The use of tests as social practice: The intentions, effects and consequences of English language teacher recruitment examination in the Turkish context

This current study aims to shed light on the use of the KPSS as social practice especially for English language teacher recruitment in the Turkish context. Based on a multiphase mixed methods research design, the study scrutinizes the use of the KPSS- its intentions, effects and consequences- with specific reference to its power over student teachers of English and the origin of this power in the Turkish context. The significance of the study lies in combining three phases which are documentary study, scale development and implementation and a case study based on Interactive Qualitative Analysis (IQA). The data for this study were collected through various instruments and methods appropriate for each research question sequentially. In the first phase, the documents on the KPSS were analysed. In the second phase, the scale The Power of the KPSS over Student Teachers of ELT in the Turkish Context was specifically developed for this study and implemented. In the third phase which is an IQA case study, IQA focus group sessions and IQA interviews were conducted in order to identify the factors comprising the participants' shared perception of the origin of the power of the KPSS, its effects, consequences and the relationships among these elements in their shared perceptual systems. The findings indicate that driven by power involved in the discourse of the testing, the KPSS has led to a set of unintended effects and consequences. The officially declared intention of the KPSS is to select the ones who get assigned as civil servants and teachers. In fact, the KPSS might not fail in achieving its main purpose, but in practice it has served some undeclared and unintended functions. Overall, considering the fact that in the 21st century, the quality of testing practices is determined not only through their psychometric features but also their social uses, the debates conducted in this dissertation conclude with implication to enhance the quality of the KPSS as a social practice and develop assessment and testing literacy of individuals.