İngilizce öğretmen adaylarının sosyal adalet kavramına yönelik algı ve farkındalıklarının incelenmesi

This research aimed to examine English teacher candidates' perceptions and awareness of the concept of social justice. Mixed method design was used in the study. The quantitative data which is a survey that filled in by 218 teacher candidates that are still studying English Language Teaching in Bolu Abant İzzet Baysal University were analyzed using the descriptive analysis. Later the qualitative data were gathered by the guided reflections completed by 68 teacher candidates and were analyzed using the grounded theory. Even though the importance of having teachers who are aware of social justice is globally acknowledged by the authorities, there is not enough effort given to this topic in the universities or schools. Especially in Türkiye, the overall population is already multicultural thanks to the ethnic identities existing on this land such as Armenians, Caucasian, Kurds, Jews who live in peace for centuries but additionally, in the last decade, a large number of immigrants arrived from Iraq, Syria, Russian Federation, Ukraine, Afghanistan and Turkmenistan, to start a new life in Türkiye. Therefore, the results of this study suggest that both the universities and the Ministry of Education should be taking the responsibility to focus more on raising an awareness and training the teacher candidates about taking proactive precautions on sustaining social justice in their institutions. Otherwise, the future generations might be suffering from power wars between nations and identities instead of focusing on the benefits of having a multicultural environment.