Evaluation of life sciences course curriculum based on teachers views: İstanbul sample

This study was conducted to evaluate the basic elements (gains, activity, theme, assessment and evaluation) of the Life Science Curriculum in terms of some demographic variables according to the teachers' opinions. Answers to the following problem statement were sought with the research conducted according to mixed-methods sequential explanatory design: 1. What are the teachers' opinions about the Life Science Curriculum in the dimensions of the gains, activity, theme, and assessment and evaluation? Since the research was considered as quantitative and qualitative, it was evaluated in two different dimensions. The research was conducted with 532 classroom teachers who actively worked in the districts of Beşiktaş, Beykoz, Kartal, and Tuzla in the 2019-2020 academic year. The qualitative dimension of the research was determined by using a purposeful sampling method. The study group was determined by criterion sampling. In the qualitative part of the study, the criteria for the selection of classroom teachers was that they should be actively working for at least four years. The scales utilized for the research were determined in line with the quantitative and qualitative patterns. The scale used in the quantitative dimension of the research was the Questionnaire of Evaluation of the Life Science Curriculum according to Teachers' Opinions, which was developed in 2016. In the qualitative dimension of the study, the semi-structured interview form prepared in parallel with the questionnaire by taking expert opinions by the researcher was applied to classroom teachers. The quantitative data obtained in the study were analyzed with the SPSS 25.0 package program. Mann Whitney U test was used for gender and school type variables, and Kruskal Wallis H test was used for variables of age, graduation status, total service duration, location of the school, grade and size of the class. Qualitative data were obtained using the descriptive analysis technique. When it was evaluated whether the opinions of classroom teachers on the Life Science Curriculum (LSC) differed according to the gender variable, it was observed that there was no difference in gains, theme, and assessment and evaluation dimensions, while it differed in the activity dimension. When it was examined whether the opinions of classroom teachers about LSC differed according to the age variable, it was observed that there was no difference in the gains and theme dimensions, while there was a difference in the activity and assessment and evaluation dimensions. When it was examined whether the opinions of classroom teachers about LSC differed according to the variable of graduation status, it was observed that there was no difference in the gains, activity, theme, and assessment and evaluation dimensions. When it was examined whether the opinions of classroom teachers about LSC differed according to the variable of total service duration, it was observed that there was no difference in the gains, activity, theme, and assessment and evaluation dimensions. When it was analyzed whether the opinions of classroom teachers about LSC differed according to the variable of school type, it was observed that they differed in the dimensions of the gains, activity, theme, and assessment and evaluation. When it was examined whether the opinions of classroom teachers about LSC differed according to the variable of the location of school, it was observed that there was no difference in the gains, activity, theme, and assessment and evaluation dimensions. When it was analyzed whether the opinions of classroom teachers about LSC differed according to the variable of the grade level, while they did not differ in the dimensions of the gains, activity, and theme, they differed in the dimension of assessment and evaluation. As the grade level increased, the opinions about the assessment and evaluation dimension became more positive. When it was examined whether the opinions of classroom teachers about LSC differed according to the class size variable, it was observed that there was no differentiation in the dimension of the theme, they differed in the dimensions of gains, activity, and assessment and evaluation. In addition, while the sub-dimension in which the classroom teachers expressed the most positive opinion about the Life Science Curriculum was the themes, the one in which they expressed the most negative opinion was the assessment and evaluation. The obtained quantitative findings were analyzed in-depth and direct opinions of classroom teachers were included. The research was discussed within the framework of the relevant literature and similar study findings, and certain recommendations were made. Keywords: Life Science, Curriculum, Program Development, Classroom Teaching, Gains, Assessment and Evaluation