Future Teachers’ Views on Their Science Teachers: A Case of Turkey

Authors

Mehmet Karakaş, Department of Science Teaching at Artvin Coruh University, School of Education, Artvin, TurkeyFollow

Abstract

Here future elementary and middle school teachers reflect on their experiences with science teachers encountered throughout their education and highlight their characteristics. The aim of the study was to create a program where teachers were given the explicit opportunity to reflect on their experiences through journaling that promoted reflective thought. Participants were 173 non-science and 120 science major prospective teachers enrolled in a small university in northeastern Turkey. Data were collected using document analysis. Findings show that effective science teachers do experiments, use teaching materials, and show special interest in students; also, their positive personality affected students’ positive attitude towards science. Ineffective teachers were “boring” and using lecturing and didn’t take their students to laboratories, neither had they done some activity or use visual materials. Furthermore, ineffective science teachers were “angry, fear imposing, authoritarian, and discriminating between students.”

Keywords

reflective practice, prospective teachers, effective science teachers, science attitudes, case study

Author Bio(s)

Mehmet Karakas, Ph.D., studied Science Education at Syracuse University in New York. He has a BcS in Chemistry Education from Dokuz Eylul University, in Izmir, Turkey. He taught elementary and middle school students during 1996-1999 in Turkey and has been a Professor of Science Teaching at Artvin Coruh University, in Artvin, Turkey since 2007. Correspondences regarding this article should be addressed to AÇÜ Egitim Fakultesi, Merkez Yerleşkesi, Merkez\ ARTVİN 08000, Turkey; E-mail: mkarakas73@yahoo.com

Acknowledgements

This research was financially supported by the Scientific Research Program of Artvin Çoruh University (Project No ACUBAP 2016.S30.02.01).

Publication Date

12-31-2025

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

DOI

10.46743/2160-3715/2025.7047

Recommended APA Citation

Karakaş, M. (2025). Future teachers’ views on their science teachers: A case of Turkey. The Qualitative Report, 30(12), 4905-4921. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2025.7047

ORCID ID

0000-0002-4646-1465