Abstract:

The study aims to present students' views on the weekday practices of Support and Training Courses (STC) started to be implemented in 2014-2015 academic year in Turkey and directly affecting the upper structure of education with approximately 10 million students, 500 thousand teachers and 10 thousand principals since the 2018-2019 academic year. The research was designed as a descriptive (phenomenology) design among the qualitative research methods. The participants included students who participated in weekday STC in a public secondary school in Düzce Province during the second semester of the 2018-2019 academic year. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews and the content analysis technique was used to analyze the data. Results show that the students preferred the STC courses to increase their success on exams and courses, to comprehend course subjects which were not totally understood, get more information, review the courses and subjects. It was evident that the STC courses increased the academic success and motivation of the students and contributed to their socialization along with helping them gain planned and programmed study skills. When the suggestions given by the students to improve the quality of the courses are evaluated; rearrangement of STC hours during the week, keeping the break time longer at the beginning of the course for students' nutrient and energy needs, including sports and arts activities besides basic courses such as Turkish, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies are founded necessary. It is thought that the results will guide all stakeholders related to the courses, the Ministry of National Education.

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