Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
PEGEM EGITIM VE OGRETIM DERGISI, cilt.11, sa.1, ss.355-400, 2021 (ESCI)
The present study aimed to investigate senior teacher candidates' theoretical knowledge about curriculum development, their perceived competence for subject-specific curriculum knowledge, and the curriculum-related courses taken during their pre-service teacher education. As a survey, the study was carried out with 473 senior teacher candidates majoring in the elementary science, elementary mathematics, English language, and classroom teaching programs of the education faculties at two public universities in Ankara during the 2017-2018 academic year. The data were gathered through the Curriculum Development Knowledge Test and the Subject-specific Curriculum Questionnaire and analyzed by making use of the descriptive and inferential statistical methods. The findings revealed that the curriculum development and subject-specific curriculum related courses in the pre-service teacher education programs were limited. According to the results, senior teacher candidates did not feel very competent in subject-specific curriculum knowledge and they had very limited and superficial knowledge about curriculum development. In the light of these results, it is recommended that curriculum development should be acknowledged as one of the core competencies of pre-service teacher education programs and should be associated with all related courses both horizontally and vertically, embedded deliberately in the teaching-learning process.