A Study on the Benefits of Extracurricular Activities for Teacher Candidates Using the Pairwise Comparison Approach

This survey study aimed to determine the benefits of extracurricular activities for teacher candidates by performing a scaling study with pairwise comparison. Participants were 365 teacher candidates studying at a higher education institution. The data collection tool was designed by taking the opinions of three field experts and two measurement and evaluation experts about the benefits that emerged from the literature. Each student was asked to rank the benefits of extracurricular activities by making a pairwise comparison. In the analysis of the data, as the chi-square value for error calculated with the Case V model was higher than expected at the 0,05 significance level, the Case III model was used for scaling. In this way, the benefits of extracurricular activities for the development of teacher candidates were scaled through pairwise comparison. The results showed that the order of benefits from the biggest to the smallest were: supporting personal development, supporting social development, supporting teaching skills, instilling positive affective qualities, supporting academic development and supporting physical development. Recommendations for the future include using more extracurricular activities to develop the above-mentioned skills and conducting studies to explore the reasons for the less preferred benefits.