A Needs Assessment Study: Quality of Education in Rural Schools

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Improving the quality of education helps to realize a wide range of economic and social development goals of countries. The quality of the education is generally assessed by measuring the effectiveness of the components of the educational system. In defining ‘school effectiveness’ qualitative variables — school climate, instructional leadership, high expectations – were expressed as well as quantitative variables. While the number of schools and their accessibility are considered as crucial factors for improvement of education in rural areas, other major factors are quality and relevance.
The present study aims to examine the quality of education provided by primary schools in a rural area from the perspectives of teachers, students and principals. The participants of the study are 6th, 7th and 8th grade primary school students, their teachers and school principals. Data are collected by using questionnaires developed by the researchers. Both teacher and student questionnaires included items related to school climate, teacher characteristics, instructional strategies, classroom climate, physical facilities and parental involvement. A principal questionnaire was used to collect data related to school facilities and teacher characteristics. Data collection instruments were piloted and necessary changes have been made. Data collection process has not been completed yet. It is expected that the findings of the study will provide information about the school quality and the educational needs of primary school students in rural context.

Stream: Curriculum and Pedagogy; Student Learning, Learner Experiences, Learner Diversity

Paper: A paper has not yet been submitted.

I'm both a primary school teacher and PhD student. My master dissertation was about novice classroom teachers’ problems with regular and alternative certificates. The purpose of the study was to explore the problems of first three-year classroom teachers who graduated from regular teacher education programs and alternative certificate programs. Nowadays I'm examining whether the elementary school curricula (in Turkey)are congruent with the principles and standards of the constructivist education.I'll use qualitative research methods in this small-scale case study which will be conducted in a public elementary school in Ankara. I'm also interesting the Comenius program,we want to improve our pedagogical approaches and school management. I think this conference will bring together educators from different contexts to discuss and share research, theory, and best practices and to initiate and sustain a meaningful professional dialogue across languages, levels, and settings.

I'm an instructor at Middle East Technical University. I'm interested in Education of disadvantaged groups, Primary education in developing countries, social foundations of curriculum, social issues and education, and social studies curriculum.