A review of postgraduate theses in the field of classroom teaching in Turkey (2000-2024)

This study examines postgraduate theses in the field of classroom education in Turkey between 2000 and 2024 in terms of year, method, data collection tool, data source, university, institute, department/field of study, thesis type, number of pages, and advisor title. The study employed the document review method, one of the qualitative research methods, and analysed authorised and full-text master's and doctoral theses in classroom teaching from the YÖK National Thesis Database. Out of a total of 3,450 theses, 2,989 were master's theses and 461 were doctoral theses. The study was limited to the years 2000–2024. Theses in the field of classroom teaching were reviewed to evaluate research trends. The highest number of theses was completed in 2024, while the lowest number was in 2003. The most commonly used data collection tool was scales, while the least commonly used was audio recordings; the study groups primarily consisted of primary and secondary school students. The top five universities conducting the most research were, in order, Gazi, Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart, Necmettin Erbakan, Marmara, and Çukurova. These data show that postgraduate studies in the field of classroom teaching contribute to educational sciences and practice. Additionally, no research has been found that examines theses from 2000 to 2024, making this study an important guide for the literature in this regard. Keywords: Classroom teaching, graduate thesis, document analysis