Aysegül KARABAY, Bilge KUSDEMIR KAYIRAN, Dilek ISIK
Dr., Cukurova University, Faculty of Education, Department of Elementary Education.
Dr., Gaziantep University, Faculty of Education, Department of Elementary Education.
Teacher, Bahcesehir Collage, Adana-Turkey.
DOI: 10.14689/ejer.2015.59.12

Abstract

Problem Statement: Teachers have important roles in teaching critical reading skills that already exist in the curriculum. Teachers themselves should have critical reading skills and be able to identify them so as to be able to teach these skills to their students. Therefore, it becomes necessary to determine the extent to which pre-service teachers have acquired knowledge and skills regarding critical reading and the training of teachers. Determining pre-service teachers’ critical reading skill is significant since it may provide ideas for the teacher training institutions as to how to train more qualified teachers. While some studies about the critical thinking and reading skills of teachers exist in the literature, no study investigating the critical reading self-efficacy perceptions of preservice teachers was found. Therefore, this study is important in revealing the critical reading self-efficacy perceptions of pre-service teachers.

Purpose of the Study: The main objective of this study is to determine teachers’ perceptions about their self-efficacy on critical reading. In this respect, the present study seeks answers to such questions as “What is the level of pre-service teachers’ sense of self-efficacy on critical reading?” and “Do teachers’ senses of self-efficacy on critical reading differ according to their graduation programs, grade levels, genders and academic achievements?”

Method: This study designed according to the cross-sectional survey model was conducted with 594 pre-service teachers from different departments and grade levels of the faculty of education at a state university in southeast region of Turkey during the 2012-2013 academic year. The quantitative data was analysed using independent samples and a t-test and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA).

Findings and Results: In this study, it was found out that the pre-service teachers have a sense of self-efficacy on critical reading above the intermediate level and their self-efficacy beliefs differ according to their genders and graduate programs. However, the same is not true across different grade levels.

Conclusions and Recommendations: The critical reading self-efficacy perceptions of pre-service teachers differed across gender, departments and academic achievements, while they did not differ across grade levels. Based on these findings, it can be concluded that necessary regulations in the curriculum of all departments of the faculty of education should be done as teaching the critical thinking and reading skills to teachers are prerequisite for teaching them to students.

Key words: Critical reading, pre-service teachers, self-efficacy perception, teacher training.