This study aimed to examine the opinions of Social Studies (SS) teacher candidates on the skills in the 2018 Social Studies Curriculum (SSC) and reveal their skill hierarchies with justifications. For this purpose, we used the basic qualitative research design widely used in education. The participant group of the research consists of SS teacher candidates. We used criterion sampling, a purposeful sampling method, to determine the participant group. The 57 SS teacher candidates participated in the study. The data were collected through online interviews and written answers through an interview form consisting of open-ended questions. The content analysis approach was used in the analysis of the data. The results revealed that the skills considered most significant by the majority of the teacher candidates were communication, empathy, innovative thinking, critical thinking, and problem-solving. In contrast, the least significant ones were financial literacy, media literacy, legal literacy, perception of space, and digital literacy. Finally, it was determined that the participants mostly wished they added to the curriculum were leadership, creative thinking, interpretation, adaptation, intercultural communication and participation, self-confidence, and time management. This result also shows a difference of opinion about creative thinking skills. 

Recently, technology use has gained considerable importance in both instructional activities conducted in the classroom environment and the distance education process. Accordingly, the need for teaching materials has arisen. It is thought that simulations can meet this need, especially for subjects that might cause physical material supply problems during teaching. Considering this situation, this paper introduces a material development study using the Algodoo simulation program for teaching the subject of colors of light. The material developed in this study is based on three objectives of the tenth-grade physics course-teaching program declared by the Turkish Ministry of National Education. The study details the developmental stages and experimental results of two simulations. Thus, it is expected that teachers and students can use the material introduced in this study easily with the help of the Algodoo program, which can be constructed for tablets and computers quickly and free of charge.   

The pandemic process has led to differences in the education process, in many different areas. Along with the obligations and measures brought about by the pandemic process, online education has been included in the process. This situation affected the adaptation, attendance, and career process of the students closely. This study aimed to determine whether teacher candidates’ academic-self, career adaptability, and optimism predicted their dispositional hope and mental well-being during the pandemic when they received distance education.  The sample consisted of 281 teacher candidates studying at education faculties of state universities in four different Turkey provinces. A convenience sampling method was used. Among the 281 participant students, 199 were female (70.6%), and 83 were male (29.4%). A predictive correlational design was used in the analysis. The data were collected with the Dispositional Hope Scale, Mental Well-being Scale, Matovu Academic-Self Concept Scale, Career Adaptability and Optimism Scale, and a personal information form. The study results indicated a significant relationship between the academic-self, career adaptability and optimism, dispositional hope, and mental well-being of final-year students. Besides, the teacher candidates’ academic-self, career adaptability, and optimism significantly predicted their dispositional hope and mental well-being. In this study, the academic and psychological effects of the process were examined simultaneously in the distance education process. It is thought that individual and group studies to increase the level of well-being and hope of senior students in their career planning will be effective.

How a witnessed period will be remembered and forgotten depends on the conceptualization of experiences in the memory, with the contribution of images/representations. While evaluating this period with recollections during and after it, it is considered important to read the images as plural and to make sense of the experiences with these readings in order to develop multiple perspectives within the functioning of the dominant thought of the period. Therefore, it is thought that the inclusion of culturally sensitive education in visual arts teaching will contribute to the development of students' ability to think that people's perspectives can be diverse, develop empathy, notice stereotypes, and respect differences while evaluating their situations. While visual arts practices are being facilitated for students in expressing experiences, they also have features that activate critical thinking in questioning and generating meaning. In this research, it is aimed to try to provide sixth-grade students with the multiple perspectives which is one of the principles of global education, through art. Action research was employed to conduct the research. In action research process, the framework plan, which is organized according to the six-week course curriculum, is applied and the course process was observed by a committee of experts through video recordings. Inductive analysis was performed in the research. The findings of the research are explained under the headings of recognizing different perspectives, questioning prejudice, and searching for ways of visual expression.

This study aimed to investigate the prediction level of science success in high school entrance exams (HSEE /LGS) using artificial neural networks (ANNs) by associating students’ success in science classes from the 4th-grade elementary level. The Pearson Moment Product Correlation analysis results were analyzed using the SPSS program to examine the connection between students' performance on the LGS science subtest and their academic achievement in science. In the MATLAB program, artificial neural network modeling performance was examined to understand the level of prediction. The data sets were obtained from the electronic school system of the Ministry of National Education for the 4th to 8th- grades of 1027 students graduating from 24 schools in 17 districts of Bursa in the 2017-2018 academic year and entered the 2018 LGS and LGS result documents without personal information. When the correlations between the LGS science sub-test and science test success were examined (p <.001), the highest and lowest correlations were found in the 8th-grade science exams (r = .70) and the 4th-grade ones (r=.57), respectively. The highest performance values were learning R=.80, verification R=.74, and test R=.75, RMSE=2.35 at the network architecture, generated in the second sub-problem and the trained network with 845 student data. A high-level relationship with r=.75 (p<.001) using the data of 182 students was obtained, while the correct numbers of simulated real LGS science sub-tests compared with the correct numbers predicted by the computer after the training process of the network. In addition, it was obtained that 124 students out of 182 were correctly estimated in the [+ 2, -2] error value range.

This study examines the relationship between teachers’ inquiry-based self-efficacy for STEM+S and 21st-Century skills teaching and whether these two scales change regarding various teacher variables. The study’s sample, which is designed with relational design, consists of 407 teachers working in Gaziantep. The study includes teachers working in kindergarten, primary, secondary, and high school public and private schools. “Personal information form,” “Inquiry-based teaching self-efficacy scale for STEM+S,” and “21st-Century skills teaching scale” was used. The data obtained from the scales were analyzed using the SPSS program. As a result of the research, it is seen that the relationship between teacher 21st-Century skills teaching and inquiry-based teaching self-efficacy for STEM+S is moderate. The scores of the teachers’ self-efficacy and sub-dimensions of inquiry-based teaching for STEM+S showed statistically significant differences according to their 21st-Century skills training. There is a significant difference in asking questions, research, discussion/reflection, and overall scale according to the status of receiving STEM education. A statistically significant difference is detected when the 21st-Century skills and sub-factor scores are analyzed according to 21st-Century skills and STEM education. Inquiry-based teaching for STEM+S has been found to have a statistically predictive effect on 21st-Century skills teaching. It can be said that approximately 46% of the variance explained for 21st-Century skills teaching consists of inquiry-based teaching for STEM+S. When this situation is examined, it is stated that self-efficacy based on inquiry for STEM+S has an essential effect on teachers’ self-efficacy in explaining the teaching of 21st-Century skills.

It is possible to state that the relationship between education and employment has an important function in preparing young people for work and the future. Raising young people with the knowledge and skills of the twenty-first century has a very important function for the efficient ventilation of economic elements. The difficulty of development costs as countries lacks efficient and productive workforce. Human training environments with the characteristics of the higher education system have an important function. World countries with scarce resources have to use their budgets for higher education efficiently, legally, and ethically. The issues arising from these, the relationship between education and employment, the effect of education on employment and production efficiency, the placement of employment and productivity rates of Turkish higher education enterprises in universities in education centers, how the university budget can be used effectively and efficiently, teacher training and productive employees were discussed. Recommendations for policymakers are also presented.