Session Information
ERG SES C 09, Teaching and Learning
Parallel Paper Session
Contribution
In this study, the researchers are interested in finding out the problems that the beginning teachers faced in the first year of their professional career. The purpose of the study is not only defining the beginning teachers’ first year problems but also examining the reasons of these problems.Our resaerch question was éwhat are the main problems that novice teachers faced in the first year of the profession and the teacher training program was helpful to solve these problems. Keeping in mind that Turkey is a candidate country for European Union, the result of the study will enable educators to consider about training beginning teachers effectively in a broader framework.
It is an undeniable fact that training qualified teachers will ensure that the next generation will get a qualified education at schools. As Ingersoll (2004:1)stated the quality of teachers, and teaching is undoubtedly among the most important factors shaping the learning of students. In the light of this fact, many countries including Turkey have taken some steps in selecting and training new teachers. In spite of all the precautions, it seems that the beginning teachers have some problems in the first year when they enter the profession.
According to Brighton (1999) a lot of new teachers start their profession with perfect ideals, high hopes, energy and a determination to be effective facilitators of their students’ learning. Many research concludes that the majority of teachers entering the profession are highly motivated at the beginning of their career; however, being motivated cannot eliminate some difficulties for beginning teachers. Liston, Whitcomb and Borko (2006) state that there are three main reasons, which cause the beginning teachers to have problems. The first one is related to the curriculum in university-based teacher preparation programs, which does not prepare them for the real world. The second one is the lack of peer support and the last one is inefficient inservice education programs.
As in many countries, various arrangements have been made on the issue of teacher training in Turkey. The last arrangement was made in collaboration with the World Bank and the Higher Education Council in 1998. It aimed to increase cooperation between educational faculties and schools. By the help of these developments, teacher candidates had more opportunities to have real teaching experiences at real schools while they are student teachers at universities (Ekiz 2006; MEB, 1998). The related literature indicates that these developments in teacher education have positive impacts on training qualified teachers; however, clearly beginning teachers in Turkey continue struggling with a lot of obstacles in the induction process like most of their colleagues in European countries.
Method
Expected Outcomes
References
1) Brighton, C.M. (1999) Keeping good teachers: Lessons from novices, in Scherer, M. (ed) A Better Beginning: Supporting and Mentoring New Teachers. Alexandria: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. 2) Ekiz, D. (2006). Mentoring Primary School Student Teachers in Turkey: Seeing it from the Perspectives of Student Teachers and Mentors. International Education Journal, 7 (7), 924- 934. 3) Ingersoll, R. M. (2004). Four myths about America's teacher quality problem. In M. A. Smylie & D. Miretzky (Eds.), Developing the teacher workforce (pp. 1-14). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 4) ListonD., Whitcomb, J. Borko, H. (2006) Too Little or Too Much : Teacher Preparation and the First Years of Teaching. Journal of Teacher Education, 57, 351-358. 5) MEB [Milli Eğitim Bakanlığı]. (1994). Milli Eğitim Bakanlığı Hizmetiçi Eğitim Yönetmeliği [Ministry of National Education Regulation of In-Service Training]. Tebliğler Dergisi, 2493.
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