Psycho-Educational Research Reviews

Investigation of the New Generation University Initiative: The Case of Atatürk University

Güler Biçim — 2024-04-30

The aim of the research is to examine the implementation processes and results of the "New Generation University Design and Transformation Project" carried out by Atatürk University in line with higher education reform movements in the context of new generation university standards. Case study, one of the qualitative research methods, was used in the research. Data were collected through document analysis. Documents, archive records, working documents, all news and explanations about the project, project development and evaluation reports, strategy documents, workshop result reports were analyzed as part of the document analysis. According to the results of the review, the areas of improvement in terms of the educational mission of the "New Generation University Design and Transformation Project" are the increase in program accreditation by more than 300 percent, the expansion of program self-evaluation studies, and the elimination of deficiencies in course information packages. The aspects of the project that are open to improvement in terms of the educational mission are; limited program monitoring and updating practices, lack of graduate monitoring systems or inability to obtain effective and efficient results, lack of dissemination of different teaching methods and techniques, the existence of faculties without accredited programs, lack of peer evaluation practices, lack of structuring education, research and social contribution processes in relation to each other. Areas of improvement in terms of the "research" mission of the project are the existence of defined processes and practices for research strategy and objectives, and the establishment of monitoring mechanisms for research processes. On the other hand, there is room for improvement in that the results of the monitoring of research processes are not evaluated sufficiently and improvements are limited, information management systems for monitoring performance indicators are used at a limited level, and practices for developing research competence are limited. The area of improvement for the social contribution mission area of the project is that there are defined processes and practices for the social contribution strategy and objectives. The areas open for improvement are that the results of the monitoring of social contribution processes are not sufficiently evaluated and information management systems for monitoring improvements and performance indicators are used at a limited level.

Can Distance Education be Closer: A Training Program about Autism

Emine Timuçin — 2024-04-30

In this study, families with children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders, teachers working with these individuals and experts in their fields were brought together in an online learning environment. It was aimed to determine the participants' expectations, the state of contentment after the implementation and to evaluate their opinions regarding the process of "Online Seminar on Autism" structured within the scope of transactional distance theory. At the end of the fully remote 17-week study, educational contents were created, and the main implementation was performed online. The process was evaluated by families connecting at convenient times. The strongest aspects of the process were determined as videoconferencing environment used by 54 volunteered the participants, access and question asking opportunity to field experts. In this study, a mixed method approach was adopted in which qualitative and quantitative data collection tools were used together. The data collection tools used in the research process included open-ended and scale ranking questions. Open-ended questions were analyzed with content analysis where the data obtained from the responses were coded, and themes were obtained from codes with similar characteristics. The obtained themes and codes were presented in tables indicating the repetition percentages of the codes. The answers given by the participants to the scale rating questions in this form are expressed with frequencies. The most important opportunities offered by the online environment were listed as the late and convenient training hours, attending trainings from home and the support which was exhibited by the families to each other. Emerging technical problems were revealed as the biggest threats against the online training.

Do Personality Traits Influence Nomophobia? An Investigation of the Big Five Personality Traits and Nomophobia Levels in University Students

Zeynep Turan — 2024-04-30

This study examines the relationship between nomophobia and the Big Five personality traits: extraversion, openness, neuroticism, agreeableness, and conscientiousness. Accordingly, the non-experimental correlational methodology was used in this study. In this context, 484 university students were reached using the convenience sampling method. The Nomophobia Scale and the Big Five Inventory were used as data collection instruments. Multiple regression analysis was conducted to determine whether university students' Big Five personality traits predict their level of nomophobia and subfactors of nomophobia. The results showed that the students were moderately nomophobic. In addition, there was a significant predictive positive correlation between extraversion, openness, neuroticism and nomophobia. According to the results, nomophobia, the fear of losing connectedness, and the fear of being unable to communicate are more common in those with neuroticism. Individuals with high levels of openness and neuroticism are more likely to be afraid of giving up convenience. In addition, more open individuals are more likely to be afraid about not being able to access information. On the other hand, no correlation was found between agreeableness and conscientiousness characteristics and nomophobia. Finally, some recommendations for researchers and practitioners are suggested.

The More Digital You Are, The More Your Child is Addicted to Digital Games: A Correlational Study

Merve Aydın — 2024-04-30

A major concern in the socio-psychological development of today's students is gaming addiction, which is one of the risks associated with the use of digital technologies. It is the responsibility of parents to help their children deal with this problem as best they can. Students' health and behaviour may be negatively affected by parents' lack of knowledge about digital parenting awareness. This study aims to investigate the relationship between gaming addiction in middle school students and their parents' awareness of digital parenting. 371 students aged 11-14 and their parents participated in the study. A one-way variance test, dependent t-tests and descriptive statistical analysis were used to analyse the data collected using the Digital Parenting Awareness Scale and the Digital Game Addiction Scale. This led to the observation that students' digital game addiction is generally low. Time spent in a digital environment and gender have a significant impact on students' digital game addiction. Parents are moderately aware of their role as negative role models, neglect of digital devices and effective use of these devices. There was a low level of negative correlation between students' digital game addiction and parents' awareness of digital parenting in terms of digital neglect and protection from risks, and a low level of positive correlation in terms of negative modelling and effective use. As a result, suggestions were made about how digital parenting awareness can protect students from the risks associated with digital technology use.

The Effect of Group Guidance Program on Family Stress and Burnout Levels for Parents of Children with Special Needs

Gökhan Güler — 2024-04-30

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of the group guidance program on family stress and burnout scores of parents who have children with special needs. Pre-test, post-test quasi-experimental control grouped design was used in the study. There were four parents (mother) in the experimental group and four parents (mother) in the control group. The Questionnaire on Resource and Stress-F and the Maslach Burnout Inventory were used as data collection tools. The group guidance program, which was developed by Ayşe Çin in 2001 and consists of eight sessions was applied to the experiment group. Group guidance was conducted online through the Zoom Meetings program, considering the ethical principles of online counseling due to the COVID-19 process. Group guidance was applied to the experimental group between 31.05.2021 and 25.07.2021. Control group has not been subjected to any application. Significance of differences in pre-test post-test scores of subjects were analyzed with Mann Whitney U test. The research findings showed that the group guidance program had a significant effect on the family stress levels and burnout levels of the parents in the experimental group. Based on the research findings, comments were made and suggestions for practice and research were developed.