246 Asian Journal of Education and Training Vol. 4, No. 3, 246-249, 2018 ISSN(E) 2519-5387 DOI: 10.20448/journal.522.2018.43.246.249 The Analysis of Teacher Candidates’ Self-Sufficiency about Their Teaching Abilities at Different Departments Levent VAR1 1University of Kirsehir Ahi Evran, School of Physical Education and Sports, Kirsehir, Turkey Abstract Self-sufficiency is an individual’s perception of his/her ability and skills to overcome various possible situations. This study aims to analyze self-sufficiency about their teaching abilities of teacher candidates studying at different departments at University of Kırşehir Ahi Evran. The research groups consists of 244 teacher candidates who study classroom teaching, mathematics teaching and Turkish language teaching at Faculty of Education and physical education and sports teaching, coaching education and sports management at School of Physical Education and Sports and attend a teaching formation program. Mean age of the students participating in the study is x =22.52. SPSS 22.0 package program for Windows was used for descriptive and One-way ANOVA analysis, and the level of significance was taken as 0.05. When self-sufficiency points of different departments are analyzed, it can be observed that students of physical education had the highest point as 93.09±24.07, while students of classroom teaching had the lowest point as 58.64±14.03. Keywords: Teacher candidate, Teaching, Self-sufficiency. Citation | Levent VAR (2018). The Analysis of Teacher Candidates’ Self-Sufficiency about Their Teaching Abilities at Different Departments. Asian Journal of Education and Training, 4(3): 246-249. History: Received: 22 June 2018 Revised: 4 July 2018 Accepted: 6 July 2018 Published: 12 July 2018 Licensed: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License Publisher: Asian Online Journal Publishing Group Funding: This study received no specific financial support. Competing Interests: The author declares that there are no conflicts of interests regarding the publication of this paper. Transparency: The author confirms that the manuscript is an honest, accurate, and transparent account of the study was reported; that no vital features of the study have been omitted; and that any discrepancies from the study as planned have been explained. Ethical: This study follows all ethical practices during writing. Contents 1. Introduction .................................................................................................................................................................................... 247 2. Material and Method..................................................................................................................................................................... 247 3. Findings ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 247 4. Discussion ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 248 References ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 249 http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.20448/journal.522.2018.43.246.249&domain=pdf&date_stamp=2017-01-14 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8089-0610 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8089-0610 Asian Journal of Education and Training, 2018, 4(3): 246-249 247 1. Introduction The notion of self-sufficiency belief is related to an individual’s thoughts and perceptions of him/herself (Bandura, 1982). In other words, it can be expressed as an individual’s belief in their ability to control themselves against difficult tasks and their own practices (Luszczynska et al., 2005). An individual’s confidence in his/her future and belief in his/her own self-sufficient is an important factor in terms of attaining professional success. In addition, such belief and confidence will play an important role in an individual’s own capacity to face and solve problems in various areas of their professional education and business lives (Yilmaz et al., 2010). Lewitt (2001) argues that a teacher’s beliefs and perceptions about teaching, learning and students will enable him/her to maintain a certain attitude and affect his/her behaviors. Thus, self-sufficiency belief comes to the forefront as one of the most important aspects in teacher training (Pajares, 1996). Individuals with a higher level of self-sufficiency belief are assumed to offer solutions to their problems more easily (Blumenfeld et al., 1991). Teacher self-sufficiency belief is defined as a teacher’s perception of his/her capacity and skills in terms of reaching intended results for student commitment and learning (Tschannen-Moran and Woolfolk- Hoy, 2001). It is acknowledged that a teacher’s self-sufficiency belief in teaching heavily influences his/her teaching performance (Brownell and Pajares, 1999). A teacher’s competence is directly related to his/her teaching practices and a high self-sufficiency belief (Rimn-Kaufman et al., 2004). A teacher candidate’s perception of his/her confidence in his/her teaching competence increases the expectations about their future competence. On the other hand, a perception of low performance increases their confidence in their competence, and thus results in an expectation of unsuccessful performance in the future (Atici, 2001). In addition, teacher self-sufficiency directly influences education quality (Chan, 2008). 2. Material and Method 2.1. Research Group The research groups consists of 244 teacher candidates who study classroom teaching, mathematics teaching and Turkish language teaching at Faculty of Education and physical education and sports teaching, coaching education and sports management at School of Physical Education and Sports and attend a teaching formation program at University of Kırşehir Ahi Evran. Mean age of the students participating in the study is x =22.52. 2.2. Data Collection Tools The data of this study were collected from students study in spring semester in 2017-2018. A data collection tool consisting of Personal Information Form (PIF) and Teacher Competence Expectation Inventory (TCEI) were voluntarily filled by students during class breaks. Prior to these sessions, the researchers informed the students about the scales in these forms. 2.2.1. Personal Information Form (PIF) A Personal Information Form was prepared in order to obtain personal information from teacher candidates studying at different departments at University of Kırşehir Ahi Evran. This form aimed at collecting data about various properties that were considered important about students’ self-sufficiency levels in teaching. 2.2.2. Teacher Competence Expectation Inventory (TCEI) In this study, “Teacher Competence Expectation Inventory (TCEI)” consisting of 38 articles and developed for YOK/World Bank National Education Development Project in 1998 was used in order to determine self- sufficiency levels of teacher candidates studying at classroom teaching, mathematics teaching and Turkish language teaching at Faculty of Education and physical education and sports teaching, coaching education and sports management at school of physical education and sports about their teaching abilities (Tekkursun, 2015). 2.3. Statistical Analyses SPSS 22.0 package program for Windows was used for descriptive and One-way ANOVA analysis, and the level of significance was taken as 0.05. 3. Findings Table-1. Descriptive statistics of the study Variables N % Mean age x±sd Classroom Teaching 50 20.5 22.70±1.12 Mathematics Teaching 51 20.9 21.60±0.96 Turkish Language Teaching 50 20.5 22.71±1.96 Physical Education Teaching 31 12.7 22.96±2.00 Coaching Education 30 12.3 22.86±1.40 Sports Management 32 13.1 22.68±1.85 Total 244 100 22.52±1.61 The percentage of each department participating in the study is 20.5% for classroom teaching (n=50), 20.9% for mathematics teaching (n= 51), 20.5% for Turkish language teaching (n=50), 12.7% for physical education teaching (n=31), 12.3% for coaching education (n=30) and 13.1% for sports management (n=32). Mean age of the students participating in the study is x =22.52±1.61. Asian Journal of Education and Training, 2018, 4(3): 246-249 248 Table-2. Self-sufficiency points of all departments Faculty/School Departments n x±sd Faculty of Education Mathematics 51 76.45±15.63 Turkish Language 50 73.30±18.01 Classroom Teaching 50 58.64±14.03 School of Physical Education and Sports Total Physical Education Teaching 31 93.09±24.07 Coaching Education 30 83.76±18.23 Sports Management 32 65.25±24.16 244 73.70±21.43 When the self-sufficiency points of all departments participating in the study are analyzed, it can be noted that students at physical education teaching had the highest level with 93.09±24.07, while students at classroom teaching had the lowest level with 58.64±14.03. Table-3. Comparison of self-sufficiency points of students studying at school of physical education and sports and faculty of education Department Department Mean Difference p Physical Education Teaching Classroom 34.45677* .000*** Mathematics 16.64579* .002** Turkish Language 19.79677* .000*** Coaching Education Classroom 25.12667* .000*** Mathematics 7.31569 .531 Turkish 10.46667 .151 Sports Management Classroom 6.61000 .623 Mathematics -11.20098 .087 Turkish -8.05000 .402 **p<0.01 ***p<0.001 When self-sufficiency points of students studying at school of physical education and sports and faculty of education are compared, a significance level of .000 (p<0.001) was found between students at physical education teaching and classroom teaching and Turkish language teaching, and between students at coaching education and classroom teaching. Table-4. Self-sufficiency points based on different departments at School of Physical Education and Sports Department Department Mean Difference p Physical Education Teaching Coaching Education 9.33011 .271 Sports Management 27.84677* .000*** Coaching Education Physical Education Teaching -9.33011 .271 Sports Management 18.51667* .007** Sports Management Physical Education Teaching -27.84677* .000*** Coaching Education -18.51667* .007** **p<0.01 ***p<0.001 When self-sufficiency points of students studying at different departments of school of physical education and sports are compared, a significance level of .000 (p<0.001) was found between students at physical education teaching and sports management. 4. Discussion This study was conducted to determine self-sufficiency of teacher candidates studying at different departments, and it was found out that students of physical education had the highest perception of self-sufficiency as 93.09±24.07, while students of classroom teaching had the lowest perception of self-sufficiency as 58.64±14.03. Although this may be associated with different factors, it is reasonable to assume that students of physical education teaching are more sociable and, thanks to sport, have a higher confidence in their self-sufficiency compared to other departments. Similar to the findings in the present study, Tekkursun (2015) reported a high level of self-sufficiency among students of physical education teaching participating in his study, and concluded that teacher candidates viewed themselves as competent enough to fulfill their own profession. Seker et al. (2005) demonstrated in their findings that teacher candidates did not consider themselves, their lecturers and classmates as self-sufficient about their teaching abilities. It was also reported that female teacher candidates regarded themselves as more self-sufficient compared to their male classmates. No significant difference was found between perceptions of self-sufficiency in teacher candidates studying at social sciences and science/mathematics teaching departments. Twenge and Campbell (2008) too, focuses on self-sufficiency in their study. Unlike this study, however, it was indicated in this study that high school students in 2006 had a much lower self-perception point compared to high school students in 1975. In addition, the findings suggested that self-sufficiency levels did not increase from one generation to the other, whereas there was an increase in self-expectations. Yenilmez and Kakmaci (2008) in a similar vein, attempted to determine levels of self-sufficiency belief in teacher candidates studying at primary school mathematics teaching departments, and reported that their level of Asian Journal of Education and Training, 2018, 4(3): 246-249 249 self-sufficiency belief was high when it comes to issues that students could fulfill with their own efforts, while this level was lower for issues for which they needed other individuals’ help. Kaldi (2009) carried out a study to determine teacher candidates’ perception of self-sufficiency and their feelings and stress during classes, and observed that teacher candidates felt themselves competent enough to start teaching and that their levels of general teaching techniques were above average. This study also concluded that teacher candidates needed to improve their positive teaching experiences and efficient teaching capacities. Jennings and Greenberg (2009) developed a model that underlines the importance of teachers’ social and emotional competence (SEC) in class environment. This model improves the interaction between teacher and students, and provides an efficient class management and a successful social and emotional learning environment. In addition, it contributes to students’ positive learning and development in class environment. Because self- sufficiency occupies an important position in teaching as a profession, similar programs must be definitely used by teachers. Kafkas et al. (2010) analyzed self-sufficiency levels of teacher candidates study at physical education teaching and suggested that students of physical education teaching be compared with students at other departments of faculty of education. In this respect, the present study was conducted among teacher candidates studying at school of physical education and sports and faculty of education. The findings of the present study and similar above-mentioned articles demonstrate that a high level of self- sufficiency belief bears importance in a teacher candidate’s self-confidence, efficiency and success in his/her profession. Therefore, further studies are needed to shed light on self-confidence and social activity levels of teacher candidates in various departments as well as their self-sufficiency levels. References Atici, M., 2001. Teacher competence. Educational Administration: Theory and Practice, 26: 195- 209. Bandura, A., 1982. Self-efficacy mechanism in human agency. American Psychologist, 37(2): 122-147. View at Google Scholar | View at Publisher Blumenfeld, P., E. Soloway and R.A. Marx, 1991. Motivating project based learning: Sustaining the doing, supporting the learner. Educational Psychologist, 26(3-4): 369-398. View at Google Scholar | View at Publisher Brownell, M.T. and F. Pajares, 1999. 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