Abstract
Chemistry education research (CER) ranges from understanding the history and philosophy of chemistry, which guides on us how chemistry knowledge was developed, to the developments and application of modern technologies and tools for a more effective teaching of chemistry. CER plays a mediator role in translating recent discoveries in the field of chemistry into content that can be understood by students. Like in many academic disciplines, it is necessary for chemistry educators to pause periodically and take stock of what kind of research we are doing and where chemistry education is going. A content analysis of research papers can guide scholars with a strong indication of the extent to which journal editors and scholars prioritize research in the chemistry education field and whether there have been changes in the subject matters studied and research methods employed over time. This chapter focuses on the development of research in chemistry education in Turkey through a content analysis of 1338 research papers published in peer-reviewed journals and compares it to international research published in high status journals that publish CER. It starts with a brief introduction to the Turkish education system and teaching chemistry as a discipline in Turkey. Attention then moves to the research in chemistry education in the world and Turkey. Content analyses of CER papers published by Turkish chemistry educators are compared with CER published by highly respected international journals. The results indicated that although CER has showed a visible increase in Turkey since 2000 and the number of national and international publications is increased, there are still problems with publishing high quality research papers in respected international journals. The chapter concludes with a discussion on the status and future of CER in Turkey.
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We would like to gratefully acknowledge the help in editing the English of the chapter by Prof. Dr. Bob Bucat from the University of Western Australia.
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Appendix: List of Journals Surveyed for Papers in CER
Appendix: List of Journals Surveyed for Papers in CER
N# | International journals | Type of journal | Number of papers (f) | Percentage within int. journals | Percentage within all journals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Journal of chemical education | International | 302 | 28.2 | 22.6 |
2 | Chemistry education research and practice | International | 297 | 27.7 | 22.2 |
3 | International journal of science education | International | 130 | 12.1 | 9.7 |
4 | Journal of research in science teaching | International | 72 | 6.7 | 5.4 |
5 | Research in science education | International | 46 | 4.3 | 3.4 |
6 | Science and education | International | 42 | 3.9 | 3.1 |
7 | Science education | International | 38 | 3.5 | 2,8 |
8 | Asia-Pacific forum on science learning and teaching | International | 20 | 1.9 | 1.5 |
9 | Journal of science education and technology | International | 19 | 1.8 | 1.4 |
10 | Journal of baltic science education | International | 18 | 1.7 | 1.3 |
11 | Research in science and technological education | International | 11 | 1.0 | 0.8 |
12 | Eurasian journal of educational research | International | 10 | 0.9 | 0.7 |
13 | Eurasia journal of mathematics, science and technology education | International | 10 | 0.9 | 0.7 |
14 | International journal of science and mathematics education | International | 9 | 0.8 | 0.7 |
15 | International journal of environment and science education | International | 8 | 0.7 | 0.6 |
16 | Eurasian journal of physics and chemistry education | International | 7 | 0.7 | 0.5 |
17 | Turkish online journal of distance education | International | 7 | 0.7 | 0.5 |
18 | International journal of new trends in education | International | 6 | 0.6 | 0.4 |
19 | Turkish online journal of educational technology | International | 6 | 0.6 | 0.4 |
20 | Essays in education | International | 4 | 0.4 | 0.3 |
21 | Studies in science education | International | 2 | 0.2 | 0.1 |
22 | International journal of education in mathematics, science and technology | International | 1 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
23 | International science | International | 1 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
24 | Journal of science teacher education | International | 1 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
25 | Science education international | International | 1 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
26 | Didactica Slovenica Pedagoska Obzorja | International | 1 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
27 | European journal of teacher education | International | 1 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
28 | Instructional science | International | 1 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
29 | The qualitative report | International | 1 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
Total number of chemistry education papers surveyed in international journals | 1072 | 100.0 | 80.1 |
N# | National journals | Type of journal | Number of papers (f) | Percentage within nat. journals | Percentage within all journals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Turkish journal of science education | National | 44 | 16.5 | 3.3 |
2 | Hacettepe University journal of education | National | 38 | 14.3 | 2.8 |
3 | Kastamonu education journal | National | 15 | 5.6 | 1.1 |
4 | Ahi Evran University Kirşehir education faculty journal | National | 14 | 5.3 | 1.0 |
5 | Journal of national education | National | 14 | 5.3 | 1.0 |
6 | Necatibey education faculty electronic science and mathematics education journal | National | 14 | 5.3 | 1.0 |
7 | Gazi University Gazi education faculty journal | National | 11 | 4.1 | 0.8 |
8 | Turkish journal of educational science | National | 11 | 4.1 | 0.8 |
9 | Dokuz Eylül University Buca education faculty journal | National | 9 | 3.4 | 0.7 |
10 | Educational sciences: theory and practice | National | 9 | 3.4 | 0.7 |
11 | Journal of research in education and teaching | National | 8 | 3.0 | 0.6 |
12 | Erzincan University education faculty journal | National | 8 | 3.0 | 0.6 |
13 | Pamukkale University education faculty journal | National | 8 | 3.0 | 0.6 |
14 | Education and science | National | 6 | 2.3 | 0.4 |
15 | Electronik social sciences journal | National | 6 | 2.3 | 0.4 |
16 | Ondokuz Mayis University education faculty journal | National | 6 | 2.3 | 0.4 |
17 | İlköğretim online dergisi | National | 5 | 1.9 | 0.4 |
18 | Hasan Ali Yucel education faculty journal | National | 5 | 1.9 | 0.4 |
19 | Atatürk University Kâzim Karabekir education faculty journal | National | 4 | 1.5 | 0.3 |
20 | Çukurova University education faculty journal | National | 4 | 1.5 | 0.3 |
21 | Abant İzzst Baysal university education faculty journal | National | 3 | 1.1 | 0.2 |
22 | Amasya University education faculty journal | National | 3 | 1.1 | 0.2 |
23 | Ankara University journal of faculty of educational sciences | National | 3 | 1.1 | 0.2 |
24 | Boğaziçi University education journal | National | 3 | 1.1 | 0.2 |
25 | Dicle University Ziya Gökalp education faculty journal | National | 2 | 0.8 | 0.1 |
26 | Ege journal of education | National | 2 | 0.8 | 0.1 |
27 | İnönü University education faculty journal | National | 2 | 0.8 | 0.1 |
28 | Anadolu University education faculty journal | National | 1 | 0.4 | 0.1 |
29 | Bati Anadolu Eğitim Bilimleri Dergisi | National | 1 | 0.4 | 0.1 |
30 | Burdur education faculty journal | National | 1 | 0.4 | 0.1 |
31 | Mersin University education faculty journal | National | 1 | 0.4 | 0.1 |
32 | MIJE-Mevlana international journal of educational | National | 1 | 0.4 | 0.1 |
33 | Pegem journal of education and teaching | National | 1 | 0.4 | 0.1 |
34 | Educational technology research journal | National | 1 | 0.4 | 0.1 |
35 | Sakarya University education faculty journal | National | 1 | 0.4 | 0.1 |
36 | Yuzuncu Yil university education faculty journal | National | 1 | 0.4 | 0.1 |
Total number of chemistry education papers surveyed in national journals | 266 | 100.0 | 19.9 | ||
Total | 1338 | 100 | |||
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Sozbilir, M., Akilli, M., Yasar, M.D., Dede, H. (2016). Development of Chemistry Education Research (CER) in Turkey: A Comparison of CER Papers with International Research. In: Chiu, MH. (eds) Science Education Research and Practice in Asia. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-0847-4_16
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