Research Methods in Education: An Exploratory Study on ELT Pre-service Teacher Training

Abstract

This study explores the reasons behind the teacher trainees’ choices of research designs for their research projects. More specifically, this study aims at identifying the underlying reasons for the English Language Teaching (ELT) teacher trainees’ tendency to choose experimental design for their research projects from among a diversity of available research designs. To this end, this study was conducted with ELT final year research methods students. The findings point out that L2 teacher trainees find positivistic paradigm, experimental design in particular, more reliable and objective to an extent that the risk of disregarding the classroom context and participants in the research process arises. The findings also point out that quantitative inquiry provides a sense of safety to both the students and the lecturers of the research course. Thus, this research suggests that it is imperative for the teacher training programmes to find ways to incorporate both qualitative and quantitative inquiry, raising student awareness to the value of both methods in educational research to help students become well-prepared teachers-researchers in their professional lives

Keywords

• Research methods,educational research,research paradigms

Eğitimde Araştırma Yöntemleri: İngilizce Öğretmenliği Hizmet Öncesi Eğitim Üzerine Bir Çalışma

Abstract

Bu çalışma İngilizce öğretmenliği öğrencilerinin araştırma yöntemleri dersleri için seçtikleri araştırma yöntemlerini neden seçtiklerini araştırmaktadır. Temelde bu çalışma, öğretmen adaylarının , mevcut pek çok araştırma yöntemi arasından, ağırlıklı olarak deney yöntemini seçmelerinin nedenlerini araştırmaktadır. Bu amaçla, araştırma İngilizce öğretmenliği son sınıf araştırma yöntemleri öğrencileri ile yapılmıştır. Bulgular bu öğrencilerin deneysel yöntemi ve pozitif bilim yaklaşımını, sınıf ortamı ve araştırmaya katılan öğrenci ve öğretmenlerin göz ardı edilme riski taşıyacak kadar, nesnel ve geçerli bulduklarını göstermektedir. Bulgular ayrıca, niceliksel araştırma yöntemlerinin hem öğrencilere hem de dersi veren öğretim görevlilerine daha güvenli geldiğini ortaya çıkarmaktadır. Bu nedenle, bu araştırma, meslek yaşamlarında öğretmen ve araştırmacı olarak başarılı olabilmeleri için, eğitim fakültelerinde ve öğretmen yetiştiren programlarda, hem niceliksel hem de niteliksel araştırma yöntemlerinin eğitim alanında yapılan ve yapılacak olan araştırmalar için vazgeçilmez olduğunu araştırma yöntemleri öğrencilerine aktarmanın gerekli olduğunu öne sürmektedir

Keywords

• Araştırma yöntemleri,eğitim bilimlerinde araştırma,araştırma paradigmaları

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