The Dark Triad (DT) personality traits include interrelated personality constructs which are Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy, and research has shown that individuals who are high on the DT personality traits tend to choose occupations that provide outcomes compatible with these traits. Supporting this reasoning, the DT is suggested to have impacts on major choices of university students. Previous research has also shown that the Big Five (BF) personality traits influenced educational choices. The main aim of the current study was to examine whether or not self-selection based on these personality characteristics predicted career choices. Data was collected from 659 (359 female) newly enrolled students in seven academic majors (i.e., psychology, law, economics/business, engineering, political science, medicine, and education) in Turkey. Mean scores of the groups were compared using two (gender) by seven (major) analysis of variance with the DT and BF personality traits as the dependent variables. The results revealed that Machiavellianism scores of economics/business and engineering students were significantly higher than those of psychology students. In addition, psychopathy scores of engineering, economics/business, and political science students were higher than those of psychology students. Neuroticism scores of students from psychology departments were higher than those of engineering, economics/business, and political science students. Law and education students’ neuroticism scores were also higher than those of students from engineering and economics/business departments. Finally, interaction effects of major and gender were significant for openness to experience and conscientiousness. The findings are discussed regarding theoretical and practical implications along with suggestions for future research.

Keywords: The dark triad personality traits; The Big Five personality traits; Academic major choices.

Parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) routinely visit healthcare institutions for medical examinations. Hospital visits can be a difficult experience because of core challenges of ASD, a general lack, or low level, of ASD knowledge among healthcare providers and lack of volunteer services. This study investigates results of a program developed to overcome these problems. The program under the name of “Be My Hospital Friend” aimed to encourage university students to engage in volunteer services in health issues. The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe the experiences of participants via reflections. Also, student’s levels of ASD knowledge were examined. The results show that the program was beneficial for participants’ ASD knowledge and personal development. The results discussed in terms of implications for research and practices.

Keywords: Autism spectrum disorders; Hospital; Qualitative research; Volunteering.

Students with learning disabilities have significant difficulties in learning to read because of the disorder in the phonological component of the language. This study aims to investigate the relationship between word reading and phonological processing skills of students with and without learning disabilities. In the study, a comparative descriptive research method was used. Twenty students with a learning disability and 26 students without learning disability who attended third-grade classes of elementary schools in the city of İstanbul participated in this study. The data were collected through Turkish Word Reading Test, Phonological Awareness Assessment Tool, Rapid Naming Test and Verbal short- term memory subtest of Working Memory Scale. The results of the analysis showed that students with learning disabilities had significantly lower performance in all assessments than their peers without learning disability. Significant relationships were observed between word reading, phonological awareness, rapid automized naming, and phonological short term memory scores. The findings were discussed within the framework of related literature.

Keywords: Learning disabilities; Word reading; Phonological processing; Phonological awareness; Rapid automized naming; Phonological memory.

The aim of this study was to investigate the development and developmental trajectories of the three most frequently postulated executive function (EF) components. In addition, we explored the developmental relation between early expressive and receptive language skills and EF longitudinally. Expressive and receptive language tasks and age-appropriate working memory, inhibition, and shifting tasks were conducted with 70 pre-schoolers (36 girls and 34 boys) aged between 36 and 65 months. Measures were taken two times at 6 month intervals within a longitudinal design. The findings of the present study revealed that different aspects of language had predictive relations with shifting and working memory components of EF 6 months later. The findings also showed how components of EF develop during the preschool years both cross-sectionally and longitudinally.

Keywords:Executive functions; Language; Working memory; Inhibition; Longitudinal; Pre-schooler.

The purpose of this study was to analyze educational technology competencies of secondary school students according to various variables. The sample of this study, in which the descriptive survey model is used, consisted of a total of 920 students who are studying in 6^th, 7^th and 8^th grades of secondary schools in the central districts of Van province which were İpekyolu, Tuşba and Edremit in the 2017-2018 academic year. In order to determine educational technology competencies of secondary school students, Educational Technology Standards Scale was used. Descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation) and differential statistics (t Test, ANOVA) were used in the analysis of research data. As a result of the study, it was found that secondary school students had a high level of educational technology competencies as well as a high level of technology literacy, creativity, and innovation skills while the competencies of digital citizenship and participation they possess were at a moderate level. Findings showed that male students compared to female students, the students having os ma os mart boards in their classrooms compared to the ones who did not have, students having internet connection in their homes compared to the ones who did not have, students having opportunities for utilizing technological tools such as computers, smartphones, and tablet computers compared to the ones who did not have, possessed a higher level of educational technology competencies. It was concluded that as the parents’ educational level and income level increase, the students’ educational technology competencies also increase.

Keywords: Educational technology competencies; Technology literacy; Creativity.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the opinions of teachers teaching in vocational training centers in İzmir province regarding their job satisfaction depending on various factors. This is a quantitative research consisting of 177 teachers working in vocational education centers in İzmir province at 2017-2018 academic year in order to define their job satisfaction and socio-demographic features. In this study ‘Job Satisfaction Scale’, which was developed by Çetinkanat (1995), was applied. Data collection tool consisted of two parts. The first part included gender, age, marital status, graduated school type, teaching experience variables while in the second part, there were 32 questions for measuring satisfaction. SPSS.23 package program was used for statistical analysis of the study. Since the data indicated normal distribution, parametric tests were used. For two-group comparisons, t test was used for independent groups and one-way analysis of variance was used for comparisons in more than two groups. Turkey Test, which is one of the Post Hoc tests, was used to find the source of the difference between the groups in One-Way Anova tests. The error margin was accepted as p<0.05 in this research. As a result of the analyzes, it was found that; age, marital status and graduated school type have not been constituted significant difference in teachers’ job satisfaction. However, it was found that the difference in the gender variable and the years of service in teaching variable were significant.

Keywords: Teacher; Vocational training; Vocational training center; Job satisfaction; Job satisfaction scale.

The aim of this study is to investigate the level of university students’ coping with stress in terms of daily spiritual experience and the meaning of life. This research was carried out in accordance with the relational survey model. The study group consisted of 497 students studying in various departments of state universities in Konya. Participants’ ages range from 18 to 43, and 297 of the participants were female and 200 were male. Correlation and regression analysis techniques were used in the analysis of research data. According to the results of the correlation analysis, there are significant relationships between the spiritual experiences of the university students, the sense of meaning they have, and the coping styles with stress. According to the results of multiple linear regression analysis, spiritual experience and meaning of life significantly predicted coping with stress. The results of the study were discussed and recommendations were given in the light of the related literature.

Keywords: Daily spiritual experience; Meaning in life; Coping with stress; Spirituality; College students.

The choice of profession is a process that is getting harder day by day in today’s world where career options are increasing, too. The diversity of professions and the qualifications required by professions cause individuals need a long period of observation and awareness. In this context, individuals need to be informed in order to know the professions and master the diversified job opportunities, and also to know themselves in order to attain a sufficient level of professional maturity. In this research, the usefulness of the website, which is prepared as a support tool of a career planning program aimed at the recognition of high school students and their professional maturity levels, was examined in the career planning process. In the research as the descriptive survey model, the quantitative and qualitative data collected from a total of 32 users consisting of guidance teachers and high school students were analyzed. According to the findings of the study, it was determined that the users have found the website “meslegimiseciyorum.org” as useful. They also perceived the modules as useful and adequate in terms of content quality and interface characteristics. The “Occupational Fields” and “Self-Recognition” modules was defined by the users as the most admired modules. Within the findings of the research, the contributions of technology-supported environments in career planning were discussed.

Keywords: Career development programs; Career planning; Computer assisted career guidance system; High school level; Choice of profession.

This study aimed to investigate the life satisfaction, positive and negative effects in terms of different characteristics in university students. The sample consisted of 962 university students (412 female and 550 male). The Positive and Negative Affect Scale, the Life Satisfaction Scale, and the personal information form were used for data collection. Data were analyzed using independent samples t Test and one-way ANOVA. As a result, life satisfaction scores of students differed significantly in terms of gender, age groups, household income, and perceived need for psychological counseling. Significant differences were also found in positive affect scores in terms of gender and faculty. Moreover, we found significant differences for negative affect in terms of faculty, age groups, household income, the location of residence during childhood, and perceived need for psychological counseling. The findings of this study can be useful for future studies to identify the psychological needs of university students and design the most applicable mental health interventions in higher education.

Keywords: Subjective wellbeing; Life satisfaction; Positive and negative affect; University students.

The current study examines the association between attachment styles in romantic relations and love type preference, emotional expression, and life satisfaction. Two hundred twenty-six volunteers participated in the study. Results showed that participants who were securely attached to their romantic partners preferred Eros love type more, while participants who were insecurely attached to their romantic partners decided on Ludus, Pragma and Mania love types. There was no difference between secure and insecure attachment styles in terms of Storge and Agape love types. Moreover, there was no difference between groups in terms of general emotional expression. Participants who were securely attached had higher life satisfaction than those who were insecure. It is argued that differentiation power on emotional expression and life satisfaction might be obtained with studies about attachment styles in the romantic relationship.

Keywords: Attachment style; Emotional expression; Life satisfaction; Love types; Romantic relationship.

This study aimed to determine the attitudes and views of university students towards online cooperative learning, internet, and digital technologies. The mixed method was used as the research design. The study group of this study consisted of a total of 358 students studying in different departments of Amasya University in the fall semester of 2018-2019. The data of the study were collected with the Attitude Scale towards the Internet, the Attitude Scale for Digital Technologies, the Attitude Scale for Online Cooperative Learning, and the semi-structured interview form. The findings of this research showed that university students’ attitudes towards Online Cooperative Learning and Digital Technologies were high and their attitudes towards the internet were at medium level. Also, university students’ attitudes towards Online Cooperative Learning, Internet and Digital Technologies did not differ in terms of class level, their attitudes towards Internet and Digital Technology differed in terms of the department, but their attitudes towards Online Cooperative Learning did not differ. In terms of gender, it was found that their attitudes towards Online Cooperative Learning and the Internet did not differ but their attitudes towards Digital Technologies differed.

Keywords: Online cooperative learning; Internet; Digital technology; Attitude; University students.

The aim of this research was to determine the effect of prospective science teachers’ perceptions on science and scientists. The research was conducted with a total of 83 prospective science teachers studying in the senior class. The data were obtained by Draw a Scientist Test developed by Chambers (1983) and a question form consisting of four open-ended questions about science and scientist prepared by researchers. The drawings of participants were analyzed by using Draw a Scientist Checklist in the literature and Drawing Analysis Categories List created by researchers. The findings of this research showed that the scientists’ images of the prospective teacher exhibited a traditional structure. The scientist was generally perceived as a person with glasses, laboratory apron, hair scattered, elderly, lonely, male and working in the laboratory. One of the biggest differences between female and male prospective teachers in the drawings is the fact that males mainly drew male scientist. Besides, the prospective teachers identified the science with qualifications of growth and size.

Keywords: Science; Scientist; Drawing; Prospective teacher.

Leading individuals to occupational choices that are based on the gender suitability of a profession, occupational gender stereotypes begin to form as early as elementary school years, setting the stage for gender inequality both in society and in the professional world. Thus, it is important that gender-based occupational stereotypes are targeted starting from the early stages of life. In this study, occupational gender stereotypes of 60 elementary school students regarding 16 professions requiring university level education were investigated, followed by the examination of the effectiveness of a single session career counselling activity developed by the researchers. The findings indicate that students perceive the occupations of civil, computer and mechanical engineers, pilots, judges, bank managers, scientists and financial advisors as male professions and nursing as a female occupation. The results also indicate that the career counselling activity prepared by the researchers is statistically effective in decreasing gender-based occupational stereotypes. In light of these findings, career development can be suggested as a process that is affected by gender-based occupational stereotypes and that career counselling services should be included in all levels of education starting from the early years to help students make their career-related choices more effectively. To this end, it can be argued that, in addition to systematic career counselling interventions, primary school students need female role models working in the male dominated fields, namely science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Keywords: Social gender equality; Female role models; Career counselling; Occupational gender stereotypes; Guidance and counselling in elementary schools.

The aim of the study is to examine smartphone addiction in adolescents in terms of self-control. The research is a descriptive research and the survey model was used. The sample of the research consists of 868 high school students selected by appropriate sampling method from Simav district of Kütahya Province. Personal Information Form, Smart Phone Addiction Scale-Short Version and Self Control Scale was used as data collection tool. As a result of the study, a moderately negative relationship was found between the level of smartphone addiction in adolescents and the level of self control. While adolescents’ level of smartphone addiction does not differ significantly depending on gender, smartphone usage time varies significantly. Adolescents’ self control level and each subdimension of self control don’t differ according to gender and class level. In the last part of the study, recomendations were discussed, interpreted and contributed to the field in the context of the area, whether the relationship between smartphone addiction and self control levels, smartphone addiction and self control levels varied according to certain variables in adolescents.

Keywords: Phone; Smart phone; Addiction; Smart phone addiction; Self control.

This study was carried out to develop a scale to determine the attitude levels of primary school students towards life science and to determine the attitude levels of students towards life science course with the scale we developed. Data were obtained from four study groups in which descriptive research method was used. Study groups were composed of 355 (EFA), 264 (CFA), 61 (test-retest), and 290 (determining attitudes) students. SPSS 22.00 and Lisrel package software were used in analysing the data. According to the data, as for the exploratory factor analysis (EFA) it was determined that the developed scale explains 46.30% of the total variance, each factor has at least 2% eigenvalues, also each factor explains at least the 14% of total variance, each factor is represented at least with 5 items, and has 16 questions in total with three factor form. Three factors have a correlation with each other, and Cronbach’s Alpha internal consistency coefficient of the whole scale is 0.81. Test-retest results of the attitude scale show that the scale is reliable. Cronbach’s Alpha internal consistency coefficient of the whole scale is calculated as 0.81 according to the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and as for the CFA results 5 of them are acceptable and 6 are in excellent level. The attitudes of second and third grade primary school students towards life science were found to be high.

Keywords: Life science course; Scale development, Attitude scale, Attitude.

The purpose of this research is to determine the effect of the attitude toward mobile learning on learning. The research was carried out on 160 students studying at Fırat University Faculty of Education. In addition, students’ attitudes to mobile learning and learning were examined according to their gender, type of field of study, daily internet usage, teaching experience, class and age levels. In order to collect data, Attitude Scale for Mobile Learning and Learning Attitude Scale were used. When the findings of the research were examined, it was found that the attitudes of the individuals towards the learning according to the scientific field (Social Sciences, Science and Health Sciences) they learned had differentiated significantly, but no differentiation was observed in their attitudes toward mobile learning. It has been determined that individuals studying in the field of Science have higher attitudes towards learning compared to those who study in the field of Social Sciences and Health Sciences. While a significant difference of opinion was determined between attitudes towards learning according to gender variable, no significant difference was found in terms of attitude towards mobile learning. According to this finding, it was observed that female students have higher attitudes towards learning than male students. Another finding obtained within the scope of the study is that students’ attitudes towards mobile learning do not differ significantly according to their daily internet usage time. In addition, a weak significant correlation was found between students’ attitudes towards mobile learning and their attitudes towards learning. It has been determined that the structures that make up the students’ attitudes towards mobile learning predict 22% of the variance regarding attitude towards learning.

Keywords: Mobile learning; Attitude towards learning; Regression analysis; Correlational research; Attitude.