The Second Congress of 21st Century Education Research (INER) was Held

The 2nd International 21st Century Education Research Congress was organized by the Faculty of Education of Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University (MAKÜ). The opening program held at Lavanta Tepesi Hotel was attended by Vice Rector Prof. Dr. Oğuz Gürsoy, Rector Advisor Prof. Dr. Ali Murat Alpaslan, Dean of the Faculty of Education Prof. Dr. Firdevs Savi Çakar, academics, teachers affiliated with the Ministry of National Education, and students.

The congress, held on April 25-26, started with a moment of silence and the National Anthem. The opening speech of the congress, where the MAKÜ promotional film was watched and continued with a music recital by the members of the MAKÜ Turkish Music and State Conservatory, was made by the Dean of the Faculty of Education, Prof. Dr. Firdevs Savi Çakar. In her speech, Çakar stated that the Faculty of Education of MAKÜ has a history of 59 years, it has grown over the years to include 8 departments, 17 Main Science Branches. She said that 9 of the 11 undergraduate programs of the Faculty of Education were accredited by EPDAD and their goal is to graduate teachers with universal values required by the 21st century modern world and high-level skills.

Dean Savi Çakar, who said that they held the first congress on June 7-8, 2023, said, “The second congress excited us a little more. I thank all participants who contributed to our congress process and added value to our congress.”

Later, Vice Rector Prof. Dr. Oğuz Gürsoy, who spoke, started his speech by announcing the good news that Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University has earned the right to receive a 5-year YÖKAK Accreditation Certificate. Gürsoy, who said that 9 programs of the Faculty of Education were accredited by EPDAD, said, “Our Faculty of Education is one of our leading faculties in accreditation processes. International accreditations are also among our long and short term goals. We are holding the second of the 21st Century Education Research Congress this year with intense participation. There are 18 speakers, over 200 online and face-to-face talks.”

He emphasized that the main theme of this year's congress is "Education in the Age of Digitalization" and that the expectations of education and educators will be discussed at the congress, and that this is a theme that MAKÜ attaches great importance to, and that they have serious studies on the way to put artificial intelligence applications course in all associate degree and undergraduate programs. He said it was pleasing that the main agenda of the congress was digitalization.

In the continuation of his speech, Gürsoy stated that there was international participation from Sweden, Albania and the UK, and that there were academics from universities in cities such as Isparta, Antalya, Denizli, Ankara, Izmir, Kırşehir in our country, and that Prof. Dr. Binnur Yeşilyaprak from Ankara University was the special guest of the congress.

After the speeches, at the award ceremony, Vice Rector Prof. Dr. Oğuz Gürsoy presented the "Lifetime Contribution to Education Award" to Prof. Dr. Binnur Yeşilyaprak. Prof. Dr. Binnur Yeşilyaprak presented the awards to student Ayhan Çakır and his advisor Dr. Lecturer Rafet Aydın, who were deemed worthy of the Young Researcher Award, for their achievements in the subjects of "Teachers' adaptation to changes in teaching programs and their levels of having 21st century teaching skills", Mustafa Aydoğmuş for "Examining the Knowledge and Belief Levels of Prospective Classroom Teachers About Dyslexia" and Ramazan Altundal and his advisor Prof. Dr. Zeynep Karataş for "The Relationship Between Psychological Well-Being and Social Stigmatization in University Students and the Level of Receiving Psychological Help: A Mixed Method Study".

After the award ceremony, the congress continued with the performance of the MAKÜ Kindergarten performance group. Prof. Dr. Ramazan Sağ, a faculty member of the Department of Educational Sciences of the Faculty of Education, presented the congress program. Then, Prof. Dr. Ali Yıldırım, a faculty member of the University of Gothenburg, made his presentation on the Swedish education system, primary school classroom teaching, and teacher education. Immediately afterwards, a panel titled "Observed Problems and Suggestions Regarding the Quality of Education Research", in which Prof. Dr. Ali YILDIRIM from the University of Gothenburg, Prof. Dr. Ali ERSOY, a faculty member of the Faculty of Education of Anadolu University, and Assoc. Dr. Güçlü ŞEKERCİOĞLU, a faculty member of the Faculty of Education of Akdeniz University, participated as speakers, and chaired by Prof. Dr. Ramazan SAĞ, was held. Again, under the chairmanship of MAKÜ Faculty of Education Dean Prof. Dr. Firdevs SAVİ ÇAKAR, a Deans Panel titled "Experiences of Faculties of Education on Education and Teacher Training in the 100th Year of the Republic" was held.

Prof. Dr. Ali YILDIRIM, a faculty member of the University of Gothenburg, "Research-Oriented Teacher Education", Prof. Dr. Selahattin GELBAL from Hacettepe University "Data Collection in Research", Prof. Dr. Nuri BALOĞLU from Kırşehir Ahi Evran University, Faculty of Education "Leadership Misconceptions" and Assoc. Dr. Hatice KILINÇ from Süleyman Demirel University "New Horizons in Education: Meeting with the Metaverse" Turkish PDR Association Deputy General President Prof. Dr. Metin PİŞKİN "Development of PDR Services in the World and Turkey", Dokuz Eylül University, Prof. Dr. Ebru İKİZ Coping with Traumas Body, Turkish PDR Association President Psk. Consultant Mesut YILDIRIM, "The Role of the Turkish PDR Association in the Development of PDR Services in Turkey", Doç. Dr. Migena BUKA from the University of Tirana "Chatgpt And Evaluation Process in Universities" gave Conferences on the subjects.

The congress continued with the presentation of the researchers. In the papers; themes such as teacher training in particular, pre-school education, values education, critical thinking skills, robotics, creative drama, creativity, fuzzy logic, augmented reality, verbal language skills, artificial intelligence, English teaching, basic topological concepts, digital reading, digital writing, educational technologies, leadership types, climate change, 21st century skills, music education, algebraic concepts, mathematics education, out-of-school learning, social studies education, professional commitment, job satisfaction, immigrant children, adolescence, disabled individuals, early addiction, traumatic stress, special learning difficulty, emotion regulation skills, digital game addiction, intelligence games, career counseling, social media, peer bullying were discussed.