Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
WERA TASK FORCE Global Research in Extended Education Conference , Norrköping, İsveç, 24 - 27 Eylül 2025, ss.127, (Özet Bildiri)
Students participate in Extended Education Activities (EEAs) as well as learning activities based on formal curricular practices in Higher Education Institutions. Students from diverse programs and fields voluntarily come together to participate in EEAs without the priority of academic development and expertise. EEAs are run under extra program activities, the most common of which are Student Clubs (SCs). SCs are “aimed to enable students to carry out professional, scientific, social, cultural and sporting activities outside the classroom” (YTU, 2022, p.2). Students participate in clubs that offer activities in many fields such as Science, Environment, Literature and Sports on a voluntary and need basis (YTU, 2025). Student teachers from diverse departments and grades also participate in the SCs. It is evident that exploring the reasons for participation in SCs in which student teachers participate and obtaining their inferences will make important contributions to the literature, especially in terms of pre-service teacher education. In line with this objective, the current study aims to explore student teachers’ reasons for participating in SCs and their implications regarding the SCs. In the study, the explanatory case study method, one of the qualitative research methods aiming to explore causes and consequences, was used (Stake, 1995). The focus group interview technique, which is among the interview methods, was operated to collect data. In this direction, online focus group interview was conducted with student teachers from diverse departments and grades who took part in various clubs in different roles and years. Conventional Content Analysis (CCA) method, which is an inductive approach aiming to derive codes from the text, was executed to interpret obtained data (Hsieh & Shannon, 2005). The findings of the study revealed that student teachers participate in club activities for academic, professional and social reasons. The implications for critical thinking include the components of looking from different perspectives, questioning, generating solutions, being open-minded, self-evaluation and selfawareness.