Perceptions of Teachers Regarding Three Data Sources and Curricular Elements in Elementary Schools of TRNC

ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study is to investigate whether the Ministry of National Education, Youth and Sports take into consideration Frances Klein’s nine curricular elements and Ralph Tyler’s three data sources while designing a curriculum for elementary schools. This study also investigates to what extent these nine curricular elements and three data sources are implemented by elementary school teachers. From a total of 1,268 teachers in all five districts of North Cyprus (Nicosia, Famagusta, Kyrenia, Iskele and Morphou), thirty percent (i.e., 380 teachers) were randomly selected for this study, which used quantitative research methodology. A questionnaire was prepared in three sections. The first section of the instrument was for collecting demographic data (gender, age, years of experience, area of teaching, grade level, type of school), the second section concerned Ralph Tyler’s three data sources and the last section, Frances Klein’s nine curricular elements. The instrument consisted of one hundred questions and was distributed to the 380 teachers in 56 schools. Only 325 teachers completed and returned the instrument. A five-point Likert type scale was used to get responses from teachers. SPSS program was used to analyze the data. The results of this study indicate that teachers do not have any knowledge on how specialists design curriculum, nor are they aware of what elements are important for curriculum design. Keywords: Curriculum, Frances Klein’s nine curricular elements, Ralph Tyler’s three data sources. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………