RECRUITMENT OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE INSTRUCTORS AT THE SCHOOLS OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES IN TURKEY: ISSUES AND CHALLENGES

Year 2018, , 159 - 182, 15.12.2018

Ferit Kılıçkaya

https://doi.org/10.31795/baunsobed.492571

Cited By: 1

Abstract

This study aimed to present a discussion on the selection and
recruitment of English language instructors in Turkey and focusing on the
issues and challenges arising as well as the views provided by the current
English language instructors and the candidates. The study adopted a
mixed-method approach benefiting from quantitative data through the online
survey as well as qualitative data involving semi-structured interviews
conducted with randomly selected participants. The study included a five-point
Likert scale survey that was composed of 14 statements used to allow 200 participants
to express how they disagreed or agreed with a particular statement.  The statements were published as a survey on
Google Forms and were shared on several social networking sites such as
Facebook. The results of the study indicated that the requirements such as the
minimum scores on ALES and language proficiency tests should be reconsidered
while calculating the total scores for the selection and recruitment process.
The results also revealed that the interviews appeared a real matter of
considerable concern for the great majority of the participants as the
questions asked during the interviews were not structured or standardized to
allow comparisons among candidates and that issue of serious concern were
voiced by the participants on the specific requirements in job announcements.

Keywords

English Language Instructors, Selection, Recruitment, Issues, Challenges

Türkiye’de İngilizce Öğretim Görevlilerinin Yabancı Diller Yüksekokullarında İşe Alım Süreci: Sorunlar ve Zorluklar

Abstract

Bu
çalışma, İngilizce alanındaki öğretim görevlerinin seçilmesi ve işe alım
süreçleri sırasında ortaya çıkan sorunları ve zorlukları mevcut öğretim
görevlilerinin ve adaylarının görüşlerine odaklanarak tartışmayı amaçlamıştır.
Çalışma, rastgele seçilen katılımcılarla yapılan yarı-yapılandırılmış
görüşmelere dayalı elde edilen nitel ve çevrimiçi anket uygulamasıyla elde
edilen nicel verilerine dayalı tasarlanan karma yöntem araştırma deseninden
faydalanmıştır. Çalışmada, 200 katılımcıya sunulan 14 cümleyle ilgili
katılımcıların aynı fikirde olup olmadıklarını açıklamalarını isteyen ve beşli
Likert ölçeği içeren çevrimiçi anket kullanılmıştır. İlgili ifadeler, Google
Form alt yapısı kullanılarak çevrimiçi yayımlanmış ve Facebook gibi sosyal ağ
sitelerinde paylaşılmıştır. Çalışmanın sonuçları, başvuru seçim ve işe alım
süreçlerinde toplam puanın hesaplanırken ALES ve dil yeterlik sınavlarında
istenen taban puanların yeniden gözden geçirilmesini gerektiğini ortaya
koymuştur. Ayrıca sonuçlar, mülakatlara sorulan soruların yapılandırılmış ve
standartlaştırılmamış olduğundan dolayı mülakat sınavlarının ve iş ilanlarına
konan özel şartların katılımcıların büyük bir çoğunluğu için endişe kaynağını
oluşturduğunu göstermiştir.

Keywords

İngilizce Öğretim Görevlileri, Seçim, İşe Alım, Sorunlar, Zorluklar

References

• Abdioğlu, C. and Çevik, M. (2017). Evaluation of Ales according to Academic and Administrative Staffs’ Opinions: Karamanoğlu Mehmetbey University Case. Kastamonu Education Journal, 25(2), 719 732. Retrieved from http://kefdergi.kastamonu.edu.tr/ojs/index.php/Kefdergi/article/view/1009 on September 20, 2017 Adıgüzel, O. C. (2013). Teacher Recruitment in Turkey: Analysis of Teacher Selection Exams in Comparison with Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives. Educational Research and Reviews, 8(21), 36-214. doi:10.5897/ERR2013.1571 Akın, G. (2016). Evaluation of National Foreign Language Test in Turkey. Asian Journal of Educational Research, 4(3), 11-21. Retrieved from http://www.multidisciplinaryjournals.com/ajer-vol-4-no-3-2016/ on July 20, 2017 Akyel, A. S. and Özek, Y. (2010). A Language Needs Analysis Research at an English Medium University in Turkey. Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2, 969-975. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2010.03.136 Assunção Flores, M. and Niklasson, L. (2014). Why do Student Teachers Enrol for a Teaching Degree? A Study of Teacher Recruitment in Portugal and Sweden. Journal of Education for Teaching, 40(4), 328-343. Retrieved from http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02607476.2014.929883 on May 20, 2017 Atav, E. and Sönmez, S. (2013). Öğretmen Adaylarının Kamu Personeli Seçme Sınavı (KPSS)’na ilişkin Görüşleri [The Views of Teacher Candidates about Public Personnel Selection Examination (PPSE)]. Hacettepe Üniversitesi Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi, Özel Sayı(1), 01-13.Retrieved from http://www.efdergi.hacettepe.edu.tr/yonetim/icerik/makaleler/275-published.pdf on June 28, 2017 Avcı, M. (2016). Regulations on Academic Staff Recruitment in Turkey. Human Rights Review, 6(11), 1-64. Retrieved from http://www.taa.gov.tr/yayin/human-rights-review-sayi-11/ on May 20, 2017 Bahar, H. H. (2011). ÖSS Puanı ve Lisans Mezuniyet Notunun KPSS 10 Puanını Yordama Gücü KPSS 10 Score Prediction Power of Bachelor Graduation Mark and OSS Score]. Eğitim ve Bilim, 36(162), 168-181. Retrieved from http://egitimvebilim.ted.org.tr/index.php/EB/article/viewFile/801/319 on June 30, 2017 CoHE. (2016). Yabancı Dil Sınav Eşdeğerlikleri [Equivalence of Foreign Language Exams]. Retrieved from http://www.yok.gov.tr/documents/10279/30814109/EsdegerlikTablosu.pdf on May 20, 2017 Creswell, J. W. (2007). Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing among Five Approaches (2nd ed.). Thousands Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Demirkasımoğlu, N. (2018). Tenure and Non-tenure-track Systems in Turkish Academia: Current Status and Future Prospects. In I. I. Munene (Ed.), Contextualizing and Organizing Contingent Faculty: Reclaiming Academic Labor in Universities (pp. 175-194). Lanham, Maryland: Lexington Books. Kayahan Karakul, A. & Karakütük, K. (2014) Lisansüstü Öğretime Öğrenci Seçiminde Kullanılan Ölçütlere İlişkin Öğretim Elemanlarının Görüşleri [Views of Academics on Student Selection Criteria for Graduate Education]. Ankara Üniversitesi Eğitim Bilimleri Fakültesi Dergisi, 47(2), 179-200. Retrieved from http://dergiler.ankara.edu.tr/dergiler/40/1996/20849.pdf on May 15, 2017 Kılıçkaya, F. (2009). İngilizce Öğretmen Adaylarının KPSS (Kamu Personeli Seçme Sınavı) Hakkındaki Görüş ve Önerileri [Prospective English Language Teachers’ Views and Suggestions on KPSS (State Employees Selection Exam). 18. Eğitim Bilimleri Konferansı Özetler Kitabı [18th Educational Sciences Conference Abstracts]. İzmir: 18. Eğitim Bilimleri Konferansı, 536-537. Retrieved from https://www.pegem.net/Akademi/kongrebildiri_detay.aspx?id=103124 on May 18 2017 Kılıçkaya, F. (2016). Washback Effects of a High-stakes exam on Lower Secondary School English Teachers’ Practices in the Classroom. Lublin Studies in Modern Languages and Literature, 40(1), 116-134. doi:10.17951/lsmll.2016.40.1.116 Kılıçkaya, F. and Krajka, J. (2010). . Language Teachers' Views and Suggestions on the Central Teacher Selection and Recruitment Exam in Turkey. The New Educational Review, 22(3-4), 253-260. Retrieved from http://www.educationalrev.us.edu.pl/dok/volumes/tner_3_2010.pdf on May 17,2017 Kılıçkaya, F. and Krajka, J. (2013). A Review of Language Teacher Selection Examination and Recruitment in Turkey and Poland. International Journal of Research Studies in Language Learning, 2(5), 93-104. Retrieved from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED570165.pdf on May 15, 2017 Kırkgöz, Y. (2017). English Education Policy in Turkey. In R. Kirkpatrick (Ed.), English Language Education Policy in the Middle East and North Africa (pp. 235-256). Cham, Switzerland: Springer. Low, E.-L. and Tan, O.-S. (2017). Teacher Education Policy: Recruitment, Preparation and Progression. In O-S.Tan, W-C. Liu and E-L. Low (Eds.), Teacher Education in the 21st Century: Singapore’s Evolution and Innovation (pp. 11-32). Singapore: Springer. Mayer, D., Dixon, M., Kline, J., Kotsogriz, A., Moss, J., Rowan, L. et al. (2017). Studying the Effectiveness of Teacher Education: Early Career Teachers in Diverse Settings. Singapore: Springer. Official Gazette. (2018, June 7). Vol. 30444. Retrieved from http://www.resmigazete.gov.tr/eskiler/2018/06/20180607-15.htm on July 1, 2018 Padermprach, N. (2017). The Problems of English Language Education at the Upper Secondary Level in Thailand: The Perceptions of Thai EFL Teachers and Students in Bangkok (Doctoral dissertation, University of Warwick, Coventry, the United Kingdom). Retrieved from http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/99651/1/WRAP_Theses_Padermprach_2017.pdf on July 1, 2018 Polatcan, M., Öztürk, I. and Saylık, A. (2016). Öğretmen Adaylarının Kamu Personeli Seçme Sınavına (KPSS) Ilişkin Görüşleri [Teacher Candidates’ Views on State Employees Selection Examination (KPSS)]. Route Educational and Social Science Journal, 3(1), 126-138. Retrieved from http://www.ressjournal.com/DergiPdfDetay.aspx?ID=438 on June 14, 2017 Öztürk, M. and Yıldırım, A. (2012). English as a Foreign Language Instructors’ Induction: Early Practices of Language Teachers Teaching at Tertiary Level. Turkish Online Journal of Qualitative Inquiry, 3(2), 1-17. Retrieved from http://dergipark.gov.tr/tojqi/issue/21395/229367 on June 20, 2018 Sakarya Maden, S. and Göçerler, H. (2015). KPSS Almanca Öğretmenlik Alan Bilgisi Testi Hazırlık Materyallerine Eleştirel Bir Bakış [A Critical Look at the Preparatory Materials towards KPSS German Teaching Subject Knowledge Test]. Trakya University Journal of Social Sciences, 17(1), 113-124. Retrieved from http://bys.trakya.edu.tr/file/open/25748599 on May 20, 2017 Seferoğlu, G. (2004). A Study of Alternative English Teacher Certification Practices in Turkey. Journal of Education for Teaching, 30(2), 151-159. Retrieved from http://www.tandfonline.com/ doi/abs/10.1080/0260747042000229762 on May 22, 2017 Ünal, M. and İlhan, E. (2017). Case Study on the Problems and Suggestions in Foreign Language Teaching and Learning at Higher Education. Journal of Education and Training Studies, 5(6), 64-72. Retrieved from http://redfame.com/journal/index.php/jets/article/view/2302/2503 on June 30, 2017