The Turkish Physics Teachers’ Views of the ‘Radiation’ Subject in the Current Textbooks

Abstract

Radiation has become an important issue due to an increase in human-made radiation sources and a rapid improvement in technology. The aim of this study is to elicit the Turkish physics teachers’ views of the ‘radiation’ subject in the current textbooks. To collect data, semi-structured interviews were conducted with twelve teachers working in different high schools. The data were presented using tables with quatotions. The findings showed that the teachers were mostly familiar with the ‘radiation’ subject in the textbooks. They stated that the curriculum insufficiently involved the ‘radiation’ subject. Further, they addressed that the textbooks minimally referred to the subject since the university entrance examination does not cover the radiation-related questions. Teachers also depicted that they had limited subject matter knowledge of radiation and found it difficult for teaching their students. Moreover, they thought that integrating more radiation subjects into the current textbooks would be beneficial for them and their students. The current study suggests that the scope of the ‘radiation’ subject in the textbooks should be extended. Furthermore, a new physics curriculum ought to be interactively developed by the help of the teachers.