Cennet Demir

The aim of this study is to examine the perceptions of students on the implementation of
life sciences curriculum through using creative drama sessions. Eighty seven 2nd and 3rd grade students
from an elementary school in one of the districts of Ankara participated in the study. Data were collected
through employing four different creative drama methods: (a) letters, (b) drawings, (c) improvisations,
and (d) still images of students. Content analysis was used to analyze the qualitative data collected in
drama sessions. The findings indicated that the teachers had a role of knowledge transmitter to a group of
passive students in life sciences classrooms. The most frequently used teaching methods were lecturing,
question-answer, and demonstration through using textbooks, workbooks, and white boards. In addition,
the most frequently used assessment methods were essay and oral exams, classroom observations, and
self-assessment. Besides, it emerged that students prefer group work and animation rather than typing.
The affluence and diversity of collected data in this study showed that as an art-based qualitative research
method, creative drama was a quite effective method in revealing intimate opinions of young children.

This study aims to examine the quality of education provided by elementary schools in Kalecik, a rural district of Ankara, from the perspectives of administrators, teachers, and students. The participants of the study were 3 administrators, 33 teachers, and 212 students from 6th, 7th, and 8th grades chosen from 3- elementary school. Data related to school facilities, students’ family backgrounds and educational expectations, teacher characteristics, school climate and education quality, parent involvement, curriculum implementation and availability of technology, and instructional materials were collected by using questionnaires. Results indicated that both teachers and students are satisfied with the school’s physical conditions. Conversely, the number of teachers teaching outside their areas of license is quite high. Besides, lack of technology and lack of parental involvement were found to be factors that might have an effect on the quality of education. Moreover, teachers tend to encourage competition rather than cooperation among students.

Article Info Abstract This study aimed to investigate the effect of certain background variables (gender, attending student club, newspaper reading, home residence, level of mother education, and level of father education) on university students' level of civic engagement in university setting. The study also aimed to explore if there were any significant differences among the three dimensions of civic engagement: students' activism, exercising rights, and interest in politics. The study employed causal comparative design and the sample involved 1074 undergraduate students who were selected by stratified sampling from all faculties of a Turkish public university. The data were collected by a self-developed Civic Engagement Scale and analyzed by Two-Way MANOVA and One-Way Repeated ANOVA analyses. One-Way Repeated ANOVA results indicated that there was a significant difference between the mean scores of three dimensions of civic engagement. More specifically, the level of students' activism was significantly lower than the level of students' exercising their rights and the level of their interest in politics. On the other hand, there was no significant difference between the level of students' exercising their rights and interest in politics. Moreover, Two-Way MANOVA results showed that all selected variables had a significant effect on the three dimensions of students' civic engagement. Bu çalışmanın amacı, çeşitli demografik değişkenlerin (cinsiyet, öğrenci kulüplerine katılım, gazete okuma, çocukluğun geçtiği yaşam yeri, anne eğitim düzeyi ve baba eğitim düzeyi) üniversite öğrencilerinin üniversite ortamındaki sivil katılım düzeyine etkisini incelemektir. Ayrıca bu çalışma, öğrencilerin (1) aktifliği, (2) haklarını kullanması ve (3) politikaya ilgileri olmak üzere sivil katılımın üç boyutu arasında anlamlı bir fark olup olmadığını ortaya çıkarmayı amaçlamaktadır. Nedensel karşılaştırma deseninde tasarlanan bu araştırmanın örneklemi Türkiye'deki bir devlet üniversitesinin tüm fakültelerinden tabakalı örnekleme yoluyla seçilmiş olan 1074 lisans öğrencisinden oluşmaktadır. Sivil Katılım Ölçeği ile toplanan veriler iki yönlü çok değişkenli varyans analizi ve tek yönlü tekrarlı ölçümler varyans analizi ile analiz edilmiştir. Araştırma sonuçlarına göre sivil katılım ölçeğinin üç boyutu arasında ortalama puanları açısından anlamlı bir farklılık olduğu görülmüştür. Öğrencilerin aktiflik ortalama puanının, haklarını kullanma ve politikaya ilgi ortalama puanlarından anlamlı bir şekilde daha düşük olduğu anlaşılmıştır. Diğer taraftan, öğrencilerin haklarını kullanma ve politikaya ilgi duyma ortalama puanları arasında anlamlı bir farklılık olmadığı ortaya çıkmıştır. Son olarak, sivil katılımın üç boyutu üzerinde tüm demografik değişkenlerin anlamlı bir etkisinin olduğu görülmüştür.

ABSTRACT This article reports on the findings of a research project carried out by a team of faculties at the Middle East Technical University and the Fulbright Education Committee in Turkey. The project aimed to investigate the Fulbright program's professional, personal, and social impacts and its effectiveness from the perspectives of Turkish scholars. Data were collected by mail from 277 Fulbright scholars living in various regions of Turkey. All of the scholars agreed that their Fulbright experience in the United States had had positive effects on their professional, social, and personal lives. Scholars were especially satisfied with the effect on their personal lives. For example, the Fulbright experience broadened their world viewpoint in a flexible and international setting. These results suggest that Fulbright scholars contribute to the development of the country, because many of them hold high-ranking positions that allow them to develop and implement policies in different sectors. For the development of the Fulbright program, it is recommended that continuous follow-up studies be conducted to identify its strengths and weaknesses.