مرکز منطقه ای اطلاع رساني علوم و فناوري - “Principal Authorized Teacher” Practice from the Perspectives of In- and Pre-service Primary Teachers

Abstract :

The aim of the study was to analyze the opinions of in- and pre-service primary teachers about the “principal authorized teacher” practice in the light of current dynamics of Turkish education system with regard to teacher and school-manager training. The study adopts a qualitative descriptive research approach. The data were collected via semi-structured interviews. The first study group consists of 10 primary teachers who were also principal authorized teachers; and the second group consists of 52 fourth grade pre-service primary teachers. The data were analyzed using the content analysis technique. All of the principal authorized teachers and most of the teacher candidates commented negatively about managerial prerogative of teachers. They also stated that teaching and management were different from each other and certainly this kind of duty must not be imposed to inexperienced teachers who do not have any managerial formation. Participants remarked that this duty would take much time by increasing workload and create a sense of burnout. They also reported that the ones who would fulfill this duty must have leadership skills, management knowledge and communication skills, and must be voluntary, responsible and fair. Yet the participants were unable to offer an alternative approach to the practice of “principal authorized teacher”. All the participants found the courses taken in undergraduate level and instructors of these courses insufficient, and offered doing internship in multigrade classes, changing the content of courses and assigning supervisors for inexperienced teachers.