For prospective teachers studying at education faculties in Turkey, there aren’t classes focused on gaining knowledge and experience in rural schools and multigrade classrooms — to which these students are most likely to be appointed to upon graduation. Thus, there is a need for integrating a pre-service program on rural education at education faculties.
The program aims that prospective teachers adapt more easily to working in rural schools in their first years of teaching and provide more quality education within.
In collaboration with education faculties, a 13-weeks-long course on rural education is implemented. It provides the theoretical foundation for teaching in rural schools as well as a chance to meet with rural school teachers and gain teaching experience. In doing so, prospective teachers become better equipped and more confident to teach in rural schools as they can recognize possible problems in rural schools, gain knowledge on various ways to solve these problems as well as skills to develop their own solutions.
Until the pandemic, the program was implemented face-to-face and prospective teachers conducted workshops with students in rural schools. Now with the switch to online learning, an online curriculum is implemented via weekly Zoom meetings, inclusion of guest educators and supplementary online videos.
The program piloted in 2018 in 3 universities and expanded to 4 and now 11 universities, reaching up to 701 prospective teachers.
Through this program, prospective teachers 1) had increased job readiness for teaching in rural schools, 2) extended their social capital, and 3) had enhanced social emotional skills (i.e. creative thinking, communication, coping, problem solving, critical thinking). At the latest monitoring and evaluation data, the ratio of participants with above-mentioned changes is as follows: 1) 81%, 2) connections with more than 40 peers and 15 educators, and 3) 76%.
Starting from next year, it will be modified into hybrid format (face-to-face and online) with the addition of an alumni program. Until 2025, 24 universities and 2.707 prospective teachers) will be reached.
KODA is open for collaboration for those who wish to adapt and implement this program in their own education faculties. Anyone can email KODA (bilgi@kodegisim.org) to seek additional information and support. For those education faculties in Turkey, they can apply to become one of KODA’s program partners for the next year during the summer application period.
