Methodological Investigation of the Curriculum Evaluation Theses Completed between the Years 2006-2015 in Turkey

Abstract

The aim of this research is to examine postgraduate theses on curriculum evaluation completed between the years 2006-2015 in Turkey in terms of various aspects such as university, year, curriculum which is evaluated, curriculum evaluation model, research method, design, sample type, data collection methods, data analysis technique. In order to determine the theses, a comprehensive review was made through the thesis database of Council of Higher Education (COHE). 306 postgraduate theses were used as data sources. Methodological structure determination form was used as data collection tool in this study. Content analysis, one of qualitative data analysis techniques, was used in the analysis of theses. Frequency and percentage values about the obtained themes were presented. In the study, it was seen that theses on curriculum evaluation were largely studied between 2009-2012, most of them were master thesis, mostly primary school curricula were evaluated, curriculum evaluation models weren't used in the majority of the theses, mostly quantitative research methods and descriptive model was used, mostly survey and interview were used as data collection technique, data was collected from teachers and students in the majority of studies, one variable analyses and correlational analyses were mostly used as data analysis technique. In the light of results achieved, the more use of qualitative and mixed research methods, qualitative and experimental designs, all stakeholders as data sources, advanced statistical methods and the more evaluation of secondary and higher education curricula are recommended.

A Systematic Review of Postgraduate Theses on Curriculum Evaluation

“…It was determined that, after Educational Sciences, thesis for the evaluation of curricula were completed in the field of Basic Education. Aslan and Sağlam (2017) reached a similar result in their research for theses on curriculum evaluation. According to the study, while most of the theses based on curriculum evaluation were completed at educational sciences division, a significant number of them were realized at basic education division.…”

“…In parallel with this, the theses on curriculum evaluation, included in the research, were written in the institutes of educational sciences (n = 303) and social sciences (n = 242). Also, in the studies carried out for the postgraduate theses completed in Curriculum and Instruction (CI), it was found that the universities such as Abant İzzet Baysal, Anadolu, Ankara, Atatürk, Fırat, Gazi, Hacettepe, and METU produced more theses in that field in the last fifteen years (Aslan & Sağlam, 2017;Kozikoğlu & Senemoğlu, 2016;Özüdoğru, 2018;Yetkiner et al, 2019).…”

“…Similar studies for the field of CI also revealed that survey (single and correlational) was generally preferred in the postgraduate theses and experimental design was often used as of the 2000s. Also, case study has become another design preferred in recent years (Aslan & Sağlam, 2017;Kozikoğlu & Senemoğlu, 2016;Schreglmann, 2016;Uysal, 2016). Similar trend is also seen in the studies for teacher training and educational sciences (Ayaz, Oral, & Söylemez, 2015;Eğmir, Erdem, & Koçyiğit, 2017;Karakoç, Özpolat, & Kara, 2018).…”

“…In the context of formal and informal education, the availability of different practices in curriculum evaluation process enables the curriculum evaluation studies to be used not only in the field of educational sciences but also in different fields such as social sciences, science and health sciences, and in business and industry sectors (Fitzpatrick, Sanders, & Worthen, 2004, p. 19). Research in Turkey related to curriculum evaluation studies (Aslan & Sağlam, 2017;Dündar & Meriç, 2017;Gökmenoğlu, 2014;Kurt & Erdoğan, 2015;Özüdoğru, 2018;Yetkiner, Acar Erdol, & Ünlü, 2019) are intended to specific areas and have limited samples.…”

Investigation of the Postgraduate Educati̇on Theses Aiming to Evaluate Science Curriculum: A Meta-Synthesis Study

“…İncelenen çalışmalarda veri analizi tekniği olarak çoğunlukla betimsel istatistikler ve fark analizlerinin kullanıldığı, ileri istatistik yöntemlerinin kullanıldığı kestirimsel analizlerin çok az kullanıldığı belirlenmiştir. Bu sonuçlar eğitim araştırmalardaki eğilimlerin analiz edildiği çeşitli çalışmaların (Aslan & Sağlam, 2017;Gökmenoğlu, 2015;Kayan & Adıgüzel, 2017;Kurt & Erdoğan, 2015) sonuçlarıyla genel olarak tutarlık göstermektedir. Çalışmada ulaşılan bu sonuçların yanı sıra; değerlendirilen program olarak ya günümüz eğitim siteminde ortaokul düzeyine denk gelen sınıfların programlarının değerlendirildiği ya da ilköğretim programının genel olarak değerlendirildiği tespit edilmiştir.…”