AWP 2005

Seeking Gender Equity in 1st and 2nd Grade Turkish Social Textbooks

Gizem Aksoy, Nurçin Erdoğan, Fatma Gök, and Asil Ali Özdoğru

The aim of this study was to examine gender role portrayals in 1st and 2nd grade Turkish Social textbooks. For this purpose, a content analysis of the 4 textbooks that were prepared and published by the Ministry of Education in 2001 was carried out. The quantitative and qualitative data showed that equal visibility of men and women in textbooks would not necessarily stand for gender-equality in textbooks. Although the analyzed textbooks were more likely to illustrate evidences for gender-equity, gender bias was still evident in the roles, occupations and settings in which men and women were represented. Improvements in the textbooks and implications for policy-makers and teachers were discussed.

Keywords: Gender-equity, elementary school, Turkish textbooks

Citation: Aksoy, G., Erdoğan, N., Gök, F., & Özdoğru, A. A. (2005, February). Seeking gender equity in 1st and 2nd grade Turkish social textbooks. Poster presented at the 30th annual conference of the Association for Women in Psychology, Tampa, FL.

HGSE Student Research Conference 2005

Students’ Self-Reported Experiences about Electronic and Paper Homework Submission

Asil Ali Özdoğru and Nancy Peña

Homework submission as an important step of the entire homework task includes its own components and processes. Differences and similarities between electronic submission and paper submission (e- and p-submission), and students’ perceptions of the two were investigated by self-report data collection techniques. Two graduate students recollected their last five e- and p-submissions with coding schemas developed to track the underlying elements and experiences involved in each type of submission. Results indicated that less time and resources were required in e-submission. Other than submission type, feedback time was dependent on factors such as volume and length of submissions. The problems in each form of submission and their interchangeable usage pointed out their complementary roles in submission and the importance of student experiences in making use of technology.

Keywords: Homework, electronic submission, paper submission, student experiences

Citation: Özdoğru, A. A., & Pena, N. (2005, February). Students’ self-reported experiences about electronic and paper homework submission. Paper presented at the 10th annual Harvard Graduate School of Education Student Research Conference, Cambridge, MA.

FYI 2005

One difficulty in the psychological sciences lies in the familiarity of the phenomena with which they deal. A certain intellectual effort is required to see how such phenomena can pose serious problems or call for intricate explanatory theories. One is inclined to take them for granted as necessary or somehow “natural.”

Noam Chomsky (1968) Language and Mind


No matter what philosophy of life we espouse, it is important to see childhood as a stage of life, not just as the anteroom to life.

David Elkind (2001) The Hurried Child

Mind and brain © 2005 Center for Mind and Brain

Times Union

School District is Smart to Add Climbing Walls

Asil Ali Özdoğru

The traverse rock-climbing walls that the Schenectady school district has installed ("Rock walls teach students to reach," Nov. 29) are valuable assets in contributing to pupils' physical and psychological development. These walls are essential not only for physical education but also in changing and creating better school environments. An atmosphere only emphasizing academics and instruction is not helpful in creating favorable student perceptions of the school. When this sort of fun and enjoyable activity is associated with schools and combined with formal curriculum, students can have better perceptions of and attitudes about their schools, and education in general. A positive approach to school is vital for student motivation and achievement. Instead of offering activities students like only through after-school activities or other ways, schools should be places offering activities and programs designed in accordance with student interests.

Citation: Özdoğru, A. A. (2004, December 7). School district is smart to add climbing walls [Letter to the editor]. Times Union, p. A18.

NERA 2004

Preschool Children’s Private Speech and Play Types

Asil Ali Özdoğru and Xiuyuan Zhang

The aim of this study was to investigate the relation between preschooler’s uses of private speech in different play types changing in social involvement. Private speech is the young child’s self-talk without addressing any listener and without any communicative intent. Piaget thought that it stems from egocentric thoughts of children who cannot take the perspective of other people. However, current views starting with Vygotsky support that it is self-regulative and has a social nature, playing significant roles in cognitive development. Twenty-three children (11 three-year-old and 12 four-year-old) were observed in their day care settings, and their play and private speech types were coded with checklists developed by the authors. Results showed no difference between the two age groups and gender groups. Ethnic groups differed in their use of private speech. There was a decline in the vocalization of private speech in more social play types.

Keywords: Private speech, play, Piaget, Vygotsky, daycare setting

Citation: Özdoğru, A. A., & Zhang, X. (2004, October). Preschool children’s private speech and play types. Paper presented at the 35th annual conference of the Northeastern Educational Research Association, Kerhonkson, NY.

EQRE 2004

Content Analysis for Gender Bias in Turkish Elementary School Textbooks

Asil Ali Özdoğru, Gizem Aksoy, Nurçin Erdoğan, and Fatma Gök

This study analyzed the presentation of gender roles in Turkish elementary school textbooks. Gender roles and identity are among the primary social values that educational systems help their students to develop and internalize. Content and delivery of the educational materials reflect the values and ideals in a given society. Turkey, like other patriarchal societies, has values that put emphasis on male dominance and favor male priority. In this study, the way that gender roles were presented and members of the two genders were depicted in two Turkish elementary school textbooks were investigated by utilizing content analysis method. Content analyses of Turkish and Life Studies textbooks for 3rd grades showed that there were important differences for two genders in terms of social values, roles, and relations both in school atmosphere and family environment. Results implied important directions for educational administrators and policy makers in the preparation and use of educational content.

Keywords: Gender roles, identity formation, content analysis, textbooks

Citation: Özdoğru, A. A., Aksoy, G., Erdoğan, N., & Gök, F. (2004). Content analysis for gender bias in Turkish elementary school textbooks. Proceedings of the sixteenth annual Ethnographic and Qualitative Research in Education conference. Retrieved from http://www.albany.edu/eqre/papers/39EQRE.pdf

NEERO 2004

Children’s After-School Activities and Anxiety Level: American and Taiwanese Comparison

Joan Newman, Christyn Perras, Asil Ali Özdoğru, Chin-Cheng Kao, Yiping Chang, and Anastoassios Matsopoulos

This study investigated the relation between children’s use of after-school time and their anxiety levels. How children use after-school time has important developmental outcomes. Some psychologists think that children are overwhelmed, “hurried,” (Elkind, 1981) and “hot housed” (Sigel, 1987) by their parents. To investigate this possibility, 90 American and 292 Taiwanese 4th graders completed a “what I usually do” questionnaire developed by researchers, and Revised Children’s Manifest Anxiety Scale. While American students were found to spend more time in enjoyable and self-chosen activities such as sports, peer interaction, reading, and play, Taiwanese students spent more time in adult-chosen activities such as homework, extra academics, and non-sports. Taiwanese students had also higher anxiety scores than their American counterparts. Perceived enjoyment and hours of adult-chosen activities were important contributors to anxiety level for both groups of children.

Keywords: After-school activity, anxiety, cross-cultural comparison

Citation: Newman, J., Perras, C., Özdoğru, A. A., Kao, C.-C., Chang, Y., & Matsopoulos, A. (2004, April). Children’s after-school activities and anxiety level: American and Taiwanese comparison. Poster presented at the 36th annual conference of the New England Educational Research Organization, Portsmouth, NH. 

FYI 2004

Most people think of science as a subject, such as physics or chemistry. Science is not a subject but a method.

Frank J. Sulloway (1996) Born to Rebel


Children are very active, constructive thinkers and learners. They are clearly not blank slates that passively and unselectively copy whatever the environment presents to them.

John H. Flavell (1992) Cognitive development: Past, present, and future. Developmental Psychology

Human and cosmos © 2004 ZeD Open Source TV

FYI 2003

There is nothing so practical as a good theory.

Kurt Lewin (1951) Field Theory in Social Science


Psychology is a science, and teaching is an art; and sciences never generate arts directly out of themselves. An intermediary inventive mind must take the application, by using its originality.

William James (1900) Talks to Teachers on Psychology

Brain cell and synaptic gap:
Peptides, proteins and electric charges
outside a brain cell membrane during synapsis
© 2003 Michael Freeman/CORBIS

FYI

FYI is my annual compilation of quotations and visuals on education, psychology, science, technology, arts, and more from identified sources. They aim to achieve what FYI stands for me. Even though FYI is defined as for your information by most sources, I would like to extend that to the following, but not limited to, in no particular order:

For Your i (pronounced same as eye)

For Your I

For Your Insight

For Your Imagination

For Your Inspiration

For Your Idea

For Your Input

For Your ...

Please do not hesitate to add to the list and share your favorite quotes and images with me.