Student Participation in Higher Education Institutions in Turkey

After the 2001 meeting of the European Ministers of Education held in Prague, higher education institutions in Turkey took serious actions in order to implement the goals of the Bologna Declaration (1999). Arrangements made for the democratization of universities and student participation in the decision‐making process formed one of the predominant actions. The formal point of these arrangements – aimed at student involvement in the university governance process via Student Councils and their representatives, was prescribed by law and forced universities to comply with the process. The present research provides information about the legal arrangements in higher education institutions concerning student involvement in the university decision‐making process and the obstacles met within the course of application. In addition, it presents the findings of an empirical study related to student representation and involvement in governance through the agency of the Student Councils.     

English language teachers becoming more efficacious through research engagement at their Turkish university

While it is generally recognized that teacher research can be a very beneficial form of continuing professional development (CPD), there is still relatively limited research available on the impact this activity has on teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs, which are of interest to educational psychologists because, while being open to constant change, these beliefs influence the way in which knowledge is transformed into action. There is also a relative lack of available research into how teachers develop as researchers; the processes whereby they gain practical knowledge and more positive self-efficacy beliefs in planning, conducting, analysing, presenting and writing up research require further exploration. This qualitative multi-case study addresses these issues, exploring the development of three in-service teachers of English on a foundation programme at a Turkish university. Findings reveal that engaging in CPD which directly benefited their learners helped all three teachers develop positive teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs and deeper practical knowledge in relation to the specific tasks that concerned them. Furthermore, from a starting point of having low self-efficacy beliefs in conducting practical research, which reflected their lack of prior knowledge in this area, they all became more efficacious as they gained research experience and developed practical knowledge of research. This study highlights the benefits, then, of helping teachers become more efficacious through CPD that engages them as knowledge-generators. Enthusiastic mentoring, autonomy support and the opportunity to present their research more widely all helped the teachers in this Turkish context to develop.     

Curriculum elements of a politically liberal education in a developing democracy

A previous study has justified the idea that a politically liberal conception of formal education can be applied in a developing democracy if such a society has reached a narrow overlapping consensus on its education system or modifies its education system from a minimally coercive perspective. This study further considers the fundamental question of how to determine such an educational account’s curriculum elements. In this sense, this study aims to provide a perspective on determining some core curriculum elements of a politically liberal conception of formal education, while focusing its attention to developing democracies.     

Classroom Effects of a Hybrid Universal and Indicated Prevention Program for Preschool Children: A Comparative Analysis Based on Social and Emotional Competence Screening

Research Findings: The current study's main aim was to implement a multifocused, community-based intervention for preventing conduct problems in preschool children. Our assumption was that the same intervention program could be delivered concomitantly as a universal prevention program for all children as well as an indicated prevention program for high-risk children selected after screening for social and emotional competencies development. We used a quasi-experimental design with a between-subjects variable (intervention vs. comparison) and a within-subjects variable (preintervention, postintervention, and 3-month follow-up). The efficacy of the intervention was assessed for high-risk children targeted by the indicated intervention as well as for moderate- and low-risk children, who received the universal intervention. Practice or Policy: First, our results demonstrate the capacity of classroom-based interventions, without added pull-out sessions, to generate significant changes in high-risk children's competencies as well as externalizing and internalizing problems. Second, similar results were found for the moderate-risk, but not the low-risk, group, and these data suggest that marginally at-risk children are the most likely to benefit from participating in universal interventions. And third, comparing data from social and emotional competence risk groups indicates that underdeveloped emotional competencies might have a prolonged negative effect on children's social skills, which increases as a function of higher risk status.     

The effect of electronic performance support systems on self-regulated learning skills

Electronic performance support systems (EPSSs) are the software programs commonly used in commercial environments since the early 1990s. These software programs are generally called performance-based systems and focus on the complete job rather than providing individual development. For that reason, the usage of these systems in learning environments has not been sufficiently investigated. In this empirical study, availability of using EPSS software for learning processes was investigated in order to contribute to the literature. An EPSS software was developed for undergraduate students to use in programming language courses and the effects of the software on students' self-regulation based learning skills were investigated. During the treatment process, while the experimental group was supported with EPSS, traditional teaching continued in the control group. The results of the study showed that there was no statistically significant difference between the groups in terms of motivational beliefs; however, there were significant differences in terms of cognitive, metacognitive, and resource management strategies.     

Approach–Method Interaction: The role of teaching method on the effect of context-based approach in physics instruction

The purpose of this study is to explore not only the effect of context-based physics instruction on students’ achievement and motivation in physics, but also how the use of different teaching methods influences it (interaction effect). Therefore, two two-level-independent variables were defined, teaching approach (contextual and non-contextual approaches) and teaching method (traditional and learning cycle methods). Thus, a 2?×?2 factorial design was performed with four treatment groups, including 131 11th-grade students: (1) a traditional method with the non-contextual approach group, (2) a traditional method with the contextual approach group, (3) a learning cycle with the non-contextual approach group, and (4) a learning cycle with the contextual approach group. Prior to and just after the treatments, which took 5 weeks, pre-tests and post-tests on student achievement and motivation were administered. For the analysis of data, multivariate analysis of covariance, simple regressions and follow-up analysis of covariances were performed. Consequently, it was found that the effect of context-based approach on physics achievement is dependent upon the teaching method implemented. That is, the traditional method was observed to increase the effect of the contextual approach while the learning cycle decreased it. Related to the effects on motivation in physics, no evidence was found to claim a significant difference. Based on the findings of this study, further research is suggested for determining which teaching methods are more effective with the context-based approach on students' achievement and motivation in physics.     

Emotional intelligence and negative feelings: a gender specific moderated mediation model

This study aims to clarify the effect of emotional intelligence (EI) on negative feelings (stress, anxiety, burnout and depression) in a gender specific model. Four hundred and twenty-five primary school teachers (326 males, 99 females) completed the measures of EI, stress, anxiety, burnout and depression. The multi-group analysis was performed using a structural equation approach. The moderated mediation results show that there are gender related differences in the relationships of age, emotional intelligence, stress, anxiety, burnout and depression. The results imply that school managers should take into consideration the teachers’ personal variables such as gender and age in order to assess the use of emotional intelligence in coping with negative feelings at the place of work effectively.     

Science Teaching Efficacy of Preservice Elementary Teachers: Examination of the Multiple Factors Reported as Influential

This study explores the science teaching efficacy beliefs of pr-service elementary teachers and the relationship between efficacy beliefs and multiple factors such as antecedent factors (participation in extracurricular activities and number of science and science teaching methods courses taken), conceptual understanding, classroom management beliefs and science teaching attitudes. Science education majors (n?=?71) and elementary education majors (n?=?262) were compared with respect to these variables. Finally, the predictors of two constructs of science teaching efficacy beliefs, personal science teaching efficacy (PSTE) and science teaching outcome expectancy (STOE), were examined by multiple linear regression analysis. According to the results, participation in extracurricular activities has a significant but low correlation with science concept knowledge, science teaching attitudes, PSTE and STOE. In addition, there is a small but significant correlation between science concept knowledge and outcome expectancy, which leads the idea that preservice elementary teachers’ conceptual understanding in science contributes to their science teaching self-efficacy. This study reveals a moderate correlation between science teaching attitudes and STOE and a high correlation between science teaching attitudes and PSTE. Additionally, although the correlation coefficient is low, the number of methodology courses was found to be one of the correlates of science teaching attitudes. Furthermore, students of both majors generally had positive self-efficacy beliefs on both the STOE and PSTE. Specifically, science education majors had higher science teaching self-efficacy than elementary education majors. Regression results showed that science teaching attitude is the major factor in predicting both PSTE and STOE for both groups.     

Development and Validation of Chemistry Self-Efficacy Scale for College Students

This study described the process of developing and validating the College Chemistry Self-Efficacy Scale (CCSS) that can be used to assess college students’ beliefs in their ability to perform essential tasks in chemistry. In the first phase, data collected from 363 college students provided evidence for the validity and reliability of the new scale. Three dimensions emerged: self-efficacy for cognitive skills, self-efficacy for psychomotor skills, and self-efficacy for everyday applications. In the second phase, data collected from an independent sample of 353 college students confirmed the factorial structure of the 21-item CCSS. The Cronbach alpha coefficients ranged from 0.82 to 0.92. In addition, each dimension of the CCSS had moderate and significant correlations with student chemistry achievement and differentiated between major and non-major students. Followed by the additional validation studies, the CCSS will serve as a valuable tool for both instructors and researchers in science education to assess college students’ chemistry self-efficacy beliefs.