Examining secondary school teachers' self-efficacy in organizing trips to out-of-school environments in terms of different variables: Sample of Tokat province

The aim of the study is to examine secondary school teachers' self-efficacy in organizing trips to out-of-school environments in terms of different variables. In this research the descriptive survey method was used. The research was carried out with a total of 208 Science, Social Studies, Maths and Turkish teachers, 117 of whom were males and 91 of whom were females, working in secondary schools in the city center of Tokat. The stratified sampling method was used in the formation of the sample. A assessment tool consisting of three parts was used in the study. In the first part of the, assessment tool demographic characteristics of secondary school teachers such as gender, faculty of graduation, branch, postgraduate education status, profession service period are determined and in the second part of the assessment tool, there are a total of 4 questions, 2 of which are closed-ended and 2 of which are open-ended questions about teachers' views on out-of-school environments. In the third part of the assessment tool, "Self-Efficacy Belief Scale for Planning and Organizing Educational Trips to Out of School Settings" (EAGÖÖ) developed by Bozdoğan (2015) was used too. Within the framework of the general purpose of the study, among the descriptive statistical methods (f) frequency, (%) percentage and (x̄) arithmetic mean were used for the necessary statistical solutions of the data obtained from the scale score for the sub-problems of which answers are sought. In the research, since data from the scale showed normal distribution, the parametric analysis methods ANOVA and t-test were used. Open-ended questions were subjected to content analysis. As a result of the research, it was concluded that the teachers considered themselves sufficient about organizing trips. It was observed that teachers' self-efficacy belief scores for organizing trips were differentiated by variables educational status. However, it was observed that they were not differentiated by variables such as gender, the department they graduated from, frequency of organizing trips and the profession service period. It was determined that teachers in different branches most frequently used the school garden as out-of-school learning environments. It was defined that teachers experienced problems such as getting permission from students, parents and institutions, ensuring control and safety of students, and receiving trip feedback from students during the trip organization activities. Based on these results, when considering that teachers most frequently preferred school gardens among out-of-school environments, it is recommended to make school gardens greener, encourage environmental regulations and landscaping projects to give students a real garden perception.