A case study of the needs analysis for an ELT department curriculum in Turkiye: Needs analysis for an ELT department curriculum in Turkiye

In the 21st century, skills and knowledge of teachers are expected to meet the needs of the 21st century citizens. Therefore, Hacettepe University English Language Teaching (ELT) Department has also decided to redesign its curriculum by taking into account the issues CoHE (2020) has declared. For this purpose, this study aims to examine the opinions of the internal and external stakeholders to determine their needs regarding the new curriculum. In the study, mixed methods research design was adopted based on both qualitative and quantitative data. The participants were composed of internal and external stakeholders of Hacettepe University ELT Department. A total of 284 people, from different stakeholder groups (faculty members, students, alumni, in-service teachers, and employers) participated in the study. Data were obtained from six different data collection tools consisting of various adapted questionnaires and interview forms. Collected data were analyzed separately appropriate to their types. Quantitative data were analyzed with descriptive statistics, and qualitative data were analyzed with content analysis. Findings indicate a consistency in the expectations of the stakeholders as they all demand a more practice-oriented curriculum with extensive content knowledge-based course content, along with a more effective practicum. Even though these findings may reflect the needs of many ELT departments' stakeholders in Turkiye, these should not be interpreted as the total and only needs of every ELT department across Turkiye. Therefore, similar studies should be replicated by institutions as each institution's stakeholders may have context-specific needs. Keywords: Curriculum development; needs analysis; ELT department; teacher educatio