No abstract

21st century skills emerge is one of the most crucial competencies that need to be considered in teacher education. With this in mind, the fundamental objectives of this study is to analyze the pre-service teachers’ competencies and perceptions of 21st century skills that are effectively present in today’s world. Explanatory mixed method was applied in this study. The aim of the study is to reveal the adequacy of the undergraduate elementary teaching program in the acquisition of 21st century skills from the perspective of pre-service teachers. In the study, quantitative data was collected through descriptive screening method, and qualitative data was collected through phenomenological analysis. 21st century skills scale was utilized to collect quantitative data, and semi-structured interview form was used to collect qualitative data. The sample of the study consists of 411 pre-service elementary teachers studying at a state university. According to the findings obtained, pre-service teachers perceived themselves quite sufficient in terms of “21st century skills”. Given the qualitative findings, pre-service teachers reported that the learning-teaching processes were ineffective in the context of achieving 21st century competencies. As a matter of fact, 21st century skills are defined as skills that should be acquired within the scope of the elementary teaching undergraduate program. Failure to teach these skills emerges as the most significant limitation of the program. In particular, these skills and evaluations should be incorporated into the curricula content of faculties of education.

21st century skills emerge is one of the most crucial competencies that need to be considered in teacher education. With this in mind, the fundamental objectives of this study is to analyze the pre-service teachers’ competencies and perceptions of 21st century skills that are effectively present in today’s world. Explanatory mixed method was applied in this study. The aim of the study is to reveal the adequacy of the undergraduate elementary teaching program in the acquisition of 21st century skills from the perspective of pre-service teachers. In the study, quantitative data was collected through descriptive screening method, and qualitative data was collected through phenomenological analysis. 21st century skills scale was utilized to collect quantitative data, and semi-structured interview form was used to collect qualitative data. The sample of the study consists of 411 pre-service elementary teachers studying at a state university. According to the findings obtained, pre-service teachers perceived themselves quite sufficient in terms of “21st century skills”. Given the qualitative findings, pre-service teachers reported that the learning-teaching processes were ineffective in the context of achieving 21st century competencies. As a matter of fact, 21st century skills are defined as skills that should be acquired within the scope of the elementary teaching undergraduate program. Failure to teach these skills emerges as the most significant limitation of the program. In particular, these skills and evaluations should be incorporated into the curricula content of faculties of education.

This study addresses the views of teachers about the benefits of interdisciplinary teaching practices in primary and secondary school education curricula, the level of the use of interdisciplinary approach and the place of interdisciplinary approach in the curriculum. The study seeks to examine the views of teachers about the interdisciplinary approach and their level of use of this approach in primary and secondary education curricula. To this end, the explanatory mixed design was employed in the study. A descriptive scanning model was employed for the quantitative dimension of the study. In the quantitative dimension, the phenomenological method was used. The Interdisciplinary Teaching Approach Questionnaire was utilized to gather quantitative data, and qualitative data were gathered through a semi-structured interview form. The sample of the research is composed of 413 classroom and branch teachers working in official primary and secondary schools in the central districts of Denizli. Consequentially, it can be argued that teachers have positive views on the interdisciplinary approach. Further, the teachers found the interdisciplinary approach relatively useful, however, they did not effectively implement it in in-class activities as this approach was not sufficiently incorporated into the curriculum. Teachers' views on the interdisciplinary approach differed by the variables of professional seniority and teaching level, whereas the gender variable was not found to be a significant predictor.

Article InfoThis study was conducted to determine the effect of school efficiency of secondary schools on student achievement based on the views of teachers. A scale was prepared in line with the aims of the study, and this scale was distributed to the teachers who work at the state schools of Denizli-Çameli in the spring semester of 2013-2014 academic years. The data were analyzed through the help of SPSS 17.0 package software. The descriptive characters of the teachers in the study were given through frequency and percentage analyses, and mean and standard deviation statistics were used to examine the views of teachers on the school efficiency. Independent samples t-test, one-way ANOVA and Tukey tests were also conducted to analyze the change based on the descriptive characters of the teachers' views on the school efficiency. The correlation coefficient helped to determine the relationship between the effect of school efficiency and the TEOG (Turkish transfer exam from primary school to secondary school) results which is a determinant in success. The results of the study indicated that teachers considered their school highly efficient, and the views of the teachers on the efficient school differed in terms of their descriptive characteristics. To conclude, the views of the teachers on the school efficiency had no statistically significant effect on the student achievement.