Journal of Higher Education and Science

419-429

Authors: Emine CABI, Halil ERSOY

This study aims to investigate distance education implementations in higher education of Turkey from 2010 to 2016 by numeric data. For this purpose, the numbers and distribution of students at vocational schools, undergraduate and graduate level programs being executed totally in distance education method were analyzed. While it was possible to reach to the numbers of distant students at vocational schools and undergraduate levels between 2010 and 2015, only 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 years’ data were been able to obtained at graduate level. Moreover, the change in the numbers of distant students by years was investigated. Hence it is a case study, it portrays the existing situation longitudinally. In this context, it is believed that the study will contribute to the actions targeting to open new distance education programs.

441-452

Authors: İdris GÖKSU, Yusuf İslam BOLAT

The purpose of this study is to set forth the current situation of academic studies and to make an evaluation in terms of some variables by making a descriptive analysis of the initial results of the academic incentive application carried into effect in 2016. The data related to academic incentive commission evaluation results belonging to 86 of the total 107 state universities were obtained from the web pages of universities and these data were entered into the form consisting of title, gender, faculty and score headings. The data obtained in this study in which the survey model is used as a research method, were evaluated by making an examination in terms of regions, universities, units, title, gender, minimum score, maximum score and incentive rate. Furthermore, academic incentive scores were compared to 2015-2016 URAP rankings of universities and the resultant change was analyzed. It was observed that according to the results obtained; Hacettepe, Ege, Gebze Technical, Selçuk and Atatürk Universities come into prominence on the basis of academic incentive rate; Kastamonu, Niğde, Istanbul Medeniyet, Ege and Selçuk Universities on the basis of academic incentive averages; the faculties of pharmacy, sciences, aquaculture, engineering and agriculture on the basis of faculties. It was seen that the title-based incentive rates are as follows; associate professor, professor, assistant professor, research associate and the other. Considering the gender-based academic incentive rates, it was seen that 25.61% of males and 18.02%of females get academic incentive payment. It can be said that the academic performance is low in general when considering that the overall academic incentive rate is 22.58% and the academic incentive rate of 52 universities is below 20% among 86 universities and the academic incentive rate reflects the academic performances of universities. It is believed that the results obtained from this study are important for the universities and academic staff to make an evaluation about their academic performances.

462-472

Authors: Sakine SİNCER, Gülsün ATANUR BASKAN

This study aims at analysing the relation between culture of fear and burnout according to the perceptions of academics working at universities in Ankara. A total 416 academics 210 of which are female and 206 of which are male have participated in the study. “Culture of Fear Scale” developed by Ashkanasy and Nicholson, and adapted into Turkish culture within the framework of this study as well as “Maslach Burnout Scale” developed by Maslach and Jackson, and adapted into Turkish culture by Ergin , have been used as the data collection tools in this study. The data collected within the framework of this study have been analysed by conducting descriptive statistics such as frequency, percentile, arithmetic mean and standard deviation as well as t-test, one way variation analysis, Kruskal Wallis H test and Mann Whitney U test, Pearson Correlation and Structural Equation Model. The construct validity of the data collection tools has been tested by confirmatory factor analysis. At the end of the study, the level of culture of fear perceived by the participants has been found to be low. Moreover, participants’ level of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization has been found to be low whereas their level of perceived personal accomplishment has been found to be high. It has also been found out that there is a statistically significant, positive and moderate relation between the level of culture of fear perceived by the academics and their level of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization while there is a statistically significant, negative and moderate relation between their level of culture of fear and personal accomplishment. Besides, it has been concluded that culture of fear is a significant predictor of all the sub-dimensions of burnout.

484-493

Authors: İlhan ATİK

The technologies used in information, production and service are constantly changing. The social, political and economic situation at the global level puts pressure on local employment conditions. In a complex world, being a young employee requires complex thinking skills such as analyzing, evidence and problem solving evaluation, and good communication skills. Such skills are not only the skills necessitated by an elite segment as in the past, but the skills that almost all citizens need. Our country has a significant competitive power with its young population. In the future, by educating this young population with the right vocational education, there is a potential to be a promise in business areas where technology is heavily used. However, despite the transfer of increasing financial resources to educational activities every year, the expected success from education cannot be achieved. This problem is especially witnessed in schools that offer vocational and technical education. Especially in recent years, many countries are reviewing their education systems in international evaluation studies such as PISA (Program for International Student Assessment), TIMSS (Third International Mathematics and Science Study) and PIRLS (Progress in International Reading and Literacy Study). These countries have learned the extent to which educational reforms and investments they have undertaken over time has an impact on the academic achievement of their students. Studies carried out at this international level, including our country, show that our country faces significant problems in terms of students, parents and school administrators and teachers. In these evaluations; pre-school education is not widespread and students who cannot reach the level of basic knowledge at primary and secondary school level continue their education without class repetition. Also, school management, parent and guidance teachers are not consulted effectively about the educational problems of the child. When it comes to vocational education, it is observed that the students with the lowest education achievement prefer these institutions and the concern about not being able to work after graduation has a negative effect on education, which affect both students and teachers negatively. By referring vocational training and the work carried out by our country in this regard, problems and solution proposals will be tried to be presented within the scope of PISA 2015 results.

504-514

Authors: Emine Ferda BEDEL

The purpose of this study is to determine relationships among academic procrastination, mindfulness and metacognitive awareness with its two sub dimensions, knowledge of cognition and regulation of cognition in first year pre-service early childhood teachers. A sample of 145 pre-service early childhood teachers completed the measures of academic procrastination, mindfulness and metacognitive awareness. Correlation analyses revealed that academic procrastination was negatively related to mindfulness (r=-.47, p<.01), overall metacognitive awareness (r=-.40, p<.01), knowledge of cognition (r=-.40, p<.01) and knowledge of regulation (r=-.44, p<.01). Regression results indicated that the measures of mindfulness and regulation of cognition accounted for 37% of the variance in academic procrastination. Current results indicate that while mindfulness and metacognitive awareness, knowledge of cognition and regulation of cognition scores decrease, academic procrastination scores increase. Also, regulation of cognition and mindfulness are significant predictors of academic procrastination.

523-533

Authors: Aysun ÖZTÜRK, Mehmet Çağatay ÖZDEMİR

The purpose of this research is to evaluate United States language education program which is carried out at Gazi University from the included faculty members’ point of view, to determine existing problems and to propose suggestions for better implementation of the program if possible. For this purpose, the case study design which is one of the qualitative research designs was implemented, and the interview technique was used as a data collection technique. The interview questions were prepared by the researchers; the validity and the reliability were ensured by the expert opinions. The interviews were conducted with 12 faculty members from each academic position, who have been in 4 different universities as a part of the program. The results obtained can be summarized as such: all faculty members are generally pleased to attend to the program. However, the aspects which are seen as problems are identified as such; (1) departmental inequivalence at the correspondent university, (2) limited duration of the program, (3) lack of quality in the educational staff of the program, (4) spending too much time with Turkish colleagues which restricts practice of English. Most suggestions proposed by the faculty members are identified as such; (1) only assistant professors should be sent abroad for the language education, (2) associate professors, professors and the ones who have long term abroad experiences should be sent for the purposes such as scientific research, acculturation, etc., (3) the duration should be arranged according to the purposes but the duration of the language education should be arranged at least six months, (4) the universities should be carefully examined to have departmental equivalences, and (5) the language education programs should be prepared with higher quality.

546-553

Authors: Feriştah DALKILIÇ, Ömer AYDIN

In this research, which aims to reveal the causes of non-attendance of the students who are studying at the Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences in Dokuz Eylül University and examines the effect of the absenteeism on the students’ success status, association rules were created by using Apriori algorithm, which is one of the data mining techniques. As a result of the research, it was determined that gender, current semester and academic year, studying in formal or secondary education, general success status had effects on absenteeism tendency. Moreover, it has been observed that type of transportation has no significant effect on the absenteeism while the satisfaction from the faculty, resident place and its distance to the faculty affects the absenteeism behaviors.

565-577

Authors: Sefa USTA, Yusuf SAYIN, Yiğit Anıl GÜZELİPEK

The main aim of this study is to determine the problems experienced by the foreign students who study at Karamanoglu Mehmetbey University and in Karaman Province, and to develop solution strategies for them. Within the scope of the study, firstly the conceptual framework related to the topic has been discussed and a field research has been conducted for the foreign students studying at University. The theoretical framework of the study is based on “Integrative Communication Theory”. The questionnaire method has been applied to determine the perceptions of the foreign students educated at the university and the city. The analysis of the quantitative data obtained has been made by statistical programs. The findings collected from the study have been evaluated in terms of opportunities and risks. For foreign students while the city’s being devoid of traffic problems, its proximity to major cities, the interest of advisors in students’ concerns, and the meticulous conducting of international student exchange programs are among the opportunities; the lack of an airport in Karaman and the lack of social activities and the absence of a separate language-learning unit are regarded as a risk.

593-600

Authors: Turgay HAN, Hacı Hasan YOLCU

The purpose of this study is to investigate the extent to which a total of 569 undergraduate students from a rooted (n=109), young (n= 352) or brand-new (n=108) called Turkish university according to their years of foundation are satisfied with a) the technology support and services provided by the universities for learning purposes, b) the use of technology for administrative purposes and c) their overall experiences with the technology used at universities. The “Technology Expectations and Experiences of Students” questionnaire, which was adapted to Turkish by researchers, was used as the data collection tool. The findings showed that the participants were moderately satisfied with the offered campus technologies but their expectations were not met overall. In addition, a significant difference was found in terms of student satisfaction with technology support and the offered services between the students of well-established universities and those of old-brand new universities. The study can be valuable in guiding universities in terms of the technological support and services they provide to their students.

611-616

Authors: sra ERET ORHAN, Yeşim ÇAPA AYDIN, Oya YERİN GÜNERİ

Many higher education institutions in Turkey are putting noteworthy efforts to improve the quality of the education and the services they provide to students. As part of these efforts, some of the universities are making decisions and changes which affect the whole educational and instructional activities. Since it is an accepted reality that the effectiveness of education is one of the major influences on students’ success at university, faculty members are also expected to do their best to increase the quality of their instruction and courses. Using a course syllabus is regarded as one of these ways. Defined briefly as a contract between instructor and students about a course, course syllabus provides the students with written information with regards to certain components of a course -from its objectives to the resources to be used. A course syllabus, given at the very beginning of a semester, not only serves to communicate necessary information about courses to students but also plays an important role in stimulating their learning. Within this respect, this paper aims to inform readers about course syllabus (its purpose, importance and components) and to serve as a practical guide for preparing an effective course syllabus. The study comprises a review and analysis of the existing literature and the sources provided by the teaching and learning centers of higher education institutions. Additionally, a total of 28 course syllabi from different higher education institutions all around the world were also examined.

627-643

Authors: Feride ÖKSÜZ GÜL, Yusuf ALPAYDIN

In developing countries like Turkey, universities are expected to contribute to the formation and implementation of knowledge and social development. This is the case not only for developing countries, but also for developed countries. The modern university concept is based on these foundations. Similar to modern universities in other countries, our universities also bring the dimensions of education, knowledge and economy together. Therefore, the purpose of universities and establishing research and application centers at universities are to identify the social needs and problems and to find solutions accordingly. Research and application centers are those universitybased institutions in which mostly interdisciplinary studies are conducted and they are supported by governmental agencies, private companies or other institutions. Although the effectiveness of these centers, which work in connection with the rectorship or other units is arguable, many research and application centers have been established in our country especially at state universities. The purpose of this study is to examine the information presented in Web sites and the regulations of research and application centers established before 2000. In this document analysis, firstly, the numerical data were examined by using percentage and frequency values. As a result, the distribution of these centers in private and state universities was found out. In the second phase, research and application centers were classified under 13 categories according to their research areas and five categories were selected among those which had the highest number of centers. The regulations, goals and activities of 3 centers from each category were subjected to content analysis. According to the findings, there are 73 state and private universities which were established before 2000. There is a total of 1677 research and application centers at these 73 universities according to the information retrieved from their web sites. 1211 of these centers have online access. However, the information shared by the centers in online platforms varies significantly. In our country, research and application centers are concentrated in regions where more early established universities are located. In addition, Istanbul and Ankara, which have more universities than other cities, affect the number of centers in the regions. It is also seen that 466 centers are not accessed online at all. An analysis of regulations show that those centers which work in the same domain and share the same name display many differences both in terms of their goals and areas of activity. These differences are remarkable especially in activity areas. According to data obtained from the regulations, activity areas fall into the categories of research, application, technology/material/program development, finance and consultancy. The research and application centers at different universities vary in the way they pay attention to and put emphasis on these categories. . It is also observed that research and application centers do not work very actively and those centers which are more active give more importance to practice rather than research. Centers such as ongoing education and distance education, whose focus is not research, and research hospitals seems to work actively.

651-656

Authors: İpek GÖNÜLLÜ, Şengül ERDEN, Derya GÖKMEN

Empathy is an important attribute in the physician-patient relationship and promotes patient and physician satisfaction. It must be taught and promoted during medical education. However, many of the studies about empathy show that empathy declines during medical school education as the year of study increases. The aim of this study was to measure and examine the levels of student empathy during medical education at Ankara University School of Medicine. Study participants were all medical students from the first to the fifth year of the program and the ‘Student Version (S-Version) of Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy’ ( JSPE-S) was used to measure the level of student empathy. The study utilized a cross-sectional design and sub-scale scores were analyzed in terms of gender and year of study. Mann- Whitney U test and Kruskal-Wallis variance analysis were used to compare the sub-scale scores in terms of gender and year, respectively. The results showed that the second year students` JSPE-S scores were significantly high for “perspective taking” and “compassionate care” whereas the third year students` JSPE-S scores were significantly low for the three sub-scales (p<0.001). Additionally, the scores of internship time decreased gradually as the year of study increased. Females’ JSPE-S scores were significantly higher for “perspective taking” and “compassionate care” (p<0.001). In this study, the students’ empathy levels were examined with a self-report scale. The results indicated that medical student empathy declines as the year of study gets higher. More studies are needed to determine whether the decline in empathy scores are due to cohort effects or to the changes occurring during medical education.