teaching and their beliefs about classroom management

The purpose of this study was to explore Turkish preservice science teachers' science teaching efficacy and classroom management beliefs. Data in this study were collected from a total number of 584 preservice science teachers utilizing the Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument and the attitudes and beliefs on classroom control (ABCC) inventory. Data analysis indicated that preservice science teachers generally expressed positive efficacy beliefs regarding science teaching. In addition, results revealed that participants were interventionist on the instructional management dimension, whereas they favored non-interventionist style on the people management dimension of the ABCC inventory. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Development of nature of science scale (NSS) for advanced science students

Frequent use of open-ended questionnaire plus interview application for nature of science as a requirement for informed decision making has been criticized by many researchers and a need for an easily administrable and scorable instrument has been emphasized. At the same time, existing instruments were developed with the students out of advanced students. Therefore, the purpose of this study is development of a nature of science scale for advanced science students. The study was conducted with 224 advanced science students. Both confirmatory and exploratory factor analysis were done to collect evidence for validity of the scores on the instrument and it was found that both of the analyses approved appropriate validity of the scores. Cronbach alphas for subscales were found as from .55 to.77 as acceptable values. The implications and importance of the instrument will be discussed in this article

Teachers’ and students’ perceptions of the ideal teacher = Öğretmen ve öğrencilerin ideal öğretmen hakkındaki görüşleri

The purpose of the study was to describe the characteristics of an ideal Turkish teacher from an interpersonal point of view. A total number of 21 teachers and 276 students (Grades 9 to 11) answered the questions "What should be/should not be the characteristics of an ideal teacher?"A total of 17 students and 5 teachers were randomly selected from this group and were interviewed. The interviews were based on the Model for Interpersonal Teacher Behaviour (MITB) and its two dimensions (Influence and Proximity). Results of the study indicated that students and teachers described the ideal teacher as a person who guides students, motivates and encourages them, gives confidence, has a tendency to build more positive relationship and has earned respect from students