An examination of how the theory-practice relationship of pedagogy courses is conceived and perceived by the participants, and how management of education systems and faculties can enhance the quality of teacher education in Turkey

Abstract

Education shapes the present and the future. Teachers are one of the crucial elements of this future making. Primary school teachers may be accepted as the basement constructors of the education building. Pedagogy courses, which are studied as Generic Education Courses in this thesis, may be described as the cement of this building.
An academic article published in the Turkish Social Research Journal (TSA, August, 2008) by Aydın et al. has triggered the author of this thesis to do a research study of this topic. The article was questioning the quality of this constructive relationship in primary school teacher training.
As pedagogy courses are important and there are debates about the quality of primary school teacher education, this research examines how the theory-practice relationship of pedagogy courses is understood, and how the management of education systems and faculties can enhance the quality of teacher education in Turkey. Although the main focus was on teacher education in Turkey, data were also collected in England. The intention was not to conduct a detailed comparative study but rather to use the information from the English context to further understanding of the relevant teacher education issues in Turkey.
Using a mixed method approach to data collection, information was gathered in both Turkey and England from teachers, teacher educators and student teachers. The main findings in this research can be listed as: Theory is conceived to have a relationship with practice. They cannot be separated completely. Each group of respondents see the strength/weakness of the relationship at different levels. While the Turkish context has challenging issues of management structures and systems and personnel quality (e.g. work ethic) that need to be addressed, the English context deals with details for the wellbeing of teacher education. Finally, the two contexts are recognized to be significantly different in terms of teacher education.
Furthermore, the Turkish teacher education system may need to be rehabilitated or redesigned regarding its hierarchical connection with upper bodies, reconsidering the quality of partnership with schools, and inner strategical changes at education faculties.