What Computer Education & Instructional Technology Means to pre-service teachers: A case study of a Turkish State University

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the students' perception in a Turkish State University about the mission that the Department of Computer Education and Instructional Technology conveys. This study also investigates the students' beliefs about the effectiveness of their 4-year curricula to successfully achieve their goals and missions. Data was collected through a questionnaire containing open-ended questions related to the department's mission, aims and goals and about the meaning of the terms "Instructional Technology" and "Computer Education". The findings showed that although most of the major goals were stated by the students there was no consistency among the perception of the students with respect to the minor goals. The students also had difficulty in defining the basic terms.