Determining the satisfaction levels of teacher candidates: Bayburt University example

The purpose of the study is to determine the satisfaction levels of teacher candidates studying at Bayburt University Faculty of Education through various variables such as the type of program they are enrolled in, their gender, age, class levels, income levels, type of high school they graduated from, and their achievement levels. It is anticipated that the study will contribute to the improvement of various aspects of education for teacher candidates at the Faculty of Education and specifically in Social Studies Education, and will provide a more efficient and satisfying educational experience for both teacher candidates and faculty members. To address the main problem and sub-problems of the study, teacher candidates from Bayburt University Faculty of Education constitute the population of the research. The sample of the study consists of 837 teacher candidates studying at Bayburt Faculty of Education during the 2023–2024 academic year. The survey model was used in the study. The data were collected through a Satisfaction Scale consisting of 100 items. The collected data were analyzed using the SPSS program. For the difference analyses, the Independent Samples T-Test was used when there were two independent variables, and one-way variance analysis (ANOVA) was conducted when there were more than two independent variables. To identify between which groups significant differences existed in the ANOVA tests, the Tukey test was used if the variances were not homogeneously distributed, and the Tamhane test was used if they were homogeneously distributed. As a result of the research, it was found that the satisfaction level of the teacher candidates was 3.17 (moderate level of satisfaction). Additionally, it was observed that there were significant differences between the satisfaction levels with the university and variables such as the type of program, gender, age range, class level, monthly family income, type of high school graduated from, and academic success score. As a recommendation as a result of the study, it is thought that conducting such studies in other faculties will help to identify the situations where the satisfaction level of other students at the university is low, to take measures and to find solutions. Keywords: Education, social studies, teacher candidates, university administration, benefit, satisfaction.