The thematic analysis of the data revealed codes and themes leading to language teaching implications about learner characteristics and use of AI for language studies.

The main purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers' instructional innovativeness on student engagement, with specific reference to behavioral and emotional aspects of engagement as perceived by the teachers. Given the ever-changing demands of contemporary education, this study underscores the importance of innovativeness and its influence on student engagement in L2 learning and teaching. The study adopted a cross-sectional design, utilizing a predictive moderated model, also assessing whether various teacher background variables such as educational status, gender, and field of graduation moderate the relationship between instructional innovativeness and student engagement. Data from 144 EFL teachers across Turkiye underwent analysis through partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). It was shown that instructional innovativeness significantly predicts both behavioral and emotional student engagement. However, only educational status, particularly differences between BA and PhD degrees, was found to moderate the impact on behavioral engagement, with no significant moderating effects identified for emotional engagement. In conclusion, this study highlights the merit of cultivating and fostering a culture of innovation among ELT practitioners to benefit students.

Justice emerges as a need like any other human need and the processes of justice play important role within the organization. Social justice leadership includes the practice of leading and advocating for positive social change, equity, and fairness within society. Social justice leaders work to address and rectify systemic inequalities, discrimination, and injustices that affect marginalized and disadvantaged groups. They actively promote inclusivity, diversity, and equal opportunities for all individuals, regardless of their background, identity, or circumstances. This study is designed in qualitative paradigm as a case study. For selecting the participants, I employed maximum variation sampling which is one of the categories of purposeful sampling that provides the researcher understand the basics of a case or a phenomenon under exploration. The findings of the study revealed that the practices of the school principals include "caring students", "supporting staff" and "promoting positive organizational climate" theme. The challenges and barriers that the principals face with include "parental challenges", "financial issues" and "school conditions". Social justice leadership practices are crucial in ensuring equitable learning atmosphere and barriers should be taken into account in policy making of education.

This study examines the mediating role of teachers' perceived administrator support in the relationship between principals' social justice leadership behaviors and teachers' trust in principals. The sample of the study, which was designed in the relational survey model, consists of 903 teachers working in public schools in a metropolitan city in Southeast Türkiye. In the context of the research model, the SPSS Process Macro (Model-4) application developed by Hayes (2018) was used to determine the mediation effect. Because of the analysis of the research data, it was determined that the social justice leadership behaviors exhibited by school principals predicted both teachers' trust in the principal and teachers' perceived administrator support positively and statistically significantly. On the other hand, it was concluded that perceived administrator support plays a mediating role in the relationship between principals' social justice leadership behaviors and teachers' trust in principals. In this context, it can be staded that if school administrators' social justice leadership behaviors increase, both the administrator support perceived by teachers and their trust in the principal will increase.

The purpose of the present study is to examine the relationship between Visual Arts teacher candidates' media literacy, technology integration skills and STEM applications self-efficacy. The research, designed with the relational scanning model, was conducted with the participation of 204 Visual Arts teacher candidates. In order to collect the data, "Media Literacy," "Teacher Technology Skills" and "Teacher STEM Self-Efficacy Perceptions" scales were used in the study. The analysis of the research data was carried out with STEM analysis in the AMOS program. According to the research findings, visual arts teacher candidates' media literacy was found to be high, but their technology integration skills and STEM applications self-efficacy were found to be at moderate level. According to STEM analyses, media literacy and technology integration skills significantly predict STEM self-efficacy in Visual Arts teacher candidates, both separately and together.

The study aims to investigate the influence of the online professional development (PD) program focused on precollege engineering education on science teachers' teaching engineering self-efficacy. A nested mixed research design was employed to conduct the study, in which the basic qualitative design was integrated into a weak experimental design and data collection was interrelated. The quantitative dimension of the study utilized the engineering teaching self-efficacy scale, while the qualitative dimension utilized the teachers' reflections as a data collection instrument. Fourteen science educators were selected through purposive random sampling in a province in the Black Sea region of Türkiye. The study's results suggested that the self-efficacy of science teachers in teaching engineering was significantly enhanced by the PD program, which focused on engineering education. The qualitative results were consistent with the quantitative results. Considering the study's results, practitioners and researchers were provided with suggestions for future research in the field of teacher education or PD programs.

The burgeoning role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in education prompts crucial discussions regarding its implications for teaching and learning. This qualitative study probes the argumentative perspectives of 118 teacher candidates from Igdir University on the integration of AI into educational practices. Employing Toulmin's (1958) model, we analyzed their arguments, which encompass claims, evidence, warrants, backings, rebuttals, and conclusions, to ascertain their stance on AI's pedagogical integration. Utilizing four distinct AI chatbots--GPT-4, Gemini AI, Claude 3 Haiku, and Mistral AI--the research deciphers thematic undercurrents within these dimensions. Moreover, a novel methodological contribution is made through 'negative space exploration', focusing on the unmentioned themes to identify latent biases and assumptions in the argumentation. The study's dual analytical approach, combining AI-driven theme identification and negative space exploration, resulted in an enriched understanding of the content. Key findings suggest a nuanced perception among participants: while AI chatbots are acknowledged for enhancing educational efficiency and enabling personalized learning, concerns regarding diminished human interaction, potential erosion of critical thinking skills, and ethical use persist. The analyses also highlight the need for a balanced AI implementation that supports, not supplants, traditional educational methods. This research contributes to the ongoing debate on effective AI integration in education and calls for responsible pedagogical adoption of AI technologies.

Open education is an education and instruction network that is widely used to overcome physical and temporal limitations. In the current study, an evaluation was made by taking the opinions of students on the application areas of the open education system in Turkey. In this context, the reasons for students attending open education high schools to switch to open education high schools were examined and a general perspective on open education applications was presented in line with their goals and expectations. To this end, phenomenology, one of the qualitative research methods, was used and students' opinions and experiences about open education were elicited. The sample of the current study is comprised of 500 open education high school students registered through public education centres. An online questionnaire form consisting of semi-structured open-ended questions was used to collect data in the study. When the findings were examined, it was seen that the reasons for the participants' enrolment in open education differed. In the analysis performed, it was seen that the reasons for enrolling in open education were grouped under six sub-headings: individual-emotional reasons, familial reasons, economic reasons, health-related reasons, reasons arising from school education processes and environmental-stimulating reasons.

In this paper, I propose a model of plurimethodological approach in ELT textbook design, in which one unit is based on the communicative PPP unit model, where the unit ends with a final communicative task, and the following unit is based on the action-oriented unit model, where the unit is a mini-project unit as a whole. Such a textbook model is based on the concept of plurimethodological pair-unit, where the communicative approach and the action-oriented approach are combined in coherence and synergy. In such a plurimethodological textbook design, the topics of the two successive units (one PPP unit and the other mini-project unit) are the same or closely related, so that the unit based on the PPP model will provide the students with much of the language and documentary resources needed to complete the mini-project in the following unit. The mini-project unit will provide the students with additional language and documentary resources for carrying out the miniproject, but as there will be less language and documentary work for students in this unit, students will be better able to concentrate on carrying out the miniproject. [Note: The page range (228-241) shown on the PDF is incorrect. The correct page range is 228-240.]

In recent years, environmental problems have been increasing rapidly around the world and affecting a wide range of environments. Many campaigns are carried out to raise awareness about environmental problems. This study aims to determine the ideas of students at different education levels about environmental problems and to compare these ideas with each other according to their fields. The survey model was used as the research method. The study group of the research consists of a total of 298 students: 75 at the 4th grade level of primary school, 90 at the 7th grade level of secondary school, 56 at the 11th grade level of high school, and 68 at the 3rd and 4th grade level of the university. The "Environmental Problems Opinion Survey", consisting of four open-ended questions, for which validity studies were conducted, was applied to the study group. The descriptive analysis method was used to analyze the data. Environmental pollution is seen as the most important environmental problem at all levels of education. While the answer to the most important cause of environmental problems is littering at the primary school level, it is shown that people act unconsciously on environmental issues at other levels of education. While the answer to the question about your most frequent behavior to prevent environmental problems was "I throw away the garbage" at the primary school, high school and university levels, the answer to the question "I throw the garbage away" was encountered at the secondary school level. Finally, it was suggested that awareness-raising activities be held at all education levels regarding the solution of environmental problems. Based on all these results, it has been observed that similar answers are encountered at all levels of education regarding environmental problems. Conducting more studies to increase students' awareness of environmental problems is among the recommendations of this study.

Gifted individuals are more advanced than their peers in cognitive, affective, psychomotor, or creative areas. This study aimed to find an answer to how gifted students' immediate emotional states change by means of music containing different emotions. The sample of the study consisted of 122 students studying at Adana BILSEM. Their moods were measured after listening to different pieces of music. The findings showed that there was a significant difference between the emotions that the students felt with different music, they felt more positive emotions, and the girls felt the emotion much more than the boys. The results of this study can be used to better understand gifted students and to develop musical activities to help them manage their emotions.

Migration continues to emerge as a significant issue in the present day, extending beyond its historical context. This phenomenon not only forms a broad spectrum of impact in social, economic, and cultural realms but also holds notable consequences in the realm of education. Migration, on one hand, has the potential to stimulate cultural interaction, enhancing diversity in knowledge and experience. On the other hand, immigrant individuals may encounter early challenges such as educational inequalities or negative attitudes. This intricate relationship between migration and education contributes to cultural development while simultaneously bringing about areas of societal conflict. Understanding the effects of migration on the younger generation falls within the responsibilities of Psychological Counseling and Guidance (PCG) teachers. These educators aim to support students' academic, personal, social, and emotional development, particularly addressing the challenges posed by the education of immigrant students in the context of social diversity. Research on understanding the attitudes among school stakeholders towards immigrant students contributes valuable insights to this field. In this context, the study is an original work focusing on the perspectives of PCG teachers concerning the attitudes of other stakeholders in schools with immigrant students in private schools. Conducted using qualitative research methods and the phenomenology design, the study involved 12 PCG teachers working in private schools in Gaziantep, Kilis, and Mersin, which are among Turkey's cities experiencing significant migration. Data collected through interviews were analyzed using content analysis. The findings revealed that, overall, teachers and students in private schools with immigrant students tended to have a positive attitude, while parents held a negative outlook. A collective evaluation of all data suggests a notably positive perception and attitude toward immigrant students.

This research aims to devise an innovative curriculum, to determine the opinions of parents, teachers, students, and educators of the curriculum, and to present results using the CIPP approach. The study employed a qualitative research method, a program execution case study. It used maximum variation sampling, a purposeful sampling method. The study, involving eighteen participants, was conducted in a high school that runs a technology education program. Data was obtained using the semi-structured and focus group interview methods. Participant confirmation was obtained to increase reliability, which was then subjected to external audit, allowing another researcher to examine the process and results. Awareness of the "Proficiency in Technology" (PIT) curriculum and curriculum implementation emerged as the main facts. The research findings show that a lack of communication and trainer qualifications caused disruptions in the program.

Two major earthquakes, measuring 7.8 and 7.5 on the Richter scale, occurred within a nine-hour period in Türkiye's southern region on February 6, 2023. These earthquakes affected 11 provinces, including various aspects of life such as education. Consequently, the Higher Education Council (YOK) in Türkiye postponed the commencement date of the spring term in all higher education institutions until further notice. To support the affected universities, YOK paired eight universities from the impacted areas with eight other universities to collaborate in commencing and conducting educational practices. This study aimed to investigate how Amy, a senior English lecturer at one of these host universities, negotiated her teacher identity while supporting an earthquake-affected university. The participant was selected through the purposeful sampling method. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and written teacher reflections to gain a better understanding of identity negotiations during times of uncertainty. The content analysis method was used to analyze the data. The results of this qualitative case study suggest that English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers negotiate their identities in response to challenging crises. One of the significant findings of this study is that EFL teachers need to learn how to manage trauma-sensitive classrooms by employing strategic adaptations to minimize the impact of crises.

Informed by Huber's (2021) framework of critical ethnography from a social justice perspective, this study aimed to (a) figure out how language teachers struggle for equity embedded within their socio-cultural contexts of schooling; (b) examine the micro, meso, and macro-factors affecting their identities with the impact of dominating ideologies; (c) uncover how they position themselves in challenging such practices and constraints. This study employs an exploratory qualitative case study design and an inductive data analysis method to document the voices of two in-service and three pre-service English language teachers and two teacher educators as professionals in K-12 school settings in Türkiye. The study addressed how ideologies stemming from power, authority, and institutional structures shape their ongoing teacher identity formation. As a result, language educators referred to oppression stemming from imposed decisions, decontextualized in-service and pre-service teacher training practices, and limited space for decision-making. Bringing in a social justice orientation, this study documented language educators' ways of challenging the dominant ideologies and schooling practices. This research brought voices from various layers to provide a composite picture of the potential gap(s) between their practice contexts and initial and in-service teacher-training practices.

The aim of this study is to examine the opinions of prospective teachers about biology and nature-related activities for mentally disabled students. The survey method was used in this quantitative study. Attitude scale towards biology and nature-related activities for mentally disabled students was used as a data collection tool. The scale was applied to a total of 258 (183 females, 75 males) prospective teachers studying at the education faculty of a state university and taking special education courses. According to the findings, prospective teachers expressed their positive opinions about all the activities specified in the scale. However, a few prospective teachers stated that some of the activities, especially interaction with animals, were not applicable for their mentally disabled students. However, when the findings are evaluated in general, it is concluded that biology and nature-related activities are very valuable for mentally disabled students.

This study aimed to investigate grade-7 students' negotiation during the engineering design process regarding the students' status of argumentation training. The participants were 33 students studying at a public urban middle school in Turkey. They worked in small groups on four engineering design tasks about electricity and light. Data were collected through small group audio recordings, student worksheets, and the observation. The data were analyzed by using content analysis. The results indicated that negotiation patterns were similar across all groups. However, differences were found between the group that received argumentation training and the one that did not receive in terms of proposing ideas for material design, using justifications when in agreement with others, counter proposing and acquiring information for better planning and altering the design, and critiquing for design advantages and disadvantages.

Mathematical reasoning has been a critical concern in Turkey especially since the structure of the student selection examination for high schools changed six years ago. The ability to solve the questions in the new exam requires high level reasoning and argumentation skills. Schools, whether they are public or private, prepare 8th graders for this exam with intense educational programs. They frequently use skill-based questions--similar questions to the ones in the new exam, which require high level mathematical reasoning. This study indicates that students gain better mathematical reasoning skills in learning environments promoting collective discussion and argumentation. Hence, these questions need to be solved in these kinds of environments. In this study, two cases are analyzed to understand the argumentation process in classrooms in depth. Audiotapes of two 8 th grade classrooms, one from a public school, another from a private school, are analyzed. The same teaching material--a worksheet including skill-based questions--is used in the classrooms. During analyzing, qualified argumentation pattern--a pattern including students' claims and justifications/evaluations for those claims--is defined. Analysis of classroom audiotapes revealed that that there are significant differences between two classrooms' argumentation structure and type of dialogues emerged in the classroom. In one classroom there is a more qualified argumentation process than in the other classroom. In addition, analysis of the type of the dialogues indicates that two classrooms have different types of dialogues. Overall, the study reveals that despite the differences, both classrooms mostly included teacher-individual interactions and they have little collective discussion.

In today's conditions, the needs of the labor market are changing in parallel with technological developments and the need for individuals trained in STEM is increasing. For this reason, it is a priority to increase the skills and awareness of teachers who will guide individuals trained in the field of STEM. In this study, a STEM training with educational robotics applications was designed for classroom teachers. The education included theoretical and practical STEM instruction conducted by expert academicians, utilizing next-generation educational robotic kits to facilitate sample STEM activities. The primary aim was to equip teachers with skills aligned with the elementary school curriculum, emphasizing a focus on STEM learning outcomes. As a result of the training, teachers were able to develop their own STEM activities. The study, which was modeled with a one-group pretest-posttest research design, examined the changes in the attitudes towards STEM and STEM awareness of the participants as a result of the STEM education they received. In conclusion, it is observed that the participants' attitudes towards STEM education and their awareness of STEM have increased by the end of the education. Additionally, the participants believe that STEM educational activities should be included in the curriculum.

One of the difficulties in teaching Turkish, which is a phonetically rich language, to foreigners, is that similar sounds are often confused with each other. Since even a single punctuation mark is crucial for writing and reading Turkish letters (i-i, o-ö, u-ü, c-ç, g-g, s-s, etc.), students who use the Arabic alphabet have great difficulty writing and pronouncing Turkish words correctly. The difficulties that foreigners have in spelling vowels (i-i, o-ö, u-ü) and consonants (c-ç, g-g, m-n, s-s) when learning Turkish also have a negative impact on their writing and speaking skills. Especially in essay writing classes, students often misspell words, which makes it necessary to determine and implement more effective strategies in alphabet lessons. When teaching the Turkish alphabet, it is of great importance that the teacher uses "onomatopoeia," which is considered an important feature of Turkish, to overcome this problem. In this study, the effect of onomatopoeia, the word corresponding to sounds in nature, on writing skills in Turkish classes for foreigners was investigated. This study, taken from a class of nine students at the Afyon Kocatepe University Turkish Language Teaching Centre at A1 level in the semesters of 2013-2014, was based on the analysis of three essays written by the students before and after studying onomatopoeia. The analysis of the data revealed that teaching the alphabet with onomatopoeic words was effective for the students in terms of the letters whose spellings were confused with each other and made a significant contribution to the writing skills of foreigners.

With the research discussed here I aimed to examine the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on primary school mathematics teaching processes and specifically the teaching process of 1st-grade geometric shapes. A holistic multiple case study design was used in this qualitative research. The participants were primary school teachers who have taught both processes and geometric shapes in 1st grade primary school and were selected using purposive sampling. Semi-structured interviews based on an interview form developed by me was used as data collection instrument. In this form, questions about the 4 skills in the programme related to geometry were included. Lesson content, materials, and content related to the method of expression related to each skill were examined comparatively during and before the COVID-19 pandemic. Semi-structured interviews during which the questions on the form were asked, were conducted with participating teachers. The content analysis technique was used to analyse the obtained data. The results of the analysis show that the transition to online education during the COVID-19 pandemic had serious consequences. Positive and negative effects were found in both primary school mathematics teaching process and the teaching process of geometric shapes in the 1st grade.

The aim of this study is to determine teachers' views on metaverse-based education. The research is qualitative and was conducted with a phenomenological design. The maximum diversity sampling technique, one of the purposeful sampling methods of the study group, was used. In this direction, data were collected from as many different teachers as possible, including their age, field of study, school type, and gender. The research was carried out with 32 teachers. The data were collected through face-to-face interviews using a semistructured interview consisting of four questions about personal information and 11 questions about the metaverse. The data were analyzed by a descriptive analysis method using MAXQDA software. Teachers stated that the integration of metaverse technology into education and training processes will increase the quality, efficiency and permanence of this process.

Socioscientific issues (SSIs), which are an important component of scientific literacy in science education, are scientific-based issues with dilemmas and no clear answers. SSIs can be local issues that affect a region or global issues that affect the world. This study aimed to investigate informal reasoning (IR) patterns and their influencing factors on science teachers about local SSIs. The research was designed as a case study. The participants consisted of 38 science teachers from various provinces of Central Anatolia, where the local features of context were at the forefront. Teachers were asked to form an IR about the texts with dilemmas addressed to them. Using content analysis, teachers' IR patterns were based on rationalistic, emotive, and intuitive reasoning; factors affecting their reasoning were analyzed according to sociology-culture, environment, economy, science, technology, ethics-morality, and policy (SEE-STEP). In the results, science teachers mostly use rationalistic IR and rationalistic and intuitive IR patterns about energy-related local SSIs. While the factors that most influence teachers' IR regarding local SSIs are economy and environment, the factor that least influences their IR is ethics. As a result of the study, IR is closely related to the context and environmental/socio-cultural background that can influence IR. Based on the result that teachers' IR is affected by the content, the main suggestion of this study is to investigate the IR of different contents in local SSIs.

Advances in technology have significantly augmented the potential of online education, particularly during crises, such as COVID-19, earthquakes, hurricanes, and floods. This qualitative survey study ascertains 150 English-as-a-foreign language (EFL) learners' perceptions of the efficacy of online language education in a preparatory school of a state university after the Kahramanmaras earthquake in Türkiye in 2023. Data were gathered via an online survey with open-ended inquiries to elicit favourable and adverse experiences and recommendations from students. In order to ensure the thorough and systematic analysis of the collected data, a rigorous methodological approach was employed. Specifically, the data were analyzed through content analysis, facilitated by the MAXQDA. The research outcomes revealed that the participants appreciated online language education for its time-saving nature, comfort, ease of attendance, access to recorded sessions, teacher support, and cost-effectiveness. However, some students also considered online education ineffective and reported challenges, such as technical issues, diminished concentration, lack of motivation and discipline, limited interaction, and class participation. EFL learners also provided suggestions for improving the curriculum, assessment methods, and instructors' teaching approaches.

This research examines the reasons for school dropout occurring at varying education levels in the Turkish education system (TES). To this end, research on school dropouts pertaining to TES has been targeted. The systematic data analysis method was used in the research. 47 studies suitable for the purposes of the study were analyzed through content analysis. A total of 290 coding processes were carried out. The results suggest that the family factor emerges as the main factor for school dropout in primary education in TES. The inadequacy of families' financial situation and low interest in education are effective. At the high school level, students' academic failure, absenteeism, peer pressure, and indifference of families appear as the causes of school dropouts. In higher education, difficulties learners experience in adapting to novel social environments, academic failure, financial problems and the thought of being a misfit for the selected department seem to be among the causes of school dropout. In the other group, the reasons for dropping out are determined as academic failure, financial difficulties, early marriages, dislike of school, indifference of family, negative effects of friend groups, and indifference towards school.

Although the written physical education curriculum is the same throughout the country, the implementation phase in schools differs from each other. Hence the purpose of this study is to examine the implementation process of the 5th-grade physical education and sports curriculum (2018) in different school contexts. Case study pattern was used. The participants of the study are two physical education teachers in Eskisehir. The data collection process consisting of observations, interviews, and field notes was completed in the fall semester of the 2018-2019 academic year. As a result of the analysis, the implementation process of the curriculum sub-theme which is related to the main theme of "taught curriculum", was reached. In conclusion, it can be said that the implementation process in schools is mostly teacher-centred, including the teaching of sports techniques and evaluating the psychomotor domain. It was observed that the game-based and student-centred structure of the updated curriculum was not sufficiently implemented by the teachers in the study. Also, it can be stated that the sufficiency of physical education course materials and the suitability of the areas used in physical education lessons are important factors in the implementation process of the curriculum.

This study aims to evaluate the online measurement and evaluation course in teacher training programs during the COVID-19 process. In the study, we sought answers to two primary research questions: What are the opinions of teachers and school administrators regarding their measurement and evaluation competencies? Does the online "measurement and evaluation" course have the qualities of an effective program in the "antecedents, transactions, and outcomes" dimension? We structured the research into two phases within a multistage evaluation design framework. The findings show that there were problems and positive aspects in all dimensions of the program. For example, adapting teacher training programs developed before COVID-19 to distance education processes was challenging. In distance education, some practices contradict the modern teaching and assessment approach. Such problems were reflected in teachers' acquisition of measurement and evaluation competencies. The achievement test we applied to the observed groups also confirmed these findings. For this reason, responsible organizations should not ignore the fact that we cannot renounce distance education. During program development, they should reconsider how the teachers will acquire measurement and evaluation competencies and how we will measure and evaluate in distance education.