Education Stakeholders’ Views on Controversial Issues in Terms of Null Curriculum

Abstract

This study aims to identify the controversial issues in Turkey based on the views of some education stakeholders and analyze the experiences of teachers in terms of those controversial issues. This study was designed in a qualitative research design. The participants of the study are 250 academicians from the departments of educational sciences, maths and science, Turkish and social sciences, primary education, foreign languages and fine arts of universities; 26 form tutors, religious culture and ethics, Turkish, science, maths and English teachers employed in public schools in Eskişehir; and the representatives of 5 teacher unions. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews with teachers and open ended questionnaires with academicians and the representatives of teacher unions. Inductive analysis method was used to analyse all the data. The study revealed that the controversial issues which were identified by the help of education stakeholders were mostly not covered in elementary education curriculum and in teachers' practice; in other words, it was null curriculum.

Keywords

• Critical pedagogy
• Controversial issues
• Null curriculum
• Basic qualitative research.

Eğitim paydaşlarının ihmal edilen eğitim programı bağlamında tartışmalı konular hakkındaki görüşleri

Öz

Bu çalışma, bazı eğitim paydaşlarının görüşlerine dayalı olarak Türkiye'de tartışmalı konuları tespit etmeyi ve öğretmenlerin deneyimlerini bu tartışmalı konular açısından analiz etmeyi amaçlamaktadır. Çalışma, nitel araştırma deseninde tasarlanmıştır. Araştırmanın katılımcılarını üniversitelerin eğitim bilimleri, matematik ve fen bilimleri, Türkçe ve sosyal bilimler, ilköğretim, yabancı diller ve güzel sanatlar bölümlerinden 250 akademisyen; Eskişehir ili devlet okullarında görev yapan 26 sınıf öğretmeni, din kültürü ve ahlak bilgisi, Türkçe, fen bilgisi, matematik ve İngilizce öğretmeni; ve 5 eğitim sendikasının temsilcileri oluşturmaktadır. Veriler, öğretmenlerden yarı yapılandırılmış görüşmeler; akademisyenler ve eğitim sendikaları temsilcilerinden ise açık uçlu anketler yoluyla toplanmıştır. Tüm verilerin analizinde tümevarımsal analiz yöntemi kullanılmıştır. Araştırma, eğitim paydaşlarının yardımıyla tespit edilen tartışmalı konuların ilköğretim programında ve öğretmenlerin uygulamalarında çoğunlukla yer almadığını; başka bir deyişle ihmal edilen eğitim programı kapsamında kaldığını göstermiştir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Eleştirel pedagoji
• Tartışmalı konular
• İhmal edilen eğitim programı
• Genel nitel araştırma

Kaynakça

1. Atalay, N. & Çaycı, B. (2017). Sınıf öğretmeni adaylarının sosyobilimsel konular hakkındaki görüş ve tutumlarının farklı değişkenlere göre incelenmesi. [Examining the opinions and attitudes of primary school teacher candidates about socioscientific issues according to different variables]. Eskişehir Osmangazi Üniversitesi Türk Dünyası Uygulama ve Araştırma Merkezi, ESTÜDAM Eğitim Dergisi, 2(2), 35 45.https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/estudamegitim/issue/40297/481300
2. Avery, P. G., Levy, S. A. & Simmons, A. M. M. (2013). Deliberating controversial public issues as part of civic education. The Social Studies, 104, 105-114. https://doi.org/10.1080/00377996.2012.691571
3. Burek, K. J. (2012). The impact of socioscientific issues based curriculum involving environmental outdoor education for fourth grade students [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. University of South Florida.
4. Camicia, S. P. (2008). Deciding what is a controversial issue: A case study of social studies curriculum controversy. Theory & Research in Social Education, 36(4), 298-316. https://doi.org/10.1080/00933104.2008.10473378
5. Claire, H. & Holden, C. (2007). The challenge of teaching controversial issues. Trentham.
6. Cocke, C. N. (2017). Controversial issues in United States history classrooms: Teachers‘ perspectives [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.
7. Çopur, A. (2015). Sosyal bilgiler öğretmenlerinin tartışmalı konuların öğretimine ilişkin düşüncelerinin incelenmesi. [A review on the opinions of social studies teachers on teaching controversial issues]. [Unpublished master’s thesis]. Uludağ University.
8. Demir, S. B. & Pismek, N. (2018). A convergent parallel mixed-methods study of controversial issues in social studies classes: A clash of ideologies. Kuram ve Uygulamada Eğitim Bilimleri, 18(1), 119-149. https://doi.org/10.12738/estp.2018.1.0298

9. Dewey, J. (1933). How we think. Heath & Company.
10. Eisner, E. (1985). The educational imagination: On the design and evaluation of school programs. Macmillan Publishing.
11. Eisner, E. (2005). Opening a shuttered window: An introduction to a special section on the arts and the intellect. The Phi Delta Kappan, 87(1), 8-10. https://doi.org/10.1177/003172170508700104
12. Emery, K., Harlow, D., Whitmer, A., Gaines, S. (2017). Compelling evidence: An influence on middle school students’ accounts that may impact decision-making about socioscientific issues. Environmental Education Research, 23(8), 1115-1129. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2016.1225673
13. Ersoy, A. F. (2013). Sosyal bilgiler öğretmen adaylarının tartışmalı konulara katılımını etkileyen etmenler. Sosyal Bilgiler Eğitimi Araştırmaları Dergisi, 4(1), 24-48. https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/jsser/issue/19100/202657
14. Evans, R. W., Avery, P. G., Pederson, P. V. (2000). Taboo topics: Cultural restraint on teaching social issues. The Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas, 73(5), 295-302. https://doi.org/ 10.1080/00377999909602419
15. Flinders, D. J., Noddings, N., Thornton, S. J. (1986). The null curriculum: Its theoretical basis and practical implications. Curriculum Inquiry, 16(1), 33-42. https://doi.org/10.2307/1179551
16. Giroux, H. A. (2014). Eğitimde kuram ve direniş: Bir muhalefet pedagojisine doğru. (Çev. S.Demiralp). Dost Kitabevi.
17. Griffin, A. F. (1942). Teaching in authoritarian and democratic states. In W. C. Parker (Ed.), Educating the democratic mind (s. 79-93). State University of New York Press.
18. Hess, D. E. (2004). Controversies about controversial issues in democratic education. Political Science and Politics, 37(2), 257-261. https://doi.org/ 10.1017/S1049096504004196.
19. Hill, D. & Cole, M. (2001). Social class. In D. Hill & M. Cole (Eds.), Schooling and equality: Fact, concept and policy (s. 137-159). Kogan Page.
20. Holden, C. & Hicks, D. (2007). Making global connections: The knowledge, understanding and motivation of trainee teachers. Teaching and Teacher Education, 23(1), 13-23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2006.04.031 Konarzewski, K. (1998). Educational ideologies of Polish teachers. Teachers and Teaching, 4(2), 259-271. https://doi.org/10.1080/1354060980040205
21. Kuş, Z. (2015). Science and social studies teachers’ beliefs and practices about teaching controversial issues: Certain comparisons. Journal of Social Science Education, 14(3), 84-97. https://doi.org/10.2390/jsse-v14-i3-1385
22. McLaren, P. (2011). Okullarda yaşam: Eleştirel pedagojiye giriş. [Life in schools: An introduction to critical pedagogy in the foundations of education]. (Çev. M.Y. Eryaman &H. Arslan). Anı Yayıncılık.
23. Oulton, C., Day, V., Dillon, J., Grace, M. (2004). Controversial issues: Teachers' attitudes and practices in the context of citizenship education. Oxford Review of Education, 30(4), 489-507. https://doi.org/10.1080/0305498042000303973
24. Peters, M. (2005). Critical pedagogy and the futures of critical theory. In I. G. Ze’ev (Ed.), Critical theory and critical pedagogy today toward a new critical language in education (s. 35-48). University of Haifa: Studies in Education.
25. Phillips, J. (1997). Florida teachers' attitudes toward the study of controversial issues in public high school social studies classrooms [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. The Florida State University.
26. Pollak, I., Segal, A., Lefstein, A., Meshulam, A. (2018). Teaching controversial issues in a fragile democracy: Defusing deliberation in Israeli primary classrooms. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 50(3), 387-409. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220272.2017.1397757
27. Rambosk, P. (2011). Florida pre-service teachers’ and their attitudes towards the use of controversial issues [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. The Florida State University.
28. Rhodes, C. M. & Coda, J. (2017). It’s not in the curriculum: Adult English language teachers and LGBQ topics. Adult Learning, 28(3), 99-106. https://doi.org/10.1177/1045159517712483
29. Seçgin, F. (2009). Öğretmen adaylarının tartışmalı konuların öğretimine ilişkin algı, tutum ve görüşleri. [The perceptions, attitudes and opinions of teacher candidates on teaching controversial issues]. [Unpublished master’s thesis]. Gaziosmanpaşa University.
30. Smith, S. J. (2000). The role of controversial issues in moral education: Approaches and attitudes of Christian school educators [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Graduate College of the Oklahoma State.
31. Türkmen, H., Pekmez, E., Sağlam, M. (2017). Fen bilgisi öğretmen adaylarının sosyo-bilimsel konular hakkındaki düşünceleri. [Pre-service science teachers’ thoughts about socio-scientific issues]. Ege Eğitim Dergisi, (18), 448-475.
32. Walsh, C. J. (1998). The attitudes of Florida public high school principals toward the classroom use of controversial issues in the social studies classroom [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. The Florida State University.
33. Wilkinson, M. L. N. (2014). The concept of the absent curriculum: The case of the Muslim contribution and the English national curriculum for history. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 46(4), 419-440. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220272.2013.869838
34. Yıldırım, A. (2013). Eleştirel pedagoji: Paulo Freire ve Ivan Illich’in eğitim anlayışı üzerine. [Critical pedagogy: On Paulo Freire and Ivan Illich's understanding of education]. (3rd ed). Anı Yayıncılık .
35. Yılmaz, K. (2012). Tartışmalı ve tabu konuların incelenmesi: Sosyal bilgiler öğretmenlerinin görüşleri. [The examination of controversial and taboo topics: The views of social science teachers]. Mustafa Kemal Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi, 9(18), 201-225. http://www.mku.edu.tr/files/25_dosya_1355327003.pdf