Perceptions of Science Teachers on Implementation of Seven Principles for Good Practice in Education by Chickering and Gamson in Courses

Abstract

The present study aimed to determine the perceptions of science teachers on the implementation of the seven principles for good practice in education by Chickering and Gamson in their courses. Seven principles for good science education were used as a data collection tool in the survey. “The seven principles for good practice in science education scale" for teachers was used as the data collection instrument in the study. “The seven principles for good practice in science education scale" is the adapted form of the “Seven Principles for Good Practice in Education: Faculty Inventory” developed by Chickering and Gamson into Turkish language and junior high school science courses. The scale was applied to 285 science teachers employed in Elazığ province in Turkey and interviews were conducted with 45 teachers. Analysis of the study data demonstrated that the surveyed teachers implemented each of these seven principles at different levels. Conducted interviews revealed the examples of different strategies adopted by the teachers in implementing the abovementioned seven principles.