In recent years, the use of electrophysiological studies, neuropsychological tests and imaging techniques, providing opportunity for the researchers to study the brain both structurally and functionally, have provided considerable amount of knowledge, which resulted in important changes in educational areas. During this period, through the impact of constructivist approach, three significant concepts have come into prominence: “Individual differences”, “contextuality” and “complexity”. In this regard, an important part of educational studies has focused on understanding the learner with his/her differences, complexity andwholeness within a sociocultural context. Similarly, brain studies have provided important new framework for rethinking about the educational studies and learning models. Considering these three concepts (i.e. “individual differences”, “contextuality” and “complexity), the present review tries to analyze the outcome of the brain research, to discuss the principles of Brain-Based Learning with the possible consequences and implications on education and, in the light of Brain-Based Learning principles, to evaluate the constructivist learning models such as Experiential Learning, Multiple Intellengience, Collaborative Learning, Self-Regulated Learning.

Even though hidden curriculum is influential on students' moral education, it is not sufficiently investigated. Among the researchers that studied the subject, Lawrence Kohlberg has attempted to systematically explain hidden curriculum's role and effects on moral education. In this article, the role and effects of hidden curriculum in moral education are explained in accordance with Kohlberg's suggestions. In particular, the inadequacy of conveying moral education in the form of a course and in an authoritarian way has been emphasized. The new primary curriculum in Turkey brings a new understanding about students' gaining moral values. The degree of gaining these moral values by students in classrooms is discussed according to Kohlberg's ideas about hidden curriculum.

The aim of this study is to determine the opinions of primary school teachers about the implementation and effectiveness of the new primary school curriculum that was conducted in eight cities during the 2004-2005 academic year. For that aim, a 24item Likert-type scale, composed of four sub-scales, was developed and administered to 124 teachers working in five pilot schools in Diyarbakır downtown for the validity and reliability analyses. The reliability of the scale was tested through Cronbach Alpha (0,92), Spearman-Brown (0,85) and Guttman (0,85) and the scale was found to be reliable. The sub-scales were named learning environment, knowing the curriculum, adopting the curriculum, and implementing the curriculum. The scale, then, was administered to 982 teachers working in 8 other cities where the new curriculum was conducted. The aim was to determine whether the learning environment in the pilot schools was suitable for the new curriculum. To what extent the teachers knew the new curriculum, adopted and used it in terms of city, student number and gender variables were also studied. Results were discussed in relation to previous curriculum applications.

The new elementary school curriculum being piloted is developed on the basis of constructivism. Naturally, it is expected that the new curriculum contains the changes in learning environment and the studentteacher responsibilities. For this reason, the research was oriented to determine the propriety of change and the problems confronted in the application. For this purpose, the Constructivist Learning Environment Survey (CLES) developed by Aldridge et al. (2000) was adapted into the conditions of Turkey. The sample of the study was 600 students; 253 male and 347 female students, whose ages ranged between 10 and 12 and who attend the Pilot Elementary Schools in İzmir. The data of the interview of teachers who work at the same schools were used to verify the results of the measurement instrument. The data obtained showed that the teachers are strained in choosing activity in the stage of classroom management and the construction of concept. Also, the study showed that the teachers could not require the sharing of responsibility. The students had positive opinions about the application of the CLA; but, they were negative about subscales of the CLES. For instance, the students reluctantly behaved in sharing responsibility. In addition, the students could not establish relation with the science, the real world and the school. The comments and suggestions were constituted with the findings obtained from the data and the theoretical data.

This research analyzes the 4th and 5th grade teachers' and students' opinions about the new Turkish Language Education curriculum, which was piloted during the 2004-2005 academic year. Data, collected through interviews from teachers and students were analyzed by qualitative techniques. Seven male and seven female, teachers were participated in this study, of which half were teaching the 4th graders (9-10 years old students) and the other half were teaching the 5th (10-11 years old students). 57 males and 67 females of which 61 were the 4th graders and the rest were the 5th graders participated in this study. Results indicate that teachers think that “in-service training seminars” about the new program were insufficient in terms of their duration, organization, and sample activities. They also indicated that they sometimes had some difficulties in finding lecture materials. Despite all, they still believe that the new program was very functional regarding learning fields, learning and teaching processes and measurement-assessment processes. They thought that the most problematic area in the program was in teaching grammar rules”. The students participated in this study responded that they understood the subjects better, the classes were more enjoyable, and they could express their feelings more than they did in the previous year.

In this study, Primary Education Turkish Curriculum and the Guidebook (the current curriculum), which was designed and published as draft in 2004, and finalized in 2005, was evaluated by comparing and contrasting it with the Turkish Curriculum (former curriculum) which was designed in 1981 and was published for first to fifth grades separately. As a result of the comparison and contrast study, it was observed that both curricula contain similarities as well as differences. The following might be stated as a conclusion: The current curriculum is more explanatory in comparison with the former curriculum. However, some of the drawbacks in the former curriculum are also present in the current one. Although the current curriculum offers many positive suggestions in theory, in putting it into practice nationwide, problems of insufficiently qualified teaching staff and inadequate equipment might be encountered. Therefore, revising the current curriculum should be considered of vital importance and the process of evaluating and revising should be continued in accordance with the outcomes of the curriculum in practice.

The 2004 Turkish primary school curriculum based on the principles of constructivist theory is intended to bring different educational viewpoints into teaching- learning process. As a consequence of the integration of constructivist theory into Turkish primary school curriculum, one of the many student-centered approaches, project-based learning approach is planned to be implemented in the teaching- learning process according to the 2004 program. Project-based learning is an approach constructed on the tangible outcome that students produce either on their own or in small groups. This study investigated the effects of project-based learning upon learning outcomes in social studies courses among fifth grade by using quantitative and qualitative methods. In the quantitative phase, a pre-and-post test control group design was used and the effects of project-based learning on the learners' success were observed. In the qualitative phase, a semi-structured interview was used to learn the opinions of learners and teachers involved in the study. The results showed that there was a significant correlation between the academic successes of experimental and control groups. In addition, participants and teachers indicated that project-based learning increased the success by providing students with various skills and making learning more enjoyable, entertaining, and meaningful. However, few problems were also reported such as arguments between group members and difficulties in carrying out the project.

This article comparatively examines elementary mathematics curriculum development studies carried out in Turkey and the US in terms of their curriculum development perspectives and approaches. In the first section, curriculum development studies and their impacts on the Turkish educational system have been discussed. The second section began with the reform movements following the publication of the NCTM Standards in the US. Then three curriculum development projects based on the NCTM standards were examined in detail. Finally, these three projects and the new Turkish mathematics curriculum were comparatively evaluated on the basis of the methods and approaches used by the official organizations of Turkey and the US in both.

The purpose of this study was to examine whether there was a difference in the degree of congruence between self and occupational-self concepts of counselor candidates at different class grades. The theoretic bases of this study was based on the Super's Self concept Theory (1957; 1963a; b; c). The sample of the study consisted of 52 (24 female and 28 male) counselor candidates. This research was longitudinal in nature. The Adjective List (Bacanli, 2003) is used for collecting the data. Kappa statistical technique was used to analyze the data. The results showed that the degree of congruence between self concept and occupational-self concept was significant at first, second, third, and forth grades. However, the results indicated that there is no significant difference in the degrees of congruence between self and occupational self concept across students' class levels. These results supported the Super's Self Concept Theory. The results were discussed in relation to relevant literature. Suggestions were given for future studies and the limitations of the study were discussed.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of different problem-solving strategies on freshman university students' achievements of quantitative problems in a general chemistry course. In order to identify students' achievements of quantitative problems in chemistry, the Quantitative Problem-solving Achievement Test consisting of 20 multiple-choice items was developed and administered to 150 students as pre-and-post tests. The results of ANCOVA indicated that the students' achievements of quantitative problems in the Polya's problem-solving strategy incorporating with cooperative learning approach were better than the students' achievement of quantitative problems in traditional problem-solving and the Polya's problem-solving strategies. Based on the findings, it can be concluded that this approach helps the development of students' problem-solving skills and achievements because using the Polya's problem-solving strategy with cooperative learning may increase verbal interaction among students. Some recommendations to improve students' problem-solving-skills are given in the lights of the findings and previous research findings.

The teachers' subject-domain competencies play a vital role at the source of the difficulties that students have with rational numbers in elementary schools. The aim of this study is to identify pre-service elementary school teachers' (i.e., mathematics, science and elementary school teachers) conceptualizations of rational numbers. The sample of the study consisted of 277 senior pre-service teachers; 72 from mathematics teaching department, 60 from science teaching department, and 145 from primary school teaching department. The Rational Number Conceptualization Test, including 14 questions, was administered to pre-service teachers and semi-structured interviews, including 10 questions, were conducted afterwards in order to identify their rational number conceptualizations. Statistically significant results were found on the conceptualization levels of conceptual rational number problems among pre-service teachers in favor of mathematics and science pre-service teachers. While there was no statistically significant difference between mathematics and science pre-service teachers or between mathematics and elementary school pre-service teachers on the conceptual levels of operational rational number problems, a statistically significant difference was found between science and primary school pre-service teachers in favor of science pre-service teachers. The collected data from the semi-structured interviews revealed that pre-service teachers have difficulties on the conceptualization of rational numbers and on learning and applying the models used to teach rational numbers. In light of the findings of this study and related studies in the literature, teaching approaches that might enhance pre-service teachers' conceptualization levels of rational numbers were discussed and some suggestions were made.