Exploring Teacher Candidates ’ Attitudes towards Pedagogical Teacher Training Based on Different Variables

The raising of the life standards of individuals living within a society is only possible through the provision of quality education. Quality education can be realized only through the training of teachers with the necessary skills and positive attitudes towards the training provided at faculties of education and through teacher training programs. The purpose of this study is to compare the attitudes of teacher candidates enrolled on teacher training programs towards this type of education with their views concerning this model of education within the context of numerous variables factors. The participants in this study, that was designed according to a descriptive model, consisted of an appropriate sample of 202 teacher candidates from the teacher training program program at a state university situated in Istanbul. The data of the research were collected using “an attitude scale with regard to teacher training” and “an identification scale of the level of support provided to become a teacher”. The data were analyzed using a Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test, a Spearman Brown Rank Correlation Coefficient (test) and Binary Logistic Regression (method). A positive development was seen to have taken place in the attitudes of teacher trainees from the point prior to embarking on Teacher Training to completion of the training. Teacher candidates were of the view that teacher training contributed only slightly to the acquisition of skills relating to the learning and teaching process, however contributed greatly to development of the skills of being able to recognize diversity (among students) and in those related to class management. In accordance with the logistic regression model, it was realized that the above may represent predictor variables outside the model adopted.


Introduction
Int he 21st Century, the creation of a contemporay and democratic society is dependent on the raising of the standard of living of the nation and its citizens.In countries on the journey to becoming modern and democratic nations such as Turkey, a quality education system that ensures the raising of living standards of its citizens is necessary.The realization of such a system is only possible through the training of high-quality teacher (Inceli, 2015).In this regard, a large variety of different teacher training models have been tried in Turkey; the principal aim of these attempts being to raise high-quality teachers, however the degree to which this goal has been reached may be debated.
With the foundation of the Turkish Republic, primary-level teachers were educated at primary schools themselves, Village Teaching Schools, Instructor Courses, Village Institutes and Educational Institutes, while those teaching at secondary level were trained until 1982 at secondary and higher educational institutions under the supervision of the Ministry of National Education (Aydin & Aslan, 2016).
With the passing of the Basic Law of Education (no.1739) teaching qualification programs were organized and established for students at universities enrolled in different fields of study wishing to embark on teaching careers at middle school level (Ulubey, Aydin & Toraman, nd).However, there existed a difference in the content of these programs and the number of lessons taught according to the universities at which the programs were delivered (Kavcar, 2002).For primary school ecucation and for certain middle-school disciplines, teacher training programs were delivered at bachelors degree level, while it was planned to deliver programs aimed at training teachers for secondary school at masters-degree level (YÖK, 2007).
After 1982, teaching certification programs were established that consisted of 35 hours of theoretical and an eight-week teaching work-placement period.In 1985, the number of theoretical lessons was reduced to 19 (Bikmaz, 2015).In the 1990s, accreditaiton programs were applied only to train teachers in subject disciplines.At the same time, a 33-credit "Primary School (Elementary) Class Teacher Certification Program" was introduced (Bilir, 2011).Through such a measure, areas of the education system previously closed to outsiders were opened up and the opportunity to receive teaching accreditation was offered to graduates from other faculties was offered (Bilir, 2011).
Having taken into consideration the then-existing problems regarding the application of teacher training in Turkey into consideration, a restructuring of training programs was carried out within the context of the National Educational Development Program conducted by the World Bank and the Turkish Council of Higher Education.Within the context of these restructuring efforts, teachers were to be trained in accordance with two different types of application.According to the first application, students on undergraduate programs at educational faculties, having completed 3.5 years of intensive (theroetical) lessons and over the next 1.5 years having received teaching practice and knowledge lessons would become teachers holding a masters degree.According to the second route, graduates from science and literature faculties, on completion of a one-and-a-half-year master degree program without submission of a thesis, would be able to become teachers (Azar, 2011;Bilir, 2011;YÖK, 1998).Due to problems that emerged with regard to the adjustments to the training system carried out in the 1998-1999 academic year, the need emerged for another reform of the training system at secondary level in 2006.In this regard, the teaching practice lessons in the programs were extended across five years and it was decided not to teach major area courses at science and literature faculties (YÖK, 2007).This led to a change in the number of theoretical and practical lessons on non-thesis masters-level programs.In 1997 a non-thesis masters degree required 46 credits (32 hours theory and 26 hours practice); this had fallen to 45 credits (37 hours theory and 18 hours practice) by 1997.By 2007, the 1.5 year non-thesis masters program had been reduced to one year and a total of 34 credits (26 hours theoretical and 16 hours practical) (Bıkmaz, 2015).The lessons incorporated into the masters level program were criticized for not being sufficiently different from those taught at undergraduate level.(Kavcar, 2002;Mutsan, 2002) and that a number of non-functional and impractical elements was included in the program (Senemoglu, 1989).This program was closed during the years that followed.
In 2010, with the abolition of the graduate program without a thesis, the application of the "Teacher Training Ceritification Program" was reintroduced.Through this regulation, there was an attempt to create the necessary conditions to allow both those presently undertaking their studies and those having graduated from all faculties and departments to receive teacher training Graduates were now able to participate in teacher training courses by paying additional student fees at universities assigned by the Higher Council of Education of Turrkey (Eraslan & Cakici, 2011;Polat, 2014;M. Yapici & S. Yapici, 2013).However, with the stay of execution issued by the 8th Department of the Council of State which prevented the application of the new measure, this program of accreditation was abolished at various faculties for students at undergraduate level (Azar, 2011;Bikmaz, 2015;Ozoglu, 2010;Saylan, 2013).For this reason, only accreditation programs catering for graduate students were continued.As part of this process, the length of application of the program was reduced to one term and 25 credits (20 hours theoretical and 10 hours practical).
The Teacher Training Program Program introduced in 2010, has been criticized by educational by education faculties, certain institutions and researchers.The aim of the decision made by the Higher Council of Education was in essence to train quality teachers (Baki, 2010;Azar, 2011;Bilir, 2011;Bikmaz, 2015) The decision of the Turkish Ministry of Education, Council of Education (and Morality) in allowing students currently enrolled on higher educational programs to receive teacher training has been criticized by institutions such as the Council of Deans of Educational Faculties and TEDMEM.
In Turkey, through the increase in the length of time of theoretical lessons and teaching applications within the teacher training process a certain level of professionalism has indeed been reached.However, with regard to the teacher training and certification programs, it can be observed that the periods allowed for lessons and teaching applications have been shortened, while the number of lessons has been greatly reduced.The certification program that was given over the period of half a year in the 2012-13 academic year, had been compressed into a 14-week period by 2013-2014 (Aydin & Aslan, 2016).Finally, for those students who has recently graduated from higher educational institutions, education accreditation programs were opened over the summer period to enable them to receive teaching certificates.Furthermore, there were plans to allow teaching programs to be offered via distance learning.It can be seen that these and similar developments have served to considerably reduce the value and (damage the) image of the teaching profession (Ulubey, Aydin, & Toraman, nd).The provision of teacher training proframs over short periods offered in exchange for the payment of additional tutiion fees and requiring minimal additional credits, are likely to influence the attitudes of teacher trainees with regard to teacher training and the level of teaching programs serving to prepare teachers.It is therefore necessary to define the degree of influence (on teacher training) with regard to both of the above topics (Kaya, 2015).This study is important with regard to establing the effect of teacher training and certification programs on the attitudes of teacher trainees towards teacher training education and whether such programs serve the needs of those wishing to become teachers.

The Purpose of the Study
This study aims to identify the attitudes of teacher trainees attitudes towards the education they receive on teacher training and certification programs and whether this education serves the needs of those wishing to become teachers and to conduct a comparision within the context of a number of variables factors.In keeping with this aim, there was an attempt to find answers to the questions outlined below: 1) Is there a significant difference between the scores obtained on the pretest and final test of teacher trainees who have completed teacher training and certification programs with regard to teacher training and certification?
2) Is there a significant relationship between the level of service and support offered on teacher training education to those trainees and the attitudes of teacher trainees with regard to teacher training and certification programs?
3) Can the attitudes of teacher trainees towards teacher training education be predicted by considering their opinions as to how well the education serves and supports them to become teachers, their desire to become teachers, their grade average on university graduation and their gender?

Research Design
Within the context of this study that was designed according to a descriptive model, there was an attempt to identify the thoughts and attitudes of teacher trainees receiving education towards teacher traning and certification programs as to how these proframs served their needs in equipping them to become teachers, and whether it was possible to predict or explain these thoughts and attitudes on an associative level and in the light of a number of influencing variables (Ulubey, Aydin, & Toraman, nd).

Participants
The participants of the study were identified using convenience sampling, a type of purposeful sampling method.
In this regard, the tool of measurement was applied on the total of teacher trainees on the teacher traning and certification program at a state university in Istanbul easily accessible by personal and public transport.The research study was carried out with a complete number of research subjects of 202 that served conveniently for the tool of assessment.The demographic characteristics of the study group are given below in Table 1.

Data Collection Tools
The Data of the research were collected using "an Attitude Scale Regarding Teacher Training Education" and a "Scale of Identification of the Level of Support of Teacher Training Education to those Wishing to Become Teachers".The technical specifications of these tools are given below:

Attitude Scale Regarding Teacher Training Education
The Attitude Scale Regarding Teacher Training Education (ASRTTE) developed by Aydin and Aslan (2016), is based on a five-degree Likert Scale and consists of 14 items and two factors or dimensions.While the highest possible score that can be attained from the first dimension, the "Value of Teacher Training Education from the Perspective of the Teaching Profession" (VTTEPTP) that comprises of 10 items is 50 points, the highest score that can be obtained from the second dimension, the "Lack of Necessity of Teacher Training Education" (LNTTE), comprising of four items, is 20 points.

The Scale of Identification of the Level of Support of Teacher Training Education for Those Wishing to Become Teachers
"The Scale of Identification of the Level of Support of Teacher Training Education for Those Wishing to Become Teachers" developed by Ulubey, Aydin and Toraman (n.d) is a five degree Likert scale consisting of 22 items.The result of the AFA identified that the scale consisted of three factors."The highest score that could be obtained from the first factor that consisted of 12 items, "The Level of Support of Teacher Training Education to Skills Involved in the Learning-Teaching Process" was 60 points, while the highset score that could be obtained from the second dimension, "The Level of Support of Teacher Training Education to the Skills Involved in the Class Management Process" that consisted of 5 items was 25 points.Finally, the highest score that could be received from the third dimension, "The Level of Service of Teacher Training Education to the Skills of Indentification of Difference" that comprised of five items, was 25 points.

Data Analysis
The data obtained from the research study were analyzed using IBM-SPSS 22 software.As the data was distributed in a normal fashion, non-parametric non-parametric and non-linear analaysis techniques were employed (Green & Salkind, 2008;Kalayci, 2005;Ozdamar, 2013;Warner, 2008).For purposes of the comparison of the pretest and final tests, a Wilcoxon signed ranks test was employed , and in order to establish the relationship between the subdimensions of the scale(s) the Spearman Brown rank correlation was used, while for the degree of prediction of attitudes towards teacher training education within the context of numerous factors and influential variables, a binary logistic regression method was applied as part of the overall analysis process

Result
Within the context of the subgoals of the research, the following findings were reached.
• Is there a significant difference between the pretest and post test results (scores) of teacher trainees who have completed the teacher training and certification program with regard to teacher training and certification education?
The descriptive statistics that emerged at the end of collection of the data for the "The Attitude Scale Regarding Teacher Training Education" applied on the research group are given in Table 5 and The Scale of Identification of the Level of Support of Teacher Training Education to Those Wishing to Become Teachers" that were used with the research group are given in Table 2. On examination of Table 2; • It can be seen that both the mean and median averages of the VTTEPTP attitude scale of dimension are low.
Embarking from this finding, it can be stated that the majority of the group attaineded scores that were lower than average in the pretest so tended to attach less than average value to teacher training education.

•
As regards the LNTTE on the attitude scale, the results obtained from the pretest show that the median is lower than the arithmetical average, while the mean is high.The fact that the majority of the group respondents received higher scores than average, indicates that in the pretest value was attached to teacher training education.

•
In the application of the posttest wih regard to the VTTEPTP dimension, it is observed that the median is lower than the arithmetical average, while the mean is higher.The majority of those in the research group received higher scores than average.In such a case, it can be stated that in the post test a higher value tended to be attached to teacher training education.
• With regard to the LNTTE dimension on the attitude scale, while on application of the post test, the median and mean were found to be higher than the arithmetical average, by the end, these values however had slightly decreased in comparison to those on the pretest..The fact that the majority of the group members obtained high scores, indicated that in the post test participants did not attach value to teacher training education.

•
As concerns the LSTTESID that identifies the degree to which training prepares the student for the teaching profession, it can be observed that the median was higher than the arithmetical average, while the mean was low.The fact that the majority of the group obtained scores that were lower than the average, demonstrates that the idea was not strongly shared that teacher training education helped students to acquire the necessary skills for the learning-teaching process.

•
As regards the LSTTESID diemsion of the scale that identifies the level to which teacher training serves to prepare the student for the teaching profession, the median and mean scores can be seen to be higher than the arithmetical average.The fact that the majority of the group received scores that were high, demonstrates that there was a high level of agreement with the idea that teacher training education helped students to acquire class management techniques and methods.

•
As concerns the LSTTESID dimsension on the scale that identifies the level to which students are prepared for the teaching profession, the median and mean are both higher than the arithmetical average.It can be mentioned tht the majority of the group obtained higher scores than average.In such circumstances, it may be clearly demonstrated that teacher training education equips recipients with the skills of identifying individual differences between their students.

X
In summary, it was identified that those teacher trainees included in the group saw teacher training as of little use prior to the pedagogical education they received.Whereas, on completing their education, their attitudes had changed in a positive direction.The findings of the study show that teacher trainees saw teacher training education as inadequate in helping them to gain the necessary skills with regard to the learning-teaching process wihle they regarded it as adequate in equipping them with classroom management skills and the skills needed to be able to recognize individual differences (among) students.
The Wilcoxon test results obtained from the attitude scale and its subdimensions both prior to and after training are given in Table 3.On examination of Table 3, it can be seen that all of the scores on the post test and both dimensions are higher than the pre test to a significant degree.(Z = -5.384,-4.984 ve -4.699, p<.05).These results show consistency with the descriptive statistics featured in table 5.The attitudes of teacher trainees towards the teacher training and certification education that they received, were seen to have developed in a positive direction.
• Is there a significant relationship between the level of support offered on teacher training education to those wishing to become teachers and the attitudes of teacher trainees with regard to teacher training and certification programs?
The results of the Spearman Brown correlation coefficient (test) that attempted to establish whether there existed a significant relationship between views with regard to the degree to which teacher training education provided service and support to those wishing to become teachers and the attitudes of teacher trainees towards teacher training education are given in Table 4. On examination of Table 4, it can be seen that there exists a significant relationship in a postiive direction between all the subdimensions on the scale of the relationship between the support provided to teachers (for preparation) for teaching profession and the attitude scale regarding teacher training.The relationships between post-LNTTE and post-VTTEPTP, LSTTESILMP and post VTTEPTP, LSTTESID and post VTTEPTP, LSTTESILTT and post LNTTE, LSTTESILMP and post LNTTE and LSTTESID and post-LNTTE are seen to be at an average level.For the other dimensions they are at a high level.
• Can the attitudes of teacher trainees towards teacher training education be predicted by considering their opinions as to how well the education serves them to become teachers, their desire to become teachers, their grade average on university graduation and their gender?
"Logistic Regression Analysis" was applied to the data obtained with the aim of identifying whether individual factors relating to the participants of the research study such as gender, grade average on graduation, the desire to become a teacher and candidates' views on the degree to which teacher training education served to prepared them for becoming a teacher could help in predicting attitudes towards teacher training education.Lojistik Ozdamar ( 2013) indicates that the response variable(s) must be clearly stated so as to allow the use of Logistical Regression Analysis.
The attitudes expressed were obtained from the two subfactors of the ASRTTE scale.
When participants received a high score on whichever subcategory, this was then encoded on that subcategory.
As the number of questions on the subdimensions of the scale were not identical, the decision as to on which subdimension each participant was to be encoded was decided by means of the "z score" method.In short, the scores of every participant obtained from the two subdimensions were converted into a z score.As a result, every participant was encoded either according to the "Value of Teacher Training Education from the Perspective of the Teaching Profession (VTTEPTP)" or "the Lack of Necessity of Teacher Training Education" (LNTTE).By employing this method, a uniformity was provided for the categorization of the response variable.
As regards the variables in the data file, the category of gender was evaluated according to two groups (female-male), the average grade on university graduation was considered across four groups (70 and below, 71-80, 81-90 and 91 to 100), the desire to become a teacher across five groups (inability to find work in the field from which the participant had graduated, teaching seen as an (more) attractive profession, teaching as an 'ideal' or 'dream' profession, the necessity to earn money and other reasons) and thoughts regarding the degree to which teacher training offered support and service to trainees to become teachers was accepted as a continuous variable.
In the logistic regression analysis, with regard to the gender variable, male; with regard to the university graduation grade variable, 70 and below, with regard to the reason for wishing to become a teacher variable, the inability to find work in the area from which the candidate had graduated were taken as the reference group with regard to the teaching profession from the perspective of the influence of teacher training on attitudes.At the end of this process, the "Binary Logisic Regression" analysis method was applied.The results of the analysis conducted using an "Enter" method are summarized in Tables 5-9.On examination of Table 5, before incorporating the predictor variables from blog "0", the groups that were created according to the the attitudes regarding teacher training education were at a rate of 55%.In other words, within the context of the research, the value of the teacher training education received by all teacher trainees included in the research group was categorized from the perspective of the teaching profession and the correct categorization was established at 55%.On examination of Table 6, before the predictive variables derived from blog "1" were included in the model, the groups formed according to attitudes regarding teacher training education were shown to be at a rate of 74.3%.
When examining the categorization obtained as a result of application of the logistical regression model, in the classafocation of 202 teachers according to the predictor variables; 99 were categorized correctly, 14 incorrectly and the correct rate of classification was 87.6%.As far as the lack of necessity of teacher training education was concerned, from 202 teachers, 51 were classified correctly, 38 incorrectly and the rate of correct classification was calculated at 57.3%.The rate of correct classification according to the desired model was 74.3%.On examination of Table 7, it can be understood that that from the blog "0" to the blog "1" model there is improvement to a satisfactory degree, and concerning the "Omnibus Test with Regrad to Correlations in the Model", the chi-square is sufficiently high.(X 2 =53.938, p<.05).The fact that the chi-square statistic of the model is significant, means that there is no difference between the initial model (blog "0") which is taken as a constant point of reference and the final model after incorporation of the predictor variables into the analysis.The rejection of the H 0 hypothesis and the support of a relationship between the intitial variables and predictor variables signifies a meaningful relationship.It was established that there is a 23% and 31% relationship between the variables dependent on the Cox and Snell R 2 and Nagelkerke R 2 values and the independent variables present.According to the Hosmer and Lemeshow test, the suitability of the model is not significant (p>.05).The fact that this value is not significant means that the model may be accepted and enjoys consistency.Concerning the variable "The Value of Teaching Education from the Perspective of the Teaching Profession (VTTEPTP); the referenbe group for gender was taken to be "male" for the factor of average university graduation grade "70 and under" öğretmen olmayı isteme nedeni değişkeninde, and for the variable of reasons wishing to be a teacher "inability to find work in the field from which the candidate had graduated".Interpreation of the table was carried out accroding to these reference groups.
In the regression model the "constant" (variable) is significant (p>.05).In this case, apart from the predictor variables that were incorporated into the model, it can be stated that other variables also explain attitudes towards teacher training education.In other research studies to be conducted in the future, a number of other variables related to attitudes towards between teacher training education influence may be included in the analysis.
The results concerning the category of female within the gender variable included in the model are not significant (p>.05).In such a case, the likelihood that men regard teacher training education as valuable from a professional perspective is higher.
With regard to the avarage grade on graduation variable included in the model, the results are not significant for the categories: 71-80, 81-90 ve 91-100 (p>.05).In this case, those receiving 70 and below as an average grade on graduation were however more likely to regard teacher training education as valuable from a professional perspective.
The results were not significant (p>.05) pertaining to the other categories of reasons for wishing to becoming a teacher contained in the model: "the apparent attraction of teaching as a profession", "teaching as seen as an 'ideal' profession" and "the necessity to earn money".In such a situation, the likelihood of those who cited their reasons for wishing to become a teacher as "the inabilitiy to find a job", the likelihood of such respondents seeing teacher training education as valuable from a professional perspective was higher.
As regards the degree to which teacher training education contributes to the (development of) skills necessary for the class management process (LSTTESSICMP), the results of those who received high scores were significant (p<.05).According to these findings, if an individual's LSTTESICMP score was high, the corresponding attitude regarding "The Lack of Necessity of Teacher Training Education" (LNTTE) decreased by a multiple of 1.434 (1/.697).
In conclusion, apart from the variables incorporated into the model, there also existed some other variables that predicted attitudes towards teacher training education.Therefore positive thinking regarding how teacher training education affects the acquisition of class management skills in a positive fashion, tends to reduce the attitude that this type of education is unnecessary.

Discussions
The results were reached in this research study that attempted to identify the attitudes of teacher trainees on teacher training and certification programs towards the education they received and whether this education supported (the needs of) those who wished to become teachers and by extension to compare these within the context of numerous variables.Those teacher traineses included in the research group prior to receiving teacher training education regarded this education as useless; however, on completion of the education, it was found that these attitudes had changed in a positive way (Aydin & Aslan, 2016).It was established that the teacher trainees regarded the teacher training and certification programs as inadequate in equipping them with the skills required for the learning-teaching process, while in terms of obtaining class management skills and in attaining skills needed to indentify differences (among students) in classes, such programs were seen as adequate (Ulubey, Aydin, & Toraman, nd).
In addition, all subdimensions of the attitude scale concerning teacher training education and the degree to which teacher training education prepares the candidate for the teaching profession were of a positive nature and highlighted a significant relationship (Karatas & Oral, 2015).These relationships were at a medium level between LNTTE and post-VTTEPTP, LSTTESICMP and post-VTTEPTP, LSTTESID and post-VTTEPTP, LSTTESILTT and post-VTTEPTP, LSTTESILTT and post-LNTTE, LSTTESICMP and post-LNTTE and LSTTESID and post-LNTTE.The other dimensions were at a high level.Before the predictor variables were included in the model: (gender, average university grade, the reasons for wishing to become a teacher, and opinions on the degree to which teacher training education prepares candidates to become teachers) , the attitudes of the groups formed with regard to teacher training could be predicted at a rate of 55%.When these predictor variables were included in the model, the rate of prediction was calculated at 74%.Therefore, the variables included in the regression model played a (significant) role in predicting the creation of the groups.
In the regression model, the probability of males regarding teacher training as valuable from the perspective of teacher training education was higher.With regard to the variable of average graduation grade, the results obtained from the categoried 71-80, 81-90 and 91-100 were not found to be significant , while there was a higher likelihood for those obtaining final graduation grades of 70 and below to consider teacher training education as valuable from a professional perspective.With regard to the reason for wishing to become a teacher, while results pertaining to the categories of the teaching being an attractive profession, teaching as a dream or ideal profession and the necessity to earn money were not significant for those expressing "the inability to find work in the field from which they had graduated", there was a higher likelihood that they regarded teacher training education as valuable from the perspective of the teaching profession.On the issue of the degree to which teacher training education serves to equip candidates with the skiils necessary for effective class management (LSTTESICMP), the results of those with positive thoughts on the issue and who received high scores were significant.In accordance with these findings, if an individual's scores were high for LSTTESICMP, it followed that the attitude on the issue of "The Lack of Necessity of Teacher Training Education" declined by a multiple of 1.434 (1/.697).

Conclusion
The result was established that the thought (on the part of the teaching candidates) that teacher training education contributed positively to the acquisition of class management skills, tended to decrease the attitude that this type of education was unnecessary.In light of the results of this research study, the following suggestions may be offered.In other studies to be conducted in future, other variables thought to be related to attitudes concerning teacher training education may be included in the analysis.Variables that predict attitudes towards teacher training education may be examined other than those included in the logistical regression model, the research may be carried out using other groups.

Table 1 .
The ındividual demographic characteristics of the research group

Table 2 .
The descrptive statistics that were derived at the end of the application of (ASRTTE) and

Table 3 .
A comparison of scores obtained before and after training from the sub dimensions of the ASRTTE scale

Table 4 .
The relationship between ASRTTE and SILSTTETWBC(Spearman Brown Correlation Coefficient)

Table 5 .
Blog "0" predictability-the state of categorization obtained on completion of logistical regression analysis

Table 7 .
The omnibus test with regard to correlations in the model and summary of the model

Table 8 .
Results of the Hosmer and Lemeshow test

Table 9 .
Relationships in the model