An Investigation of Pre-Service and In-Service Teachers’ Perceptions of Teacher Quality in Turkey

Abstract

Present study investigates the senior-level Turkish pre-service and inserviceteachers’ perceptions of teacher quality with a descriptive survey method.Data for this study were gathered through Teacher Quality Survey (TQS) and openendedquestions from 210 pre-service teachers enrolled in four differentuniversities in Turkey and 147 in-service teachers from different majors. Results ofthe study showed that both pre-service and in-service teachers think that teachers’relationship with the students affect students’ success and teachers should take theindividual differences into consideration. Moreover, according to the pre-serviceteachers, teachers should know how to teach and assess what they teach, and theyneed to know time management. On the other hand, in-service teachers considerthat teachers should follow current developments, should have the researcheridentity and should understand students’ needs and interests. Present study alsosuggested both academic and practical implications.