Examining the 2019 Turkish language curriculum and PISA 2018 reading skills test in terms of main idea teaching

Periodical
International Journal of Education and Literacy Studies
Volume
11
Year
2023
Issue number
1
Page range
9-22
Access date
November 15, 2023
Relates to study/studies
PISA 2018

Examining the 2019 Turkish language curriculum and PISA 2018 reading skills test in terms of main idea teaching

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the achievements of 2019 Turkish Language Curriculum regarding main idea teaching in terms of PISA 2018 Reading Skills Test. In this regard, the overlap of the achievements in 2019 Turkish Language Curriculum in Turkey and the proficiency levels in PISA 2018 Reading Test were examined in the context of main idea teaching. The study used the qualitative research approach. Descriptive analysis was used to analyze the qualitative data gathered from the documents. Considering the aims of this study, first, the reading skills proficiency levels presented in detail in PISA 2018 were discussed considering main idea skills. It was concluded that the skill of "identifying the main idea" was used directly at all levels of reading skills consisting of levels 1c, 1b, 1a, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 in PISA 2018, and main idea skills were employed in understanding the text. In addition, Turkey's performance in the PISA 2018 Reading Skills Test was discussed considering the study's other sub-goals. Accordingly, it was concluded that students who participated in the PISA 2018 test were mostly successful at lower levels (levels 1, 2 and 3). The number of students at low levels was high, while the number of students with these skills decreased significantly at higher levels. The inclusion of main idea teaching in 2019 Turkish Language Curriculum was examined considering the final purpose of the study. In this context, several achievements were observed for the development of learning skills such as guessing the subject, determining the subject, determining the auxiliary ideas, determining the main idea, summarizing the subject and determining the title. However, the achievements of main idea in the 2019 Turkish Language Curriculum did not follow the order required in the reading comprehension process. In addition, the achievements of auxiliary ideas, which form the basis for determining the main idea of a text, were only available at the 7th and 8th grade levels, and any skills related to auxiliary ideas were not included at other grade levels. In this context, the main idea teaching should be handled in a detailed and systematic way in the context of theoretical structure and application processes, and the relevant curricula should be arranged accordingly.