Hale ALİBABA ERDEN* and Bekir ÖZER
PhD., Eastern Mediterranean University, Educational Sciences Department, North Cyprus.
Prof. Dr., Eastern Mediterranean University, Chair of the Department of Secondary School Subject Teaching.

Abstract

Problem Statement: The Teacher’s-Act defined for the state-school teachers of North Cyprus shows that teachers are not selected according to any specific standards. In North Cyprus, apart from the exam topics defined at the teacher’s exam regulations, there is not any kind of identified standard for teachers. Training qualified teachers based upon the definite standards for integrating both universal and local conditions in North Cyprus requires identifying the professional teaching standards for North Cyprus according to students’ culture and needs. Due to the importance of qualified teachers and quality in initial-teacher-training programs, teachers should be trained according to some definite standards.

Purpose of the Study: The purpose of the study is to validate the draft of professional teaching standards proposed for teacher development in North Cyprus using Rasch model analysis.

Method: Survey under quantitative paradigm has been applied. The samples of the study are state-school teachers and school administrators, full-time faculty members of various education faculties, executive board members of teachers’ trade unions, chief/inspectors, educational experts and vice/general principals of the various departments at the Ministry of National Education (MNE). Random stratified sampling has been applied. A specifically designed scale, the Professional Teaching Standards’ Scale, has been used for data collection purposes. This study has used the Rasch model to analyze data.

Findings and Results: There are seven items not fitting the Rasch model which are mainly related to having knowledge on the characteristics of the students with special needs and ways of dealing with them (teachers and all groups), adapting learning according to the learners with special needs (teachers, school administrators and all groups), keeping students equal (teachers and all groups), believing that every student can learn (teachers, school administrators, faculty members, educational experts, chief/inspectors and vice/general managers from the MNE and all groups), raising independent students through learning the learning strategies (faculty members, educational experts, chief/inspectors and vice/general managers from the MNE, and executive members of teachers’ trade unions), improving teaching and learning process through assessment results (school administrators) and recognizing location of the school and community around the school (teachers and all groups). As the items not fitting the model, the results reveal that these items should be revised and re-written.

Conclusion and Recommendations: Among 52 items as draft professional teaching standards, seven of them are considered misfit. For this purpose, these items are recommended for revision. Revised items and the validated professional teaching standards are recommended to be in use under the control of the Ministry of National Education in the teaching and learning process in North Cyprus.

Keywords: Professional Teaching Standards, Professional Teaching Standards’ Scale, Rasch Model and National Teacher Standards’ Framework