The effectiveness of schools, that is, their ability to achieve their pre-determined goals depends on many variables but especially the effectiveness of the administrators who are responsible for the implementation of the educational programs and curricula. An administrator must have a healthy perception of being "an effective administrator" in order to be able to demonstrate expected roles successfully. Concerning school effectiveness, in addition to the emphasis of self-efficacy of administrator, the leadership role of the educational administrators has gained importance with modern educational administration approaches. If an administrator wants to be effective, he/she must act as a leader and convince followers. In this context, when questioning the effectiveness of schools, it is important to determine the level of self-efficacy perceptions of administrators and to determine the leadership styles displayed by them. In this study, it was aimed to examine whether there is a significant relationship between the perceived self-efficacy belief and leadership style. The results show that self-efficacy perceptions of the administrators make a difference in their leadership style and there is a relationship between the self-efficacy belief and exhibitors of transformational leadership behaviors; the more administrators feel themselves efficient, the more they exhibit transformational leadership behaviors.

The purpose of the study is to reveal the effect of cooperative learning on language skills in an English course. The study was carried out for 5 weeks with 66 students studying at the 10th grade at an Anatolian high school in the district of Karadeniz Eregli in Zonguldak during the fall term of the 2015-2016 academic year. The design of the study was ‘nonequivalent control groups pre-test post-test’ which is one of quasi-experimental designs. Data were gathered using an achievement test measuring students’ vocabulary knowledge, grammar knowledge, reading comprehension and listening skills. Results showed that cooperative learning had a larger effect on vocabulary knowledge, grammar, listening and reading skills compared to traditional method.

The aim of this study is to explain and predict prospective preschool teachers’ academic achievements depending on goal orientations they adopt, their critical thinking dispositions and self-regulation skills. Research sample constitutes of 265 prospective preschool teachers attending the Faculty of Educational Sciences in Cukurova University. Research data were collected with the 2x2Achievement Goal Orientations Scale, Self-Regulation Questionnaire and Critical Thinking Disposition Scale. Demographical information about prospective teachers’ gender, age, grade level and academic grade point averages were obtained with the personal information form. For the analysis of research data, One-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and discriminant analysis were used. In this study; it was concluded that prospective teachers with high level of learning approach orientation, critical thinking disposition and self-regulation skills had higher levels of academic achievement. However, it was determined that distinguishing variables among prospective preschool teachers with low, medium and high level of academic achievement included learning approach, performance approach goal orientation and critical thinking disposition and self-regulation skills. Correct classification percentage of distinguishing variables according to prospective preschool teachers’ levels of academic achievement was determined as 48.8%. Considering the fact that prospective teachers’ achievement-goal orientations, critical thinking dispositions and self-regulation skills may increase their academic achievement and shape their future teaching performances, it is suggested to implement programs that will contribute to the development of such skills and orientations among prospective preschool teachers.

The aim of the study is to determine views of principals regarding assignment procedure. Data were gathered with the implementation of semi-structured interview forms from 14 administrators in the center of Konya according to ‘Purposive sampling’ method. The data were analyzed by content analysis and the following findings have been reached. There should be criteria such as an examination (written and verbal), developing projects related with the school, receiving academic or in-service training in administration, having experience as assistant principal, preparation of evaluation forms aiming at objectivity and improvement, election of the assistant principal by the principal without any intervention among the successful ones from the written exams, appointment of administrators instead of assignment, acceptance of school administration as a profession, regulations respecting of the objectivity, justice and equality. It is recommended that similar studies be conducted through quantitative research.

This research aims to complete Turkish adaptation, validity and reliability studies for the Math and Me Survey developed by Adelson and McCoach for use in determining the students’ attitudes towards mathematics in the transition from primary school to middle school. Within the scope of validity and reliability studies for the scale, data gathered from 1169 primary school students had item analysis, exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis performed. In line with this, 18 items from the original scale were translated to Turkish and item equivalence between the original English and Turkish translation was ensured. During item analysis to determine the construct validity of the scale, an item with low item total correlation value was removed from the scale. The Cronbach alpha coefficient was calculated as .93. The Cronbach alpha coefficients from the scale subdimensions of Enjoyment and Self-Perception were calculated as .91 and .88. The confirmatory factor analysis results for the scale revealed perfect fit with the construct determined in the exploratory factor analysis results. Thus, the Math and Me survey can be said to be a valid and reliable tool for use in Turkish culture.

Human Resource Management (HRM) includes recruitment, training, development, motivation and evaluation of the staff who will achieve the goals of the organization and perform the necessary activities to be successful. The success of the organization depends on the effective use and management of human resources. Considering that The Ministry of Turkish National Education has the most crowded personnel and the potential of leading the future human resources, the HRM strategies of this organization becomes significant.  In this study, it is aimed to investigate to the human resources management practices of the Ministry of Turkish National Education from the perspectives of teachers who are also the human resources of the system.  In this research, holistic-multiple case study design was employed and the open-ended interview form which includes nine questions considering the functions of the HRM was utilized as the data collection tool. Research results showed that teachers know the duties and responsibilities which are declared in their job definition but they do not consider some of the significant professional efficiencies such as planning, assessment and evaluation. Moreover, the ministry does not make long-term plans in order to determine the required human resources, and also the functionality and subjectivity of the system is under discussion in terms of selection and appointment. What's more, the desired aims cannot be reached in terms of professional development. Teachers have the anxiety of performance evaluation based on accountability, and they emphasize fair and subjectivity in terms of payment, rewarding and discipline.

This research study aims to evaluate the graduate theses and articles conducted on the concept of instructional leadership over the period between 2002 and 2017 in Turkey by means of methodological and statistical analysis techniques. In the study, which is configured by using the case study design as one of the qualitative research methods, the related theses are obtained from the database of the Council of Higher Education Thesis Center in Turkey, whereas the related articles are provided through article archives of the National Academic Network and Google Scholar website. The data collected via the academic publication evaluation form are evaluated by frequency analysis using. In the study, 104 postgraduate theses and 35 articles on instructional leadership are conducted, many of which using scales as data collection tools. Lack of due diligence in validity and reliability studies, selection of mostly teachers for sampling, and usage of descriptive t-test and one-way ANOVA techniques in data analyses are detected. As a result, it is shown that similar studies using similar datasets and the same data collection tools have been carried out on instructional leadership. Mixed research and scale development studies in which qualitative and quantitative methods can be used collocation.

The major purpose of this study was to create a path analysis model of academic success in a group of university students, which included the variables of academic confidence and psychological capital with a mediator variable - academic coping. 400 undergraduates from Marmara University and Istanbul Commerce University who were in sophomore, junior and senior years participated in the study. The Academic Behavioral Confidence Scale, the Academic Coping Strategies Scale and the Psychological Capital Test Battery composed of the Academic Self-Efficacy Scale, the Life Orientation Test, the Hope Scale and the Resilience Scale were utilized to disclose the predictive roles of these variables on academic success. The results of path analyses showed that academic confidence and psychological capital had pivotal direct and indirect effects on academic success via the mediator variable – academic coping. Academic coping had also a direct influence on academic success.  The findings of the study are essential for telling both vocational counselors and educational psychologists the fact that career interventions for university students should consider the non-cognitive factors on their academic achievements.

Teacher education programs are often accused of failing to prepare preservice teachers for real life classroom situations. In the case of research on classroom management, the focal point is often classroom teachers and their educational and behavioral goals rather than students’ experiences. This study aims to explore the perspectives of preservice teachers on their attitudes and behaviors in the university classrooms. For this purpose, 40 preservice teachers, who studied in the Early Childhood Education department at a state university in Turkey, were selected. The interview was chosen as the data collection method. The interview questions were based on the questions that Cothran, Kulinna and Garrahy (2003) used in their study with the secondary physical education students. The collected data were analyzed by the constant comparison method (Glaser & Strauss, 1967) and common themes were constructed through the analytic induction method (LeCompte & Preissle, 1993). In this study, the findings indicated that incompatible behaviors served different functions in teacher education classrooms. The preservice teachers perceived punitive teacher responses to students’ negative behaviors as compelling, ineffective and mostly humiliating practices. The preservice teachers provided three main elements that affect their attitudes, behaviors and experiences in a teacher education classroom. These elements were related to students, teachers, and the context of the classroom. The preservice teachers perceived their positive or negative behaviors mostly as reactions to the behavior of the teacher and the classroom environment.

In Turkey, as in all countries of the world, education is regarded as the sole means of modernization, progress, civilization, productivity, and sustainability of all these things. The aim of the Turkish education system is to raise students with the national, moral and cultural values of the Turkish nation, to educate them as citizens of a social law state, and solve the existing or potential problems that may arise in the future. The most important document that shows how this aim will be achieved in the country is the curriculum. The purpose of this study is to reveal the frequency of the social issues included in the current curriculum at the elementary education level. Within the scope of the study, social issues presented by sociologists were established through e-Delphi panels, coded under seven titles by researchers, those who were thought to bring solutions to these problems were counted by descriptive analysis method in the specific aims, themes and achievements of the curriculum used at elementary level. Results show that curriculum adopted at the elementary education level include mostly issues related to individual life and individualization, socialization, democratic life and democratization while economic issues, and issues related to family, environment and urbanization are emphasized less. These findings are discussed with other research results.

The aim of this study is to reveal the suggestions of guidance and psychological counseling candidates (GPC) in dealing with math anxiety. The study analysed 50 GPC candidates’ opinions and suggestions on math anxiety. The research study utilized case study method. The participants were asked to respond what kind of studies they would suggest to their clienst in order to overcome math anxiety once they begin to work in their profession. The interviews transcripts were converted into written documents. Content analysis was made on those documents to find GPC candidates’ suggestions and opinions. Based on the findings, it can be concluded that the reasons of math anxiety can vary from individual to individual. Therefore, it was emphasized that the studies to determine the causes of math anxiety should be specific for each individual. Then, consultancy service should be formed based on the assessment of reasons that cause anxiety for each person. If the individual's math anxiety is caused by environmental factors such as teachers, families and peers, guidance and psychological counseling services should be offered to these environmental factors.

The paper is part of the qualitative research project Educational Aspirations, Opportunities and Challenges for Immigrants in University Education in Iceland, conducted in Iceland’s three biggest universities. The main goal of the paper is to investigate immigrant students’ experiences of communication with teachers during the learning process and their perspectives on multicultural group work. Furthermore, the paper explores immigrant students’ experiences of learner-centred approach and culturally responsive teaching methods applied by some teachers. The data was collected through focus group interviews and qualitative, semi-structured individual interviews with immigrant students. The theoretical framework is mainly based on the constructivist theory, which emphasises the importance of communication and the learner-centred approach. Additionally, the theoretical framework includes multicultural education theory, which puts an emphasis on applying culturally responsive teaching methods in classrooms with diverse student populations. The analysis of the interviews revealed that the participants’ experiences of communication with teachers and peers were mostly positive. However, culturally responsive teaching is still a rare phenomenon in Icelandic universities. When it comes to the participants’ perspectives on group work, the experiences ranged from being highly positive to negative.

The purpose of this research is to examine the opinions of bodybuilding sportsmen regarding the use of doping by comparing them with the sportsmen values dimension. The research was carried out with qualitative research pattern, and interview method was used. The study group was consisted of 2 women, 10 men in total of 12 national sportsmen in bodybuilding branch from Turkey. The data were obtained through face to face interviews with bodybuilding sportsmen using the interview form. Then, the data were analyzed through content analysis method. As a result, it was determined that success without doping is difficult in bodybuilding sport, and almost all of the sportsmen use doping in this sports branch, yet doping causes health problems and unfair competition.

The main goal of this paper is to briefly describe the educational quality assurance procedures of Jubail Industrial College and share its experience with other local and international institutions that are potentially interested in implementing similar quality assurance procedures in their various departments. This paper follows a document and descriptive method. Document analysis qualitative approach was opted. In essence, implementing quality assurance procedures within any educational institution ensures quality education and helps to maintain an organized structure. Internal quality assurance policies and practices guarantee that the quality of education in an academic institution is consistently monitored. This paper can be utilized by both academic planners and quality assurance personnel in academic institutions. The quality assurance procedures described in this paper are used to ensure the quality of education specific to the Jubail Industrial College; however, it can be applied in other academic institutions as well.

This study considers the interaction between an e-learning system, the Blackboard system, and the students who use it in Saudi Arabia. While previous work exists, there is limited consideration of the assessment of the preferences of e-learning system usability variables based on students’ perspectives, especially in developing countries such as Saudi Arabia. This paper attempts to fill the gap by investigating the relative importance of the design criteria developed for e-learning system usability evaluation from the students’ perspective in Saudi tertiary education. Based on reviewed literature, a set of usability principles was developed that have had an influence in the students’ learning process and use of the e-learning system. The list includes system navigation, system learnability, visual design, information quality, instructional assessment and system interactivity. An exploratory study was carried out to identify the most important usability design characteristics from a student’s perspective and then evaluate the overall usability of the current e-learning system, based on this subset. A quantitative approach was adopted to weigh usability design characteristics, based on 181 learners’ perceptions. The sample consists of undergraduates who are users of a web-based e-learning system in a university in Saudi Arabia. The research instrument was tested for construct validity and reliability. The analysed results have shown that information quality is the most important dimension followed by the navigation of the e-learning system. The study has also revealed that the system learnability and visual design came third and fourth in order of importance of e-learning system usability assessment. Finally, the least important design categories that influenced the e-learning system usability assessment were instructional assessment and system interactivity. The empirical results of this study may help to provide insights for designers and evaluators leading to a more effective approach to improve the usability and uptake of the e-learning system.

In this study, it was aimed to investigate the academic motivations and academic achievements of pre-service visual arts teachers in the Division of Art Education in the Department of Fine Arts in the Faculty of Education in terms of some variables. The study group consisted of 127 (79 female/ 48 male) students in the division of art education. As the data collection tool, the “Academic Motivation Scale (AMS)”, developed by Vallerand et al. and then, translated into Turkish for university students by Karaguven, was used to find out the academic motivations of students, and the personal information form was used to get the personal information of students in the study. In the research, in which the relational screening method was used, the descriptive analysis was applied to determine the motivation levels of pre-service visual arts teachers; independent sampling t-test to compare their average scores according to gender; one-way variance analysis to test according to the class variable, and Pearson Correlation test to determine the relationship between their academic motivation and academic achievement. The findings of the study show that the intrinsic and extrinsic motivations of pre-service visual arts teachers are at a good level. It was found that the amotivation levels of pre-service visual arts teachers were at a low level. As the average scores according to gender were investigated, the meaningful difference was encountered in favour of female participants for intrinsic motivations. It was found that the intrinsic motivations of females related to the achievement were higher. An increase, from 1st year to 4th years students, was observed in terms of the academic motivation levels of pre-service visual arts teachers according to the class variable. However, no meaningful difference was encountered between the average scores of the students' academic motivations according to the class variable. It was found that the relationship between academic motivation and academic achievement was low.

In recent years, cyberbullying, which can be considered as a new form of bullying, has emerged as a result of developments in the field of technology and communication. Cyberbullying has become a social problem which has affected individuals’ lives negatively. The key to success in the elimination of cyberbullying and its negative effects lies in cyberbullying sensitivity. The present study aims to analyze teachers’ cyberbullying and cyber victimization experiences and levels of cyberbullying sensitivity based on some variables which are supposed to develop awareness regarding cyberbullying. Using survey as a research model, the present study focused on 346 teachers working at schools affiliated with Ministry of National Education in Tasova District located in Amasya (Turkey). “Personal Information Form”, “The Revised Cyberbullying Inventory for University Students” and “Cyberbullying Sensitivity Scale” were used as data collection tools. SPSS package program was used for data analysis and frequency and percentage values of demographic variables. Independent T test was used for gender and marital status variables, and One-Way ANOVA test was used for age and level of education variables. The findings of the present study revealed that most of the participants used social media websites actively and spent at least 2 or 3 hours on these websites on a daily basis. Teachers usually have a Facebook and/or Instagram account, and benefit from social media for research purposes and playing games. It can be stated that teachers have a significantly high level of cyberbullying sensitivity. However, it was also indicated that even though participants worked as a teacher, they still did cyberbully and suffered from cyber victimization in the past. While a significant difference was observed only in the dimension of cyber sensitivity in terms of marital status, age and level of education, a significant difference wasn’t observed in the dimensions of cyberbullying, cyber victimization and cyber sensitivity in terms of gender.

The physical factors, which were studied less often than the other factors affecting students' learning, were considered in this study. The present study investigated the effect of the flexibility and non-flexibity of the physical classroom setting on undergraduate students' learning. The study adopted a mixed-method research design. The quantitative phase of the study employed the quasi-experimental method of research utilizing the pretest-posttest non-equivalent groups design. T Test and the Repeated Measures ANOVA test was used to compare the group means. In the qualitative phase of the study, the students received a questionnaire with open-ended questions to gather their opinions, and the data were analysed in NVIVO 11. There was no significant difference between the experimental and control groups in terms of learning; however, the achievement scores of both groups were found to be high. Furthermore, the views received from both groups indicated that the physical environment influenced learning in terms of motivation and enthusiasm.

The current study aimed to adopt and assess the psychometric properties and measurement invariance of Grit-S among Omani and American students (N = 487) using Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Multi-Group Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). The scale’s construct validity was estimated by investigating its associations with achievement goal orientations (AGOs). EFA results suggested that a two-factor solution (i.e., perseverance of effort [G_PE] and consistency of interest [G_CI]) was the best factorial structure, explaining 47.74% and 51.02% of the variance in the Omani and American samples, respectively. The factors had good reliability coefficients in the two samples. Related to the intercultural differences, G_PE explained more variance among Omanis (31.02%) relative to American sample, whereas G_CI explained a larger proportion of variance among Americans (36.86%) compared with Omani sample. The first level of measurement invariance, configural invariance, was not supported, necessitating the investigation of the other levels of measurement invariance using a new sample. Grit correlated positively with mastery and performance-approach goals (r = .29 and .12, respectively) and negatively with avoidance goals (r = -.25), supporting the scale’s construct validity. These findings showed that Grit-S scale can be used as valid and reliable assessment tool to assess student interest and perseverance in the academic context in Arabic/Omani and American cultures.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the level of anxiety in learning Chinese, discover the dominant factors of anxiety in learning Chinese language and analyze differences in Chinese language anxiety based on gender, year of study and HSK in foreign students in Wuhan, China. The research method used was quantitative using a survey approach. There are 250 foreign students as the samples, consisting of 108 male and 142 female students. The data collection technique used is questionnaire called CLAS (Chinese Learning Anxiety Survey) adapted from FLCAS (Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Survey). The data were analyzed using SPSS with descriptive statistical techniques and Multivariate Analysis. The results showed that Chinese language anxiety among foreign students is on a moderate level, with communication anxiety as the most dominant aspect. The male and female students have the same anxiety level in learning Chinese. The foreign students who had longer duration of learning Chinese and had higher HSK tend to have lower level of anxiety in learning Chinese. This showed that years of study and HSK were two factors that determine the high or low level of anxiety in learning Chinese for foreign students.