The selection process of teacher candidate in Austria and Turkey

Abstract

The aim of this study is to analyze the selection process of teacher candidates in Turkey and Austria education systems. In the study, the Upper Austria Higher Education documents on the selection processes were examined and the teacher candidates' selection processes were observed. For the Turkish side, the higher education selection handbooks by Student Selection and Placement Center (OSYM) were examined and 96 teacher candidates were interviewed. According to the findings, in Austria's teacher education system, the students should volunteer to be a teacher and also must fulfill compliance of the profession. In Turkey, on the other hand, the teacher candidates were selected according to the central examination results conducted by ÖSYM. While scores are taken into account in the areas such as mathematics, social sciences, science, geometry, etc., the evaluation related to the individual reasons for seeking this profession, individuals' eligibility of the teaching profession and personal characteristics are not considered in this selection process. The interview results revealed that while some of the candidates were willing to become a teacher, others reported obligation to do so and some stated that they accidently selected to be a teacher.