Teacher Education Research in Turkey: Trends, Issues and Priority Areas

Abstract

Teacher education research in Turkey can be categorized under five headings: attitudes and perceptions of teacher candidates toward teaching; competency perceptions of teacher candidates; school experience; assessment of teacher education programs; and the impact of teacher education research on teacher candidates’ knowledge, skills and attitudes. Research on attitudes and perceptions of teaching is carried out mostly through surveys, whereas quantitative, qualitative and mixed designs are used in studying teacher education programs and school experience. The relations between teacher education process and the knowledge, skills and attitudes of teacher candidates are explored through experimental, correlational and qualitative designs. Most of these research studies focus on descriptive aspects of teacher education rather than exploring relations among teacher education and teacher performance in schools. There are several reasons for narrow scope of teacher education research: First, there is no agreement on the terms used in the field of teacher education. Second, teacher education programs are determined by the Higher Education Council. Third, the research is mostly geared toward the students and instructors at the faculties of education rather than teachers in schools. Fourth, the teaching load of the instructors at faculties of education is heavy, thereby not leaving  much time for research. Finally, there is not much meta-analysis on teacher education research to reflect what has been learned and to give new directions to the researchers.