Evaluation of information technologies and software course's curriculum according to Eisner's educational criticism model

The main purpose of this study is to evaluate the Secondary School Information Technologies and Software Course Curriculum in accordance with the Educational Criticism Model of Eisner. It is aimed to reach the research data with qualitative and quantitative methods. Case study was used for the qualitative aspect of the research and general survey model was used for the quantitative aspect. In the evaluation of the program, Eisner's Educational Criticism model was used and the findings were presented on the basis of the dimensions of the description, interpretation, evaluation and thematization of the model. The study scope for the qualitative aspect of the research consists of IT teachers and school administrators working in the city center of Burdur and students in a secondary school in the city center. In the study, typical case sampling was used for qualitative aspect. The quantitative sample of the study consists of 434 (5th grade N=226, 6th grade N=208) students determined in accordance with the stratified sampling method. Qualitative data of the research were collected through interviews conducted with 12 information technology teachers and 13 school administrators, two focus group interviews with 16 students and through observations of researcher. Quantitative data were collected applying 30-item Information Technologies and Software Course Academic Achievement Test developed by the researcher. Descriptive and content analysis were used in the analysis of qualitative data. In the analysis of quantitative data, independent groups t-test and variance analysis were used. In order to compare the level of differentiation of academic achievement test scores in accordance with independent variables; t-test was used to compare the means of two independent groups, and one-way analysis of variance was used to compare the means of more than two groups. In cases where there is a difference, Least Significant Difference (LSD) test was applied to find the source of the difference. As a result of the research, it was concluded that there are some structural problems in the Information Technologies and Software Course curriculum, but the main problems arise during the implementation process and the program is not practicable in the current conditions. For the quantitative aspect of the research, it was revealed that students' academic achievement levels of the information technologies and software course were average and these results were found to be similar with the results revealed in the qualitative aspect of the research. The results obtained from the research were discussed in line with the theoretical framework and suggestions were made for the effective implementation of the program and the further researches.