Analysing the effect of eTwinning projects on teachers' critical thinking disposition according to the teachers' views

The main purpose of this research is to examine the effects of eTwinning projects on teachers' critical thinking dispositions according to teachers' views. This study is a research designed in a sequential explanatory mixed design. The universe of the quantitative dimension of the research consists of teachers working in public or private schools in the province of Malatya in the 2021-2022 academic year. The sample of the research consists of 340 teachers, 158 of whom participate in eTwinning projects. The participants of the qualitative dimension of the research are 15 volunteer teachers who have participated in eTwinning projects. Quantitative data of the research were obtained with Marmara Critical Thinking Dispositions Scale; Qualitative data were obtained with a semi-structured interview form developed by the researcher. Computer aided program and content analysis were used in the analysis of the research data. As a result of the research, there is a significant difference between the critical thinking dispositions scores of teachers who participated in eTwinning projects and those who did not, in favor of those who participated. It has been observed that teachers who participate in eTwinning projects have a high disposition to think critically. While there is no significant difference in the critical thinking dispositions of teachers participating in eTwinning projects in terms of gender and educational status, there is a significant difference in favor of the award recipients in the sub-dimension of "searching the truth" according to the status of receiving the quality label. According to the branch variable, significant differences are observed in favor of the teachers who attended the language group classes in the dimensions of "reasoning", "reaching a judgment", "searching evidence", "systematicity" and the "total" of the scale. While there is no significant relationship according to age and seniority; a positive and significant correlation is found between the number of participation in eTwinning projects and the scores of the "searching the truth" sub-dimension. Regarding the contribution of eTwinning projects to critical thinking, the participants stated that eTwinning projects enable them to "think original and far from dogmatism", "be result-oriented, to make correct comprehension, analysis and evaluation", and "acquire scientific research skills". Based on the findings and results obtained, it is recommended to encourage and disseminate eTwinning projects on a provincial basis, to provide trainings on the use of Web-2 tools and their integration into lessons, and to explore the contributions of eTwinning projects to teachers such as creative thinking and problem solving.