Evaluation of the 9th grade Geography Curriculum (2018) according to teachers' views

The aim of this research is to evaluate the 9th Grade Geography Curriculum, which started to be implemented in all secondary education institutions (high schools) in the 2018 academic year, according to the opinions of teachers. The research was prepared in accordance with the program evaluation (CIPP) model developed by Daniel Stufflebeam, as it facilitates the examination of different dimensions of the program and the detection of defects in the program. Since the aim of the research was to examine the 9th Grade Geography Curriculum in detail, the "case study" method, one of the qualitative research models, was preferred. The study group of the research consists of 16 geography teachers who work in secondary education institutions (high schools) in Denizli and teach 9th grade geography lessons in the 2020-2021 academic year. In order to collect the research data, a semi-structured interview form was prepared in accordance with the program evaluation (CIPP) model of Stufflebeam. During the preparation of the interview form, the opinions of 2 program development experts, 1 assessment and evaluation expert and 1 geography field expert were taken. During the interviews, the views of the participants were recorded by taking notes by the researcher. During the research process, the names of the participants were concealed by coding ,thus the privacy right of the user identities was taken into consideration. The data elicited from the participants by the interview method were analyzed with the "descriptive analysis" method. The data obtained as a result of the analysis were evaluated by comparing the researcher's comments and the results of previous studies. In the context dimension of the research: It was concluded that the participants did not find the duration and the number of the course hours of the curriculum were sufficient, but the geography subjects were interesting in the eyes of the students. In the input dimension of the research: It was concluded that although the participants gave importance to the use of materials in the lessons, the physical environments in the schools were insufficient, and the readiness levels of the students were low. In the process dimension of the research : It has been concluded that different teaching methods and techniques cannot be used sufficiently (even though the teachers want to apply) in geography lessons;however the curriculum is suitable for the student-centered education approach. In the product dimension of the research: It was concluded that the participants carried out assessment and evaluation activities mostly for the purpose of "grading" the students and they mostly included questions to assess the skills at the level of recall and knowledge in the exams. Additionally, in the light of the findings obtained in the research, some suggestions were presented to the curriculum developers, the people who have the authority to make decisions about the curriculum, and other researchers in line with the observations made by the researcher during the research process.