Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
2nd World Conference on Educational Sciences (WCES-2010), İstanbul, Türkiye, 4 - 08 Şubat 2010, cilt.2, ss.1064-1074
In Turkey, teachers in several subject areas were trained through regular teacher education programs for years. Since the regular teacher education programs have been insufficient to meet the demands in the country, alternative routes to teacher certification have been searched to struggle against teacher shortages in many subjects. This paper introduces alternative route certified teachers (ACTs) serving at the elementary schools in Turkey. This study aims to clarify ACTs' problems, perceptions and up to date opinions about teaching, and compare their expectations during the induction period. These aims were examined into two steps. The first study was conducted during the ACTs' induction period in 2001, and the second one was performed in 2008. The data were collected through two question forms for the first step, and the second step of the study. Both of the instruments were generated by the researcher on the basis of the literature. The participants in the first step comprised 829, and in the second step contained 85 ACTs. The paper provides empirical insights about ACTs' perceptions about teaching. ACTs had difficulty in planning, finding instructional materials, lecturing, developing instructional materials, carrying out group activities, dealing with students, and establishing good relations with inspectors and parents during their induction period. While more than half of the ACTs stated that they chose teaching since they felt teaching was appropriate for them in the first study, most of them indicated that they chose teaching because of unemployment in the second study. ACTs graduated from the departments of management, economics, and communication were more satisfied with teaching than the others. In addition, female ACTs were seen more satisfied with teaching than the male. Besides, Most of the ACTs' expectations for future were not related to their career. Finally, almost all participants believe that, ACTs should not be allowed to work at schools without teaching certificate, and anyone who does not like children should not be allowed to be teacher. The lack of information about the numbers of the ACTs, who work at schools and who quitted to profession, is the main limitation of the study. Furthermore, insufficient number of the ACTs, who willing to participate in the second study, is the second limitation of the second study. The paper presents findings to the interested public about ACTs' perceptions of teaching. ACTs' ideas and feelings on teaching profession in their initial years (1996-1999), and today are important aspects of the study. Besides, the paper enlightens the administrators and policy makers, for the development of a powerful strategy to combat teacher shortage. The study highlights how it is crucial to pursue teacher education planning to improve quality in education (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.