Abstract:

The purpose of this study is to examine teachers' views about culturally relevant education (CRE) in Turkey. The study was carried out as a sequential exploratory mixed method design. Since both quantitative and qualitative data were obtained, sampling was achieved in two phases: Quantitative, random-stratified sampling and qualitative, purposive sampling. The quantitative data were obtained from 1302 teachers who teach in Van, Diyarbakır, Konya, Antalya, İzmir, İstanbul, and Trabzon provinces. The qualitative study group consisted of 28 teachers who were selected after analyzing quantitative data accordance with maximum diversity and outliers sampling. Quantitative data were collected by means of scale that were developed by the researchers. Qualitative data were obtained from interviews with 28 teachers who have highest and lowest scores on the scale. Descriptive statistics were used in the analysis of quantitative data, while descriptive analysis and content analysis were used in the analysis of qualitative data. According to results, the teachers in Turkey have positive thoughts about CRE and have some concerns. Some of the teachers think that CRE is necessary, while the others think that CRE may adversely affect the education system and the structure of society. It may be useful to look at teachers training programs in terms of culturally relevant education principles in Turkey.

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