Page 73 - Innovative Professional Development Methods and Strategies for STEM Education

A Paradigm Shift for Teachers’ Professional Development Structure in Turkey

teachers has an important role in determining the quality of education and making improvements along
the way (Supovitz & Turner, 2000). Educational reforms in many countries seem to fail because teach-
ers’ beliefs, values, and practical levels/skills are not taken into account (Al-Daami & Wallace, 2007;
McDonald, 2003). This is despite the widely known effects of in-service training on improving the field
knowledge and teaching skills of teachers who are in the foreground in the structuring and implementa-
tion of teaching programmes (Bybee & Loucks-Horsley, 2000; Garet et al,. 1999).
According to the literature, teachers’ beliefs concerning the theory of knowledge and their classroom
practices are indispensable components that need to be tackled together within in-service training pro-
grammes if significant changes are to be brought about in learning and teaching settings (Kennedy, 1998;
Luft, 2001). Research shows that grasping learning theories (and in particular the structural learning
theory) and reflecting them in educational settings do not suffice on their own and must be comple-
mented by considerations of teachers’ willingness, motivations, and beliefs on learning and teaching
(Simon, 1995; Simon & Schifter, 1987; Hand & Treagust, 1995; Luft, 2001; Wellington & Osborne,
2001; Windschitd, 2002). Therefore, it follows that in-service training programmes must be structured
to take such components of knowledge theory into account.
Teachers’ theoretical ideas on how effective learning takes place directly influence their ways of
teaching and the pedagogical decisions that they make (Simon, 1995). In this context, many research-
ers hold that professional development programmes must include teachers’ beliefs about their students’
ways of learning and thinking and interact with teachers’ actual practices (Millar, Osborne, &Nott, 1998;
Millar & Osborne, 1998; Richardson & Placier, 2001). The design of in-service training programmes
must also include teachers’ beliefs on learning and teaching, elements of classroom management, and
components of student assessment (Fishman et al,. 2003).
The success of the in-service training programmes also depends on the content, structure, and format
as well as how thoroughly they were initially planned. Besides, when planning in-service training, it is
important to ensure that activities are student-centred, have substantial content, consider learner needs,
and conform to the legal regulations (Guskey, 2000). There are several international studies that recom-
mend comprehensive theoretical and practical structures to improve teachers’ professional adequacies in
this context. Determining and improving the perceptions, structures, and practices of in-service training
in Turkey are the main areas to be prioritised.

The Current State of Professional Development Programmes in Turkey

In the international arena, the importance of teachers’ professional development has been underlined
by many studies, and acknowledged with large funds from national budgets. In Turkey, as in all other
countries, the importance of in-service training for teachers was recognized in the early years of the
Republic, and a number of studies were undertaken by individual researchers or commissioned by vari-
ous institutions concluding that well-qualified and experienced teachers are an indispensable element of
education and multi-faceted training is required for teachers to meet the needs of their classrooms (The
Holmes Group, 1996; Thair & Treagust, 2003; Seferoğlu, 2004). The European Commission Report on
Improving the Quality of Teacher Education (2007) stated, “teachers should be able to improve their
teaching skills with in-service training programmes” and highlighted the importance of these skills being
open to development in light of suggestions and feedback (Auhl & Daniel, 2014).
In line with the principles of lifelong learning, in-service training programmes provide a great op-
portunity for teachers to keep pace with the advances in the field of education and apply them in their

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