DISTANCE EDUCATION FOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN ICT INTEGRATION: A STUDY WITH PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS IN TURKEY
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Raşit Özen

Abstract
The primary education curriculum in Turkey requires integration of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) into classroom practices. This urges training of Turkish teachers in ICT like their colleagues in Western countries. The current study analyzes interviews held with 73 primary school teachers in the spring semester of the 2007-2008 academic year in Bolu, Turkey, who participated in local In-Service Training (INSET) programs to integrate ICT into their classroom practices. Content analysis and continuous comparison techniques were used to analyze the data. Teachers reported positive effects in their computer and internet knowledge, skills, opinions and classroom uses of these technologies and in their students’ academic achievement levels, use of these technologies and participation in classroom activities. Even though teachers reported positive changes in themselves and in their students, they noted many barriers to integrating INSET gains into their daily classroom activities.

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