Lütfi Üredi

An Evaluation of the Classroom Teachers’ Attitudes Towards the Constructivist Approach According to Complexity Theory: A Case of Mersin

The major aim in this research was to analyze the relationship between the attitudes of primary school teachers towards the constructivist approach and the complexity features (gender, age, the grade they teach, professional seniority, the type of school where they carry out their duties and the school where they graduated from). The research was a descriptive study based on the single screening model. In order to determine the attitudes of primary school teachers towards the constructivist approach, a “Constructivist Approach Attitude Scale” developed by Evrekli et al. (2009) was adopted; and in order to determine the complexity features of primary school teachers, a “Complexity Information Form for Primary School Teachers” was used. The evaluation instruments were administered to 504 primary school teachers carrying out their duties in 32 primary schools in Akdeniz, Yenisehir, Toroslar and Mezitli central districts of Mersin province. According to the research results, the variables that affected the attitude towards the constructivist approach and created complexity were related to the gender of primary school teachers, their age, the grade they teach, their professional seniority, the type of school where they carry out their duties and the school they graduated from. The research revealed that majority of primary school teachers had a positive attitude towards the constructivist approach in terms of their views and there was no significant difference between their attitudes towards the constructivist approach and their gender, age and the grade they teach.

The Predictive Power of Classroom Teachers' Self-efficacy Beliefs Related to Implementing the Constructivist Approach upon Their Level of Creating a Constructivist Learning Environment: A Mersin Case

Abstract Turkey adapted a constructivist curriculum with radical changes in programs at the elementary education level in 2005-2006. The teacher’s belief of self-efficacy affects teaching quality, methods, and techniques, participation of students in learning, and the understanding of students, and these determined student success. It is unknown whether classroom teachers’ belief of self-efficacy related to implementing the constructivist approach predicts their level of creating a constructivist learning environment. The research, a descriptive study on a relational screening model, included 812 teachers in 58 elementary education schools in Mersin. The self-efficacy belief of classroom teachers was measured with “The Scale of Self-efficacy Related to Implementing the Constructivist Approach” and their level of creating a constructivist learning environment was measured using the “Constructivist Learning Environment Scale”, followed by simple and multiple regression analyses. Classroom teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs related to implementing the constructivist approach positively predicted their level of creating a constructivist learning environment.

Evaluating the Primary School Teachers’ Level of Forming a Constructivist Learning Environment According to Chaos Theory

The aim of this research was to evaluate the primary school teachers’ level of forming a constructivist learning environment according to chaos theory in terms of different variables (gender, age, the grade they teach, their professional seniority, the type of school where they work and the school they graduated from). For that purpose, relational screening model was used in the research. Primary school teachers’ level of creating a constructivist learning environment was determined with a “Constructivist Learning Environment Questionnaire” developed by Tenenbaum et al. (2001) and converted into Turkish by Fer and Cirik (2006). Meanwhile “Chaos Variables Information Form for Primary School Teachers” was used in order to determine the variable features of primary school teachers. The assessment instruments were administered to 504 primary school teachers carrying out their duties in 32 primary schools in Akdeniz, Yenisehir, Toroslar and Mezitli central districts of Mersin province in the 2012–2013 academic years. According to the research results, the variables that mostly affected the level of creating a constructivist learning environment and led to chaos were related to gender of the primary school teacher, their age, the grade they teach, professional seniority, the type of school where they work and the school they graduated from.

The Relationship Between the Mathematical Thinking Levels and Conflict Management Strategies of School Directors

The aim of this study is to determine the conflict management levels of school directors working in Adana and Mersin cities while being exposed to student conflicts and the relationship between their mathematical thinking skills and conflict management strategies. The research design of the study is based on the relational screening survey model. The sample covers 240 school directors officially working in Adana and Mersin areas in 2017–2018 education years. After the analysis of the gathered data, the following results were found out: the directors mostly use (1) constructive strategies, (2) strategies based on getting support from others, (3) avoiding strategies, and (4) destructive strategies, respectively. Looking at the recent mathematical achievements of the school administrators that they got in the universities they garduated from, it can be said that their mathematical thinking skills are often good. In terms of “destructive strategies” and “avoidance strategies,” there is no significance between the used conflict management strategies and gender. But, the average scores of male school managers are higher than the average scores of female school managers in subdimensions of “constructive strategies” and “strategies based on getting support from others.” The level of schools in which the administrators work has created different averages in different subdimensions. Significant differences were mostly in high school, kindergarten, secondary, and primary school levels, respectively. The results showed that mathematical thinking had a significant impact on conflict management strategies of the school managers.

How Do Different Groups Conceive Primary School English Language Education? A Sample of Cono Tribe

It is crystal clear that we can count several reasons to learn English language. People all over the world learn English as a second or foreign language. Authorities contain English language in their school syllabuses, and students begin learning it at a very young age. It is the language of science, technology, trade, diplomacy, and many other fields. Competency in using English enhances the possibility of having a good job in home country or abroad. It is simply the magic wand of several opportunities. However, how different groups like Cono tribe regard English is an intriguing issue that needs to be investigated. Considering all these dimensions, this study investigates the attitudes of a diverse group, in our case Cono tribe, towards the importance of English language education at early ages. Based upon a descriptive research design, an interview designed by the researchers was directed to the members of the mentioned group. The findings of the study bring diverse views of the studied group. Besides, the results obtained from this descriptive study may prove to be of some help for the researchers in the related research area.

Managerial Approaches Adopted by School Directors with Diverse Personality Characteristics: A Sample of Mersin City

The primary aim of the leadership mission is to locate the institutions into the desired point by means of providing all the required needs. Leaders undertaking this mission look for diverse solutions in a possible chaotic situation on the way to goals. The solution that the leader will find is directly related to his psychology. The structure of personality which is reflected within psychological approaches shows different characteristics of every human being. So, the leaders bearing different personality characteristics will be representing diverse leadership approaches as well. The success of the leaders undertaking the mission of advancing the institutions may be attained by being aware of the owned personality characteristics. The leader who is aware of his or her own personality characteristics might possibly analyse the leadership approach that he or she adopts. With all these in mind, this study has been conducted with the aim of investigating the relationship between the personality characteristics of school directors and the leadership approaches they adopt. The personality characteristics and the adopted managerial approaches reflected by the directors with different personalities have been identified by means of considering different variables. The study is based on a survey design. The sample of the study is composed of 298 school directors employed in the central counties of Mersin City. The data of the study was collected through scales on personality characteristics and leadership approaches. The data transferred into the computer was analysed and interpreted by means of statistical techniques. According to the findings of the study, it was established that while the school directors represent such personality characteristics successively as easy-going, open to innovation, extrovert, self-disciplined, and emotionally stable, they represent traits of leadership in the shape of transformative, interactionist, and emancipatory. Besides, there stands a significant relationship between the personality characteristics of school directors and their leadership approaches. Lastly, it was suggested that there exists a positive relationship at medium level between the total score of personality characteristics reflected by the school directors and their multidimensional leadership approaches.

The Effects of Diverse Personality Characteristics of Teachers on Professional Satisfaction: A Sample of Mersin City

Personality characteristics are a combination of psychological and physical features that differ among human beings. Humans’ personality characteristics are closely related with the professions they carry out. Under suitable conditions, a person chooses a job that conforms with his or her own personality. Occupational selections are realized at a time when personality has just been formed and a chaotic setting covers the inner world of the individual. Some professions, among which teaching profession comes first, cannot be carried out through ignoring personality characteristics. Teachers must be aware of both their own personality characteristics and the characteristics their profession requires. Adaptation to such a condition is to provide high professional motivation and professional satisfaction, as well as creating well-trained individuals educated by teachers in relation to a relatedly proper society. On the other hand, maladaptation to such a condition is to create a teacher profile in which there is no professional satisfaction and no success in social role. Teachers having different personality characteristics will also represent diversities in their professional satisfaction. Issuing from the above premise, this study is conducted with the aim of investigating the effects of different personality characteristics owned by teachers on their professional satisfaction. The relationship between diverse personality characteristics of teachers and their professional satisfaction is identified with reference to different variables. The study is based on a survey design. The sample of the study is composed of 516 primary and secondary school teachers employed in Mersin city centre and its connected counties. The data of the study are collected by scales on personality characteristics and professional satisfaction. The data transferred into the computer are analysed and interpreted by means of statistical techniques. According to the results, the teachers are found to be extrovert, responsible, open to innovations, and calm. Besides, there exists a significant relationship between the personality characteristics and the professional satisfaction of teachers. It is also detected that there is a positive correlation between the professional satisfaction of teachers and their extroversion, responsibility, tender mindedness, and openness to experiences, while there stands a negative correlation between the professional satisfaction and emotional instability. The results of the study present an existing relationship between the professional satisfaction of teachers and their personality characteristics, as well as their demographic features.

A Study on the Morpho-syntactic Profiles of Syrian Children Learning Turkish as a Second Language

Having a multifaceted complex structure, language is a combination of a pile of mental states or thoughts which are transferred by means of shared rules or principles created on the grounds of phonology, morphology, and semantics. Language, being such a humanly and complicated formation, is highly in touch with a group of pertinent scientific zones like psychology and sociology, and this interaction may mirror the morpho-syntactic features of people. That is to say, selecting and forming any word, structuring a full sentence, and seeing the meaning of the sentence necessitate intricate rules or phases. With respect to this phenomenon, intricate mental or cognitive processes might be challenged in second language learning which means picking up the syntactic rules of a language and converting these rules into language skills. In this study, ten Syrian children, being educated in a primary school and owning different psychological schemas, as well as being not at similar ages, were inspected. The children were required to talk about the picture book Smile Please by Sanjiv Jaiswal “Sanjay” in Turkish language, and the narrations were audiotaped by the researchers. Being formed on a descriptive research design, the data were gathered and analyzed qualitatively. As a consequence of the study that checked the general morpho-syntactic profiles of Syrian children, both different and shared morpho-syntactic characteristics were found out.