Computer education in Turkish basic education schools: gaps between policy and practice

The purpose of this study is to investigate the current status of computer education in Turkish basic education schools by exploring the perceptions of computer teachers in terms of the policy of new computer education curriculum, which was prepared in 2006, and its actual implementations in schools. In the study, a mixed method research approach including both quantitative and qualitative traditions is employed as the primary research method. The results reveal that with the introduction of new computer education curriculum, many problems have emerged in the actual implementations of computer education courses in basic education schools. The most important of these problems are results of the elective status of computer education course and the limited time allocated for this course