International Association of Educators   |  ISSN: 1308-951X

Volume 3 Issue 2 (June 2011)

Original Articles

Civic Competence Level Of Teacher Candidates Within The European Union Context

Tugay TUTKUN, Mehmet Kaan DEMİR, Salih Zeki GENÇ & Çavuş ŞAHİN

pp. 1 - 13

Abstract

Citizenship is no longer understood as only voting on elections, volunteering, and believing in public service of governments. Contemporary understanding of citizenship stress “individual participation and influence on public life”. So that, Concept of citizenship needs to be reshaped with interpretation of society, democracy and participation. Civic competencies are learning outcomes acquired by different forms of education (formal, nonformal and informal) and required for being an active citizen. European Union attaches great importance to education in order to reach union’s democracy-related goals. Member countries are supported for developing civic competences. Turkey was officially recognized as a candidate for full membership to the EU. Negotiations were started on 3 October 2005. “Judiciary & Fundamental Rights”, “Justice, Freedom & Security” and “Education & Culture” are related subjects to the content of this study. These 3 negotiation chapters are not yet opened to discussion they will be among popular topics in the near future. Because of being a part of the community and their effect on students understandings of citizenship, teachers are one of the social groups needed be examined in terms of their level of civic competence. Since civic competencies are developed by formal, non-formal and informal education, examination of teacher candidates’ civic competences based on only teacher education curriculum in terms of goals and content would not be adequate. Effect of hidden curriculum is also need to be examined. In this context, examining teacher candidates’ level of civic competences in Turkey within the EU context becomes important and states the aim of this study. 

Keywords: citizenship, civic competencies, teacher candidates

Prospective Primary School Teachers’ Perceptions of Rectangular Prism Through Models

Ömer F. ÇETİN, Arif DANE, Muzaffer OKUR, Mehmet BEKDEMİR, Fatih BAŞ, Oben KANBOLAT, & Meryem ÖZTURAN SAĞIRLI

pp. 14 - 25

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to reveal how prospective primary school math teachers perceive rectangular prisms through models. The survey model was employed for the study. The data were collected through the interviews protocol, consisting of four models and two open-ended questions concerning the models, with 113 students of Mathematics Teaching, the department of primary school teaching, the faculty of education at a university located in a middle-sized province in Eastern Anatolia, Turkey, during the Fall Term of the Educational Year 2010-2011. The data were descriptively analyzed. The findings suggest that most of the students are successful in naming the three models they frequently encounter in a proper way and explaining the characteristics and connections concerning the models but they are less successful in the model “skeleton”, which they rarely encounter. In this sense, it is recommended that the teaching process should include the “skeletons” of geometrical objects. 

Keywords: prospective teachers, rectangular prism, model