Completed Master Thesis

Thesis Title Student name Program Thesis Supervisor(s) Year
Learning and Developing Critical Consciousness Through Activism Practices: A Comparative Study

"The aim of this study is to examine the learning and development of Freire’s (1974) critical consciousness through activism practices by focusing on LGBTQ+ activism in Turkey. Learning experiences and critical consciousness development were revealed comparatively by analyzing LGBTIQ+ activists, who stand up against social injustice and discrimination, and non-activist, who are LGBTIQ+ individuals. In this qualitative study, biographical interviews were conducted with six participants, their narratives were analyzed through the Documentary Method to reveal their orientation frameworks. The orientations of activists were clearly distinguished from non-activist participants through accessing information sources, joining a community to learn by joining a community and developing motivation for learning. The components of critical consciousness, which are critical reflection, critical motivation, and critical action, varied between activist and non-activist participants. Unlike non-activists, the components of critical consciousness were encountered in the orientations of activist participants. The presence of all these components together demonstrated that activists were in the process of developing critical consciousness. Keywords: Critical learning; Freire; Social movements; LGBTQ activism" 		İrem Ege TUĞCU Educational Sciences Rahşan Nazlı Somel 2023
Counseling Needs of Gifted Children: The Perspectives of Psychological Counselors

The purpose of the present study was to examine the perspectives of psychological counselors regarding gifted children in public primary schools in İstanbul. Within this purpose, children and professional needs were investigated. In this qualitative study, eight interviews were conducted using a semi-structured form with one male and seven female psychological counselors aged between 29 and 37 years old. Two of them had former work experience in the Science and Art Center (BİLSEM), the public institution for gifted education. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. The findings demonstrated that psychological counselors conceptualize giftedness in various ways, namely social skills, diversity, getting easily bored, creative thinking, special ability in a particular field, curiosity, awareness, learning style, interest area, and emotional skills. Additionally, they indicated loneliness, acceptance and recognition, anxiety, frustration, pressure for success, perfectionism, time management, and career-related issues as counseling needs of gifted children. According to psychological counselors, gifted children were often subjected to at least one of the labeling types; namely glorification, exclusion, favor, alienation, or hiding the gift. Psychological counselors indicated their professional needs as professional competence and systemic barriers. Finally, individual counseling, group guidance, individual guidance, and group counseling were the most utilized approaches when working with gifted children. The practical implications for psychological counselors, teachers, parents, and policy makers were also discussed. 		Burcu GÜNEŞ Guidance and Psychological Counseling Zeynep Hande Sart 2023
Responsive Parenting and Children's Social-emotional Skills in Early Years: Preliminary findings from a Low-income Sample

Children need emotional support and cognitive stimulation by caregivers to grow, learn and adjust to social life. The main aim of the present study was to examine the relations among maternal depression, responsive parenting behaviors and children’s social-emotional outcomes (i.e., social competence, regulatory problems, externalizing behaviors) during toddlerhood. Poverty poses the greatest risk to the development of young children and challenges parenting in many ways. A sample of 88 low-income mothers with toddlers between 24-31 months of age were recruited through Family Counseling Centers of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality. Mothers filled out a demographic form, the Brief Infant-Toddler Social-Emotional Assessment (Briggs-Gowan & Carter, 2006), and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scales (Zigmond & Snaith, 1983). The mother-child interaction was also video-recorded during a shared reading activity and maternal behaviors were coded by the scale of Observation of Mother-Child Interaction (OMCI) (Rasheed & Yousafzai, 2015). Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that socio-economic status of (SES) families significantly predicted child dysregulation in contrast to responsive parenting behaviors. Besides, SES predicted both responsive parenting domains. Child dysregulation was positively associated with maternal depression, and negatively with emotional support of mothers. Parenting did not mediate the relation between maternal depression and child outcomes. 		Tuğba ALTUN Guidance and Psychological Counseling Nihal Yeniad 2023
Informal Learning Experiences of School Counselors During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The aim of this study is to investigate the challenges, opportunities, and informal learning experiences of school counselors during the COVID-19 pandemic from the adult education perspective. Phenomenology was employed in the research as one of the qualitative research approaches. Guided interview questions were utilized during the semi-structured interviews of the thirteen (13) participants, one of which was a pilot study. Thematic analysis was used for the verbatim transcripts of the interviews by utilizing MAXQDA qualitative data analysis program, and the findings were presented in the results section. In the current study, eighteen (18) themes emerged: four (4) themes emerged under the title of challenges, six (6) themes under the title of opportunities, four (4) themes under the title of informal learning, and four (4) themes under the title of strategies to cope with challenges s. The themes of adverse effects on well-being, communication difficulties, technology adaptation challenges, and professional/vocational procedure difficulties are challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. The themes of flexibility in terms of time and locality and saving time, opportunity/time for self-initiated professional development, lower peer conflict among students, convenience and comfort, facilitation of participation, and others (online counseling) are opportunities for the COVID-19 pandemic. The themes of social media and digitalization, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), reading and researching, and social support groups are informal learning experiences. The themes of accessing information from reliable sources, physical self-care activities, peer solidarity, and other (bibliotherapy-maintaining daily routines) are coping strategies. The results of this study reflect the challenges, opportunities, and informal learning experiences of school counselors during the COVID-19 pandemic. Consequently, school counselors as adult educators have experienced challenges, opportunities, and informal learning experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study offers suggestions for further examination of school counselors' experiences from an adult education perspective. The study has several limitations due to the nature of the qualitative research sample. The study has implications for school counselors, counseling educators, adult educators, and policymakers. Key Words: adult education, challenges and opportunities, distance education, informal learning, lifelong learning, school counseling 		Gözde DEMİR ERTUĞRUL Educational Sciences Ayşe Caner 2023
Parent engagement in early childhood during covid-19 online education

"The aim of this phenomenological study is to understand parent engagement experiences in online education during the COVID-19 pandemic from the perspectives of early childhood teachers and explore their learning needs to improve parent engagement in online education. The study was conducted with 12 early childhood teachers who delivered online education in Istanbul during the 2020-2021 academic year due to the pandemic. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using thematic approach. Based on the analyses of the lived experiences of early childhood teachers, themes of parent engagement practices in online education; challenges, and opportunities of online education for parent engagement; and learning experiences and needs of teachers in online education emerged. The findings of this study show that parents were engaged in their children's online education during the pandemic period and that parent engagement practices in this period gained a different dimension. However, teachers preferred to conduct parent engagement practices in face-to-face education rather than online education. They encountered various challenges in parent engagement in online education. Although various challenges were encountered, teachers developed specific strategies to overcome these challenges. Lastly, teachers did not receive sufficient training on parental engagement practices in online education during this period and thatand they needed training and support in this regard. This study is significant to document effective methods and approaches in terms of practice, curriculum, and policy with respect to online parent engagement practices in early childhood education. Key words: Informal learning, early childhood education, parent engagement, adult education, Covid 19, online education,challenges and opportunities 		Semanur ÇAKIR Educational Sciences Ayşe Caner 2023
The Impact of a Dialogic-reading Program on Children’s Cognitive Outcomes: Preliminary Findings of a Pilot Study

This study aimed to measure the impact of a dialogic-reading intervention program on children’s cognitive outcomes and mothers’ dialogic reading abilities. The study revealed the preliminary findings of a cluster randomized pilot study. The sample of the present study consisted of 92 mothers and their 24-31- months-old children within the intervention and control groups. Participants in the intervention group received an adapted version of a 7-week dialogic reading program in groups of four mother-child dyads while the control group received no treatment. Pretest and posttest assessments were completed for children’s receptive language skills through children’s performance on a receptive language test, children’s expressive language skills through mother-report inventory, selective attention skills via computerized task and focused attention skills and mothers’ book-reading behaviors through observation during shared book reading of mothers with their children. The findings showed no intervention effect on child or mother outcomes, contrary to previous studies (e.g., Cooper et al., 2014). Possible explanations of these preliminary results and recommendations for future studies were discussed. 		Elif Nur ASILKEFELİ Guidance and Psychological Counseling Nihal Yeniad 2023
Maternal ambivalence: Interviewing mothers

The present study was conducted to give voice to maternal ambivalence experiences of mothers. It aimed to uncover how mothers experience, express, and manage their maternal ambivalence. Also, it adddressed the factors in mothers' lives that make their maternal ambivalence experiences more or less difficult. Participants were 10 first-time mothers with a preschool aged child who was enrolled in a private preschool at the time. Within the framework of qualitative design, semi-structured interviews were conducted with each mother. Thematic analyses revealed that mothers had both positive and negative feelings towards their children and motherhood roles. Negative feelings were because of the child's undesired behavios, rapid mood swings, their own exhaustion, and times of crisis. These negative feelings included regret towards their motherhood role that put restrictions on their freedom and led to difficulties. After expressing their negative feelings, however, mothers felt regret, shame, and guilt. Mothers shared their maternal experiences with nonjudgemental people including friends, colleagues, and family members. Immediate and extended family members as well as others in the social circle put pressure on mothers to fit into conventional motherhood roles despite the fact that they provided limited support. Findings indicated mothers' need to share their ambivalent feelings and the importance of social support mechanisms. (Keywords: Maternal ambivalence, Mothers, Interview, Thematic analysis) 		Ayça TUNA Guidance and Psychological Counseling Deniz Albayrak-Kaymak 2023
Masculinity concepts in relation to attitudes towards physical violence against women: A counseling perspective

In patriarchal societies, heterosexual men are considered superior to women and nonbinary individuals who are suppressed or marginalized. This heteronormativity structure pressures men to struggle toward establishing and maintaining dominance and puts manhood into a precarious position, needing comtinuous protection against threats. If men perceive that their masculinity is threatened, they may resort to violence to reestablish their status. This thesis focused on how masculinty concepts related to attitudes towards violence against women as perceived by males as well as females. The concepts of masculinity included masculinity types, masculinity ideology and perceived threat to manhood. University students from three major metropolises, İstanbul, Ankara and İzmir, volunteered to participate through responding to the instruments in the Google Form. Among 405 students, 283 identfied themselves as female and 122 as male. Descriptive and relational analyses revealed that both males and females with hegemonic masculinity type had more affirmative attitudes towards physical violence than those with nonhegemonic masculinity type. Sex differences existed in masculinity ideology, perceived threat to mascunity, and attitudes towards physical violence. Except for Femininity Avoidance, males adopted a more traditional position in Head of Family, Emotional Restriction, and Dominance dimensions of masculinity ideology than females. Males pereceived more threat in dimensions of Breadwinner and Protector Roles and had more favorable attitudes towards physical violence. Biological sex, masculinity ideology and perceived threat to manhood predicted violence. From a counseling perspective, preventing gender discrimination and flexing strict gender roles seem to be the first steps to achieve nonviolence. (Key words: Masculinity type, Masculnity ideology, Threat to manhood, Physical violence against women, Counseling perspective.) 		Mehmet ÇINAR Guidance and Psychological Counseling Deniz Albayrak-Kaymak 2023
Relationships Among Childhood Experiences, Emotion Regulation, Shame Coping and Psychological Adjustment of College Students

"The purpose of this study was to investigate and explore the possible pathways of adverse and benevolent childhood experiences and psychological distress mediated by emotion regulation strategies and shame coping of college students who are in the emerging adulthood period. The sample of the study consisted of 393 college students. The data collection instruments were Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10-PDS), Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) Scale, Benevolent Childhood Experiences (BCEs) Scale, Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, The Compass of Shame Scale (CoSS). Path analysis of structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to explore possible pathways among variables. Results indicated that both ACEs and BCEs were directly related with psychological distress of college students (for ACEs β = .139, p < .05; for BCEs β = -.104, p < .05). Also, both ACEs and BCEs were indirectly associated with psychological distress of college students via emotion regulation strategies namely reappraisal and suppression and maladaptive shame coping style (for ACEs β = .088, p < .001; for BCEs β = -.139, p < .001). Psychological counseling and preventive interventions for college students may focus on providing trainings on increasing adaptive emotion regulation and shame coping skills. Keywords: Emerging adulthood, college students, psychological distress, childhood experiences, emotion regulation, shame coping." 		İrem SİMSAR Guidance and Psychological Counseling Zeynep Hande Sart 2022
Multiculturalism in Adult Education: The Perception and Practices of Adult Educators

This study aims to investigate how adult educators perceive and practice multicultural education. A phenomenological research design as a qualitative research method was employed in this study. Ten adult educators from three types of non-formal education institutions were interviewed. The data were analyzed by using content analysis. The findings indicated that the adult educators found multicultural education important and mostly advantageous. The educators associated multicultural education with the coexistence of culturally diverse people in a learning environment and educational materials that consider diversity. Even though the educators touched upon several aspects of multicultural education, most did not define multicultural education comprehensively and extensively. Their practices related to multicultural education were limited to content integration and equity pedagogy. The incorporation of multicultural content by the educators was at the levels of contribution and additive. Transformative and social reconstructionist aspects of multicultural education were lacking in the educators’ definition and practices of multicultural education. This study may contribute to adult educators' understanding, helping them to comprehend multicultural education from transformative and social action approaches. Further, since multicultural education within the adult education context was not paid attention to enough, this study is expected to contribute to national and international literature. 		İsmail ELÇİÇEK Educational Sciences Ayşe Caner 2022
University Alumni Mentoring Program: A Case Study in Turkey

This qualitative case study explored the university alumni mentoring program implemented by the alumni association of one of the state universities in Turkey. The purpose of the study was to analyze the program descriptively. The following questions guided the study: (1) What are the resources of the university alumni mentoring program? (2) Who participates in the program? (3) What are the activities of the program? (4) What are the outcomes of the program? The study utilized the logic model as a theoretical framework to address research questions. The study sample included one program director, ten student mentees, and ten alumni mentors. Semi-structured interviews and documents were used as data collection methods, and thematic analysis was applied to analyze data. The research findings revealed that mentoring relationships have various positive outcomes on participants’ personal and professional lives, such as learning, self-awareness, improved skills, and gaining new perspectives. The study contributed to the literature by providing insights into the university alumni mentoring program development and implementation process. The findings highlight that the university alumni mentoring program has the potential to support lifelong learning experiences for student mentees and alumni mentors and can serve as an adult education tool. Keywords: Mentoring, Adult Education, Higher Education, University Mentoring Program, Mentor, Mentee 		Ayşenur VATANSEVER Educational Sciences Fatma Nevra Seggie 2022
Contribution Of Art to Higher Education Students’ Social and Emotional Learning

The purpose of this research is to reveal the contribution of art to the social and emotional learning of higher education students, who are interested in arts during their university life, and their perceptions about this contribution. In this qualitative study based on the semi-structured interview method, the participants were selected from among undergraduate students who took at least two elective art courses at a state university in Istanbul. The ages of the participants ranged from 20 to 38. Interviews were held online within the framework of COVID-19 pandemic measures. During the interviews, demographic information was collected first; then, the interview questions were directed and the information about the participants' art experiences was collected within the framework of the components of social and emotional learning. The information obtained from the interviews was analyzed by the thematic analysis method. According to the findings of the study, the elective art courses that the participants took during their undergraduate education provided individual and social contributions such as self-awareness, self-confidence, self-discipline, inner peace, inner motivation, social awareness, adaptation, and socialization. In addition, it has been observed that it has contributed to determining new career goals and having a better academic life. The analyses underline that art is an important learning tool and reveal that it contributes to the social and emotional learning of higher education students. Key words: art, social and emotional learning, adult education, higher education, empathy, inner peace 		Merve ŞEN Educational Sciences Fatma Nevra Seggie 2022
Women Entrepreneurs’ Learning Experiences in Securing Microcredit and Establishing a Business  

Microcredit programs, which are seen as a solution to eliminating poverty in theworld in addition to the economic liberation of women, have become widespread incountries. There are studies that show that these programs have positive effects onwomen and support women's empowerment, as well as studies claiming the opposite.Considering the studies conducted in this field, there is no study examining theexperiences of women entrepreneurs throughout the whole process from theperspective of adult education. The aim of this qualitative research is to examine thelearning experiences of women who received training from KOSGEB. Then, openedtheir workplaces with credit support. Semi-structured interviews were carried outwith women entrepreneurs from Lüleburgaz who started their own businesses withcredit support from KOSGEB. The results of the study shows that participants foundthe entrepreneurship training provided by KOSGEB very efficient. There weredifferences regarding the duration of the training as the participants attended trainingat different time periods and institutions. Most participants stated that they had a lotof trouble in the process of renting the shop and making expenses before receivingthe loan. The fact that KOSGEB gives the loan after the establishment of theenterprises and the intensive inspections and paperwork carried out in this processchallenged the participants. All participants stated that their lives improved positivelyafter starting their own businesses. 11 of the 12 participants stated that they did notregret applying for a KOSGEB credit despite the difficulties they experienced duringthe process. Keywords: Microcredit programs, women entrepreneurs, adult learning. 		Deniz İrem ERGÜNEY Educational Sciences Özlem Ünlühisarcıklı 2021
A Longitudinal Examination of Self-Efficacy in the Transition to Motherhood

Previous research consistently revealed that self-efficacy (SE) in the parenting role is critical for parenting skills and child adjustment (Jones & Prinz, 2005). The present study investigated the predictors of SE in the transition to motherhood in a sample of 113 first-time expectant mothers who were at the last trimester of their pregnancy. One hundred of them participated to the follow-up assessment at 4 months postpartum. Participating mothers reported their SE beliefs in the parenting role and depressive symptoms through questionnaires both prenatally and postnatally. Information about their perceived social support and pregnancy-specific distress in the prenatal period and infant characteristics (sex and temperament) was also obtained through self-report. The findings showed that prenatal efficacy expectations were predicted by depressive symptoms, pregnancy-specific distress and social support, specifically support from family. Likewise, social support and SE beliefs during pregnancy as well as depressive symptoms postpartum uniquely predicted postnatal maternal efficacy beliefs while infant sex and temperament did not significantly contribute to this outcome. Furthermore, the sense of SE increased from pregnancy to the postnatal period and pre-post changes in depressive symptoms predicted this increase in maternal SE. Infant temperament did not moderate the relation between depressive symptoms and parenting self-efficacy in the postnatal period. Overall, the results point out the importance of mood and social support in shaping SE beliefs of primiparous mothers. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed in the context of psychological counseling in detail. 		Sedanur SORGUN Guidance and Psychological Counseling Nihal Yeniad, Bengü Börkan 2021
A preliminary adaptation of the Minnesota Counseling Inventory

Füsun AKDAĞ Guidance and Psychological Counseling Güler (Okman) Fişek 1979
English language background and academic success: a survey of the first year students at Boğaziçi University

Sylvia MOSTİÇYAN Guidance and Psychological Counseling Güler (Okman) Fişek 1979
Boyutsal tercihler ve kavram öğrenme : ilkokul ana sınıfı öğrencileri üzerinde bir araştırma

Ayşe Ilgaz CARDEN Educational Sciences 1978
The congruency between ideal and typical teacher concepts and its relation to the academic achievement and educational satisfaction of senior high school students.

Teacher characteristics and behavior traits have been of great importance to researchers studying the teacher-student interrelationship. Characteristics that would make a teacher "good" have been the major concern of teacher training programs. The relation between good teaching and student success achievement has been studied extensively. The present study too investigated the definition of an "ideal" teacher. The criterion used for this definition was the students' concept of their ideal teacher. The "ideal" teacher concept was then compared to the perception of the "typical" teacher concept of the students. The way subjects perceived their "ideal' and 'typical" teacher was determined by their ratings of a list of adjectives. This list was previously gathered by another group of students who described "ideal" and "typical" teacher. The study proceeded in several steps. First of all, the congruency between "ideal" and "typical" teacher concepts for the following groups were determined: "high achievers", "low achievers", "educationally satisfied". 		Fatma Şeyma GENÇEL Guidance and Psychological Counseling Judith Ener 1978
The effect of training for creativity on the divergent thinking abilities of a sample of Turkish ninth graders.

This research was designed (1) to test the effectiveness of a short period of creativity training on the divergent thinking abilities of a sample of Turkish ninth graders, (2) to investigate sex differences in divergent thinking abilities, and (3) to study teacher perceptions of divergent thinking abilities. The experimental group (n-20) was exposed to a training program for one hour per week for two consecutive weeks using Osborn's brainstorming technique and reloted principles. The control group (n.17) also carried out non-acad2mic activities for the same amount of time. A pre-and posttest design was employed to assess t~e effectiveness of the creativity training. The Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking- Verbal forms A and B were used. The tests were scored for the three divergent thinking abilities of fluency, flexibility and originallty. A 2 x 2 (treatment by sex) analysis of covariance was used to analyze the data. The class teacher was asked to nominate students for the three divergent thinking abilities. Teacher nominations for these abilities were correlated with the pretest scores of both cl asses. The following findings were obtained: (1) A short period of creativity training had a significant effect in increasing the three divergent thinking ability scores,of the experimental group. (2) Sex did not have a significant effect on the divergent thinking ability scores. (3) The correlations between teacher nominations and the three divergent thinking ability scores were low. The effects of training for creativity were discussed in terms of their relevance for the Turkish culture, and the feasibility of the integration of such training into the guidance periods in the high schools was considered. The lack of sex differences in divergent thinking was discussed in the context of cross-cultural findings. In relation to the results obtained on th~ teacher nominations, issues of identification of creative students and encouragement of creative abilities in students were discussed. 		Nükhet DOĞAN SANDWITH Guidance and Psychological Counseling Güler (Okman) Fişek 1978