We train, but what do they think? Preservice teachers’ perceptions of the adequacy of their teacher education in Turkey

ABSTRACT

The study aimed to assess the adequacy of pre-service teacher education in Turkey as perceived by preservice teachers. Specifically, the researchers investigated preservice teachers’ perceptions of the adequateness of their education in terms of developing teaching skills and the major components of teacher education. The factors affecting their perceptions were also examined. In total, 1856 preservice teachers participated in the study. A questionnaire was prepared to collect data from the participants. According to the findings, teacher education should be enhanced in terms of preparing candidates for skills such as teaching in different contexts and cooperating with parents; and practicum hours needed to be improved for more effective preparation of preservice teachers. Moreover, it was also found that the preservice teachers’ subject, college, orientation towards teaching and the perceived adequacy of program components played significant roles in affecting their perceptions of teacher education.

KEYWORDS:

• Pre-service teacher education
• preservice teachers’ perceptions
• evaluation of teacher education
• adequacy of teacher education

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi [BAP-07-03-2012-107].

Notes on contributors

Esra Eret-Orhan

Esra Eret-Orhan is an educational researcher and training coordinator at the Center for Advancing Teaching and Learning at Middle East Technical University. Her research focuses on improving pre-service teacher education, curriculum, and instruction.

Ahmet Ok

Ahmet Ok is a Proffesor at the Department of Educational Sciences, Middle East Technical University. His academic interests include teacher education, competencies, accreditation, curriculum evaluation, learning environments.

Yesim Capa-Aydin

Yesim Capa-Aydin is an Assistant Proffessor at the Department of Educational Sciences, Middle East Technical University. Her research interests include applied measurement/statistics, teaching statistics, teacher education, self-efficacy, and self-regulation.