Examination of the relationship between primary school teacher's science teaching self-efficacy beliefs and curriculum literacy

The main objective of this thesis is to examine the relationship between elementary school teachers' self-efficacy beliefs in science teaching and their curriculum literacy. In this research, a correlational survey model, one of the quantitative research designs, was adopted. The target population of the study consists of 449 elementary school teachers working in the Orhangazi and Gemlik districts of Bursa province. From this population, a sample of elementary school teachers was selected using the convenience sampling method. The sample comprises individuals with random demographic characteristics among elementary school teachers. Research data were collected using the Science Teaching Efficacy Beliefs Scale developed by Gözüm ve Güneş (2018) and the Curriculum Literacy Skills Scale developed by Bolat (2017). Since the distribution of the data obtained from the application of these measurement tools to the study population was not normal, the Mann-Whitney U Test was used for binary group comparisons. Additionally, the Spearman-Brown Rank-Order Correlation Coefficient was used to determine the relationship between science teaching self-efficacy beliefs and curriculum literacy. When the findings obtained from the research were evaluated, it was found that gender, experience, and class size variables did not create a significant difference in both curriculum literacy and science teaching self-efficacy. However, a positive and moderate relationship was found between curriculum literacy and science teaching self-efficacy. The following are considered important recommendations based on the research: observation and in-depth interview techniques can be used to evaluate teachers' curriculum literacy and self-efficacy beliefs more objectively. Furthermore, using larger and more diversified samples with different geographic regions, types of schools, and demographic characteristics can enhance the generalizability of the findings.