Investigation of 21st Century Learner Skills Usage Levels of Turkish Language Teacher Candidates

In this study, it was aimed to determine the 21st century learner skills usage levels (cognitive skills, autonomous skills, collaboration and flexibility skills, and innovation skills) of Turkish language teacher candidates in terms of some variables (gender, grade level, success status). In this study, singular screening, causal comparison and relational screening models were used together within the framework of quantitative research approaches. The respondents were 259 students studying in Turkish Language Teaching Program of Turkish and Social Sciences Department at Balikesir University Necatibey College of Education in the 2018-2019 academic year. The "21st Century Learner Skills Usage Scale" developed by Orhan Göksün (2016) was used as the data collection tool. The scoring of the five-point Likert-type scale consisting of 31 items was made from never (1) to always (5). The 31 items in the scale were gathered under four factors as cognitive skills, autonomous skills, collaboration and flexibility skills, and innovation skills. In the analysis of the data obtained, mean for descriptive analysis, t-test and analysis of variance techniques for comparisons made by the related variables were used. In the study, it was found that the 21st century learner skills usage levels of Turkish language teacher candidates differed in favor of males only in the innovation skills dimension of the scale. It was concluded that as the grade level and grade point average increased, the level of 21st century learner skills use of the participants also increased.