DOCTORAL PROGRAMS IN MATHEMATICS EDUCATION: CURRENT STATUS AND FUTURE PATHWAYS FOR TURKEY

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1 DOCTORAL PROGRAMS IN MATHEMATICS EDUCATION: CURRENT STATUS AND FUTURE PATHWAYS FOR TURKEY Behiye Ubuz 1, Erdinç Çakıroğlu 2, Ayhan Kürşat Erbaş 1 1 Middle East Technical University, Department of Secondary Science and Mathematics Education 2 Middle East Technical University, Department of Elementary Education The purpose of this paper is to review the current state of doctoral programs in mathematics education in Turkish universities. In this context, this paper first provides brief background information about Turkish higher education system and teacher education policies. Then the major national initiatives towards future faculty development efforts are explained. Finally, the nature of mathematics education doctoral programs in Turkey is provided. In doing so, we provide admission procedures, general characteristics of program of studies including requirements for coursework and dissertation, and employment opportunities for those with a doctoral degree in mathematics education. Key Words: doctoral programs, mathematics education, higher education in Turkey INTRODUCTION Mathematics education in Turkey is relatively young compared to other educational areas such as educational administration and educational measurement. Undergraduate programs focusing specifically on mathematics teacher education began to appear after the establishment of Yüksek Öğretim Kurulu (YÖK) [The Turkish Council of Higher Education] in While establishing these programs, the staff requirements were filled mostly by mathematicians, not by mathematics educators. Moreover, the faculty in educational sciences gave support to these programs in the pedagogical sense, without focusing much on mathematics. As Shulman (1986, 1987) and many others (e.g., Ball, Thames, & Phelps, 2008; Hill et al., 2008) have either suggested or provided evidence, simple combination of expertise in mathematics and educational sciences do not guarantee a sound base for quality instruction in mathematics. Instead, a pedagogical basis specific to mathematics needs to be established. Such a perspective calls for an audit of mathematics education programs and draw attention to the need for doctoral degrees in mathematics education for supplying quality staff for these programs. Our goal in this paper is to describe the current state of the mathematics education doctoral programs in Turkish universities as every country is diverse and unique in its own way. For such a young field in Turkey, doctoral programs play a crucial role in the future of mathematics education. In fact, doctoral programs create contexts in which traditions of research, approaches to issues about school mathematics, and philosophical stands are produced and re-produced. In this sense, the nature of these programs and the discourse growing in these environments will have direct and indirect impact on cultural and political issues about mathematics education in

2 Turkey through the graduates of these programs and work produced by the people involved. In Turkey, graduate research on mathematics education is conducted in various programs, such as early childhood education, primary education, and the educational sciences. However, because of the specificity in the field, our discussion in this paper is limited to the programs offering degrees in elementary and secondary mathematics education. We hope that this analysis of mathematics education doctoral programs from a Turkish perspective will contribute to a global understanding of the diversity of goals and processes of doctoral studies in mathematics education. A better understanding of the mathematics education doctoral programs is possible when they are situated within the larger context of higher education and teacher education policies in Turkey. Thus, we will begin with a brief background of Turkish higher education system and teacher education policies. Then we describe faculty development attempts before discussing specifically the nature doctoral programs in mathematics education. TURKISH HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM AND MATHEMATICS TEACHER EDUCATION In Turkey, there is a unified system of higher education under the surveillance of the Council of Higher Education. Currently, in this system, there are 93 state and 38 private universities throughout Turkey (YÖK, n.d. -a). Each university consists of faculties offering undergraduate programs. Admissions to these programs are centralized and based on a nation-wide examination conducted by Öğrenci Seçme ve Yerleştirme Merkezi [the Student Selection and Placement Center]. Graduate programs for master s and doctoral degrees, on the other hand, are offered under the graduate schools in universities. According to the Council of Higher Education, in the academic year, the total number of graduate students in Turkish universities was about 120,000 (YÖK, 2007). Of this number, 92,600 students were in master s and 27,400 in doctoral programs. No data were available for the graduate programs offering degrees specific to mathematics education. Four year undergraduate mathematics teacher education programs were established within the faculties of education for initial training of teachers, since the establishment of the Council of Higher Education. Until 1998, mathematics teacher education programs trained teachers for both middle and high schools (grades 6 to 11). After that time, the programs were re-established so that the training of teachers for middle (grades 6 to 8) and high schools (grades 9 to 12 1 ) were separated. In fact the changes in 1998 were beyond this separation, as teacher education programs in Turkey had undergone a major reform movement. The changes include, (1) shifting the focus in teacher education to the quality of teacher, (2) focusing more on the middle and elementary grade levels, (3) developing master s level programs for teacher education, (4) focusing more on the methods of teaching relevant to specific

3 subject matter, and (5) meeting a shortage of faculty in these programs (Simsek & Yildirim, 2001). Although this reform movement aimed to improve teacher education programs throughout Turkey, the faculty development aspect of it had significant impact on research and graduate programs in the coming years. Increased number of faculty members in mathematics education resulted in developments in graduate programs. FACULTY DEVELOPMENT Although there have been some efforts to increase number of graduates having doctoral degrees, universities in Turkey still experience the problem of faculty shortage for teaching and research. There is an acute shortage of faculty members in terms of both quality and quantity in higher education institutions and the doctoral programs currently exist in the system is insufficient to supply that demand (YÖK, 2007, p. 132). In response to such shortage, bodies organizing and coordinating higher education such as the Council of Higher Education and the Ministry of National Education (MoNE) have taken certain actions to support students in graduate level studies according to Law numbers 2547 and 1416 respectively (Government of Turkey, 1981, 1929). Within this context, supporting students to study their graduate education abroad is the most important initiation for faculty development. Following this attempt, another initiation for addressing shortage of faculty members in higher education is a doctoral scholarship program for studying in Turkish universities. Both the Council of Higher Education and the Ministry of National Education have been sending selected students abroad mostly to get their doctoral degrees in various disciplines. Every year these institutions determine the number of doctoral degrees to be pursued abroad. Candidates are selected based on their academic records, language proficiencies, and the priority of the field in that year. Candidates are also required to have an acceptance from the host university. Those students must successfully finish their studies and come back to Turkey to claim a position for which they have been sent for a compulsory academic service. The amount of compulsory services is about two years service for every year s/he received the scholarship. In the case of no-returns or failure to finish studies successfully, the recipients must pay back the amount received with interest (Tansel & Güngör, 2003). Between 2003 and 2008, 300 students sent abroad with the MoNE scholarship returned to Turkey after completing their studies successfully. Half of these students were education majors (e.g., elementary education, social sciences education, mathematics education, and science education including physics, chemistry, biology education) and received their degrees from the universities in the United States (n = 106), France (n = 21), and the United Kingdom (n = 23). Twenty one of the education majors received their graduate degrees in mathematics education (7 from France, 6 from the United Kingdom, and 8 from the United States). The people who completed their doctoral studies abroad are currently working in Turkish

4 universities. On the other hand, as of December 2008, 940 graduate students are studying abroad (mostly in the United States, 74.7%) with a scholarship provided by the MoNe. Hundred-and-twenty of those are in education related fields. Among them, of the graduate students are studying in the area of mathematics education. Like the MoNe, between 1987 and 2008, a total of 3899 graduate students were sent to abroad to thirty different countries by the Council of Higher Education. In 1996, the Council of Higher Education has established a board, the Board for the Training of Academic Staff and Researchers, to coordinate this program. A great portion of the scholarship students has been sent to the United States (n = 1941) and the United Kingdom (n = 1454). While a great majority of these students (n = 2485) finished their graduate education and started to serve as faculty in Turkish universities. Among them 16 has received their doctorates in mathematics education, 7 from the United States and 9 from the United Kingdom. The studies of 297 of the scholarship students are still in progress. The remaining students either didn t finish their studies (n = 386) due to reasons such as failure and health; or didn t return to Turkey (i.e., brain drain) and/or resigned from the scholarship (n = 731). The statistics about the scholarships provided by the Council of Higher Education and the Ministry of National Education were obtained from these institutions through official communication, and based on unpublished data. Some published statistics covering the years up to 2005 was provided in a report by Türkiye Bilimler Akademisi (TÜBA) [Turkish Academy of Science] (TÜBA, 2006). The second leg of the faculty development attempts is the doctoral scholarship programs for studying in Turkish universities. These attempts basically have two legislative bases: first one is the Article 35 of the Turkish Higher Education Law No 2547 and the second one is the Faculty Development Project. The Article 35 of the Turkish Higher Education Law No 2547 (Government of Turkey, 1981) concerns the needs of teaching staff of the higher education institutions. According to that law, all higher education institutions, whether established or yet to be established, are responsible for educating future faculty members. Within this context, more research assistantship positions were designated to universities by the Council of Higher Education. In case of lack of faculty members and doctoral programs in a particular university, the assistantships in that particular university are allowed to be transferred to another university offering a doctoral program. Students who complete their doctoral studies return to their own universities to carry out compulsory service for a certain period of time. Öğretim Üyesi Yetiştirme Programı (ÖYP) [Faculty Development Project] was initiated in 2001 with the financial support of Devlet Planlama Teşkilatı [State Planning Agency] in order to meet the growing need for quality faculty members in Turkish universities. The difference of ÖYP from the above article 35 of the Higher Education Law numbered 2547 is that besides getting their salaries for the assistantship positions, graduate students are supported financially to conduct their research and to study abroad for about two semesters. Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi

5 (ODTÜ) [Middle East Technical University] was the first to offer doctoral education for ÖYP program to meet the faculty needs in other four partner universities. Until 2006, 19 other partner universities have joined the program and 562 ÖYP students were accepted for PhD programs in 43 different disciplines. Currently there are eight ÖYP doctoral students studying in mathematics education at ODTÜ for different partner universities. DOCTORAL PROGRAMS IN MATHEMATICS EDUCATION In this part, we will explain the nature of the mathematics education doctoral programs in Turkey. In doing so, we will explain general characteristics of the program of studies - including admission procedures and various requirements-, and employment opportunities for those with a doctoral degree in mathematics education. Describing doctoral programs throughout Turkey is a challenging task for several reasons. First of all, doctoral programs in different universities have different characteristics and expectations from students. Second, the characteristics of doctoral programs are rapidly changing and new programs are being established. Finally the information about doctoral programs is available in different levels departments, graduate schools, the Council of Higher Education which sometimes may not be aligned with others. Despite these difficulties, we attempt to summarize general characteristics of doctoral programs by providing examples from some selected doctoral programs. More specifically, although our search in dissertation database of the Council of Higher Education has revealed that 10 universities have mathematics education doctoral programs throughout Turkey, we will only focus on the programs in three universities: Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi (ODTÜ) [Middle East Technical University] in Ankara, Karadeniz Teknik Üniversitesi (KTÜ) [Karadeniz Technical University] in Trabzon, and Atatürk Üniversitesi (AÜ) [Atatürk University] in Erzurum. Considering the number of dissertations completed and their geographical regions, we consider these programs represent the diversity in mathematics education doctoral programs in Turkish universities. The information provided in this section was obtained through the Web pages of universities and a survey sent to program chairs by to respond, which consisted of a questionnaire that included open-ended questions regarding the number of dissertations completed so far, the type of courses offered during the program, etc. Admissions to Doctoral Programs In Turkey, all doctoral programs are considered under PhD. Students can apply to a PhD program after having either a bachelor s or a master s degree. Doctoral programs do not require teaching experience prior to admission. Admission to doctoral program is based on applicants' cumulative grade point average (GPA) in undergraduate and/or the masters program (if attended), their Akademik Lisansüstü Eğitim Sınavı (ALES) [Academic Graduate Education Exam] scores or equivalent international examination scores, such as the USA-based Graduate Record Examination, level of English language proficiency and the evaluation of other

6 criteria required and announced by the relevant department administration, such as recommendation letters or letter of intentions. ALES is given twice a year by the Öğrenci Seçme ve Yerleştirme Merkezi (ÖSYM) [Student Selection and Placement Center]. This exam measures verbal reasoning and quantitative reasoning. The skills measured in verbal reasoning include the test taker's ability to analyze and evaluate written material and synthesize information obtained from it, to analyze relationships among component parts of sentences, and to recognize relationships between words and concepts. The skills measured in quantitative reasoning include the test taker's ability to understand basic concepts of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, and data analysis, to reason quantitatively, and to solve problems in a quantitative setting. Applicants' level of English proficiency is evaluated based on the result of either the university s English proficiency examination or the equivalent exams such as Üniversitelerarası Kurul Yabancı Dil Sınavı (ÜDS) [Interuniversity Foreign Language Examination] or Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). ÜDS is given twice a year by ÖSYM. For admission into a graduate study program, the acceptable score on these exams is determined by the recommendation of the department administration and the acceptance of the Administrative Board of the Graduate School. Number of Faculty Members and Graduate Students Institutions vary greatly in the number of faculty members as well as the number of graduate students. While AÜ has 14 faculty members in mathematics education program, ODTÜ and KTÜ have 7 and 4 faculty member respectively. The main reason for AÜ having more faculty members is that they offer both mathematics and mathematics education courses, which is not the case in both ODTÜ and KTÜ. Therefore, the program at AÜ employs faculty members with PhD s either in mathematics education or mathematics. While approximately half of the faculty in AÜ hold doctoral degrees in mathematics education, the rest have degrees in mathematics. This combination of mathematicians and mathematics educators in AÜ results in some doctoral students doing research in pure mathematics. For instance, only 9 out of 19 doctoral graduates in AÜ did their dissertation research on mathematics education (see Table 2). Currently mathematics education doctoral programs in these three universities have 110 students in total (see Table 1). The distribution of genders of the current students and doctorates granted vary across universities. In total about half of the current doctorate and doctorate granted students were females (see Table 2). Thirty seven of the current doctorate students have a position in the universities as an assistant. Of these 37 students, 9 are in ÖYP program and 17 are benefitting from article 35. Taking together ÖYP and Article 35, twenty six doctoral students will return to different universities that have been assigned previously. Considering the number of dissertations completed until 2008, and the number of doctoral students currently progressing, the mathematics education will develop in the next decade in terms of the number graduates and the research. However, the rapid increase in the demand of

7 doctoral degrees in mathematics education will eventually reach to saturation in terms of the need of faculty in the coming decades. Therefore, we believe that, it is just the time for policy makers to think about planning the supply and demand for mathematics education doctoral degrees, by considering all employing alternatives. Faculty Members Assistantships Status of Current Students PhD PhD Students Offered Dissertations earned in earned progressing by Article Completed Turkey abroad. in PhD Program ÖYP 35 as of 2008 ODTU KTU Ataturk Note. The numbers in this table were obtained directly from the universities. Table 1: Number of faculty members and graduate students as of early 2009 Doctorates Granted Doctorates in Progress F M F M ODTU KTU Ataturk Total Table 2: Number of doctorates (by gender) in mathematics education The Content and the Demand for Coursework The course of studies in doctoral programs has two tracks; one for students with bachelor s degree and the other for students with a master s degree. Students who hold a masters degree must complete at least 7 courses not being less than 21 credits in total a doctoral qualifying examination, a dissertation proposal, and a dissertation. For those who have been accepted with a bachelor's degree, this program is comprised of a minimum of 42 credits or 14 courses, a doctoral qualifying exam, a dissertation proposal, and a dissertation. The maximum period to complete the course work is 4 semesters for students holding a master s degree, and 6 semesters for students accepted with a bachelor's degree. One credit hour for graduate courses represents an hour of lecture or two hours of laboratory work per week. Each academic year has two semesters. At the end of four or six semesters, CGPA must be

8 at least 3 out of 4. In addition, dissertations need to be completed in four semesters. If necessary, students may use extra four semesters to complete their dissertations. Consistent with the faculty in the program, the courses offered vary greatly in the range of mathematics, mathematics education and other topics (research courses and/or general education courses). While in KTÜ there are no compulsory courses, at ODTÜ some research courses such as statistics and research methods and at AÜ courses in science ethics and computer are compulsory. The rest of the courses are electives that are selected either by the students or by the recommendation of the supervisor. Mathematics education faculty at KTÜ and ODTÜ do not offer any mathematics courses, since these courses are offered by the mathematics departments. The official language in the universities apart from ODTÜ is Turkish. However, doctoral students at KTÜ are required to complete at least two courses conducted in English. All courses and dissertations at ODTÜ are conducted in English. The Process and Nature of Doctoral Qualification Examination and Hereafter Upon the completion of the coursework, students in each university need to take the doctoral qualifying examination. Doctoral students holding a master s degree must take this exam within their fifth semesters, and students enrolled with a bachelor's degree within the seventh semester at the latest. The doctoral qualifying examinations committee established with five members, one being the student's dissertation supervisor, are responsible to prepare and administer the qualification examinations. Committee members are required to have a doctoral degree. The doctoral qualifying examination consists of a written and oral examination to evaluate students' skills in conducting independent research and their understanding of major concepts and issues in the field. Doctoral students conduct their dissertation research under the supervision of a faculty member whom has the position as assistant professor or above. If needed a co-supervisor may be appointed. A dissertation supervising committee of three faculty members is also appointed upon the completion of the doctoral qualifying examinations. Within six months after the qualification exam, each doctoral candidate needs to prepare and defend a dissertation proposal to a committee consisting of three members including the dissertation advisor. A doctoral dissertation is expected to demonstrate a new contribution to the field by using appropriate methodologies. Graduates with Mathematics Education Doctoral Degrees The majority of doctoral graduates in mathematics education seek positions in the higher education. For example, based on our survey, we have found out that among 46 doctoral graduates of KTÜ, ODTÜ, and AÜ in mathematics education programs (see Table 1), 42 work in higher education and others are employed in test development companies and in schools. Those employed in higher education assume a range of teaching responsibilities including teaching mathematics and/or

9 mathematics education courses offered in the program and conduct research in the field. Considering the number of students progressing in doctoral studies (see Table 1), we assume that the graduates of doctoral programs will contribute not only to higher education, but also to other institutions, such as the Ministry of National Education, schools, or private companies in the future. CONCLUSION In Turkey, about 35 million people (about half of the population) is under the age of 28 (Türkiye İstatistik Kurumu [Turkish Statistics Institute], 2009). Considering that the population growth rate is about 1.013% per year, the need for education is a growing demand in Turkey. In recent years the government and the Council of Higher Education have a determined policy to increase the number of higher education institutions in Turkey. For instance, in 2006, fifteen new public universities were established throughout Turkey. Currently, 62 public universities and 5 private universities have faculties of education. With the trend of establishing new universities, there is an increasing need for faculty development. In this sense, the demand for staff is still evident for the coming few decades. Since some universities are still in the process of gathering together their staff, most of which have the potential to employ the graduates of mathematics education doctoral programs. The statistics we provided in this paper demonstrates that, in recent years, there is an increasing number of students pursuing a doctoral degree in mathematics education. However, considering the rapid increase in the number of higher education institutions, we argue that more efforts are needed to meet the need of growing faculty need. One pathway may be to find ways to enhance the possibilities for pursuing a doctoral degree in mathematics education. Another one is to explore the benefits of doing national or international collaborations in developing new programs or improving the existing ones. While dealing with the quantity issue, another challenge for the doctoral programs in Turkey is to maintain and improve the quality. Considering the varieties in workplace of graduates, universities should try to increase the diversity in the coursework and graduate research within the mathematics education doctoral programs. In addition, doctoral programs should also try to put more efforts in offering a program of study that reflect the nature of mathematics education in variety of ways. Finally, creating a productive research community of mathematics educators that is well integrated with their international counterparts should be a major goal for the doctoral programs. Even the Council of Higher Education has general criteria to open graduate programs in universities (YÖK, n.d. -b), the principles to guide the design and implementation of doctoral programs in mathematics education could be established to provide a number of ideas and suggestions regarding doctoral programs in mathematics education. Besides, national conference on doctoral programs in mathematics education could be set to develop the ideas and suggestions regarding doctoral programs in mathematics education.

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