The views of teacher candidates about the efficiency of training qualified geography teacher in education faculties geography teaching departmens

m THE VIEWS OF TEACHER CANDIDATES ABOUT THE EFFICIENCY OF TRAINING QUALIFIED GEOGRAPHY TEACHER IN EDUCATION FACULTIES GEOGRAPHY TEACHING DEPARTMENTS (Master's Thesis) İrem ÖZTÜRK GAZİ UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE OF EDUCATIONAL SCIENCES SEPTEMBER 2004 ABSTRACT This study is about the students education in Geography Teacher Training Departments of Educational Faculties opinion about how ready the students undergoing education in departments of Geography Teacher Training Programs of Educational Faculties feel themselves to become qualified geography teachers. First stage of the study, for troits of becoming qualified geography teacher must have what kinds of properties acconding to their subjects the programs of educational faculties must be formed their curriculum. Questionnaire prepared in parallel with such traits have been applied to the fourth class students at the second stage, which found out that the students considered the curriculum of Geography Teacher Training Departments of Educational Faculties to be sufficient but they wished some addition to their curriculum in their troining period, to find better solution for the problems they might encounter in their professional lives. These additions can be lited as the period of internship should be exterded and impromed te curriculum, some subjects in the high school curriculum should be included in the geography teacher training curriculum, more emphasis should be placed with field studies, credits given for courses aimed at material utilization and development should be increased and should focus on practice, contents of courses relating toIV computer literacy and foreign language should be broadened with an increase in their credits; and suggestions were made in parallel as a result of the study that preparatory classes were needed for geography teacher training departments, the training period needs to be 3 semesters, university curriculum needs to match high school curriculum, that counseling courses were required for 2 semesters, field studies should be given more emphasis, one-semester courses need to be included in the curriculum for the accurate use of geographical terms and concepts etc. for better training of geography teachers.