Investigation of the relationship between 21st century student skills of pre-service science teachers and their self-efficacy levels for educational technologies

Living conditions are changing rapidly day by day. The main reason for this change is the rapid development and progress in science and technology. In order to keep up with the advances in science and technology, each country revises its education systems and makes evaluations with the feedback from the system. Education and learning needs of individuals are possible with the progress of technology in parallel with the development. In order for the individuals raised in our country to adapt to the information society, it is seen that it is necessary to give importance to the acquisition of some 21st century skills such as basic competencies in Science and Technology, problem-solving, critical thinking, use of technology, learning to learn, especially in education programs. In this research, it is aimed to reveal the level of relationship between science teacher candidates' 21st century learner skills and self-efficacy levels for educational technologies and technology use. The sample of the study consists of 3rd and 4th grade science teacher candidates (N=137) studying at Dokuz Eylül University Buca Education Faculty. The application of the scales to be used in the study was carried out in the spring term of 2020-2021. However, due to the lack of participation due to the pandemic, the application of the study was extended for another period in the fall term of 2021-2022 and it was tried to reach the participants again. In this direction, the mixed method, which includes quantitative and qualitative methods, was preferred in the research. Mixed methods research is known as the researcher combining qualitative and quantitative methods, approaches or concepts within the study. The design of the research was determined as the exploratory sequential design, which is one of the mixed research methods. Thus, more comprehensive results were obtained by supporting quantitative data with qualitative data. The "21st-Century Learner Skills Use Scale" consisting of 31 items with proven validity and reliability and the "Educational Technologies Standards Self-Efficacy Scale" consisting of 40 items were used as data collection tools. The Cronbach Alpha coefficient of the 21st-Century Learner Skills Use Scale was .89, and the Educational Technology Standards Self-Efficacy Scale was .95. This shows that it is a reliable scale. In the qualitative aspect of the mixed research, a semi-structured interview form was used in order to reveal the pre-service teachers' 21st century skills and their use of educational technologies, and to determine their views on educational technology during the pandemic process. In line with the data obtained from the study, it was found that there was a statistically significant difference between the cognitive skills and innovativeness skills of the teacher candidates in the 21st-century skills and the gender variable, but the gender variable did not statistically affect the autonomous skills, cooperation and flexible skills dimensions. It was found that there was no statistically significant difference between the grade level of the teacher candidates and the scores they got from the 21st-century learner skills scale. When the results obtained from the self-efficacy scale for educational technology standards were examined, it was seen that there was no statistically significant difference between pre-service teachers' gender, grade level and academic achievement average. In the qualitative part of the study, "21. 21st-Century Skills Teacher Competencies" and "Educational Technologies" themes emerged. Considering the relationship of teacher candidates to both 21st century skills and educational technologies, it can be said that they have positive thoughts about both themes.