The Department of Educational Programs and Instruction is one of the oldest and most essential departments within the field of educational sciences. It is an indispensable component of all faculties of education and all departments of educational sciences in Turkey, as it encompasses the common ground, shared values, and areas of work for all individuals whose careers intersect with education or whose profession is teaching, regardless of their specific field (early childhood education, elementary education, history, mathematics, English, computer science, etc.). Institutions such as preschool, elementary, secondary, higher education, vocational education, technical education, and adult education are responsible for carrying out society’s education-related activities. In fact, all institutions and organizations—whether public or private—also organize in-service training activities within their own frameworks and for various purposes. These formally conducted activities must include intentional, conscious, and planned initiatives. In other words, a “program”—which is prepared in advance and requires continuous development—forms the focus and center of all these activities. Programs are designed based on education, instruction, lessons, units, and even specific topics. Educators and teachers who lack the knowledge and skills regarding programs and program development—no matter how extensive or boundless their knowledge may be in any given discipline—can never truly be considered educators (teachers). This is because determining what should be taught, why, and how—as well as assessing how much has been learned—based on scientific criteria falls within the scope of scientific research and “knowledge production” in the field of “educational programs and instruction.” In the 21st-century knowledge society, determining the correct behaviors and learning outcomes that will truly benefit individuals (across all levels of formal and non-formal education) in the future based on scientific criteria; identifying and addressing any deficiencies or errors in the education system regarding these learning outcomes; enabling teachers to select information and content appropriate for these learning outcomes; designing instruction by optimally integrating contemporary learning and teaching theories, principles, methods, techniques, strategies, technologies, materials, and environments to convey the selected content; to determine the extent to which expected learning outcomes are achieved using modern assessment tools and methods; and furthermore, to investigate, using scientific methods and qualitative/quantitative research methods and techniques, whether errors exist in the objectives, content, instructional situations, and assessment processes, and ensuring continuous improvement—these are, fundamentally, the knowledge and skills that the “Educational Programs and Instruction” department aims to impart to educators and teachers. It should not be forgotten that when anyone in everyday life refers to a “good school,” they are actually referring to the success of the “educational program” implemented at that school. When anyone or a parent speaks of a “good teacher” in everyday life, they are actually referring to the teacher’s knowledge and skills in “curriculum development” as the implementer of the “curriculum.”
For this reason, the Department of Educational Programs and Instruction offers the following courses at the undergraduate level to prospective teachers from various disciplines who come to education faculties to pursue their studies: an introductory course in educational sciences designed to provide information about the profession and foster a passion for it; a class management course to enable them to lead instruction by creating a democratic classroom environment, a course on teaching principles and methods to enable them to apply theories, approaches, methods, techniques, and strategies—such as multiple intelligences, constructivism, brain-based learning, and project-based learning—to accurately convey subject-specific knowledge, an instructional technology course to enable them to utilize educational technologies such as tablets, phones, computers, and smart boards to organize appropriate learning environments, and to design instructional materials for these technologies, a “Program Development” course to enable them to analyze the discipline (subject area) they will teach within a program framework, identify educational needs, prepare daily, unit, and annual plans, and develop the skills to ensure the coherence of learning outcomes, content-processes-assessment in these plans or programs, and a course on assessment-assessment courses are offered to teacher candidates by our department.
The Department of Educational Programs and Instruction does not have its own undergraduate students. Students enrolled in all departments and teacher education programs within the College of Education are, by definition, students of the Department of Educational Programs and Instruction. In addition to the core courses listed above, faculty members in the department may offer courses such as philosophy of education, special teaching methods, individualized teaching methods, and teaching practicum as either elective or required courses, depending on need. In this way, the department fulfills its important mission of shaping faculty students into qualified, successful teachers equipped with 21st-century skills.
Until 1998, the EPÖ departments—which also had their own undergraduate students—provided undergraduate-level training for Vocational Subject Teachers (pedagogical training courses) at Anatolian Teacher High Schools, “program development specialists” for the Ministry of National Education, the military, the Council of Education and Training, and the in-service training departments of public or private institutions and businesses. In 1998, following a regulation issued by the Council of Higher Education (YÖK), the undergraduate program was discontinued, and student admissions were halted. From that date forward, all EPÖ departments in Turkey began offering graduate-level education. At YTÜ, our department has been offering Master’s and Doctoral programs continuously since 1998. In this regard, the Educational Psychology department continues its activities as the most established and oldest department within our College of Education. Nearly all of our Ph.D. graduates serve as faculty members at numerous universities across Turkey. Our master’s students, meanwhile, work as education specialists or program development specialists in private or public institutions and serve as education coordinators. Those working as teachers in private or public schools experience the honor, pride, and joy of practicing their profession with greater awareness and are able to achieve their career goals more quickly.
Educators and teachers from various disciplines who choose our department to pursue a thesis-based or non-thesis Master’s degree in educational programs and instructional design, educators or teachers from various disciplines who choose our department to gain a different perspective through personal development; program development, instructional design, comparative education, philosophy of education, learning theories, the development of assessment tools, instructional technologies and instructional design, individualized instruction, thinking and problem-solving processes, scientific research methods, values education, advanced statistics and SPSS applications, and new approaches to teaching and learning processes, among others.
The Department of Educational Programs and Instruction is staffed by 7 professors, 2 associate professors, and 3 research assistants. In terms of faculty composition, the department ranks among the top few universities—including both private and public institutions—in terms of academic richness. Faculty members specialize in Constructivism, Multiple Intelligences, Emotional Intelligence, Lifelong Education, Executive Functioning, NLP, Teacher Education, UbD, Instructional Design, Program Evaluation Models, Teaching Strategies, Project-Based Learning, web design, SPSS, qualitative research, mixed-methods research, performance assessment, problem-solving, critical thinking, brain-based learning, meta-analysis, in-service training programs, motivation, distance education, internet-based education, smart board-based instruction, blended learning, self-regulation, self-efficacy, reading comprehension, collaborative learning, language teaching, STEM, values education, connectivism, education for the elderly, early childhood education, Education 4.0, portfolio, virtual education, innovation, action research, mentoring, quantum learning, and many other topics. Therefore, candidates seeking to advance at the graduate level will have the opportunity to delve deeper into specialized areas under the guidance of experienced faculty members.