Pre-service Teachers’ Perceptions about the Quality of Their Teacher Education Program

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The teachers are the most important stakeholders in enhancing the quality of education in schools. In this sense, teacher education programs have a critical responsibility in helping pre-service teachers to gain improved knowledge and skills to recognize their students’ needs. The purpose of this study was to provide feedback to the mathematics and science teacher education programs in terms of pre-service teachers’ perceptions. In light of this purpose, “Teacher Quality Partnership Pre-service Teacher Survey” (Lasley, Siedentop & Yinger, 2006) was adapted by the researchers. A new dimension "preparation to teach science" was added to the original scale consisting of professional knowledge and skills, student teaching experience, preparation to teach math, use of assessment, teacher beliefs, and concerns about teaching. It was administered to 550 pre-service teachers who were studying at seven different universities in Turkey. The results of MANOVA analysis indicated that pre-service teachers’ type programs (science or mathematics teacher education programs) and gender had a significant role on the collective dependent variables. Indeed, Univariate ANOVA results showed that pre-service science teachers found their programs significantly more adequate about preparation to curriculum and motivation of students about learning than pre-service mathematics teachers. Moreover, girls were significantly found to hold a more positive perspective about the characteristics of faculty members working in the faculty of education than boys and similarly they found their teacher education programs more adequate about preparation to curriculum than boys.

Stream: Teacher Training and Professional Development

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I graduated from elementary mathematics education Middle East Technical University, had a one year teaching experience in the upper primary level of an elementary school. I completed my master study in 2008 and pursue to Ph.D. studies in Middle East Technical University and work as a a research assistant for about one year.