This article seeks to determine how game-based mathematics teaching affects students’ success when compared with conventional instruction for the place value concept in primary school. The study was carried out with a convergent/parallel mixed-method research design. The study group consisted of 51 second-grade primary school students and their teacher. All research data were collected over a period of four weeks. In the quantitative part of the research, a quasi-experimental design with pretest and posttest control groups was carried out. Quantitative data were obtained with an achievement test specifically prepared for the research. All quantitative data were statistically analyzed using t-test. The qualitative part of the data involved audio and video recordings of students’ interactions, teacher’s diaries, and semi-structured interview forms collected from 26 second-grade primary school students in the experimental group. Quantitative data were analyzed using content analysis. The results showed that the game-based learning method was more effective than the conventional method. Students better understood the place value concept with gamification. Moreover, they increased their interest and motivation toward mathematics courses. Despite all these findings and the fact that many students declared that they had fun in the process, some students still preferred more traditional methods of teaching. This study was carried out on a new mathematical concept on which the effect of game-based teaching had not been tested before. The highlight of this study is the effectiveness of game-based mathematics teaching on the place value concept.

The aim of this research is to determine the strategies used by the 8th grade Turkish teachers in the teaching-learning process of the Turkish lesson for teaching comprehension (reading). The model of the research is the case study model, which is one of the qualitative research methods. The participants of the research are five Turkish teachers who gave eighth grade Turkish lessons in the 2019-2020 academic year and participated in the study voluntarily. "Observation form" and "Semi-structured interview form" developed by the researcher were used as data collection tools in the research. In the development of measurement tools, literature review was used, expert opinion was taken and the level of agreement between coders was checked. Descriptive statistical techniques (frequency, percentage, mean, etc.) were used in the analysis of the data. As a result, it has been determined that the most used strategy by the teachers participating in the study for teaching comprehension in the Turkish lesson learning-teaching process is the question-answer strategy.

This article presents a mixed method study on how to develop a participatory education management model as an alternative to the Turkish education administration system. Consisting of qualitative and quantitative methods, the mixed research method has been adopted to acquire the required data. Qualitative phase the education administration systems applied in OECD member countries, documents and reports available in the literature were evaluated. To reach wider masses, an online survey aiming at collecting the views of teachers and administrators was carried out by using the quantitative phase of the mixed method. This study has laid it bare that the principles of good governance, common sense, transparency, accountability, participation, democracy, effectiveness, efficiency, and sustainability stand forefront in educational systems that adopt the participatory education boards model. Eventually, a board/commission oriented local education administration model has been designed and developed as an alternative for the Turkish educational administration system.

For over 2 years, the Covid-19 pandemic forced large numbers of Thai students to engage in emergency remote education, but with the pandemic abating and students returning to face-to-face classrooms, this paper takes the opportunity to examine students’ feelings about their experience with online education. The aims of this research are thus to investigate students’ perceptions of their university’s preparedness and its provision of ongoing support for online learning, the quality of the online teaching, the advantages and disadvantages of online classrooms, the students’ technological self-efficacy, and their preferred mode of learning when the pandemic abates. The results reveal that students’ overall satisfaction with the university’s preparedness and support was at the moderate level, while the quality of online teaching and students’ technological self-efficacy were rated at the high level. In terms of the advantages and disadvantages of online education, the latter outweighed the former. The students’ preferred mode of learning after the end of the pandemic was face-to-face classrooms, followed in order by blended learning, and then fully online classrooms. The findings suggest that factors including the lack of university life experiences, an absence of classroom interaction, health problems, and heavy workloads could hinder the adoption of fully online classrooms.

The aim of this research is to identify the difficulties that are faced by classroom teachers in teaching mathematics and to put a current perspective. In the research, phenomenological design from the qualitative research method was applied. Participants were determined by criterion sampling, which is one of the purposive sampling methods. Semi-structured focus group interviews were conducted to determine the opinions of the classroom teachers about the problems they have in teaching mathematics. The participants of the interview are a total of 7 primary school teachers, 4 female and 3 male. Content analysis was used in the analysis of the data. As a result, primary school teachers expressed many problem areas related to gain density, insufficient lesson hours, central exam-program incompatibility, reading comprehension, associating with daily life, readiness, inadequacy of economy, lack of material, distance education, fear of mathematics, peer pressure and lack of motivation.

Children's problem behaviour in the preschool period is a severe obstacle to social-emotional development and a precondition for maladjustment in social relationships during school life. Professionals in the field have been improving existing practices to prevent and intervene in young children's challenging behaviour. To this end, many social-emotional learning curriculums are developed and put into practice. One curriculum that supports children's social-emotional learning during the preschool period is the Second Step Early Learning. The present study looked into the practical experiences of preschool teachers implementing the second step social-emotional learning curriculum. The study group consists of 13 preschool teachers who have received educator training in this learning curriculum and implemented it at schools. The teachers were asked questions about the curriculum's general qualities, its effects on the children's development levels, and their professional development. According to the study results, all teachers stated that the second step curriculum positively contributed to children's emotional and behavioural reactions. It helped them in class management and implementation, such behaviour as having confidence, asking for help, taking responsibility, and taking responsibility-sharing improved. In addition, expressing that they observed differences in hindering anger and in-class problem-solving processes, teachers emphasised that the children were more understanding and polite to each other, especially in free-time activities. Their interaction was healthier than before, and their listening and attention spans increased. Overall, the findings show preschool teachers' experience in implementation. They recommended the curriculum to their colleagues, claiming that it contributed to their professional development.

The current study sought to determine the association between primary school teacher candidates’ levels of scientific literacy and their attitudes about reading scientific texts. The study used a correlational survey technique. The sample population consisted of 287 primary school teacher candidates who were enrolled in a public university in South-Eastern Anatolia's education faculty for the 2020–2021 academic year. The "Personal Information Form," "Universal Science Literacy Scale," and "Attitude Scale towards Reading Scientific Texts" were used to gather the data. During the data analysis stage, frequency and percentage values for the variables were determined. Correlation, simple regression, and multiple regression analyses were then performed. The results revealed that although teacher candidates' reading and scientific text reading rates were insufficient, their attitudes toward scientific literacy and scientific text reading were "good." The attitude toward reading scientific materials and the sub-dimensions of scientific literacy were found to be positively and statistically correlated. Along with the "habits of mind" and "meta-cognition and self-direction" sub-dimensions, it was also noted that scientific literacy is a statistically significant predictor of attitude toward reading scientific materials. Based on their findings, the researcher came up with several recommendations.

This research aims to determine the preschool teacher candidates’ lifelong learning tendencies and preschool teacher candidates’ opinions about lifelong learning. The study group of this research is first, second, third and fourth grade students of preschool teaching in the primary school education department of a public university in Turkey. A mixed-method was used in this research. Data were gathered via the “Lifelong Learning Tendency Scale” which is developed by Diker-Coşkun and via the “Interview Form” which is developed by researchers. The lifelong learning tendency scale is applied to 362 students, and interviews are done with 27 students. Results show that the students’ lifelong tendencies are above the average point of the scale.  There is no significant difference in lifelong learning tendencies between grade levels. There is a significant difference in lifelong learning tendencies between the different levels of academic success and whether or not students desire to get postgrad education.

Socialization is the process of learning to be a human being that is born with the potential to be human. In this process, the person learns the basic values and norms of the society in which he lives, as well as the skills necessary to sustain his life. This learning takes place through parents, siblings, relatives, neighbors, peers, teachers, and other people with whom the person interacts, although their levels of influence may differ. The transformation of a baby into a human depends on being given the opportunity to live in a human community and learn to be human. As a result of research on children like Victor, Kamala, Shamdev who were abandoned in the forest and isolated at home like Isabella, Anna, Genie and Danielle, it has been observed that individuals who were deprived of the opportunity to learn to be human could not speak, make strange sounds, lack human feelings, and could not fully perform even simple physical activities such as sitting, standing and walking on two legs. More interestingly, efforts to humanize these people have not been successful enough, with the exception of Isabella. Similar results have emerged in studies conducted on children living in orphanages in different countries of the world, especially in Romania, in case the interaction is not humane, it has been seen that it is not enough to meet the basic needs of children such as food, drink and shelter.

The main purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of preschool teachers who have inclusion students with special needs in their classrooms during distance education process carried out due to the Covid-19 pandemic. For this purpose, interviews were conducted with 10 preschool teachers who have inclusion students with special needs in their classrooms through online platforms. The findings obtained were analyzed by content analysis. As a result of the interviews, preschool teachers stated that they still had problems in technological infrastructure and difficulties using the online teaching systems, the families of the inclusion students with special needs  did not participate in the distance education process at a sufficient level, and this process negatively affected the social interactions of the students. In addition, all preschool teachers who participated in the study stated that the online preschool inclusive distance education process was not suitable for students with special needs. All data obtain from this study discussed and some implications were suggested according to literature.

The aim of this study is to examine the effect of argumentation over current teaching approach on scientific epistemological beliefs and 21st century skills of seventh grade students. This is a quasi-experimental design with pre-test and post-test control group. The sample of the study was composed of 79 seventh grade students (38 experimental; 41 control group) from two intact classes of an urban middle school instructed with the same teacher. The teaching methods were randomly assigned to the classes. The experimental group treated with argumentation, the control group treated with the current teaching approach without argumentation. As data collection tools; Scientific Epistemological Beliefs Scale and 21st century skills scale were used. Multivariance Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) was used for data analysis. The results showed that argumentation and the current teaching approach had a similar effect on students’ scientific epistemological beliefs and 21st century skills.

A national survey of American families was conducted to ascertain the extent of interest in self-directed education (SDE) in the United States. Our research took place in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic - a moment when we need a much better understanding of what parents need from the US education system. Data were gathered using an online survey aimed at parents or caregivers of young people aged 4-18. A total of 1009 adults completed the caregiver survey. Resulting data were analyzed using SPSS. Results suggest a high degree of openness to SDE. The data also elucidate several questions and concerns that parents and caregivers have about the approach. Data also highlighted differing perceptions of and attitudes towards SDE as a function of race. As the first nationwide survey about SDE, this study has made an important contribution to the existing literature on the subject. Directions for further research are discussed

The purpose of this study was to examine the primary and secondary color preferences of students with special needs as well as their color preference for an object regarding their disability types, school levels, and gender. The study employed a survey research design with quantitative methodology. It was conducted with the participation of 549 students with Intellectual Disability, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Down Syndrome and Learning Disability. The researchers collected the data by using a car visual together with the geometric shapes used by Ece and Çelik (2009). The collected data were entered into the Excel program, and the frequency and percentage values were obtained. The results revealed that according to their school level, students’ primary and secondary color preference changed. When the geometric shape was changed, students’ color preferences changed, accordingly. With respect to their disability types, students preferred red as the primary color and blue as the secondary color, and they chose blue for the car visual. It was found that while primary and secondary color preferences of male and female students differed but they preferred blue for the car visual.

Art is an educational activity that can be done in any era or by any generation. Theatre art, which has contributed to the individual and social development of individuals since early times, has had a privileged place in the world of education. New approaches in the science of theatre and pedagogy have emerged in the current age and substantially contributed to participatory art. This current study was conducted regarding participatory art carried out as a theatrical staged work in the eastern Black Sea region of Turkey, Artvin Province, Hopa district. The participants in the study were 14 adult females aged between 28 to 55-years-old. Participants were observed during the staging process of a theatrical work and interviews were conducted. The data obtained were analysed and the effect of participatory art on the women’s life satisfaction was determined. It was revealed through the results that there was a significant increase in the life satisfaction of working women who participated in this theatrical work. In research regarding the historical processes of participatory art, the importance of working women expressing themselves through a socio-cultural activity as well as the pedagogical approaches preferred in these studies were also mentioned.

School libraries are supplementary places enabling students to acquire reading habits and reading culture. The purpose of this study is to determine the status of libraries in schools and to take the opinions of teachers towards school libraries.  For this purpose, a case study design has been utilized in the current research and observation and interview techniques have been employed. In the research, the libraries of all schools in a city centre have been observed. Through stratified purposeful sampling and criterion sampling methods, interviews were carried out with teachers working in school libraries. The research data were analysed via content analysis. As a result of the research, it was determined that two-thirds of the schools had libraries. Besides, it was revealed that the capacity of the school libraries is inadequate due to the limited physical space of the libraries in schools. Although there were computers and the internet in libraries, digitalization was determined to be limited. It was also shown that there were mostly classical works and the libraries covered inadequate number of contemporary books. When examining the genres of the books in libraries, it may be said that there were novels and story book by a majority, referring to a limited variety of genres. It has been concluded that students can not effectively use school libraries as expected due to by virtue of the limited library facilities. Accordingly, in order to ensure the effective use of school libraries by students, the physical conditions of the libraries should be improved as well as the variety and quality of the documents should be increased.

The purpose of this study was to analyze the performances of students in solving problems presented in different forms including equations, verbal equations, stories, and stories supported by diagrams in problem-solving. A descriptive survey model was employed in the study. The study group consisted of 14 fourth-grade students. Data were collected from the students by using four different types of worksheets (equation, verbal equation, story, and story + diagram). Each worksheet consisted of 10 similar problems that require the same mathematical operations but differ in presentation. To prevent the similarity in the problems by the students, the worksheets were applied to the students face-to-face by the classroom teachers during the course hours, at two-week intervals. The obtained data were analyzed through descriptive statistics. According to the findings of the study, the students solved the equation problems more accurately than the verbal and story problems. Furthermore, it was determined that students solved diagram-supported story problems more accurately than the other problem types.

This study aims to determine the changes in the cognitive structures of the 35 participants after ecology-based nature education in Bursa Uludag and its vicinity. This study used a single group pretest-posttest experimental mode where the data was collected by a word association test. It included the key concepts of nature, national parks, biodiversity, ecosystem, and environmental problems. The analyzed data determined that ecology-based nature education strengthened the cognitive structures of the participants regarding the key concepts. It was also concluded that the participant’s awareness of the destruction of nature and the importance of nature protection had increased. The research results show that such education programs, providing one-to-one interaction with nature, help participants to understand nature and natural holistic cycles correctly, thus encouraging its protection.

Face-to-face education in many countries was suspended due to the global pandemic of COVID-19 declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2020. The pandemic led to new searches in the academic process, and distance education gained importance in Turkey. However, the Catch-Up Education Program in Primary Schools was not taken into account while it was stated that educational services provided in resource rooms within the scope of inclusive education were to be continued via distance education. Accordingly, it was aimed to examine the views of classroom teachers who had implemented IYEP before on whether IYEP could be performed via distance education and to make an evaluation based on the first-hand experiences of implementers.  To that end, the research was conducted with 22 participants in accordance with the ethical principles. Ethics committee approval was obtained for the study with the decision of Agri Ibrahim Cecen University Scientific Research Ethics Committee dated 08.09.2021 and numbered 206. All of the participants are experienced classroom teachers who have experience with IYEP and have performed distance education. The research was performed with the phenomenological design of qualitative research designs. The data were collected with a semi-structured interview form, and the interview questions were finalized after having been reviewed by two academics who are subject-matter experts. The data obtained in the research were subjected to descriptive analysis individually by the researchers and evaluated. It was concluded that IYEP could be continued via distance education when the face-to-face education could not be performed, but there were several concerns about the matter at hand. The participants often mentioned that distance education could not substitute for and be as effective as face-to-face education. Nevertheless, despite certain disadvantages, considering the contributions of IYEP in face-to-face education, it was found that distance education could be utilized so that shortcomings in learning would not accumulate and extend to the next year and that experiencing IYEP via distance education could provide ideas about future practices.

STEM education (based on the integration of the science, technology, engineering and mathematics disciplines) has recently been an integral part of education system and curriculum in many countries aiming to be more technologically competitive in this age of innovation. While the importance of STEM education has gradually increasing in education system with the complexities of today’s world, revealing pre-service teachers’ mind maps on STEM education and preparing them for STEM education is a crucial issue since the readiness of the teachers affects the quality of education. In this context, the aim of this study is to reveal pre-service science and mathematics teachers’ mind maps on STEM Education through STEM images. The research group consists of 6 pre-service teachers (3 of them are pre-service science teachers (PST) and 3 of them are pre-service mathematics teachers (PMT)) who are 4th grade level students from a public university in Istanbul, Turkey. In current research, case study design was used. The data of study were collected through drawings and focus group discussion. The data were analyzed with thematic analysis through Integrated Teaching (IT) Framework. As a result, 41 codes about pre-service teachers’ mind maps on STEM education were determined under 14 categories of 5 themes of IT Framework. The results of this study are crucial in terms of having potential to guide educational policy makers, curriculum developers, researchers and in-service and pre-service teachers about STEM education.

As traditional education has evolved with the Internet and technology, e-learning has shown rapid and significant growth. Many studies have emphasized the positive effects of technology and online resources in foreign and second language education. Because of its role in reducing foreign language anxiety, the use of digital technology has an important role in learners’ emotional healing. Therefore, the use of a digital platform, Canvas, and the exploration of its effects on learners’ public speaking anxiety and performance in L2 are the main research foci in this study. With this point of departure, in order to measure the effect of intervention related to the use of online speaking tasks and podcasts through Canvas, a one-group pretest-posttest was employed. Data regarding participants’ public speaking anxiety before and after the treatment were collected through the PRPSA (Personal Report of Public Speaking Anxiety) scale. Additionally, speaking rubrics were used as assessment tools for scoring learners’ pre and post oral performances. For more detailed information related to the participants’ learning experiences and changes in their emotional states, participants were encouraged to join online forums on Canvas. The results showed that the use of digital platforms and podcasts had a significant role in boosting learners’ confidence and public speaking performances through alleviating their anxiety.