Issue Information Issue Informationpp. i - vi Abstract Keywords: |
Original Articles Majority Teachers’ Perceptions of Urban Adolescents and Their Abilities: Probes from Self-Reflection and Teacher AutobiographiesImmaculée Harushimana pp. 6 - 25 Abstract This article presents a small scale, qualitative study of nine majority alternate-route teachers and the perceptions they hold about themselves as urban educators and their urban students’ academic abilities. Data for this study was collected through self- reflective, written interviews and meta-reflective responses to two published teacher autobiographies. Culture shock theory was used to understand the evolution of the participants’ perceptions through the responses they provided. The study’s findings revealed that the participants underwent positive changes in their perceptions of themselves as urban educators and of their urban students’ academic abilities. Implications highlight the value of using published teacher autobiographies in urban teacher education. Keywords: alternate-route teachers, autobiography, in-service teachers, majority teachers, pre-service teachers, urban adolescents, teacher perception, teacher education |
A Participatory Action Research Study of Nature Education in Nature: Towards Community-based Eco-pedagogy
Mustafa Yunus Eryaman, Sukran Yalcin-Ozdilek, Emel Okur, Zeynep Cetinkaya & Selcuk Uygun pp. 26 - 37 Abstract Contemporary nature education is exploring different ways to develop awareness for change and initiate action. Such educational activities go beyond creating understanding and awareness in order to develop a sense of commitment for individual and collective action. This participatory action research study aimed to improve teachers’ sensitiveness towards nature, and to achieve environmental literacy and sustainability by inspiring community action and educational opportunities that support sustainable and thriving environments for a Community-based Eco-pedagogy. The study further explores the possibilities of helping the adults -through communication and collaboration with each other and their communities to re- evaluate and discover the diversity and importance of their surrounding environment while utilizing pedagogical strategies which will involve the participants to the in- depth study of the nature, history, the culture, the traditional customs, and the natural environment. Keywords: Eco-pedagogy, Participatory action research, Community |
Geography Teachers’ Usage of The Internet For Education Purposes
Adem Sezer pp. 38 - 59 Abstract The purpose of this study is to determine geography teachers’ use of the Internet for education purposes and the extent to which Turkish Internet sites can fulfill the needs and requirements of geography teachers’ Internet usage. Research is carried out using the screening method. Data were collected by means of a measurement tool that was developed by the researcher (questionnaire form) over the Internet. The study group consists of 174 teachers, who filled out and submitted the questionnaire on avolunteer basis, and all participants were members of an Internet forum, “Geography Teachers of Turkey” (Turkiye Cografya Ögretmenleri), that was created for the purpose of information sharing among geography teachers. Frequency, percentage correlation, and arithmetic mean were used, as appropriate, for the purpose of analyzing the data. Study results indicate that geography teachers use the Internet most frequently for the purpose of geography education in order to acquire documents that can be used in teaching geography. The study further indicates that geography teachers least frequently for purpose of classroom applications with direct Internet use and for assessing students’ studies. Keywords: Geography, Geography teachers, Teaching geography, Internet |
Identifying students’ learning style preferences regarding some variables in the EFL classroom: The case of Turkey
Cevdet Yılmaz, & Salih Zeki Genç pp. 51 - 64 Abstract During the past decade, the identification of students’ learning style preferences has gained importance in educational research. This study aimed at identifying the individual perceptions of the learner style preferences of Turkish EFL learners. Using learning style preference categories and a 28-item language learning preference questionnaire adopted from Willing, the authors focussed on a group of 60 students at the ELT Department, Onsekiz Mart University. As a further step, the emphasis was also placed on the variables such as sex, attendance to prep class and schools graduated. In doing so, the study sought to find out whether these variables were likely to have an impact on students’ learning style preferences. Results showed the learning preferences of students in different learning style preference categories. The data obtained also revealed that a meaningful correlation was found with regard to the difference between the schools graduated and students’ perceptions of learning style preferences. Keywords: Learning Style, English as a Foreign Language (EFL), Turkish Students |