Journal of Higher Education and Science

205-215

Authors: Ali KARAKAŞ

In recent years, many Turkish universities, particularly the foundation universities in the private sector, have adopted English either in part or in full, as the language of instruction. In practice, this has meant that English should be the only working language of instruction in all academic activities, ranging from lectures, seminars, presentations to thesis defenses. However, little attention has been paid to the fact that the ideals of policymakers are not always in tune with the actuals of the policy implementers ( Jenkins, 2014; Karakaş, 2016a). In the Turkish higher education, there is evidence that lecturers and students often breach the English-only policy by using a mixed-version of Turkish and English, which is widely known as Tarzanca (Tarzanish in English) in Turkey (Collins, 2010; Karakaş, 2016b). This critical review seeks to explore the phenomenon of Tarzanish in general and its use in English-medium instruction (EMI) universities in particular. While doing so, it is also aimed to find answers to the following questions: (1) How is Tarzanish conceptualized and described in the dictionaries, literature, online sources (e. g. blogs, discussion forums, etc.) and by scholars? (2) What are its descriptive characteristics in terms of morphology, syntax, and lexis? (3) Why do EMI people (lecturers and students) resort to it? Moreover, (4) what can be done to resolve the issue of Tarzanish in EMI universities? Drawing on the answers to these questions, the paper suggests that the notion of Tarzanish means different things to different people, lay people and EMI people resort to it for different purposes, and its use by lay people and EMI people show divergences due to some variables such as the level of language proficiency and the domains of language use (e.g., tourism, business, and higher education). Finally, some suggestions have been offered for the solution of the issue of Tarzanish in EMI universities.

225-235

Authors: Muhammet Recep OKUR, Didem PAŞAOĞLU BAŞ, Esra Pınar UÇA GÜNEŞ

There is a growing interest in open and distance learning with the advances in information and communication technologies and demand for lifelong learning. In open and distance learning, the learner is thought to be responsible for his or her own learning life. Throughout their learning life, individuals have to drop out their education or leave their education due to different reasons. For determining the reasons about dropping out education will provide important information for the solution of these problems. There isn’t any comprehensive study about dropping out education in the open and distance education system in Turkey. In this study, the literature about dropping out education were examined and the reasons for dropping out were tried to be determined according to these researches. The reasons for dropping out in the literature were discussed within the developed theories on this subject and the factors causing drop out in open and distance learning were examined. It is very important to identify the reasons for dropping out the education and to develop solutions. The aim of this study is to provide a theoretical background to the studies to be done about dropping out in open and distance learning. In addition, suggestions have been made to solve the reasons about dropping out education are given in the literature.

243-249

Authors: Leyla KAYA, Melek KALKAN

The primary goal of this study is to examine the relationship between narcissism levels and Facebook usage and attachment styles of university students. To fulfill these aims, 346 students who are studying at Ondokuz Mayıs University participated in the study, 225 (%65) of the participants were female, and 121 (%35) were male. The mean age of the participants was 20.68 (sd= 1.838). ‘The Personal Information Form’ which includes participants’ personal information, ‘Narcissistic Personality Inventory’ which was used to measure narcissism level of participants, ‘Experiences in Close Relationships Inventory-II’ which was used to measure attachment styles were delivered to the participants. In addition to these, a scale was developed in order to measure “Facebook” usage. The analysis of the obtained data was performed by SPSS 22. For the purpose of the study, Pearson moment coefficients and multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) were used. According to the results of the study, a positive correlation was found between students’ narcissism levels and one of the subscales of “Facebook” Usage Scale which is about narcissism, and also it was found that there is a positive correlation between narcissism and one of the subscales of “Facebook” Usage Scale which is personal status subscale. It was found that there is a negative correlation between the level of narcissism and the level of anxious attachment of students, and negative correlation was found between the level of narcissism and level of avoidant attachment of students.

256-267

Authors: Özge Sanem ÖZATEŞ GELMEZ

In this study, it was aimed to examine that perspectives of female university students on women’s empowerment and the problems of empowerment of women living in Turkey. In this context, quantitative research was conducted on a sample of 219 female students studying at different departments of Hacettepe University. First, via questionnaires were received the assessment of the students about the factors that played a role in the empowerment of women, the responsible actors and the importance of participation in the decisions for women’s empowerment, and the origins of the problem of women’s empowerment. Then, it was tried to understand, in the eyes of students, what are the limitations of movement freedom of women, and which factors diminish women’s power of the participation in decisions and their power to control their own lives. As a result of the research, the importance of the areas that can provide transformation at the social level as well as the empowerment of women at the individual level was presented. According to the research, it is essential for women to make choices that will make them strong, to participate in an empowering education, to take part in the field of politics, and to work paid improving the social and economic situation of women.

277-286

Authors: Şule Betül TOSUNTAŞ, Emrah EMİRTEKİN, İrfan SÜRAL

As technology is an indispensable part of our lives, it is known that researches on educational and instructional technologies have intensified rapidly. In the studies, educational and instructional technologies are discussed in many ways, and these studies are essential in terms of putting the results into practice. By examining articles and theses published in the field, the scope, strengths, and weaknesses of the studies are determined; an important gap is filled in what future studies may be needed. There are many studies conducted in line with this purpose. However, since similar studies dealing with educational technologies have lost their timeliness, this study is considered important in terms of combining current research trends and results. The aim of this study is to examine thematic and methodological aspects of theses on educational and instructional technologies. The study was designed as a case study. The sample was not determined for theses to be included in the study, and it was aimed to reach the entire population. In this context, theses published in the last five years have been reached through the Higher Education Thesis Database. Keywords of “educational technologies” and “instructional technologies” have been used in the process. As a result of the scanning process, 190 theses were reached, and 148 theses, which are in accordance with the criteria of the study were included in the study. Data were collected by the researchers and analyzed by using content analysis. The findings are discussed in the sub-headings in parallel with the research problems. In the study, it is concluded that there is a decrease in the number of graduate theses and the conceptual confusion in terms of research methods and statistics.

306-316

Authors: Rukiye Günseli YILDIRIM, Güzin ÖZYILMAZ AKAMCA, Ahmet Murat ELLEZ, Sibel KARABEKMEZ, Ayşe Nur BULUT ÜNER

School experience and teaching practice courses are those that improve the teaching qualifications of prospective teachers and also contribute to their becoming experienced and equipped. During the pre-service period, the application of the theoretical knowledge in a classroom in a structured way provides essential contributions to the proper application of the teaching profession. This study is put to evaluate the contribution of school experience and teaching practice classes, which aim to enable pre-school teacher candidates to gain professional skills. The study has been achieved with 64 preschool teacher candidates who have taken both mentioned courses studying 4th grade at Dokuz Eylül University, Buca Faculty of Education, Preschool Teaching Program during the 2017-2018 academic year. The study has been carried out with a case study, which is a qualitative research model. In the study, there are semi-structured open-ended questions directed to the prospective teachers, and the data is analyzed according to the content analysis rules. As a result of the analysis of the data, the opinions of the teacher candidates about the school experience and teaching practice courses have been put forward. Based on the findings of the study, suggestions have been made to improve teaching practice and school experience process.

326-334

Authors: Hatice KAHYAOĞLU SÜT, Burcu KÜÇÜKKAYA, Esra CUMUR, Ecem ÖZDEMİR

In this study, it was aimed to investigate the relationship between social and intellectual activities of nursing students, and their academic achievement status, and life satisfaction. This descriptive study was conducted on n = 455 students in the first, second, third and fourth grades who were trained in the Nursing Department of the Faculty of Health Sciences of a University between February-March 2018. The research data were collected by the questionnaire form prepared by the researchers and the Life Satisfaction Scale (SDS). In the evaluation of the data, descriptive statistics as well as Chi-Square test, Mann-Whitney U test, Kruskal-Wallis test, and Spearman correlation analysis methods were used. The average age of the students was 20.5±1.8, and the sex of 86.6% was females. It was determined that 47.7% of the students had a general grade average between 2.51-3.00 and academic achievement was moderate. (p=0.011) significantly higher than the others (0.00-2.00, 2.01-2.50, 3.51-4.00) between 2.51-3.00 (medium) and 3.01-3.50 (good) 1-2 times going to cinema (p=0.045) and participating in cultural excursions (p=0.003). The average score of the students was 14.4±4.3. There was no statistically significant relationship (p=0.073) between CGS average scores and overall grade scores. (p<0.001), foreign language (p=0.007), foreign language (p=0.002), friendship (p<0.001), social relations (p<0.001) (p<0.001), newspaper reading habit (p=0.008), and cultural visits (p<0.001) were found to have higher mean scores and a better life satisfaction. Students who have a good or moderate level of academic achievement are more active in social and intellectual aspects. Students who are more active in social and intellectual aspects have higher life satisfaction. However, there is no connection between academic achievement and life satisfaction. According to this; training of nursing students who are disciplined professional candidates should not be focused solely on increasing academic achievement. In the course of their training, further orientation to social and intellectual activities will increase their life satisfaction.

342-348

Authors: Yeliz SÜRME, Yağmur SEZER EFE, Özlem CEYHAN, Sevda KORKUT, Nuray CANER

This study was conducted as a descriptive study to determine the effect of individual innovativeness of nursing students on the readiness of online learning. This study has a total of 1040 students who were enrolled in Erciyes University Health Sciences Faculty Department of Nursing in the 2017-2018 academic year. The number of students included in the study according to the known universal sample was calculated as 300, but the study was completed with 573 students voluntarily participating in the study. Erciyes University, Social Sciences and Humanities written permission was taken from the Ethics Committee and written informed consent was taken from students. The data were collected by the researchers using the Personal Information Form, the Individual Innovation Scale, and the readiness to online learning scale. The analysis of the data, descriptive statistics, Kruskal-Wallis and posthoc Bonferroni, Mann Witney U, Spearman correlation analysis were used. The mean age of the students was 21.0± 2.8. Of the students; 32.8% were in the fourth grade, 81.3% were women, and 62.1% were living in the province center. Of the nursing students; 54.8% selected voluntarily nursing profession, 45.9% selected nursing profession because of job opportunities. The mean scores of the Individual Innovativeness Scale (ISS) and Online Learning Readiness Scale (OLRS) respectively were 58.20±12.24 and 50.86±18.95. When the individual innovation scale and the subscale scores of the students were compared according to their classrooms, it was determined that the total score averages of the fourth-grade students were higher than the other classes. (p<0.05). When the average scores OLRS were compared, average scores of first-grade students were higher than the other grades (p<0.05). Nursing student’s level of readiness for online learning with their individual innovativeness features was low; there was a positive relationship between individual innovation and online learning readiness. Students are more likely to be ready for online learning in the first year; innovations develop as class levels increase. It is suggested to add to the course content of innovation related skills in order to enhance students’ readiness for online learning.