EXPECTATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS OF GEOGRAPHY TEACHERS FOR IN-SERVICE TRAINING ACTIVITIES: A QUALITATIVE STUDY

The aim of this qualitative study is to determine geography teachers' expectations and recommendations for in-service training. The study was conducted in 2014-2015 academic year with 21 geography teachers working in Istanbul. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews and analyzed using descriptive analysis. Participants have positive perceptions of in-service training. Their expectations of in-service training are objective-oriented and quality-focused activities that are implemented by appropriate instructors at the appropriate place and time. According to participants, seminars or in-service training activities should be content rich, differentiated based on high-school types, extended over the academic year, contain various documents, have high technical infrastructure and allow the drawing-up of achievement, participation certificate and final reports. Participants recommended that the geography teaching curriculum be simplified to realize the objectives of in-service training activities and that geography teachers be brought together from time to time to improve their interaction. We believe that the results of this study will be a source of data for people who consider organizing and conducting in-service training activities