MSKU Journal of Education

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ali Yakar completed his preschool, elementary school, middle school, and high school education in İskenderun/Hatay. Between 2005 and 2009, he received his bachelor's degree in Science Education from the Faculty of Education at Pamukkale University in Denizli. Between 2009 and 2010, he began his master's degree in Education Programs and Teaching at the Institute of Social Sciences at Osmangazi University in Eskişehir, and later transferred to Muğla University, where he was appointed as a research assistant. In 2012, he completed his master's degree in Educational Programs and Teaching at the Institute of Educational Sciences at Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University; he then completed his doctoral degree in Educational Programs and Teaching at the Institute of Social Sciences at Aydın Adnan Menderes University between 2013 and 2017. Dr. Yakar, who was awarded the title of associate professor in September 2022, specializes in program development and evaluation, learning-teaching processes, affective awareness in teaching, learning responsibility, and model and scale development. Dr. Yakar has completed and conducted scientific research projects, authored books, book chapters, and book chapter translations, and published numerous articles and papers at the national and international levels in the field of educational sciences and teacher training, as well as in interdisciplinary areas. In addition, he has received various trainings and certifications related to his areas of expertise and has given lectures, seminars, and conferences at different institutions and organizations outside the university. At the undergraduate level, he teaches courses on Research Methods in Education, Principles and Methods of Teaching, and Teaching Technologies; at the graduate level, he teaches courses such as Scientific Research Methods, Emotional Domain Education and Research, and Program Development. In addition to his academic work, Dr. Yakar is also a basketball coach. Dr. Yakar, who has been coaching basketball as an amateur since 2017, studied at the Department of Coaching Education (Part-Time) at the Faculty of Sports Sciences at Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University between 2020 and 2024, graduating with honors. (He holds an additional certificate as a European Union Erasmus Project Participant in his diploma supplement). In addition to his academic career, Yakar also holds the title of professional basketball coach. In the summer of 2022, he attended the (Odense) University of Southern Denmark weekend school in Denmark in the field of basketball coaching and coached at two basketball camps in Copenhagen. Dr. Yakar has been the Editor-in-Chief of the Faculty of Education Journal at Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University since May 2025. Dr. Yakar conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Duisburg-Essen between July 2025 and January 2026, during which time he was a visiting scholar at the Center for Turkey and Integration Studies (ZfTI). He continues his studies at Faculty of Education at Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University and is married with one child.

Dr. Seda Ata graduated from the Department of Early Childhood Education at Selçuk University in 2006. Between 2006 and 2008, she worked as a preschool teacher at Zambak Kindergarten under the Turkish Ministry of National Education in Van. She received her M.A. in Guidance and Psychological Counseling from Muğla University in 2010 and earned her Ph.D. in Early Childhood Education from Hacettepe University in 2014. Her doctoral dissertation examined the influence of attachment patterns on teachers’ classroom management and mothers’ child-rearing attitudes.
Her academic studies have focused on attachment theory, parenting attitudes, classroom management, teacher education, and digital transformation in early childhood education. In recent years, she has conducted research to enhance preservice teachers’ abilities to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) and large language models (LLMs) into instructional processes in ethical, pedagogical, and innovative ways. She has also developed projects and instructional designs that strengthen digital pedagogical competence, technology literacy, and classroom technology integration.
Dr. Ata has authored numerous national and international articles, conference papers, book chapters, and translations in the field of early childhood education. She has delivered seminars, conferences, and teacher training programs in collaboration with various institutions and has been serving as a faculty member at Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University since 2016.

Dr. Çimen, who holds a Ph.D. from the Department of Foreign Languages Education at METU, currently works at Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University, Faculty of Education. Her research interests include Pragmatics and language teaching, language teacher cognition and practices, and language teacher education. 

Dr. Sarıcaoğlu, who has received his bachelor's and master's degrees in psychological counseling and guidance from Selçuk University and his doctorate from Konya Necmettin Erbakan University, worked at Sivas Cumhuriyet University between 2010 and 2014. Since 2014, he has been working in the Department of Psychological Counseling and Guidance at the Faculty of Education at Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University. Dr. Sarıcaoğlu teaches many courses at the undergraduate level, including developmental psychology, life stages and adjustment problems, psychological tests, etc., and continues his project-based work. In addition to two completed TÜBİTAK 1001 projects and three 2237-A projects in which he was part of the project team, he is also the leader of an ongoing TÜBİTAK 1001 project. While working at Sivas Cumhuriyet University, he was part of the founding team of the Cumhuriyet International Journal of Education and served as assistant editor for six years.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Özkan Çelik completed his primary, secondary, and high school education in the Acıpayam district of Denizli, Turkey. He earned his associate degree in Computer Programming from Ege University Tire Kutsan MYO in 2000 and his bachelor’s degree in Primary Education from Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University Faculty of Education in 2005. After working as a classroom teacher within the Ministry of National Education for a period of time, he continued his professional career in academia.
In 2010, he completed his master’s degree in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University, and in 2016, he received his Ph.D. in Primary Education from Gazi University with his dissertation titled “The Application of Creative Drama Method in Values Teaching Through Interdsciplinary Approach”. He was awarded the title of Associate Professor in 2021.
Dr. Çelik’s research interests include Life Studies education, creative drama education, and values education. He has served as a coordinator, researcher, and trainer in numerous projects supported by the European Union, TÜBİTAK (The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey), and university-based Scientific Research Projects (BAP).
After receiving his Creative Drama Leadership Certificate from the Ministry of National Education, Dr. Çelik began working as a Creative Drama Leader. Throughout this process, he has conducted workshops with children, teachers, and various adult groups. Additionally, he has served as an instructor in many in-service training seminars organized by the Ministry of National Education for teachers.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Özkan Çelik is currently a faculty member in the Department of Primary Education, Faculty of Education, Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University.

Dr Rifat İÇYÜZ completed his undergraduate education in the Department of Special Education, Ondokuz Mayıs University, specialising in Teaching the Hearing Impaired. He completed his postgraduate education at the Department of Special Education, Institute of Educational Sciences, Anadolu University, obtaining both a Master's degree (with thesis) and a Doctorate. Throughout his postgraduate education, he worked as a Research Assistant in the Department of Special Education at the Faculty of Education, Anadolu University. Currently, he is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Special Education at the Faculty of Education, Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University. Dr. İçyüz's main areas of interest and academic work are generally focused on the education of children with special needs. He especially focuses on children with hearing loss, families with children with hearing loss, and support education issues in this field. In this context, he has participated in various projects as a researcher. He has conducted studies examining the processes of including students with special needs in mainstream educational environments within the scope of integration/inclusion practices and the support education services provided to students with special needs and their families. He also lectures and continues his academic work on the education of children with other disabilities, such as intellectual disability and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and their families.

Prof. Dr. Şevki KÖMÜR is currently working at Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University, Faculty of Education ELT Department. His research interests include teaching language skills, testing and evaulation and language teacher education.

Assoc. Prof. Nevin Kozcu Çakır is a faculty member at Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University, Faculty of Education, Department of Science Education. She received her undergraduate degree from Eskişehir Osmangazi University, her master’s degree from Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University, and her Ph.D. in Science Education from Gazi University.

Her research focuses on engineering design-based science education, robotics coding, and technology integration in science teaching. She conducts applied studies that aim to enhance students’ metacognitive skills, scientific process abilities, and creative thinking.

Dr. Kozcu Çakır emphasizes an innovative and interdisciplinary approach to science education. She has carried out numerous projects exploring the contribution of engineering design-based learning, STEM practices, and robotics coding activities to science education. She has served as coordinator, trainer, and researcher in several TÜBİTAK-supported projects and has provided hands-on training for science teachers and pre-service teachers.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Şengül BALKAYA graduated from the German Language Teaching Program at Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University in 2011. In 2014, she began working as a research assistant in the Department of German Language Education at Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University, where she also started her master’s studies in 2015. During her master’s program, she studied for one year at the University of Duisburg-Essen within the scope of the Erasmus+ Student Mobility Program. She completed her master’s degree in 2017 and started her doctoral studies at Anadolu University in the same year. She earned her Ph.D. degree in 2022. Dr. Balkaya was appointed as an Assistant Professor in the Department of German Language Education at Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University and received the title of Associate Professor in 2024. She has published several international articles, books, and conference papers. Her main areas of study include teaching German as a foreign language, material development in language teaching, language learning strategies, and intercultural learning approaches. She has completed two national projects and one international project. Her research focuses on both didactic and cultural dimensions of foreign language teaching. She has publications on topics such as material development in German language teaching, learners’ attitudes and anxieties. Additionally, her research interests include foreign language education, learning strategies, the relationship between language and culture, and migrant literature.

In 2005, he completed his undergraduate studies in the Social Sciences Teaching Programme at the Faculty of Education, Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University (MSKÜ). He then pursued a master's degree in the Department of Educational Programmes and Teaching at the same university. After graduating with a master's degree, he worked for nearly five years at a private institution as an ‘Educational Sciences Coordinator’. In 2012, he began working at the MSKÜ Distance Education Application and Research Centre (UZEM) as an ‘e-exam supervisor’ and ‘programme development specialist’. After completing his doctoral education in Educational Programmes and Teaching, he currently serves as the vice director of MSKÜ UZEM. The author, who has been involved in numerous theoretical and applied projects and research (BAP, TÜBİTAK, EU) as a scholarship holder, researcher, and executive, focuses primarily on distance learning, programme development/evaluation in education, and teaching technologies.

She is currently serving at the Department of Fine Arts Education, Art and Crafts Education, Faculty of Education, Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University. She was awarded the title of Associate Professor in the field of Fine Arts in 2023. He completed his doctoral degree in Fine Arts Education, Art and Crafts Education program at Anadolu University (2019). She completed her bachelor's (2008) and master's (2011) degrees in the same field at Selçuk University. She worked as an art teacher at İskenderun Çırtıman Primary School (2008-2013). She completed the Sociology Bachelor's Program (2018), Social Studies Education Minor Program (2016), and Drama Education (2016), drawing from different disciplines. Her research focuses on place-based art education. She has held solo exhibitions in Istanbul, Ankara, Muğla, İskenderun, Konya, and Antalya. She has participated in national and international group exhibitions and has won exhibition and achievement awards in national art competitions.

Dr. Orhan Kahya is a research assistant at the Faculty of Education, Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University (Türkiye). He holds a Ph.D. in Educational Administration and has participated in several TÜBİTAK-funded projects as a fellow, principal investigator, and advisor. His research focuses on educational inequalities, social disadvantage, and educational support mechanisms for children with incarcerated parents. In 2025, he conducted postdoctoral research as a visiting scholar at the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the United States.

Seval Deniz Kılıç is a mathematics educator whose research focuses on teacher noticing in mathematics classrooms. Her work explores how preservice teachers attend to, interpret, and respond to students’ mathematical thinking during problem-solving situations. She is also interested in assessing student performance and examining how teacher education programs can foster professional noticing and reflective practices among future mathematics teachers.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Gülce Coşkun Şentürk completed her undergraduate studies in 2005 at Gazi University, Faculty of Education, Department of Fine Arts Education, Music Teaching Program. She received her master’s degree in 2007 and her Ph.D. in 2011 from Gazi University, Institute of Educational Sciences, Department of Music Education. Her doctoral dissertation is titled “The Effect of Critical Thinking Education on Performance in Music Education.”

Recognized for her expertise in flute education, Şentürk is the author of “Flute Diary: Technical Studies for Flute.” In addition to her work in flute pedagogy, she has conducted various academic studies in the fields of critical thinking and music psychology.

Between 2005 and 2011, she served as a research assistant at Gazi University, Faculty of Education, Department of Fine Arts Education, Division of Music Education. In 2012, she joined Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University as an Assistant Professor and was promoted to Associate Professor in 2020. In addition to her academic duties, she served as the Head of the Department of Fine Arts Education at MSKU between 2021 and 2024, and since 2024 she has been continuing her role as the Head of the Department of Fine Arts under the Rectorate. She also actively serves on various academic boards and committees.

Within the scope of her artistic activities, Şentürk has performed numerous recitals and concerts, organized student performances, and led community-oriented projects that integrate education and art. Through events such as the Muğla Choir Festival, she aims to bring art closer to the community and to enhance cultural participation through artistic expression.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Didem Çetin is a faculty member in the Department of Turkish Language Education at the Faculty of Education, Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University. She completed her undergraduate and master’s studies in the same department at Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University. In 2013, she earned her Ph.D. from Gazi University, Institute of Educational Sciences, Department of Turkish Language Education, with her dissertation titled “The Effect of Computer-Assisted Prosody Training on the Skills of Perceiving and Reflecting Stress, Intonation, and Emotion.” Dr. Çetin was awarded the title of Associate Professor in 2021. She successfully completed the five stages of the Creative Drama Instructor/Leadership Program organized by the Contemporary Drama Association and approved by the Turkish Ministry of National Education (MoNE). She has also provided diction and voice training for teachers and pre-service teachers. Her research interests include: prosody training speech education, prosodic reading, creative drama voice training and diction.

Assistant Professor Dr. Rukiye Adanalı earned her Bachelor’s degree in Geography Education from the Faculty of Education at Dokuz Eylül University and completed her Master’s degree in Geography Education at the same university’s Graduate School of Educational Sciences in 2012. In 2018, she earned a Ph.D. in Geography Education from the Graduate School of Educational Sciences at Atatürk University. Since then, Dr. Adanalı has been serving as a faculty member in the Department of Turkish and Social Sciences Education, Division of Social Studies Education, at the Faculty of Education, Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University. Her research focuses on game-based learning, environmental and sustainability education, teacher training and professional development, outdoor and experiential learning, cultural geography, and disaster education. Dr. Adanalı has authored and co-authored book chapters, journal articles, and conference papers in the fields of social studies and geography education.

Müge Adnan graduated from Hacettepe University, Department of English Language and Literature in 1992, and received her master’s degree in the same field from Hacettepe University in 1995. Between 1992 and 2001, she worked in the education and technology units of World Bank co-financed projects conducted by the Ministry of National Education, during which time she also began her doctoral studies. From 2001 to 2006, she served as the Project Coordinator for the Conditional Cash Transfer component of the World Bank co-financed Social Risk Mitigation Project under the Prime Ministry of the Republic of Turkey. She completed her PhD in Computer Education and Instructional Technology at Middle East Technical University in 2005. In 2010, she joined the Faculty of Education at Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University as a faculty member in the Department of Computer Education and Instructional Technology, became an associate professor in 2018, and was promoted to full professor in 2025. Her research interests focus on instructional design and technologies, open and distance learning, teacher education, technology integration, and the digital divide.

Dr. Altan holds a Bachelor’s degree in English Language Teaching from Middle East Technical University and both a Master’s and a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University. She currently serves as a faculty member at the Faculty of Education, Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University. Dr. Altan teaches courses in teacher education and conducts research in the areas of teacher preparation, instructional technology, and curriculum studies.

Orçin Karadağ is a faculty member in the English Language Teaching (ELT) Department at Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University. He holds a PhD from Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University (ÇOMÜ). His research focuses on English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI), EMI quality and policy, EMI-STEM integration, English for Academic/Specific Purposes (EAP/ESP), needs analysis, classroom discourse and interaction (Conversation Analysis and Discourse Analysis), program evaluation, language teaching methods, teacher education, and AI-supported professional development for teachers (AI-PD / AI in Teacher Education).

His recent publication, "An investigation into policy and implementation for quality EMI: A case study," examines how institutional language policies translate into classroom practice and how EMI quality can be developed in higher education.

His current work includes:
(1) a comparative analysis of ICT and artificial intelligence elements in the Turkish Century Maarif Model English curriculum with reference to international standards, and
(2) an investigation of pre-service English teachers’ error analysis competence and perceptions.

Across these strands, his work aims to build research-informed frameworks for high-quality EMI in STEM fields and to design sustainable, AI-supported professional development models for language teachers.

She is a faculty member in the Department of Turkish Language and Social Sciences Education, Division of Turkish Education, at Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University, Faculty of Education.

Handan Çelik completed her undergraduate studies at Adıyaman University, Faculty of Education, Department of Turkish Language and Social Sciences Education (2010–2013). She then pursued her master’s degree in Turkish Education at Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University, Institute of Educational Sciences (2014–2017), and received her PhD from Necmettin Erbakan University, Institute of Educational Sciences, in the field of Turkish Education between 2017 and 2021.

Her academic work includes numerous articles and book chapters focusing on areas such as reading habits of teacher candidates and Turkish teachers, children’s literature texts, visual reading, and online reading motivation. She has also conducted studies on teaching Turkish as a foreign language, listening skills, and learner-centered practices, and has presented papers at scientific conferences.

In addition to her educational and research activities, she is an academic who embraces innovative approaches in teaching and values interaction with students and colleagues. She aims to contribute to the field of educational sciences by integrating both theoretical and practical aspects of Turkish education.

His research mainly focuses on cognitive behavioral therapy, psycho-oncology, trauma psychology and adaptation processes. He employs both quantitative and qualitative methodologies to develop interventions that support individuals’ adjustment and well-being.

Şeyma Değirmenci is a research assistant in the Department of Early Childhood Education at Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University, Faculty of Education. She completed her undergraduate studies at Istanbul Aydın University and received both her master’s and doctoral degrees in Early Childhood Education from Marmara University. Her doctoral dissertation examined the effects of coding education on preschool children’s cognitive flexibility and computational thinking skills. Her research focuses on early childhood play, science education, creativity, digital and electronic book design, teacher–child interaction, augmented reality applications, technology-enhanced instruction, and pedagogical design.

Betül is a PhD  student and Research Assistant in mathematics education at Middle East Technical University. She completed her bachelor's and master's degrees in Mathematics and Science Education at Boğaziçi University. Her research areas are mathematical cognition, early algebra, and statistics education.