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Asia-Pacific Forum on Science Learning and Teaching, Volume 18, Issue 1, Article 4 (Jun., 2017) |
Science and technology teachers’ attitudes towards educational research in Turkey
*Ali Rıza SEKERCI, 1Nail ILHAN, 2Mustafa SOZBILIR and 3Ali YILDIRIM
1Department of Mathematics and Science Education, Muallim Rıfat Education Faculty, Kilis 7 Aralık University, Kilis, TURKEY
2Department of Mathematics and Science Education, Kazım Karabekir Education Faculty, Ataturk University, Erzurum, TURKEY
3Department of Mathematics and Science Education, Faculty of Education, Mugla Sıtkı Kocman University, Mugla, TURKEY*Corresponding Author E-mail: arsekerci81@gmail.com
Received 4 Dec., 2016
Revised 24 Jun., 2017
Contents
- Abstract
- Introduction
- Methodology
- Findings
- What is the level of science and technology teachers’ attitudes towards educational research?
- Do the attitudes of science and technology teachers towards educational research differ according to their gender?
- Do the attitudes of science and technology teachers towards educational research differ according to the teacher-training programme from which they graduated?
- Do the attitudes of science and technology teachers towards educational research differ according to their years of teaching experience?
- Do the attitudes of science and technology teachers towards educational research differ according to the location of the middle school where they work?
- Do the attitudes of science and technology teachers towards educational research differ according to their educational status?
- Conclusion, Discussion and Suggestions
- References
This study reports on the attitudes of science and technology teachers’ towards educational research that were investigated and analyzed with respect to certain demographic variables. The survey method was utilized as the research design. The study group consisted of 918 science and technology teachers working in middle schools in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey. The data were collected using the Likert scale; ‘Teachers Attitude Scale towards Educational Research (TASTER)’. The sub-scales of TASTER included the necessity of educational research, the value of educational research and applicability of educational research. The results of the study showed that female teachers have more positive attitudes towards the applicability of educational research to classroom practice. Valuing educational research and necessity of educational research increases with the number of years of teaching experience. Teachers who graduate from faculties other than education believe in the necessity of educational research more than teachers from education faculties. Furthermore, when compared with the views of teachers working in rural areas those teachers employed in urban areas consider educational research to be more necessary, and teachers with Master’s degrees believe in the applicability of educational research more than teachers with graduate degrees.
Keywords: Science education, educational Research, attitudes
