Investigating Preservice Teachers’ University Teaching Beliefs Considering Different Variables

Neşe Tertemiz (Gazi University Ankara Turkey) [BIO]

Email: tertemiz@gazi.edu.tr

 

ABSTRACT:

Training teachers who are going to have an important role in shaping the future of a country is one of the most important issues of the countries. In this day and age, training qualified teachers has an international property rather than a national one. Because one of the most important functions of education is forming sustainable behavioral changes in individuals and schools and teachers play an important role after families in this process. One of the basic needs to train qualified teachers is having good teaching staff at universities.

This study focuses on the university teaching beliefs of students studying at Primary Education Department, Faculty of Education in Turkiye and Finland. Teaching staff and classroom communication practices, the roles of teaching staff and students, and their attitudes toward the important regulations of institutional and educational culture at universities were tried to be determined in both of the countries. University Teaching Beliefs Questionnaire, developed by Greta J. Gorsuch from Texas Tech University, is used, with her permission, to determine the students’ attitudes. The questionnaire adapted into Turkish through applying factor analysis. After omitting some items, the questionnaire was applied as its original form in Finland. There are four dimensions in the questionnaire; sociolanguage, textual, nonverbal communication skills, and important regulations about teaching beliefs.

Relational survey method was used in the study. Since it includes limited number of students and universities, no generalization related to the results was stated. Convenient sampling method was used in selecting the schools. In other words, researchers chose the suitable schools with which they could easily have a contact. In Turkiye and Finland, 1st and 4th grade trainees attending Primary Teaching Department , during 2005-2006 academic year Data were recorded in SPSS 10 software program. Frequency (f), percentage (%), and independent sample t-test were analyzed. Results were tested at the level of p<.05. According to the results, significant differences between students from Turkiye and Finland in respect to grades (1st and 4th grades) and country variables in 1., 2., 3., and 4. sub-dimensions were observed.

Keywords: teaching beliefs, teacher training, university teaching beliefs.