Standardized testing for transition to high schools: teachers ́ perceptions of how national tests influence teaching and learning in middle schools english classes

Download

index.pdf

Date

2019

Author

Ekiz, Hatice

Metadata

Show full item record

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Item Usage Stats

402
views

284
downloads

The purpose of this research study is to identify the impact of national tests on teaching and learning in middle school English classes through teachers’ perceptions. Through a phenomenological design, semi-structured interviews were used to gather data with 24 in-service teachers working in public and private middle schools in Denizli. The data were analysed through the emerging themes and codes within the scope of research questions. Similarities and differences between public and private middle schools and English teachers have also been analysed. The results showed that Transition to High School Exam (THSE) had an impact on both public and private school teachers’ curricular and instructional decisions as well as their evaluation of student performance. The topics, question form, target words and competencies in THSE are extensively studied and integrated into English lessons while non-tested topics and competencies are ignored in the public middle schools. On the other hand, some private schools participating in the study followed two different curricula for THSE and English for general purposes to meet the demands of the curriculum and the THSE. Teachers reported that THSE affected students’ emotions and attitudes, studying, and learning habits. Moreover, parents’ expectations in line with the THSE were found to create stress and anxiety for both students and teachers. The findings were further discussed and interpreted in relation to implications for practice and further research.

Subject Keywords

English language, English language Study and teaching., Transition to high school, standardized testing, English Language Teaching (ELT), teacher perceptions, middle school.

URI

http://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/12624404/index.pdf
https://hdl.handle.net/11511/45103

Collections

Graduate School of Social Sciences, Thesis

Suggestions

OpenMETU
Core

English teachers’ perceptions of the middle school English language curriculum Kaya, Suat; Ok, Ahmet (2020-06-01) In this study, which utilized survey as the research design, it was aimed tofind out the teachers’ perceptions of the middle school English languagecurriculum which was developed in 2012 and revised in 2016. Targetpopulation of this study included all teachers working in Turkish publicmiddle schools in Ankara, while the sample was composed of 349 teachersselected through clustered sampling method. A questionnaire developed bythe researchers was used as data collection instrument. Findings revealedthat many ...
Pre-service EFL teachers’ current practices and perceptions of mobile assisted language learning Aygül, Serap Özge; Savaş, Perihan; Department of English Language Teaching (2019) The current study investigated the pre-service EFL teachers’ current practices and perceptions of mobile assisted language learning. In the study, using mixed methods research design, quantitative data were collected through a questionnaire, applied to 142 volunteer participants, and qualitative data were collected through semi-structured interviews conducted with 10 volunteer students. Quantitative data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics and qualitative data were analyzed by employing constant c...
A Video case study on TPACK indicators in technology enhanced language teaching classrooms in Turkey Dönmez, Melek; Baran, Evrim; Gökalp, Gökçe; Department of Educational Sciences (2016) The purpose of the study is to identify indicators of English language teachers’ technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) observed in language teaching classrooms. The case study examined 5 different cases comprising of 5 different English language teachers as participants and 5 different technology enhanced language teaching classrooms using video study method. The data sources included semi-structured pre- and post-interviews and video recordings of lessons. The qualitative analysis of the vide...
Middle school mathematics teachers’ perceptions of inclusion and their use of teaching strategies in basic arithmetical operations and problems Gülden, Berna; Akyüz, Didem; Department of Elementary Science and Mathematics Education (2019) The aim of this study is to examine the perceptions of middle school mathematics teachers about inclusion and their teaching strategies in basic arithmetical operations and problems. In addition, the other purpose is to investigate opinions of middle school mathematics teachers about touch point, concrete-representational-abstract (CRA) and virtual-representational-abstract (VRA) strategies. The study was carried out in the 2018-2019 academic year in a middle school in Küçükçekmece, Istanbul with six mathem...
Perceptions of students, teachers and parents regarding English-Medium instruction at secondary education Tarhan, Şahika; Ok, Ahmet; Department of Educational Sciences (2003) The purpose of this study was to determine perceptions of students, teachers and parents concerning English-medium instruction and their perceptions of English as a foreign language. The research design of the study comprised a nation-wide questionnaire survey and individual interviews. The sample for the survey consisted of 982 students, 383 teachers and 988 parents in 42 Anatolian high schools across 32 provinces in Turkey selected using statified and criterion sampling. The participants of the interviews...

Citation Formats

H. Ekiz, “Standardized testing for transition to high schools: teachers ́ perceptions of how national tests influence teaching and learning in middle schools english classes,” Thesis (M.S.) -- Graduate School of Social Sciences. Curriculum and Instruction., Middle East Technical University, 2019.