213 © 2019 by the authors; licensee Asian Online Journal Publishing Group Asian Journal of Education and Training Vol. 5, No. 1, 213-223, 2019 ISSN (E) 2519-5387 DOI: 10.20448/journal.522.2019.51.213.223 © 2019 by the authors; licensee Asian Online Journal Publishing Group Teacher Candidates' Socialization Process: A Grounded Theory Study Fatma Köybaşı1 Celal Teyyar Uğurlu2 ( Corresponding Author) 1,2Cumhuriyet University, Turkey Abstract The purpose of this research is to reveal teacher candidates' experiences from the beginning of their service until being a teacher. In this study, the grounded theory research design was preferred. The study group was determined with criterion sampling. Based on the criterion that the participants have just completed the one-year candidacy process, 12 teachers from different branches participated in this research. Interview technique was used as a data collection tool. The data were collected through a semi-structured interview form. According to the result of the model, teacher candidates have emotional responses regarding their prospective professional life before starting such as excitement or nervousness. The first stage is called the adaptation process. The second stage indicates that the implementation stage is associated with the experiences in the adaptation. As for the third phase, experience-gaining, the teachers who could identify and improve the shortcomings in the implementation process, gained experiences. Keywords: Teacher candidates, Socialization process, Teacher candidates' socialization process. Citation | Fatma Köybaşı; Celal Teyyar Uğurlu (2019). Teacher Candidates' Socialization Process: A Grounded Theory Study. Asian Journal of Education and Training, 5(1): 213-223. History: Received: 5 December 2018 Revised: 10 January 2019 Accepted: 14 February 2019 Published: 12 March 2019 Licensed: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License Publisher: Asian Online Journal Publishing Group Contribution/Acknowledgement: Both authors contributed to the conception and design of the study. Funding: This study received no specific financial support. Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interests. Transparency: The authors confirm 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 .................................................................................................................................................................................... 214 2. Method ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 215 3. Results .............................................................................................................................................................................................. 216 4. Conclusion and Discussion ........................................................................................................................................................... 220 References ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 222 http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.20448/journal.522.2019.51.213.223&domain=pdf&date_stamp=2017-01-14 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ http://asianonlinejournals.com/index.php/EDU/article/view/406 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8684-1235 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7933-9327 http://asianonlinejournals.com/index.php/EDU/article/view/406 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8684-1235 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7933-9327 http://asianonlinejournals.com/index.php/EDU/article/view/406 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8684-1235 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7933-9327 http://asianonlinejournals.com/index.php/EDU/article/view/406 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8684-1235 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7933-9327 Asian Journal of Education and Training, 2019, 5(1): 213-223 214 © 2019 by the authors; licensee Asian Online Journal Publishing Group 1. Introduction A teacher candidate is a teacher who has been assigned to a formal or private education institution affiliated to the Ministry of National Education and has started their profession but has not been a regular teacher yet (Duran et al., 2011). They are prepared for the teaching profession by receiving the necessary training within a certain period. Teacher candidates complete the process of candidacy by receiving preparatory training, basic training, and applied training in the institution they are first assigned to. Their education and experience in early years of and school allows them to familiarize themselves with their professions, to conduct trial implementation studies, to observe organizational behaviours and to enter organizational socialization process through modelling. In organizational institutions, which are described as collective reaction within the community or as life habits of the community (Mead, 1962) the process of socialization starts which enables the individual to integrate with a particular community and class (Ozankaya, 1999) The force applied by the organization to the individual to fully adopt them to itself is defined as socialization (Balcı, 2000). Organizational socialization includes forming of logical schemas by means of learning of new information, skills, values and relationships (Cooper-Thomas and Anderson, 2006).Organizational socialization includes the abandonment of old attitudes and values and the acquiring of the ones, at the same time learning of means, responsibilities, organizational values and norms necessary to realize the goals of the organization. In fact, organizational socialization is to learn organizational culture and to adapt organizational culture (Calık, 2003). It is related to the socialization process to teach the skills and abilities required by the job and appropriate role behaviours, and working groups act in accordance with their norms and values (Feldman, 1980).Organizational socialization is the process of learning the attitudes and behaviours necessary to assume the roles within the organization (Güçlü, 2004). According to Balcı (2003) the candidacy process, which is the previous stage before being entitled to be a teacher, is a transitional period for ensuring organizational socialization. In school, organizational socialization is seen as the acquisition of the roles of teachers and administrators, their adaption of school cultures, the formation of work attitudes and behaviours, and acquisition of the new functional identity (Kartal, 2007). Socialization of teachers includes acceptance of professional values, attitudes, interest and learning how to change these (Memduhoğlu, 2008). For educational institutions, socialization can be interpreted as schools' adapting teachers to their own values and cultures. In the process of organizational socialization, the main goal is to make the employee an effective member of the organization (Can, 2002) and it can be aimed at ensuring that teachers are effective at the optimum level in schools. Cheng and Pang (1997) argue that the profile of the employee will be shaped according to two different approaches adapted in the socialization process (functionalist and dialectic). In educational institutions, a teacher, who is socialized with a functionalist point of view, is seen as a passive object of the socialization process. In other words, the teacher's adaption to the community is ensured. From a dialectical point of view, there are more complex, interactive, mutual and transient situations in the socialization process. The effects of both functional and dialectical approaches are observed in the socialization process of teachers based on the legal regulations of Turkish Ministry of National Education and the philosophy of education. In a way, it is a socialization process in which the teacher is always in the process of socialization and cannot be restricted by specific area and education. In the Turkish education system, the approach adapted by teachers in the socialization process may be a decisive factor in the role of the teachers. Multiple factors can be involved when teachers' socialization experiences are assessed in the context of school stakeholders. Literature review was carried out on the theories and particular studies about what factors and stages are involved in the socialization process, how to identify and limit the relationship between them; as a result, these have led to describe the socialization process of teachers. Studies defining the organizational socialization and content dimensions of socialization process, which consist of several independent dimensions, can be effective in identifying the criteria that can accurately assess success in organizational socialization (Chao et al., 1994) and unearthing teachers' content dimensions in the socialization process. The research on the other side reveals that the individuals within the organization combine their behaviours with proactivities of new recruits in order to improve the socialization process, and adaption of the common ideas by employees is ensured (Slaughter and Zickar, 2006).From this point, it can be determined whether teacher candidates benefit from their experienced colleagues and whether a new learning process is started via exchange of ideas. It is found out that recent studies on the socialization process have been carried out with long-term research processes (Taormina, 2004) and studies related to organizational socialization are gradually increasing (Chao et al., 1994; Erdoğan, 2012) however, the findings from the studies are varied and the scope is not wide enough (Adkins, 1995; Erdoğan, 2012; Araza et al., 2013). In relation with socialization process, which presents different results for each organization and sample, the stages for the teacher candidates and both generic and specific situations in each stage can be determined. It seems that great efforts are being made to develop stage models in the studies on socialization theory (Calık, 2003). Ashforth et al. (2007) classified the models of socialization processes (between years 1974 and 2001) as initial, integrative and specialized models. It puts socialization process models into (initiation, integration and privatization) in accordance with the theories on which socialization approaches (dialectical and functional) are based. It can be said that examining the socialization process of teachers in a separate framework will give more accurate results. King et al. (2005) in their research on socialization process, emphasized the need for consideration of the selection of samples and new participation in the organization, and stated that research carried out with information based on personal reporting in conjunction with a complementary research design would produce healthy outcomes. In the light of the results of the mentioned researches, the focus of this work became clear in terms of contributing to the literature and yielding results beneficial for educational institutions. Taking into account the following criteria which provide healthy results regarding socialization research, decision was made for i) studying on a specific sample of newly-recruited teacher candidates, ii) covering a certain period of time, iii) comparisons Asian Journal of Education and Training, 2019, 5(1): 213-223 215 © 2019 by the authors; licensee Asian Online Journal Publishing Group with relevant theories as a complementary research design, and iv) collecting data based on personal reporting, and the research was designed accordingly. Therefore, we focused on developing a model of the socialization process about stages of the socialization process experienced by teacher candidates and the influential factors in each stage by means of interviews and comparing the obtained data with relevant theories. The purpose of this research is to reveal teacher candidates' experiences from the beginning of their service until being a teacher. To this end, answers to the following questions were sought. 1- Teachers in the first two months a) How did you feel about your first day in teaching, what did you feel? b) What are your experiences during the first few months (within 1-2 months) in adapting to the teaching profession? c) In the first few months (within 1-2 months) have you had any problems as a candidate teacher? Who have helped you with those problems? d) What were your occupational expectations in the first months (within 1-2 months)? How do you think your expectations were/were not met? 2- What are your experiences (as a teacher) where you have felt belonging to the teaching profession over the course of a year? 3- As a teacher, what kind of classification would you make if divided your on-year long candidacy period? 2. Method Qualitative research method was used since it was needed to understand and deeply analyze a social phenomenon to find out the feelings, experience, problems, and the critical developmental periods of teacher candidates during the first months and in the end of the one-year candidacy period. 2.1. Research Design In this study, the grounded theory research design was preferred as a type of qualitative research design because while investigating teacher candidates' socialization process, instead of a traditional hypothesis testing approach, it was aimed to expose the unexplained factors that support the theory but are not included in the theory by means of analyzing the data. Charmaz (2003) argues that grounded theory shows the links between more general social forces at the micro level (the social theory which focuses on the events and phenomena of short periods of social life (Neuman, 2008) in order to reconstruct theory and inform social action.This study deals with the differentiation in stages that teacher candidates go through from the first months until the completion of the one-year candidacy period, and is explained by sequential theory. Sequential theory depicts a flow of life events that differ in the meaning of roles and activities (Oesterle et al., 2004). We think sequential theory is suitable for this study since it allows determining the steps taken by teacher candidates in the process of socialization and the ways to the following steps. 2.2. Participants In this study, study group was selected by using the purposeful sampling method, which has mostly been used in qualitative research (Yıldırım and Şimşek, 2005). The study group was determined with criterion sampling under the purposeful sampling methods. Based on the criterion that the participants have just completed the one- year candidacy process, 12 teachers from different branches participated in this research. The teachers started working in Suşehri and Akıncılar districts of Sivas province in the 2014-2015 academic year. The demographic data for the participants are given in Table 1. Table-1. Participants' Demographic Data. Teacher Gender Branch Type of School Worked Teacher 1 Male Information Technologies Technical-Vocational High School Teacher 2 Male Science and Technology Secondary School Teacher 3 Female Physical Education Multi-Program High School Teacher 4 Male Literature Agricultural-Vocational High School Teacher 5 Female School Counselor Anatolian High School Teacher6 Male Geography Vocational High School Teacher 7 Female Turkish Language Secondary School Teacher 8 Male Religious Culture Secondary School Teacher 9 Male Agriculture and Technology Agricultural High School Teacher 10 Female Classroom Teacher Primary School Teacher 11 Female English Language İmam Hatip High School Teacher 12 Male Chemistry Anatolian High School Source: Author’s field work. 2.3. Data Collection Tool and Collection of Data Interviewing is one of the most common data collection methods in grounded theory (Robson, 2015). In this study, interview technique was used as data collection tool and interviews were conducted individually. The data were collected through a semi-structured interview form. A comprehensive review of literature was conducted in order to form the conceptual framework and prepare good interview questions. During preparation of the research questions, opinions of two experts experienced in qualitative research were obtained first. The questions were primarily applied to 2 female teachers outside the study group. The questions were revised in the light of their comments. A final interview form consisting of 3 open ended questions was prepared. Attention has been paid to the criteria that increase the quality of the interview process (to be objective in the interview process, to get reminders, to get concise and deep answers, and not to interfere with the participant's ideas). Before face-to-face interviews with the selected teachers, they were informed about the purpose and content Asian Journal of Education and Training, 2019, 5(1): 213-223 216 © 2019 by the authors; licensee Asian Online Journal Publishing Group of the study. The interviews were recorded in the interview forms with the permission of the teachers, and only two interviews were not voice recorded because only two interviewers allowed the recording of the voice recordings. Most participants did want their views to be recorded. As well as the opinions of the participants were confirmed by the reading of the documents converted by the researchers into the notes. Each interview lasted an average of 30 minutes. They were held in teachers' schools at noon or outside of class hours. 2.4. Analysis of Data For analysis of the study data, continuous comparative analysis method was used, which is used in grounded theory approach and allows interpretation and interpretation of data at a very high level in depth and expansion (Sönmez and Alacapınar, 2011). In continuous comparative data analysis, the data are analyzed in three stages as open, axial and selective coding (Strauss and Corbin, 1998). Then, a visual model was displayed and recommendations were brought. Moreover, in sequential analysis strategy as a type of qualitative research strategy, as progress is made towards conditions and probabilities, the researcher refines the generalizations and relationships to better reflect the evidences (Neuman, 2008). In order to create a more accurate and reliable model with the successive approximation strategy, the evidence and theory was analyzed by switching successively at each step in a way to shape each other. In the data analysis process, the three steps are as follows (Strauss and Corbin, 1998) Open coding: The concepts, terms and features regarding the topic under investigation are put into categories; ii) Axial Coding: The categories above are lowered to one single category in a generic, open and concise way; iii) Selective Coding: Based on the preceding codings, combination and categorization are carried out for building the theory with a logical method. In the combination action, the meanings of the data were tried to be determined. In categorization, a set of rules defining the relationship among the categories are obtained by identifying the similarities and the diffeences between the categories. This process allowed for the creation of a logical sub-structure in modelling. 2.5. Validity and Reliability in Qualitative Research The concept of validity in qualitative research is quite different from the generally accepted concept of validity in quantitative studies (Ekiz, 2003). In qualitative research, five different validity are provided as descriptive, interpreting, theoretical, generic, and evaluative validity conditions (Maxwell, 1992). In order to provide descriptive validity, the data obtained in the research were transferred in integrity in an objective way without changing the meaning. For interpreting validity, researchers adhered to the view-union principle in the creation of codes and categories in order to fully demonstrate how participants express what they say. Also, as an interpretation criterion, attention was paid to transmit the participants' expressions without adding any comments. Since theoretical validity is the level of disclosure of the investigated subject, the steps required to reveal the factors included in the theory covered in the research were explained one by one and the research process was tried to be explained in detail. As for generic reliability, it was attempted to achieve a consistent generalization by examining theoretically the situations that teacher candidates experienced during the socialization process in order to obtain generalizability that would give rise to similar situations and to understand possible situations. Finally, evaluative validity was ensured by making a final assessment in the direction of the data obtained from the research and concrete model exampled was developed. To ensure reliability in the qualitative study, triplet technique was utilized to avoid errors in the data collection and analysis process and to minimize the variables that can inhibit the research. Among Denzin (1988) triplet types, the data were collected and compared by researchers and observers, to ensure consistency. During the study, the research questions were clearly expressed by the researchers and data were collected meticulously and carefully. Data analysis and evaluation process are given in detail. In addition, each stage of the research process (questions, identification of the questions in the interview form, demographic data of the participants, data collection and analysis of the data) were reported clearly and openly. Raw data are kept in order to examine their conformity with next researches to be carried out in this topic. 3. Results 3.1. Findings Obtained by Open Coding a) In order to reveal the experiences of the teachers in the socialization process, firstly opinions were taken about their first day. The open codings regarding their experience of the first day are given in Table 2. Table-2. Teachers' feelings on their first day. Categories f Percentage Being happy 14 29,78 Feeling excited 10 21,27 Feeling nervous 9 19,14 Being proud 4 8,51 Disappointment 4 8,51 Comfort 2 4,25 Curiosity 2 4,25 Confusion 2 4,25 Total 47 %100 Source: Obtained from primary data. As for the experience of the first day at work, being happy (f = 14) was the most frequently mentioned opinion followed by feeling excited and nervous (f = 9). Some of the participants stated their opinions on the subject as following: “I was excited, the school principal (headmaster) met me at the school, he offered me hospitality in his home for 3 days, and he even met me at the entrance of the district, and made me feel valuable. The school principal (headmaster) was very friendly, Asian Journal of Education and Training, 2019, 5(1): 213-223 217 © 2019 by the authors; licensee Asian Online Journal Publishing Group so were the teachers. Despite it was my first day at school, I felt very experienced thanks to the experience in the school I was doing internship”(T3) “I was happy because I came to a newly opened school, there was a warm and interested welcome due to the small number of teachers, and I was appointed to a close to my hometown, I had the excitement of earning my life. I had the excitement of making my father proud.”( T5) “I was very nice, I was excited, and the school principal (headmaster) was very helpful in making entries. My colleagues were also very helpful. I taught the students. I was very excited.”(T7) b) In order to reveal the experiences teachers had in their socialization process, secondly, the open codings about their adaptation to the school and the teaching profession in the first month are given in Table 3. Table-3. Teachers' opinions on their adaptation to school and teaching profession in the first month. Categories f Percentage Willingness to be idealist and devoted worker 7 31,81 Failure to establish healthy contact 5 22,72 Positive attitudes of school staff 3 13,63 Hectic pace of work 3 13,63 Insufficient physical features of school 2 9,09 Sufficient quality of the university education 2 9,09 Total 22 100 Source: Obtained data in the first month relation to adaptation. The participants stated that their experience in adapting to the school and teaching profession in the first month was most affected by idealist and devoted work (f = 7). Then, the lack of healthy communication and positive attitudes of school staff were mentioned (f = 4). Some of the participants' opinions on the subject are stated in their own words as following: “In the first month, as I asked questions and learned a lot, I adapted to the school and to the profession, I worked in a devoted manner. I prepared materials, presentations and additional resources outside school. “In the first month, I worked hard to fulfill my students and responsibilities. I did not give up.”( T5) “I immediately adapted to the reading. My colleagues also made it happen.”( T3) c) In order to reveal the teachers' experiences in the socialization process, the codings regarding the main problems they experienced in the first month and the persons they referred to, are presented in Table 4 and Table 5, respectively. Table-4.Teachers' opinions on their main problems in the first month. Categories f Percentage Indifference of students to classes 8 23,52 Lack of knowledge about paperwork 6 17,64 Students' lower academic levels 5 14,70 Physical inadequacy of school 4 11,76 Failure to maintain classroom discipline 4 11,76 Lack of learning and teaching skills 4 11,76 Inability to communicate with administrators and teachers 3 8,82 Total 34 %100 Source: Obtained data in the first month relation to main problems. d) As for the main problems faced during their first month, teachers reported indifference of students towards the classes (f = 8) the most and their now knowing the paperwork. Some of the participants' opinions on the subject are in their own words: “The basic problem was that I was prepared for the class, I was expecting the students to force me, to put pressure on me, to ask questions, but it did not happen. The level of the students, their indifference was the biggest problem for me.” (T1) “Paperwork, I did not know how to fill out the class book. There were security problems around the school.”(T4) „The students were in vocational high schools and they were lacking in terms of hard work and knowledge. “ (T6) Table 5 summarizes the opinions of teachers about the persons who helped them with the problems they encountered in the first month. Table-5. Teachers' opinions on reference persons regarding their problems in the first month. Categories f Percentage Consulting with experienced colleagues 6 50 Consulting with close friends 4 33,33 Consulting with academics 2 16,67 Total 12 100 Source: Obtained data in the first month relation to on reference persons regarding main problems. The teacher candidated indicated that they were receiving help from more experienced colleagues (f = 6) in the first month the most. Some of the participants' opinions on the subject are expressed in their own words: “I did not know the paper work, I learned by asking the school counselor and other teacher friends.”(T3). “I learned to fill out the class book by asking my colleagues. „‟ (T10). “I solved the problems I faced in my school with help from colleagues and experienced friends.”( T11). e) In this section, it was examined whether the expectations of the teachers were met within the first month of their work. Table 6 gives the open codings regarding meeting of their expectations. Asian Journal of Education and Training, 2019, 5(1): 213-223 218 © 2019 by the authors; licensee Asian Online Journal Publishing Group Table-6. Teachers’ opinions on meeting of their expectations within the first month. Expectations met Expectations not met Categories f % f % Occupational satisfaction 2 25,00 10 43,47 Social activities 2 25,00 6 26,08 Financial expectations 2 25,00 5 21,73 A warm work environment 2 25,00 2 8,69 Total 8 23 100 Source: Obtained data within the first month about expectations. It is understood that expectations of the teacher candidates were not met during the first month (f=23) and the first of such expectations is (f=10) the occupational satisfaction (f = 10). Some of the participants' opinions on this matter are quoted as below: ‘I was expecting occupational satisfaction, it was not met because it was a vocational high school.”(T5). “I was expecting students to be ready to learn. I was disappointed to see that the lessons I taught were forgotten by students in a short time.” ( T4). “I was expecting more sociality but it did not happen, I thought my students would learn as I taught in a really nice way; but I realized it was harder, I realized that teaching is not just about teaching subjects.”(T10). 3.2. Teachers' Opinions on the Experiences Making Them Feel Belonging to Teaching Profession Open codings regarding the teachers' experiences are given in Table 7 that help them feel teachers. Table-7. Teachers' opinions about the experiences with feeling of belonging to teaching profession. Categories f Percentage Observing the acquisitions in students' behaviours 11 40,74 Experiencing students' affection and respect 7 25,92 Guiding students 4 14,81 To observed increased motivation of the students 3 11,11 Students' transferring their learning to life 2 7,40 Total 27 100 Source: Obtained data about experiences with feeling of belonging to teaching profession. The teachers stated that they felt they belonged to this profession the most when they observed acquisitions by students (f = 11). The fact that students love and respect teachers (f = 7) is also among the most frequently reported opinions. Some of the participants' opinions on the subject are quoted in their own words as following: Teaching is my cup of tea. When I the pupils something and see the result and when I see the students interested in me, I feel beloging to the profession.”(T3). “When I see that the student understands what I'm teaching, when I feel that glitter, I become happy, I say teaching is a nice job.”(T1). “When the information that I teach is understood by students and when I receive feedback, I feel myself belonging to teaching profession.”(T6). 3) Teachers' Opinions on Dividing the One-Year Process into Periods. The teachers' views about the reasons for classifying the one-year candidacy process are presented in Table 8. Table-8. Teachers' Opinions on Dividing the One-Year Process into Periods. Categories f Percentage Familiarization 12 26,08 Gaining experience 9 19,56 Acceptance 9 19,56 Identifying the shortcomings and self-sacrificing work 9 19,56 Being idealist 5 10,86 Freedom 2 4,34 Total 46 %100 Source: Obtained data about dividing the one-year process into periods. Teachers focused on the process of familiarization (f = 12) the most and gaining experience (f=7) as a reason for classifying the one-year candidacy process. Some of the participants' opinions on the subject are given in their own words: „I am following the system I set up after the adaptation process, and you are correcting the deficiencies and establishing the method.” ( T1). „I was gaining experience, I was acting according to the conditions in the process of one year.” ( T9). 3.3. Findings Obtained by Axial Coding The concepts were determined from the data obtained with open coding, a predictive model of the socialization process of the teachers was obtained and the relation of this model with the theory was examined by the sequential strategy method. The contextual relationship of the codings regarding the teachers ‘experiences with socialization in the candidacy process with the axial coding (concepts) can be shown as following. Asian Journal of Education and Training, 2019, 5(1): 213-223 219 © 2019 by the authors; licensee Asian Online Journal Publishing Group Figure-1. Experiences on possible steps in the socialization process. Source: Obtained by Axial Coding. In the socialization process of the teachers, related with the begining stage of teaching profession which is approached with emotional responses (happiness, nervousness, etc.), it can be argued that failure to establish healthy communication makes adaptation difficult, whereas the experience of familiarization plays a facilitating role. In completing the socialization process, it can be suggested that occupational satisfaction is one of the factors that make teachers feel that they are fulfilling their occupation. Also in completion of the socialization process, it seems that students' acquiring positived behaviors and showing love and respect to teachers play an important role in teachers' feeling belonging to the teaching profession. 3. Axial codings of the stages of the one-year candidacy period divided by teachers are given in Table 9. Table-9. Transformation into themes of categories related to socialization process stages of teachers. Themes Categories Adaptation Recognition Getting familiar Implementation Identifying the shortcomings and self-sacrificing work Being idealist Gaining Experience Gaining experience Acceptance Freedom Source: Obtained data about socialization process stages of teachers. 3.4. Findings by Selective Coding In order to describe the process of socialization for grading the experiences of the teachers during their candidacy periods, we made an attempt to draft a general model of the socialization process by using selective coding. In this phase, the concepts obtained by axial coding were subjected to selective coding (creating the main theme) and the theoretical model explaining the socialization process of the teachers was developed. First, the reasons for classifying the teachers' one-year process were combined under common themes and three stages were identified: adaptation, implementation and gaining experience. The teachers' experiences regarding the socialization process from the first one month till completion of the one-year are shown in Figure 2. Figure-2. Experiences Observed in Socialization Process. Source: Obtained data by Selective Coding. Asian Journal of Education and Training, 2019, 5(1): 213-223 220 © 2019 by the authors; licensee Asian Online Journal Publishing Group The stages of socialization as adaptation, implementation and gaining experience were classified based on the similarities and differences through open coding and axial coding. The resulting model can be shown as follows. Figure-3. Model for the Socialization Stages regarding Teachers Candidates. Source: Authors’ model for the Socialization Stages regarding Teachers Candidates. This study implies that teachers have emotional responses regarding their profession in pre-service period, such as being excited or nervous. The experiences that occur when teachers easily or hardly pass each stage of the socialization process are as follows: In stage one; while failure in healthy communication makes the adaptation process more difficult, it can be said that experiences regarding recognizing are facilitators. It was found out that different experiences were lived during the implementation stage depending on whether the adaptation passed with difficulty or smoothly. So, the adaptation stage seems to play a mediating role in identification of shortcomings when it takes place with difficulty; otherwise, it becomes mediating for emergence of idealist experiences in the implementation process. Because the stage of adaptation is likely to be the expectation of the emergence of idealist experiences in the implementation process .Lastly in the experience-gaining stage, the teachers who went through the implementation process by completing the shortcomings gained experiences; whereas those who focused on being idealist during the same period experienced acceptance. In this recent period, they were focused on being idealistic also gained experience accepting that the socialization process will not be complicated and suddenly complete. The model and stages on the socialization process were compared with the literature and supporting of the model by the literature is described below. 1. Wanous (1980) comparing the socialization process stages with stages of the model. Stage one: Instruction (new knowledge and skills) & Stage two: Teaching (preparing for the role by providing information about the job) ≡ Adaptation stage. Stage three: Apprenticeship (work with Supervisor) & Stage four: Solving (ensure the organization to influence oneself) ≡ implementation stage. Stage five: dissuading the candidate (do what the organization wants) ≡ Gaining experience. 2. A comparison of the stages in the General Regulation regarding Bringing up of Candidate Civil Servants with stages of the model. Basic training: Training for giving the minimum information to candidates≡ Adaptation stage Preparatory training: Training for gaining knowledge and skills by candidates ≡ Implementation stage Internship: The final stage towards gaining experience ≡ Experience-gaining stage. Above, the stages of socialization in the literature seem to be in parallel with the stages of the resulting model about teachers' socialization. Therefore, any corrections or changes, - reassessment- were made on the model. 4. Conclusion and Discussion This section is dedicated to the conclusions built upon the results about teacher candidates' socialization process stages from the first month up to the completion of the one-year period, as well as their experiences in each of these stages. Study results are discussed in comparison with other studies and theories about this subject, and finally recommendations are presented. In this study, it was observed that during the first months, teacher candidates had the most intense emotional responses towards the teaching profession such as excitement, warmly welcome and nervousness. According to Güçlü (2004) teacher candidates want to be recognized by students, colleagues and managers, and want to overcome their negative feelings such as loneliness, fear, anxiety, and instabilities. Beginners who are often faced with excessive workload can sho emotional responses rather than professional responses (Calık, 2006). Unlike the emotional response, professional response is a reaction to understanding the problem first, to review the deficiency if it originated from itself, and to be focused on the solution if it originated from others. Excitement and nervousness of teacher candidates can be explained with their inexperience and uncertainty about following happenings. At the end of the one-year process, the teachers reported gaining experience, which implies that professional responses started to rise then. Socialization helps formation of real expectations about the job, develop positive attitudes, and achieve job satisfaction (Güçlü, 1996; Özgen et al., 2002). Ravishankar and Pan (2008) found out that teacher candidates informally identify themselves with experiencing of different emotions in organizational socialization process. It was concluded that during the first months (in 1-3 months); being idealist, devoted work and establishing healthy communication appeared to be effective in adaptation to the teaching profession in the process of socialization. The literature extends support to our findings as it suggests that creating an idealist image is a part Asian Journal of Education and Training, 2019, 5(1): 213-223 221 © 2019 by the authors; licensee Asian Online Journal Publishing Group of pre-socialization (Ashforth et al., 2007) and teachers remain idealist during the pre-service period (Kartal, 2007). In our study, we also observed in the participants' adaptation process that communication is an effective means of socialization (Jablin, 1987; Chao et al., 1994; Erdoğan, 2012). It can be seen that the findings of the previous studies on socialization stages are similar to our study findings. In pre-socialization stage of teacher candidates, the factors of being idealist, devoted work and communication can be said to be dominant factors. It was noted that teacher candidates did not know the paperwork and focused on lower academic levels of students during the early months (in 1-3 months). In a study conducted by Duran et al. (2011) teacher candidates stated that they have to deal with unnecessary paperwork and correspondence and they have missing knowledge about official correspondences. On the grounds that socialization process brings new knowledge and experience, it is expected that teacher candidates find their shortcomings in paperwork in the first months. The teacher candidates' finding low levels of academic success might vary according to school type, teaching methods or teacher expectations; and academic success level can be regarded as an observed variable changeable depending on the situation. It was found out that teacher candidates get help from more experienced colleagues on challenging issues during the socialization process. It was also seen that in the socialization process, the helping by employees experienced within the organization for new arrivals positively affects the process (Ostroff and Kozlowski, 1992; Morrison, 1993; Özgen et al., 2002; Kartal, 2007; Erdoğan, 2012). It can be inferred from the relevant literature that the help of experienced people for new recruits contributes to the process of socialization. It was found out that the paramount professional expectations of teacher candidates are professional satisfaction and social activities-social sharing. According to Calık (2003) organizational socialization is a way whereby the chance for employees' achieving greater job satisfaction and meeting their needs reaches the maximum level. In studies carried out by Bauer et al. (1998); Saks and Ashforth (1997) and Hartley (1992) job satisfaction was found to be one of the results of socialization. The studies by Elçi (2008) and Kartal (2005) reveal that organizational socialization varies in job satisfaction. Organizational socialization must take place in a healthy way to ensure job satisfaction (Hellriegel et al., 1998; Balcı, 2000). As a study finding, the effect of prospective teachers' organizational socialization on their job satisfaction is understood to be a common result. It can be argued that successful socialization process of prospective teachers could have a positive impact on their professional satisfaction. In this study, positive experiences had by teachers in the process of socialization show that positive experiences can be experienced in the next stage. However, longitudinal studies are needed to determine the effectiveness of the teacher's socialization process on direct job satisfaction. The experiences by which teacher candidates feel themselves belonging to the teaching profession in the first years of their professional lives are more likely to be about affecting student behaviours and gaining their love and respect. One of the characteristic problems of teachers is related to the appreciation and evaluation by students (Güçlü, 1996). Students constitute one of the factors involved in socialization of teachers (Staton-Spicer and Darling, 1987) Helping to solve students' problems is one of the indicators of the socialization of teachers (Kartal, 2007). According to Zeichner (1980) students play a role in the socialization process of teachers. Kirby et al. (1992) reported that teaching in schools with high achievement levels of students supports socialization of teachers. It seems that the literature extends support for our findings regarding teacher candidates' belongingness to the profession, observing positive changes in student behaviours and earning their love and respect. When prospective teachers' socialization process is divided into stages in the one-year period; the first stage can be referred to adaptation, the second stage to implementation and the last stage for gaining experience. The review of literature demonstrated that mostly a three-stage model (pre-socialization, getting familiar and role management) is used in studies (Araza et al., 2013). Schein (1978) stages of the socialization process includes three stages as introduction, socializing and, mutual recognition. Wanous (1980) divided the socialization process into five stages: training, teaching, apprenticeship, solving, and dissuading the candidate. Feldman (1981) discusses it in three stages as pre-socialization, adaptation and role acquisition. Buchanan (1974) divides organizational socialization into stages of basic education and acceptance, performance indicator, organizational reliability and commitment. Porter et al. (1975) divided the stages of socialization into three stages: pre-arrival, welcoming, and change and winning. Kartal (2007) deals organization socialization in stages of pre-socialization, selection, placement, on-the-job training, friend and work groups, trial and error. The studies imply that stages of socialization vary. The stages might vary depending on the time and setting of the research, also it is likely that different socialization processes take place for each profession. Flanagin and Waldeck (2004) bearing in mind the current technological, economic, social and organizational changes, focused on the importance of carefully determining the factors on which future studies of socialization process should focus. Departing from this, a new model was created by discussing the socialization process steps of teacher candidates under one single heading. According to the model, teacher candidates have emotional responses regarding their prospective professional life before starting such as excitement or nervousness. The first stage is called adaptation process. Adaptation process involves consultations with experienced colleagues, close friends and academicians in order to solve the problems (indifference of students to classes, lack of knowledge about paperwork, students' lower academic levels etc.) that might occur during the first teaching year. Teacher candidates demonstrate that failure to establish healthy communication makes the adaptation process more difficult; on the contrary, being idealist and selfless work facilitate the integration process. The second stage indicates that the implementation stage is associated with the experiences in the adaptation. If the adaptation process is painful, shortcomings can be identified in implementation process. On the other hand, as a result of a smooth adaptation period, emergence of being idealist is mediated during the implementation process. As for the third phase, experience-gaining, the teachers who could identify and improve the shortcomings in the implementation process, gained experiences. The teachers who have completed the implementation process by focusing on being idealist, were found to exhibit acceptance behaviours in the experience-gaining stage. It seems that the steps in the resulting socializing process overlap with Güçlü (2004) argument about the socialization process content as teachers' establishing positive relations with other employees in school, their contributing to solving student problems and learning basic values. Teachers learn the core values, norms, Asian Journal of Education and Training, 2019, 5(1): 213-223 222 © 2019 by the authors; licensee Asian Online Journal Publishing Group philosophy and mission of the school through socialization. Also it is seen that the process steps and teachers' experiences in our model are in parallel with certain findings in the literature that teachers go through a change in the socialization process due to the school's policy, procedures, planning, training principles, practices and values (Memduhoğlu, 2008) and teachers are informed about the organizational realities, social and historical environment of the school and teaching subjects (Kartal, 2007) of the concepts contained in the phrase in the model it is observed teachers are overlapping experiences. 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