A Study on Teaching Competencies of Teacher Candidates

A Study on Teaching Competencies of Teacher Candidates Assist. Prof. Dr. Süleyman Sadi SEFEROGLU Hacettepe University Faculty of Education Department of Computer Education and Instructional Technology Ankara, 06800, TURKEY e-Mail: sadi_at_hacettepe. edu. tr Web: http: //yunus. hacettepe. edu. tr/~sadi/ International Conference on Education (ICE 05) 6 -9 December 2005, National University of Singapore Dr. S. S. SEFEROGLU / International Conference on Education, 6 -9 December 2005, NUS-Singapore --

Content q Introduction q Purpose of the study q Method – Study group – Data collection instrument – Data analysis q Findings q Conclusion Dr. S. S. SEFEROGLU / International Conference on Education, 6 -9 December 2005, NUS-Singapore 2

Introduction q q q Relationships between progress and schools/education The quality of the instruction The qualified teachers The role of teacher training institutions The quality and standards Dr. S. S. SEFEROGLU / International Conference on Education, 6 -9 December 2005, NUS-Singapore 3

Introduction: Situation in Turkey Restructuring teaching profession q Beginning of the Turkish Republic (Early 1920 s) q Normal schools q Village Institutes movement (1940 s) q 2 Year Colleges (1970 s) q 4 Year Colleges (1980 s) q Restructuring by Higher Education Council Dr. S. S. SEFEROGLU / International Conference on Education, 6 -9 December 2005, NUS-Singapore 4

Introduction: The Role of MONE q Teaching Competencies Commission q Content of Teaching Competencies – Instructional competencies, – General social knowledge and skills competencies, and – Field-specific knowledge and skills competencies. Dr. S. S. SEFEROGLU / International Conference on Education, 6 -9 December 2005, NUS-Singapore 5

Introduction: The Role of MONE The purpose of teaching competencies: q Determining teacher training policies q Pre-service training of teachers q Selecting and appointing teachers q Supervising and evaluating teachers q In-service training q Professional development of teachers Dr. S. S. SEFEROGLU / International Conference on Education, 6 -9 December 2005, NUS-Singapore 6

Teaching Competencies: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. Instructional competencies Knowing the Students Planning Instruction Material Development Instruction Managing the Instruction Measurement and Evaluation Guidance Developing Basic Skills Helping Students with Special Needs Teaching Adults After School Activities Personal Development School Improvement Developing School-Environment Relations Dr. S. S. SEFEROGLU / International Conference on Education, 6 -9 December 2005, NUS-Singapore 7

Purpose of the study q Investigating the extent to which teacher candidates believe they possess the teacher competencies specified by the Ministry of Education. Dr. S. S. SEFEROGLU / International Conference on Education, 6 -9 December 2005, NUS-Singapore 8

Method Dr. S. S. SEFEROGLU / International Conference on Education, 6 -9 December 2005, NUS-Singapore --

Method q This study, which investigates opinions of senior year students at Faculty of Education of Hacettepe University, in Ankara, Turkey, is a descriptive study. q It aimed to examine candidates’ opinion on the extent to which they believe they possess the teacher competencies. Dr. S. S. SEFEROGLU / International Conference on Education, 6 -9 December 2005, NUS-Singapore 10

Study Group Departments f % Computer Education and Instructional Technology 45 27, 6 Early Childhood Education 35 21, 5 Elementary Education 33 20, 2 Mathematics Education 30 18, 4 Science Education 20 12, 3 163 100, 0 Total The study group consists of students from 4 departments at Faculty of Education of Hacettepe University. Dr. S. S. SEFEROGLU / International Conference on Education, 6 -9 December 2005, NUS-Singapore 11

Study Group q The distribution of the participants in terms of gender shows that 65% of them are female, and 35% are male. q Department of Computer Education and Instructional Technology (27, 6%) has the highest and Science Education (12, 3%) has the lowest number of participants. Dr. S. S. SEFEROGLU / International Conference on Education, 6 -9 December 2005, NUS-Singapore 12

Data Collection Instrument q The teaching competencies developed by MONE – “instructional competencies”, – “general social-cultural knowledge and skills”, and – “field-specific knowledge and skills”. q Instructional competencies category has 14 subcategories with 206 competency items. Those competency items were turned into an instrument. q This instrument was a 4 point Likert type scale with a 0. 98 reliability coefficient. Dr. S. S. SEFEROGLU / International Conference on Education, 6 -9 December 2005, NUS-Singapore 13

Data Collection Instrument The participants in this study were asked q to evaluate their own competencies with reference to the given items in the instrument using a scale ranging from “poor” to “excellent”. – – Poor Average Good Excellent Dr. S. S. SEFEROGLU / International Conference on Education, 6 -9 December 2005, NUS-Singapore 14

Data Analysis q For every teaching competency, in 14 competency categories, percentages and means were calculated. q t-Test and one way Anova tests were conducted to look for significant relationships between – competency scores and – different variables such as • candidates’ gender and • the department. q Among the 14 categories, only significant points are mentioned in each category. Dr. S. S. SEFEROGLU / International Conference on Education, 6 -9 December 2005, NUS-Singapore 15

Findings Dr. S. S. SEFEROGLU / International Conference on Education, 6 -9 December 2005, NUS-Singapore --

Distribution of Mean Values of Competency Categories 1 Knowing the Students 3, 09 2 Planning Instruction 3, 05 3 Material Development 2, 96 4. Instruction 3, 15 5. Managing the Instruction 3, 14 6. Measurement and Evaluation 3, 03 7. Guidance 3, 10 8. Developing Basic Skills 3, 09 9. Helping Students with Special Needs 2, 76 10. Teaching Adults 2, 91 11. After School Activities 3, 02 12. Personal Development 3, 20 13. School Improvement 2, 97 14. Developing School-Environment Relations 3, 19 Dr. S. S. SEFEROGLU / International Conference on Education, 6 -9 December 2005, NUS-Singapore 17

Dr. S. S. SEFEROGLU / International Conference on Education, 6 -9 December 2005, NUS-Singapore 18

1. Knowing the Students Competency Category Knowing the students (10 items) Mean Good + Observing students’ interests and skills 3, 26 Recognizing students’ learning style 2, 97 Dr. S. S. SEFEROGLU / International Conference on Education, 6 -9 December 2005, NUS-Singapore 19

2. Planning Instruction Competency Category Planning instruction (11 items) Mean Good + Determining the material of the instruction 3, 52 Determining the content of the instruction 3, 44 Preparing annual plans 2, 75 Preparing monthly plans 2, 88 Dr. S. S. SEFEROGLU / International Conference on Education, 6 -9 December 2005, NUS-Singapore 20

3. Material Development Competency Category Mean Material development (20 items) Good Preparing homework 3, 59 Preparing worksheets 3, 39 Preparing video cassettes 2, 48 Dr. S. S. SEFEROGLU / International Conference on Education, 6 -9 December 2005, NUS-Singapore 21

4. Instruction Competency Category Mean Instruction (35 items) Good + Teaching with video 2, 64 Teaching through lecturing 2, 81 Dr. S. S. SEFEROGLU / International Conference on Education, 6 -9 December 2005, NUS-Singapore 22

5. Managing the Instruction Competency Category Managing the instruction (21 items) Mean Good + Motivating students 3, 40 Reinforcing positive behaviors 3, 36 First-aid to students 2, 80 Dr. S. S. SEFEROGLU / International Conference on Education, 6 -9 December 2005, NUS-Singapore 23

6. Measurement and Evaluation Competency Category Measurement and evaluation (21 items) Mean Good + Evaluating his/her own teaching 3, 21 Preparing matching type tests 3, 17 Giving feedback to students 3, 14 Determining the reliability and validity of the tests prepared 2, 60 Dr. S. S. SEFEROGLU / International Conference on Education, 6 -9 December 2005, NUS-Singapore 24

7. Guidance Competency Category Guidance (20 items) Mean Good + Guiding parents about their children 3, 36 Listening to students, and helping them to express themselves 3, 31 Guiding students with drug addiction problems 2, 82 Dr. S. S. SEFEROGLU / International Conference on Education, 6 -9 December 2005, NUS-Singapore 25

8. Developing Basic Skills Competency Category Developing basic skills (13 items) Mean Good + Helping students to develop Mathematics skills 3, 25 Helping students to develop skills which needed to be a successful member of the society 3, 20 Helping students to develop esthetic skills 2, 93 Dr. S. S. SEFEROGLU / International Conference on Education, 6 -9 December 2005, NUS-Singapore 26

9. Helping Students With Special Needs Competency Category Mean Helping students with special needs (11 items) Good Helping students with special needs to develop planning their professional life skills 2, 99 Using appropriate teaching techniques for students with special needs 2, 55 Dr. S. S. SEFEROGLU / International Conference on Education, 6 -9 December 2005, NUS-Singapore 27

10. Teaching Adults Competency Category Mean Teaching adults (8 items) Good Determining personal educational needs 3, 00 Being ready to work with adults 2, 99 Dr. S. S. SEFEROGLU / International Conference on Education, 6 -9 December 2005, NUS-Singapore 28

11. After School Activities Competency Category After school activities (10 items) Mean Good + Participating PTA meetings 3, 37 Cooperation with colleagues about students 3, 22 Getting responsibilities in official commissions (such as purchasing) 2, 74 Dr. S. S. SEFEROGLU / International Conference on Education, 6 -9 December 2005, NUS-Singapore 29

12. Personal Development Competency Category Personal development (9 items) Mean Good ++ Attending activities such as seminars, symposiums, conferences, etc. are very important 3, 37 Sharing experiences with others is very important 3, 33 Dr. S. S. SEFEROGLU / International Conference on Education, 6 -9 December 2005, NUS-Singapore 30

13. School Improvement Competency Category Mean School improvement (12 items) Good Effective use of school properties 3, 27 Helping administration on schoolenvironment interaction 3, 20 Creating financial resources 2, 66 Dr. S. S. SEFEROGLU / International Conference on Education, 6 -9 December 2005, NUS-Singapore 31

14. Developing School-Environment Relations Competency Category Developing school-environment relations (5 items) Mean Good ++ Introducing school to its environment 3, 41 Cooperation with professional associations 3, 01 Dr. S. S. SEFEROGLU / International Conference on Education, 6 -9 December 2005, NUS-Singapore 32

Participants Evaluation of Themselves in Terms of Different Variables t-Test and One Way Anova Tests to look for significant relationships q Significant differences based on gender and the department q Females outscored males in the – “managing the instruction” and – “personal development” categories. Dr. S. S. SEFEROGLU / International Conference on Education, 6 -9 December 2005, NUS-Singapore 33

Participants Evaluation of Themselves in Terms of Different Variables q With regard to departmental differences, participants from the Early Childhood Education department seem to outscore participants from the Computer Education and Instructional Technology department in the categories of – “knowing the students” and – “planning instruction. ” Dr. S. S. SEFEROGLU / International Conference on Education, 6 -9 December 2005, NUS-Singapore 34

Conclusion q Although there is some variations, in general participants evaluated themselves as “good” or “excellent” for most of the competency items. q It was a positive finding that in at least half of the items, “poor” was not selected by any of the participants. q The participants’ evaluation of their competencies show significant differences based on gender and the department. Dr. S. S. SEFEROGLU / International Conference on Education, 6 -9 December 2005, NUS-Singapore 35

Conclusion q The participants see themselves unqualified in some competency items such as “helping students with special needs”, and “teaching adults”. q The reason why they found themselves unqualified is probably that their departments’ academic program simply does not include courses about those competencies. q Therefore, either MONE needs to revise those competency items, or academic programs of teacher education programs need to be revised. Dr. S. S. SEFEROGLU / International Conference on Education, 6 -9 December 2005, NUS-Singapore 36

Last Word q It is hoped that the findings of this study will guide various institutions, (which mainly are Faculties of Education, the Higher Education Council, and Ministry of National Education) in terms of current situation in teaching competencies of teacher candidates. q The findings of this study can be a guide for the designers of the in-service training activities in terms of the type of personal and professional improvement programs they can offer. Dr. S. S. SEFEROGLU / International Conference on Education, 6 -9 December 2005, NUS-Singapore 37

Thank You!!! Assist. Prof. Dr. Süleyman Sadi SEFEROĞLU • e-Mail: sadi_at_hacettepe. edu. tr • Web: http: //yunus. hacettepe. edu. tr/~sadi/ Dr. S. S. SEFEROGLU / International Conference on Education, 6 -9 December 2005, NUS-Singapore 38