EXAMINATION OF CLASSROOM TEACHERS’ 21ST CENTURY TEACHING SKILLS

Abstract

In recent years, the rapid developments in information and communication technologies have impacted education systems immensely. These developments not only made various updates in the education programs, but also brought up the skills that the teachers who train the learners of the new millennium should have. The aim of this research is to determine the level of use of the 21st century teacher skills required by the age of classroom teachers and to examine the level of use of these skills in terms of gender, graduation status and professional preference variables. A cross-sectional survey model, which is one of the quantitative research types, was used in the study. The research scale was applied to 269 primary school teachers selected by simple random sampling method. The collected data were analyzed in the SPSS 22.0 program. Since the research data did not show a normal distribution, Mann-Whitney U tests were used for two-category variables, and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used for three or more categories. As a result of the study, it was understood that the classroom teachers' use of 21st century teacher skills was at a good level. It was observed that the highest level of use among the sub-dimensions of 21st century teacher skills belonged to "approving skills". Besides, it was observed that there was a significant difference in 21st century teacher skills sub-dimensions according to gender, graduation status and professional preference. The significant differentiation in favor of those who willingly choose the teaching profession in all sub-dimensions according to the vocational preference variable shows that professional interest and ability are important factors in the success of applying the skills required by the profession.