Investigating the educational outcomes of including 5th grades in secondary school after the implementation of 4+4+4 staging system according to teacher opinions

The aim of this research is to investigate educational outcomes of including 5th grades in secondary school after the implementation of current 4+4+4 staging system according to teachers' opinions. The research was designed based on exploratory mixed method model in which both qualitative and quantitative research designs are used. The target population of the study comprises Turkish, Maths, Science, Social Studies and EFL teachers working at secondary schools located in Yeşilyurt and Battalgazi districts of Malatya Province. The qualitative data were collected using semi-structured interview forms, while the quantitative data were collected using a scale was developed by the researcher. To collect qualitative data, interviews were done with 44 teachers. To collect quantitative data, "Teachers' Opinion Scale on the Educational Outcomes of Including 5thGrade in Secondary School with 4+4+4 Staging System" developed by the researcher was administered to 637 teachers. To analyze the data obtained, SPSS 15.0 packaged software was used. The data were analyzed using significance tests such as t-test and variance analysis (ANOVA) according to normality of the data set, and descriptive statistics such as frequency (f) and percentage (%). At the end of the research, educational results were evaluated both qualitatively and quantitatively. On the qualitative dimension of the research, educational results of including 5th grades in secondary school after the implementation of 4+4+4 staging system were analyzed and interpreted separately in terms of teachers, students, curriculum and elective subjects, and teachers' suggestions related to this implementation take place in the research. According to quantitative results, it was revealed that teachers' opinions are mainly negative in terms of teachers, students, and elective subjects. When the themes are evaluated separately, it is seen that the most positive result is in "Pedagogical Content Knowledge" theme and the most negative results are in "Students' Childish Behaviours" and "Students' Educational Levels" themes in terms of teachers. Meanwhile, it is also seen that in terms of students the most positive result is in "Happiness of Student" and the most negative results are in "Not Getting Used to Branch Teachers" and "Emotional Emptiness" themes, and in terms of elective subjects the most positive result is in "Usefulness" theme and the most negative results are in "Weekly Course Hours" and "Interest and Talent" themes. With regard to the curriculum, results change according to branches but it is revealed that learning outcomes, content, teaching-learning process, assessment and evaluation dimensions of the curriculum are evaluated from positive and negative aspects. In terms of learning outcomes, while Science and Social Studies teachers think that learning outcomes go beyond the students' levels, Turkish and Maths teachers state opposite. With respect to content, Turkish teachers think that not including grammar subjects to 5th grade curriculum is unfavourable; English and Social Studies teachers think that content is too intense for the 5th grade students; and Maths and Science teachers think that content is simple and superficial. Concerning teaching-learning process, it is understood that English teachers mostly find game activities and lesson materials inadequate. Moreover, it is appeared that Science teachers have difficulties mostly in using methods and techniques appropriate for students' levels. In terms of assessment and evaluation dimension, it is seen that Turkish and Maths teachers mostly state that assessment and evaluation instruments used for 5th grades are sufficient, but Science and English teachers mostly state that assessment and evaluation instruments they use are not suitable for the 5th grades. Besides, when considered all aspects, it is found out that Maths teachers mainly reflect the most positive opinions, but English teachers mainly reflect the most negative opinions about the program. In addition, teachers' suggestions to the implementation are identified. On the quantitative dimension of the research, when analyzed the points taken by teachers from sub-dimensions of "Teachers' Opinion Scale on the Educational Outcomes of Including 5thGrade in Secondary School with 4+4+4 Staging System", it is understood that teachers find elective subjects negative when evaluated "Results Related to Elective Subjects" factor; and that teachers do not agree with "Negative Results from the point of Teachers" factor, which means they do not find the educational results of 4+4+4 implementation negative in terms of teachers. It is also understood that teachers are indecisive when evaluated "Results in Terms of Students" and "Results Related to Education Program" factors; and that they are agree with "Positive Results from the point of Teachers", which means they find the educational results of 4+4+4 implementation positive in terms of teachers. It is also seen that teachers' opinions don't change according to their seniority, whether they have been primary school teachers before and the faculty they graduated from, but change in some sub-dimensions of the scale according to their study fields and the school where they work. However, when considered small effect size, it is understood that teacher opinions are similar. Some suggestions were made in line with the results obtained in the research, which included the involvement of all stakeholders, particularly the teachers, in decision making processes regarding new practices, consideration of new model where 5th grade is kept in elementary school with an overwhelming foreign language curriculum and other subject teachers delivering their subjects in cooperation with classroom teachers, rearrangement of lesson hours in schools which use full-day schooling schedule, reducing the daily lesson load which has increased due to the elective courses, rearranging especially the EFL curriculum and weakly lesson hours, conducting future research on the impact of renewed curricula for 5th grade in resolving the problems faced at this class level.