Turkish Teacher Candidates' Attitudes towards Distance Turkish Teaching in Terms of Some Variables

The purpose of this research is to investigate the attitudes of Turkish teacher candidates towards distance Turkish teaching in terms of gender, owning a personal computer, previous experience of taking distance education lessons before the COVID-19 pandemic, and daily internet usage. The relational survey model was used. The study group consisted of 133 Turkish teacher candidates (77 women and 56 men) studying at Department of Turkish Education, Dede Korkut Education Faculty, Kafkas University 2021-2022 Spring Semester. Research data was collected through Google Docs. Independent samples t-test and One-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) were used to analyze the data. As a result of the research, it was found that the attitudes of Turkish teacher candidates towards distance Turkish teaching did not differ significantly in terms of gender, but it was found that there was a difference in favor of women in the technology dimension. While there was no significant difference between the attitudes of the teacher candidates who owned a PC and those who did not. It was also found that there was an important difference in the optimism dimension. It was found that there was no significant difference in terms of whether or not they took distance education lessons before the COVID-19 pandemic and daily internet usage.

Teacher Candidates' Communication and Collaboration with Family and Community During COVID-19

After schools were closed in AY 2019–2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, teachers were expected to continue two-way communication and collaboration with their students' families without much guidance. In this study, we focus on how five teacher candidates navigated and continued their efforts of communication and collaboration with students' families and the larger community during the pandemic. Through storytelling during interviews, the five teacher candidates provided valuable insight that focused on communication during the pandemic. Findings indicated that these teacher candidates struggled with establishing professional boundaries with students' families, wrestled with the unforeseeable challenges of "being” in the homes of their students' families, and experienced a disconnect from the community. Implications of this study suggest that lessons learned during COVID-19 could transform how teacher candidates and Educator Preparation Programs (EPPs) practice future two-way communication and collaboration with students' families. © 2022 Association of Teacher Educators.

The Effect of Teacher Candidates on Burnout Levels During the Pandemic Process

With the global pandemic, the education model has changed and education has moved to online environments around the world. It is the role of the teacher that does not change in this change in education. In this study, it is aimed to reveal the effect of future teacher candidates, who are students in the pandemic period, on the burnout levels. The research was carried out with the case study technique, which is one of the qualitative research methods. 32 teacher candidates participated in the research. Research data were collected through a semi-structured interview form and analyzed with content analysis technique. As a result of the research, it was concluded that the participants felt exhausted and tired due to the limitations experienced in the pandemic process, and this caused some difficulties in education. While prospective teachers had a positive view of the use of technology regarding the future of their profession, it was determined that the lack of practical courses in particular caused anxiety.

The Factor Structure of the Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale Adapted for Korean Preschool Teacher Candidates During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has remarkably challenged preschool teacher candidates, triggering concerns for their psychological well-being and mental health. Valid and reliable instruments to assess elements of mental health are thus required. The self-rating Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale demonstrates promise as an instrument for the identification and quantification of the states of anxiety and depression in non-psychiatric patients. The Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale is widely applied in both clinical and research contexts. However, no psychometric evaluations have been performed for this instrument with non-clinical samples such as preschool teacher candidates in South Korea. This study purposed to establish the factor structure of the Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale and to validate its Korean version and was conducted online with a sample of preschool teacher candidates during the peak of the coronavirus disease 2019 lockdown. Methods: Data were collected from 359 undergraduates currently enrolled in a 4-year early childhood education degree program at a private university in Korea. The sample was randomly split to perform exploratory factor analysis and then confirmatory factor analysis respectively to test competing models hypothesized to reflect the factor structure of the Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale. Results: Supplemental revisions based on confirmatory factor analysis modification indices demonstrated that a correlated 2-factor model with 1 cross-loaded item offered the best fit to the data with adequate internal reliability estimates. Conclusion: Overall, this study confirms the validity and factor structure of the Korean version of the Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale, which is deemed an acceptable instrument that can be used to measure the symptoms of depression and anxiety in Korean preschool teacher candidates. © 2022, AVES. All rights reserved.

ICT Competence of Pre-service Teachers in Vietnam: Structure and Impact Model

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has created ample distance learning opportunities during the Covid-19 pandemic. That also makes a requirement for transformation in education and teacher training. ICT competence is considered a part of pre-service teachers' professional competencies that apply technology in teaching and assessing students. This study aimed to determine the ICT competence level of student teachers by using ICT self-assessment surveys and find out the factors that affect student competence. The ICT competence structure was built based on four ICT skills frameworks containing 05 components: Using computers, using teaching and assessment applications, Using Internet resources, using peripheral devices, Communicating on an online platform. 289 pre-service teachers have participated in the survey. They self-assessed their ICT competence and answered the questionnaire about their training activities at university. The data was analyzed using the PLS-SEM method and found the positive impacts of infrastructure and learning activities on pre-service teachers' ICT competence. © 2022 Thai et al.

Preservice Teachers’ Knowledge and Attitudes toward Digital-Game-Based Language Learning

There is a good body of literature about digital-game-based language learning (DGBL), but research has mainly focused on students as game players rather than as future educators. This paper reports on a research conducted among 154 teacher candidates at a higher-education institution in Spain regarding the adoption of digital games in education. It analyzes the participants’ knowledge of and attitudes toward digital games in foreign language learning. Quantitative and qualitative data were gathered through a pre/post-test, digital game presentations, and student blog posts. The research comprised five stages associated with critical thinking skills (definition, selection, demonstration, discussion, and reflection), including a game learning module. In the first two stages, preservice teachers completed the module activities and selected different games aimed at teaching English to children in preschool and elementary education. In the last two, they illustrated, discussed, and evaluated the digital games in class following a rubric and reflected on their perception in blog posts. In this four-week research based on a mixed method and convenience sampling, quantitative and qualitative data were gathered through a pre- and post-test survey about student perceptions toward the use of video game in the classroom, class discussion, and blog posts. Statistical data analysis unveiled gender-based differences related to gameplay frequency and genre preferences. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used as a nonparametric statistical hypothesis test to compare the two sets of scores resulting from the same participants, and it showed a significant difference (p ≤ 0.05) after the treatment in two of the five dimensions in the survey about teacher candidates’ attitudes toward game usage in education, namely, usefulness (U) and preference for video games (PVG). Research findings revealed preservice teachers’ positive attitudes but lack of practical knowledge about the use of digital games in foreign-language learning.