The supervision of information technology classrooms in Turkey: A nationwide survey

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to identify how primary school supervisors carry out their roles concerning information and communications technology (ICT) based classrooms in public primary schools in Turkey. Data were collected via a questionnaire from 583 primary school supervisors working in 17 different provinces. Statistical programs were used to calculate descriptive statistics, frequencies and percentages for questionnaire items. The results of the study indicated that most supervisors were familiar with computers, but only used them at the 'medium' level, mostly for word processing, spreadsheets and drawing up reports on school visits. Almost all of the respondents sought to support the effective development of ICT based classrooms by examining teachers' plans, providing computer application opportunities for pupils, and helping school principals encourage and manage such undertakings. However, almost 50% of the supervisors indicated that they had no knowledge or understanding of e-portfolios, and that they had never received professional development or in service training in exploiting the ICT based classroom. As a result, they were unable to provide sufficient guidance to teachers. The paper concludes with recommendations for future action.