Professional Problems of Visual Arts Teachers Appointed and Not Appointed: Comparative Content Analysis

Problem Statement: The question of what types of problems are encountered by Visual Arts teachers during and after the appointment process constitutes the problem of this research. Purpose of the Study: The purpose of the research is to determine what types of problems are encountered by Visual Arts teachers during and after the appointment process over the period of 2007-2012, and to compare the results with those of a previous research (for the period of 2000-2007) on the same topic conducted by the researcher in September 2007 (16th National Congress on Educational Sciences ? Tokat). Method: The data sources of the research are 249+249=498 messages sent by Visual Arts teachers to the online discussion forums at the web address “http://forum.memurlar.net” over the periods of 2000-2007 and 2007-2012. The messages were determined randomly, and evaluated in terms of the problems encountered by Visual Arts teachers through the technique of “categorical data analysis”. Findings and Results: The number of problems and problem types are 342 and 13 respectively for the period of 2000-2007 while the number of problems and problem types are 370 and 19 respectively for the period of 2007-2012. No problem is determined in 32 out of 498 messages. The comparison of the data obtained from the messages sent over the periods of 2000-2007 and 2007-2012 show that the top problems have remained the same. It is determined that the percentages of some problem types have slightly decreased while those of the others have significantly increased. 13 problem types are identified for the period of 2000-2007 and it is seen that the problem types have become more diversified and six new problem types have emerged in the period of 2007-2012. Conclusions and Recommendations: The results of the research reveal that Visual Arts teachers encounter many problems during and after the appointment process. These problems may adversely affect their motivation and thus their professional efforts. The research provides information which can contribute to the regulation of policies and practices in appointment and assignment of teachers, the revision of the quality and quantity of teacher training programmes, and the formulation of legal regulations by the Ministry of National Education (MEB), the Student Selection and Placement Centre (ÖSYM), universities and the Government in communication with each other so as to ensure that more importance is attached to the Visual Arts course and teachers. It is suggested that the Government adopts a serious art education policy to resolve the problems and to provide a good art education at schools.