Examination of curriculum literacy competencies of classroom teachers

The purpose of this research is to examine the curriculum literacy competencies of classroom teachers in terms of various variables. In the research, the mixed method, in which quantitative and qualitative methods are used together, was used. The stratified sampling method was followed while sampling was used in the study in which the convergent parallel design from the mixed method designs was used. The sample of the research is 410 classroom teachers in the central districts of Adana; The qualitative study group consists of three teachers who volunteered from these teachers. Curriculum Literacy Scale, personal information form, questionnaire, interview, classroom observations and document review were used to collect data. In addition to descriptive statistics, Mann Whitney U and Kruskal Wallis H tests were used in the analysis of quantitative data. Qualitative data were analyzed with descriptive analysis technique. At the end of the research, it was concluded that teachers' curriculum literacy levels were generally "high". There was no significant difference in the literacy levels of the teachers according to gender, age, graduated faculty, grade level, and the status of taking courses related to the curriculum before starting to work. It has been observed that there are significant differences in terms of participating in in-service training on the curriculum, acquiring/examining curricula, taking a role in the development of a curriculum, being aware of the suspension process, and expressing opinions/suggestions within the scope of the suspension process. All the features determined regarding this type of literacy (inquiring about/examining the curriculums of developed countries, including the root values/key competencies in the curriculum, using source books to enrich the content, etc.) significantly differentiated the scores obtained from the scale. The results obtained from the interviews showed that teachers perceive curriculum literacy as having knowledge about the curriculum, understanding/applying/adapting the curriculum. Teachers stated that curriculum literacy would increase the quality of teaching. In order to improve curriculum literacy; They emphasized that teachers should be given more responsibility in the preparation of curriculums by conducting pre-service/in-service trainings. According to the teachers' views, the objectives in Mathematics, Turkish, Life Studies, Social Studies, and Science courses follow a logical order, and the objectives of Visual Arts and Music courses are incompatible with the cultural and social structure of the students. The content in the textbooks is related to the objectives but insufficient. Teachers find the source books they use to be richer in content, more understandable and more visually appealing. Teachers stated that while determining the teaching method, they paid attention to the characteristics of the objective, its relevance to the subject, and the students' prior knowledge. Teachers, who stated that they mostly use materials to facilitate students' learning, explained the methods they used in measurement-evaluation; asking questions, following the work given as homework, making observations, multiple choice tests, and applying classical tests. Teachers' views on the context are mostly negative. In the classroom observations, it was seen that there was a mismatch between the objectives in the lesson plans and the observed objectives, and they also addressed the objectives that were not included in the plan in their lessons. It has been observed that some of the explanations for the objectives in the curriculum are not addressed at all. In the classroom observations, it was seen that all three teachers primarily followed the content in the textbook, and the source books were used to present different activities and enrich the subject. Teachers used lecture and question-answer techniques more frequently, and they rarely resorted to student-centered methods (drama, demonstration, role playing). It was observed that the teachers, who stated that they mostly paid attention to include the key competencies in the curriculum in their lessons, only addressed four of the eight key competencies in the curriculum. In the observations made, it was seen that the teachers only used source books as material, apart from the textbooks. During the interviews, the teachers who explained the measurement-evaluation as a process, not a result, acted accordingly during the observations, evaluated the students individually during the lesson and offered feedback/corrections to them. As a result, in this study, it was determined that the perceptions of classroom teachers towards curriculum literacy competencies were very positive, they were aware of the knowledge and skills required by curriculum literacy, but their classroom practices were incompatible with this type of competency. The results obtained should be evaluated within the framework of the limitations of this study. In this research, primary school teachers, who are responsible for the conduct of many courses, were studied. By conducting similar studies with teachers working in different branches and at different grade levels, the curriculum literacy competencies of teachers responsible for a single course can be evaluated. The teachers participating in the research are teachers working in public schools. By working with teachers working in private and public schools at the same time, the effect of the context on the realization of this type of competence can be observed. The qualitative dimension of this research consists of observation and interview. An action research on this subject can form the basis for preparing an in-service training program designed to develop this type of literacy. Keywords: Curriculum literacy, teacher competencies, classroom teacher.