Professions and Competencies of Computer Education and Instructional Technologies Department's Graduates in Non-Teaching Fields

Even though the main purpose of Computer Education and Instructional Technology (CEIT) department is to educate and train computer teachers for K12 level schools in Turkey, the graduates from the department have diverse competencies in different fields like instructional designer, content creator, software developer, etc. However, neither the graduates nor the companies in educational technology or other fields have fully awareness of that competencies essential mostly in non-teaching fields. A small number of studies have worked with CEIT graduates, but more studies are needed to explore those competencies and current job requirements in the companies. In this way the graduates would create better career plans and the companies would hire correct employee. Moreover, the CEIT curriculum would be reconsidered with respect to the experiences or expectations of the graduates or the companies. This study was conducted to investigate the opportunities of CEIT graduates in non-teacher positions in any business sector in Turkey. For this purpose, four research questions were asked: 1) What are the job opportunities of CEIT graduates in non-teaching fields? 2) What are the competencies of CEIT graduates that enable them to work in non-teaching areas? 3) What competencies do CEIT graduates need to have more in order to work in non-teaching areas? 4) What are the changes that CEIT graduates in non-teaching fields suggest in the undergraduate program? To answer the questions a survey research design was used, and data were collected from 41 CEIT graduates who were working in non-teaching jobs, by means of a questionnaire. The questions were analyzed with descriptive statistics and content analysis. The results show that CEIT graduates do and can have professions in many different fields, both due to the courses in their own degree programs and the competencies that can be acquired after graduation. In addition, improvements in CEIT undergraduate curriculum have been discussed and suggested to support certain specializations in different fields.