The evaluation of the undergraduate curriculum of primary school teacherin line with the opinions of primary school teacher candidates and members of the faculty

Teacher training has been one of the most frequently discussed topics throughout the history of education. Many opinions have been put forward on how to train teachers, who have the most important role in raising future generations and shaping society. In this study on the education of teachers, a profession that has an undeniable impact on societies, it is aimed to evaluate the undergraduate program of primary school education based on the opinions of primary schoolteacher candidates and faculty members and to provide suggestions on the undergraduate curricula to be developed. Descriptive method was used in the research. The opinions of primary school teacher candidates about the primary school teacher training process were obtained through the questionnaire method, which is one of the quantitative research methods. The opinions of the faculty members about the classroom teacher training process were reached by interview method, which is one of the qualitative research methods. The study group of the research consisted of 185 first, second, third and fourth grade classroom teacher candidates studying in the Department of Primary Education at Erzincan Binali Yıldırım, Kafkas, Kastamonu and Kırşehir Ahi Evran Universities and 10 faculty members working in the Department of Primary Education at the Faculty of Education of Anadolu, Kafkas, Kastamonu, Kırşehir Ahi Evran and Muğla Sıtkı Koçman Universities. In the study, "Interview Form about the Primary School Teacher Training Process of Primary School Teaching Faculty Members" and "Teacher Training Questionnaire" were used as data collection tools. As a result of the quantitative data obtained from the primary school teacher candidates, it was concluded that when the adequacy of the theoretical and practical courses according to the opinions of the primary school teacher candidates was examined, it was concluded that the adequacy of general culture courses was low compared to professional knowledge and field education courses, the number of courses in the Primary Education Undergraduate Program was sufficient for the professional development of primary school teacher candidates and contributed to the training of teachers who are competent in measurement and evaluation, but the material, laboratory and guidance and psychological counseling services of the faculties / departments were insufficient. According to the responses of the primary school teacher candidates to the open-ended question after the questionnaire, it was concluded that the School Experience/Teaching Practice courses should start from the first grades and spread over more semesters and the weight of the practice courses should be increased. As a result of the qualitative data obtained from the faculty members of the research, the most common responses to the opinions of the faculty members regarding the qualities that should be in the primary school teacher were loving children and effective communication skills. The most common responses to the opinions of faculty members regarding the innovations and changes that should be made in the primary school teacher candidate training system were determined as providing a practice-based education and adapting to changing technology. According to the faculty members, the weight of applied content should be increased in the professional knowledge and field education courses in the undergraduate program of Primary Education, while the periods of general culture courses in the program should be regulated. It was concluded that leaving the authority to determine the elective courses in the program to the universities and moving to a more flexible program understanding is an advantage, while the abolition of the School Experience course and the reduction of teaching practices and in-class practices are among the disadvantages of the program.