An investigation of the socio-cultural ecology of (TEOG) success based on student perceptions: A case study

The aim of this study is to understand how students who take TEOG ( Middle School Transition Examination) 1 Exam explain their academic success, within their immediate socio-cultural ecology, based on their perceptions. The study was conducted with 8th grade students (n = 30) who were attending a public secondary school in Gaziantep during the academic year 2015-2016. The research was designed as a qualitaive case study. The data were collected from a sample of participants reached via purposeful sampling. The data were analyzed by using content anlaysis technique. Findings of the study revealed that "lower, middle and upper level achievers" who mostly explain their achievement by themselves, tend to see classroom practice / one-on-one support as the underlying cause for their success and highligh the methods- such as solving test questions and making general revisions frequently. Top-level students, on the other hand, tended to explain their success by making regular revisions of the content of subjects. All the three-level students stated that their high school-university goals positively affected their academic achievement. It can be concluded that "academic success" is indeed a cumulative byproduct of the parameters embedded within the immediate "socio-cultural ecology" of the individual student. Thus, as mandated by contemporary management approaches, educational organizations must recognize the importance of incorporating external parameters, together with internal organizational dynamics into managerial processes.