Defining Quality in Teacher Education: Initial Lessons from Turkish Public Higher Education Institutions

The Turkish education system has confronted radical changes over the last fifteen years, as well as problems associated with it. In this context, the Turkish teacher education system attracts a lot of attention due to its role as the main teacher provider. Specifically, the quality of the teachers and the programs used to train them are being questioned. The biggest barrier to resolve these questions is a lack of consensus on the definition of "quality," and the purpose of the general research design is to bring together various perspectives and examine them individually in relation to the quality of Teacher Education Programs (TEPs). Due to time limitations, this study examines only the embedded perceptions of key academic stakeholders regarding academic quality. A survey was administered to 31 academic administrators, 80 faculty members and 569 students. The research method is quantitative, and uses the Multinomial Probit and Ordered Probit models discussed by Long and Freese (2006) for analysis. Using Harvey and Green typology (1993), a stakeholder model was created, and perspectives on quality were categorized into three general quality views associated with stakeholder groups: the Public View, the Management View and the Academic View. In phase 1, findings revealed that while key academic stakeholders generally agreed on the importance of these three perspectives with high ratings, on their number one choice 75% considered the Academic View the most important. There was no significant difference between administrators and students, or between faculty and students. Phase 2 revealed some statistically significant relationships between the participants' academic positions -academic administrator, faculty member or student- and their level of agreement with the three academic quality components: Student Quality, Faculty Quality, and Curriculum Quality. Findings also revealed some significant relationships between participants’ academic positions and their number one choice among the three academic quality components

The Relationship between University Choice Desicion, Academic Reputation and Social Activities: Example of Undergraduate Students of Akdeniz and Eskişehir Osmangazi Universities

The purpose of this study was to reveal the factors influencing students’ choice of a public university to study. It also aims to reveal the extent to which these factors were influential. The factors influencing students’ university choice were modelled. The study was conducted in relational survey model, and Biglan classification scheme was used to represent the target population. The participants of the study are composed of 591 and 453 first-year students from Akdeniz University and Osmangazi University, respectively. University Choice, Social Activities, and Academic Reputation scales developed by the researchers were used to collect data. The data were analyzed using the SPSS 20.0 and LISREL 8.70 statistical software packages. The results of the study reveal that the factors influencing first year students’ choice of university are the students who are already studying at the university, financial opportunities offered by the university, acquaintances, the cost of education, being informed about the university, job opportunities, the impact of high school education and geographical position, respectively. According to the model, social activities and academic reputation directly affect university choice. As the participation in social activity increases, the perception of academic reputation also increases

The Predictive Level of Educational Motivation and the Perceived Social Support for School Commitment

In this study, the school engagement of high school students was examined in terms of educational motivation and perceived social support. The data was obtained from 826 secondary school students in Düzce in 2017-2018 academic year. The School Engagement Scale, the Educational Motivation Scale, and the Perceived Social Support Scale were used in the study. T-test, ANOVA, Pearson Correlation Analysis, and Stepwise Multiple Regression were used to analyze the data. According to the findings, there isn’t a statistically significant difference between educational motivation and the gender of the students. However, there is a significant difference in the peer support sub-dimension of perceived social support. The peer support average score of female students is higher than that of male students. There is no significant difference in commitment to school when the gender of the students considered. However, the psychological commitment of male students is higher than female students. Also, there is no significant difference in educational motivation among students. There is a significant difference in peer support sub-dimension of perceived social support according to the grades of students. There is also a significant difference in the sub-dimension of psychological commitment in regards to school commitment. Commitment to school amongst 12th-grade students is higher than others. The results of the correlation showed that when educational motivation increases, students’ perceived social motivation increases, too. Moreover, there is a positive correlation between perceived social support and school engagement. Furthermore, regression results revealed that social support predicts school commitment

Adaptation of Well-Being at Work Scale to Turkish

This study aimed to adapt Well-Being at Work Scale developed by Demo and Paschoal (2013) to Turkish, and to reveal the validity and reliability of Turkish form. With this aim, items were translated from English to Turkish first, then this version was translated to English back. At the next phase, the consistency between backtranslation form and original version was evaluated, and it was seen that there are not any semantic loss and semantic changes. Then, a pilot study was conducted with 18 teachers who are studying MA in educational administration. The final form was generated according to their feedbacks and approval of field specialists, and data were gathered from 342 teachers who were working at various educational stages in Kocaeli Province. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was applied to test construct validity. It was seen that results showed acceptable fit indices, and three-factored model confirmed. Likewise, the internal consistency coefficients of the entire scale and the sub-dimensions were acceptable. These findings showed that the Turkish version of Well-Being at Work Scale has acceptable psychometric properties

Correlation between Occupational Professionalism of Teachers and Their Fear of Loss of Dignity

The purpose of this study is to identify the correlation between occupational professionalism of teachers and their fear of loss of dignity. The sample for the study designed in accordance with the relational survey model is composed of 530 teachers who worked at primary schools, secondary schools and high schools in Muğla province, Turkey, and were selected through the disproportionate cluster sampling technique. The research data was gathered with the Occupational Professionalism of Teachers Scale and the Loss of Face Scale. Descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA and multiple regression analysis were used for analyzing the data. The data obtained shows that teachers have a high level of occupational professionalism and that they are the most professional in terms of occupational sensitivity. Occupational professionalism of teachers varies significantly by gender, type of school and seniority. On the other hand, teachers have an above-average fear of loss of dignity. Their fear of loss of dignity varies significantly by the type of school, yet shows no significant variation for gender or occupational seniority. All aspects of teachers’ occupational professionalism and their fear of loss of dignity show a low and significant correlation. It was seen that personal development and emotional labor aspects of occupational professionalism are significant precursors for teachers’ fear of loss of dignity

Factors Contributing to Secondary School Dropouts and the Dropouts’ Socioeconomic Profiles: Şanlıurfa Sample

The purpose of this study is to determine the factors that cause students drop out of school in secondary education.This is a descriptive survey study and the quantitative research method was employed. 2985 secondaryschool dropouts participated in the study and the data was collected through “Secondary School Dropout Questionnaire”.According to the findings, participants had to drop out because of financial problems, failure,absenteeism, enrolling to open education, family problems, disliking the school, having problems with teachersand administrators, studying for university entrance exam, health problems, marriage, the idea that attending theschool is unnecessary, migration, having to take care of parents in need, and disciplinary penalties. Based on thefindings, it is suggested that especially school administrators and teachers, all practitioners and decision-makersneed to give priority to school dropout problem. In addition, for student, teacher and administrators, curricularand extracurricular activities and programs to reduce school dropout should be prepared and put into practice

Educational Administration: Theory and Practice

Educational Administration: Theory and Practice, Volume 24, Issue

Turkish College Students’ Trust in Professors and Engagement: “I trust therefore I engage!”

The purpose of this study is threefold: 1) to determine the levels of university students’ engagement and trust in professors, 2) to investigate if there is a significant difference between students’ engagement and trust scores in terms of some variables, and 3) to explore the relationship between student engagement and trust in professors. The participants comprised 1840 university students studying at seven different faculties of Inonu University during the 2013-2014 academic year. A test battery containing demographic information, student trust scale and student engagement scale was administered to the participating students. Results showed that female students and students from earlier grades trust in professors and engage into classroom activities more. Regression analysis results, also, indicated that students’ scores on trust in professors explained approximately 16% of the total variance in student engagement. This implies that when students trust in their professors they tend to engage in lessons more, which, in turn, brings about better learning

School Happiness: Parents’ Opinion on Required Qualifications for School Happiness

In this study it was aimed to determine the parents’ opinions on the required qualifications for students’ happiness in school. This study was designed as a qualitative research design. Study group consists 20 parents. A semi-structured grid form was used as a data collection tool. The main-themes for school qualifications were physical equipment, learning environment, school environment, teacher qualifications, communication and collaboration, learning activities, social activities, school management, and education policy. The participants’ views focused on hygienic school environment, fair assessment, job enthusiasm of teachers, and the appealing school. In addition, school-parent cooperation should be increased, learning activities should be compatible with talent, and social activities should be sufficient for school happiness. School administrators should have leadership skills and school education should be continued based on democracy and laicism

Pluralistic Leadership Characteristics: A Research in Education Institutions*

The purpose of this study is to analyze the pluralistic leadership behaviours of school principals in the Turkish educational context. The exploratory design was used in this study, which employs the first qualitative, and then quantitative data collection methods. The sample of the study was determined using the maximum variation sampling technique; hence, 24 school principals and 327 teachers participated in the study. The data of the study were collected using semi-structured interviews and the ‘Pluralistic Leadership Scale’, which was developed by the authors. The findings of the study indicate that (i) school principals desire to participate in the management processes of teachers, (ii) teachers with leadership qualities and ideals are willing to participate in school administration, (iii) school principals attempt to investigate the source of the problem to solve problems and conflicts, (iv) school principals mostly showed pluralistic leadership characteristics regarding their interactions with teachers, (v) a significant difference was found in acknowledging and discussing the differences and attendance to management process dimensions based on teachers’ gender, (vi) a significant difference was found in the interaction among teachers, the interaction between school administration and teachers, and the use of power dimensions in favour of teachers working at village schools, (vii) a significant difference was found in the interaction between school administration and teachers dimension based on age and seniority of teachers. Finally, a significant difference was found in all dimensions of pluralistic leadership characteristics in terms of the number of teachers working at schools