A thematic review of theses written on TIMSS in Turkey

The purpose of this research is to examine how the academic dissertations written on TIMSS in Turkey are handled. As a result of the scanning carried out in the Turkish Council of Higher Education Thesis Center, 161 theses were included in the study. These theses were examined in seven categories: year, type (MSc/PhD), university, type of field addressed (mathematics/science), level of education studied, title of advisor, and the research method conducted. In the research, meta-synthesis (thematic review) method, one of the qualitative approaches, was used. The results of the research reveal that most of the dissertations were of master's degree, the most dissertations were written in 2019, and the quantitative method was used the most. It was observed that the advisors were mostly associate professors, worked mostly in the field of mathematics, and worked mostly at the secondary school level. It was also concluded that the highest number of dissertations were written at Hacettepe University. The results were discussed in the light of the literature, and some suggestions were given. Keywords: TIMSS, international assessments, thematic review, thematic analysis, meta-synthesis.