Perceptions of Turkish Pre-Service EFL Teachers on Their Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate perceptions of Turkish preservice EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teachers related to their level of Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK), the factors affecting their perceptions of TPACK, and their beliefs related to technology integration into EFL classrooms. The study employs both quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis procedures. A total of 94 Turkish pre-service EFL teachers answered two questionnaires designed to gather information about their combining technology, pedagogy, and content knowledge in the ways of both learning and teaching processes. Six of the participants were also interviewed about their perceptions on TPACK competences and their beliefs related to technology use in language teaching. Quantitative data were analyzed by calculating descriptive statistics (frequency, percentage, mean score, standard deviation), and qualitative data were analyzed by using content analysis. The findings related to quantitative data revealed high levels of perceptions on TPACK competences, and the findings related to qualitative data supported the high level of perceived TPACK competences and further revealed that participants emphasized the place of personal interest, experience, knowledge and access while singling out educational support by their own instructors on the development of TPACK. In the light of the findings of the study, it has been suggested that courses offered to pre-service teachers should include how to combine technology, content and pedagogy together for effective instruction in their subject field; and teacher education programs should provide pre-service teachers with the opportunities of becoming the designers of technologically mediated materials.