A Model for Determining Students’ and Teachers’ Perspectives on the Turkish 11 Grade English Language Curriculum in Terms of Achieved Learning Outcomes

In the current study, it was aimed to evaluate the Turkish 11 grade English language curricula implemented in Turkey in terms of achieved learning outcomes. In the study, case study model was employed. The data were obtained from 20 11 grade high school students and an English language teacher in the spring term of 2018-2019 academic year. “Learning Outcomes Questionnaire for Students” was prepared by the researchers in order to obtain data from the students to determine their self-efficacy perceptions about achieving the Turkish 11 grade English curriculum learning outcomes. The second data collection tool was “Learning Outcomes Questionnaire for Teachers”. This questionnaire was also prepared by the researchers for the teachers to determine teachers’ opinions about the degree that students achieved the learning outcomes. Open-ended questions were prepared and asked to the teacher to obtain the qualitative data Moreover, classroom observations were carried out during four weeks, and one class hour of observation was made per week. The findings of the Journal of Educational Issues ISSN 2377-2263 2021, Vol. 7, No. 1 www.macrothink.org/jei 185 study showed that the students’ self-efficacy perception on “Pronunciation” skill was at highest level ( = 3.68) while their perception on “Reading” skill was at lowest ( = 2.94). Similarly, the teacher’s mean score was at highest level for “Pronunciation” skill while it was lowest for “Reading” skill.


English in Turkish Education System
As English has gained importance, it has become more crucial to teach and learn English in Turkey. Within this scope, English language learning and teaching have significant value in Turkish education system. The curriculum studies have taken attention in Turkey and new curriculum was launched in 2005 with the purposes of making major changes in all subject areas such as being student-centered, encouraging active participation of learners and providing a learning environment where research, discovery and cooperation are emphasized (Akınoğlu, 2008). These changes have affected English language teaching intensely in Turkey. As a result, during 2005-2006 academic year, English language lessons took place in 4 th and 5 th grades (Alkan & Arslan, 2015). With 4+4+4 education system launched in 2012-2013 academic year, English language has started to take place in 2 nd grade. The course hours were determined to be two hours per week for the first 3 years and four hours per week for the last four years. As can be understood, English language has significant value in Turkey, and therefore various changes and improvements have been conducted in curriculum studies.

Curriculum Evaluation
Evaluation studies have been conducted with the aim of determining the effectiveness of the curriculum studies. With the improvements in the education field, evaluation is regarded as key factor providing quality information for making and assessing decisions (Stufflebeam & Coryn, 2014). There have been many approaches and definitions to evaluation over the years. Gullickson (2020) have stated that different sectors, practitioners and academics define the concept of evaluation according to their own perspectives. Fitzpatrick, Sanders, and Worthen (2004) defined evaluation as "the identification, clarification, and application of defensible criteria to determine an evaluation object's value (worth or merit) in relation to those criteria". Evaluation is a process of gathering information with an aim of making decisions. Funding agencies, curriculum developers and eventual users of a program play significant roles in curricular decisions (Welch, 1969). Eisner (2002) stated that curriculum encompasses philosophical, social and administrative choices which contribute to the planning of an educational program, a teaching program, and refers to the content of the curriculum. As can be understood, evaluation is concerned with the questions of utility that involve value and judgment.
Evaluation has a great importance for curriculum development process. Curriculum evaluation involves the process of systematically obtaining and analyzing relevant data to determine the effectiveness of the curriculum and to make judgment on it (Al-Jardani, 201). On the other hand, curriculum evaluation is an essential phase of curriculum development process (Gredler, 1996) that includes obtaining the required data about whether the planned courses, activities and learning opportunities in the program provide the desired outcomes as they are developed and organized, and how the current program can be improved (Shaw et al., 2016). As can be understood, curriculum evaluation is a process conducted with the purposes of determining whether the learning outcomes are achieved. In line with this information, necessary arrangements are made in the program. Gainen and Locatelli (1995) stated that evaluation studies provide the best results when it aims to attain clear and explicitly stated purposes. Therefore, the desired leaning outcomes should be stated clearly in the curriculum. Learning outcomes are defined as the statements that specify what a learner is expected know, understand and/or be able to do at the end of a period of learning (Bingham, 1999;Moon, 2002). Learning outcome is a written statement of what the successful student/learner is expected to demonstrate at the end of a period of learning. They explicitly state the results of learning and are generally defined in terms of a combination of abilities, knowledge, skills, and understanding that an individual will gain (Adams, 2006).
Learning outcomes have significant value in terms of curriculum design and development since they shift the focus from "teaching" to "learning" (Adams, 2006); from providers to users (CEDEFOP, 2009), which necessitates the adoption of a student-centered learning process. Learning outcomes provide benefits for course/module designers, establish quality assurance and standards and assure national and international educational transparency (Adam, 2004). Learning outcomes also provide a basis for the assessment. Therefore, it is required to develop learning outcomes for the courses (Aziz et al., 2012). Ekiz (2004) stated that the success of any educational change largely depends on how it is perceived and implemented. Accordingly, any attempt to determine the effectiveness of the new changes in the programs should include teachers since teachers experience these changes. In addition, students are the important stakeholders and their opinions have also key roles in determining the effectiveness of the implemented curriculum. Therefore, they should be given priority in the curriculum evaluation studies. However, when the literature is examined, it is seen that English language curriculum is generally evaluated based on the teachers' opinions (Topkaya & Küçük, 2010;Seçkin, 2011;Alkan & Arslan, 2015;Bulut & Atabey, 2016;Civriz, 2019;Oribabaor, 2014;Adin-Surkis, 2015). Within this context, in the current study, a different approach was adopted. Based on this approach, the self-efficacy perceptions of the students in terms of achieving the learning outcomes of the Turkish 11 th grade English language curriculum were investigated. In addition, it is aimed to determine how the teacher evaluates the students in terms of achieving the learning outcomes of Turkish 11 th grade English language curriculum. As a result, the contradictions between the opinions of teachers and students are examined and the reasons for the difference are revealed. In the learning and teaching process, learning outcomes are formed in a way to reflect what is expected from students. Therefore, students are expected to acquire the learning outcomes. However, it may be difficult to determine whether students achieved the learning outcomes or not and there should be indicators of this process. Teachers are the implementers of the teaching programs. Based on this, it is thought that teachers can provide valid and reliable data about the students. On the other hand, it is important how students evaluate themselves in terms of achieving the learning outcomes. As a result, the findings of this study can help policy makers, curriculum planners and the implementers in determining the deficiencies in the curriculum and can be used to make the curriculum more effective. In addition, students' awareness on the learning outcomes can be increased. Therefore, it is aimed to make an important contribution to the literature by this study.
In the current study, the following sub-problems were addressed: a. What are students' perceptions on achieving Turkish 11 th grade English lesson curriculum learning outcomes? b. What are English teachers' perceptions about students in achieving Turkish 11 th grade English lesson curriculum learning outcomes? c. What are English teacher' opinions on Turkish 11 th grade English lesson curriculum learning outcomes in terms of effectiveness, practicality, content？

Research Design
In the study, case study model was employed. Case study is used to study a current phenomenon within its real life framework (Yin, 1984). Case study is used to answer the questions of "why" and "how". Moreover, case study is considered as the best method when the variables in the study cannot be changed and the contextual studies are aimed to be handled (Baxter & Jack, 2008). Within this context, this study aimed to evaluate the Turkish 11 th grade English curriculum in terms of achieved learning outcomes through case study. In the study, Turkish 11 th grade English curriculum learning outcomes were handled as the case. Therefore, it was aimed to evaluate the learning outcomes without making any changes on them. Moreover, the learning outcomes were evaluated according to students' and teachers' opinions, who are the main and important stakeholders of the curriculum. As a result, it was aimed to provide rich and detailed information.

Participants
The participants of the study consisted of 20 11 th grade high school students and an English language teacher who was teaching 11 th grade students. 12 of the students were female and 8 of them were male. The teacher was male and he had 8 years of teaching experience.

Data Collection Tools
A variety of data collection methods including interviews, document analysis, as well as data triangulation are used in case studies. Data triangulation includes using multiple sources of evidence (Yin, 2003)

Learning Outcomes Questionnaire for Students
The first data collection was "Learning Outcomes Questionnaire for Students" which was prepared by the researchers in order to obtain data from the students to determine their perceptions about achieving Turkish 11 th grade English curriculum learning outcomes. For this purpose, firstly, Turkish 11 th grade English curriculum was examined in detail and the learning outcomes related to English listening, pronunciation, speaking, reading and writing skills were determined. Distribution of Turkish 11 th grade English Curriculum in terms of skill areas is presented in Table 1. Table 1. Distribution of Turkish 11 th grade English curriculum learning outcomes in terms of skills

Skills Number of Learning Outcomes
Listening 13 Pronunciation 10 Speaking 19 Reading 14 Writing 12 The learning outcomes were written separately for each skill implicitly in the curriculum. ISSN 2377-22632021 Therefore, the learning outcomes were taken directly from the curriculum and all the learning outcomes statements were transformed into the indicators of student behavior. The samples are given in Table 2. Table 2. Learning outcomes samples in the curricula and student questionnaire The same procedure was followed for all learning outcomes, and they were changed into statements for the students and ranged between the points ranging between "I completely disagree" (1), "I slightly agree" (2), "I partially agree" (3), "I agree" (4) and "I completely agree" (5). Therefore, it was aimed to determine students' perceptions about achieving the learning outcomes.

Journal of Educational Issues
All the learning outcomes were included in order to ensure the content validity. Moreover, the opinions of three experts in Curriculum and Instruction field alongside two English teachers were utilized. The data collection tool was reorganized according to expert opinions, and it was made ready for application.

Learning Outcomes Questionnaire for Teacher
The second data collection tool was "Learning Outcomes Questionnaire for Teachers". This questionnaire was also prepared by the researchers for the teachers to determine teachers' perceptions about the degree that students achieve the learning outcomes. For this purpose, Turkish 11 th grade English curriculum was examined in detail and learning outcomes related to English listening, pronunciation, speaking, reading and writing skills were determined. The learning outcomes were taken directly from the curriculum and they were changed into teacher statements. The samples are given in Table 3.

Learning outcome samples in the curricula
Learning outcomes samples in the student questionnaire  All the learning outcomes in the English curricula were changed into statements for the teachers and ranged between the points of 1 and 5 of "I completely disagree" (1), "I slightly agree" (2), "I partially agree" (3), "I agree" (4) and "I completely agree" (5).

Open-Ended Question Form
Researchers prepared open-ended questions to obtain the qualitative data of the study. The prepared questions were asked to the teacher. The questions were prepared in line with the purpose of the study. Expert opinion was taken for the prepared questions from an expert in the field of curriculum and instruction. Accordingly, essential corrections were applied.

Classroom Observation Check List
Classroom observations were carried out during four weeks, and one class hour of observation was made per week. In order to prepare classroom observation check list, the learning outcomes of the related week, the statements on how to apply the curricula, the suggested methods, techniques and assessments were examined. For example, in the curriculum it is stated that: "Students communicate in English in the classroom at all times".
"Teachers communicate in English in the classroom at all times and act as good role models for students".
"Materials/tasks are supported with multimedia and instructional technology tools as much as possible to immerse students in authentic use of language".
Based on this information, classroom observation checklists were prepared for each observation in order to support the quantitative and qualitative data.

Data Collection
In data collection process, firstly, the students and the English teacher who was teaching the classroom were informed about the purpose and the content of the study. The required permission was obtained from the teacher, and students were informed that volunteering was important and was taken as a basis in the study. Then, the student questionnaire was applied ISSN 2377-22632021 to the students in an English language class during the spring semester of the 2018-2019 academic year. It was aimed to reach the whole class and 20 11 th grade students studying at a state high school and who fully completed the questionnaires were included in the analyses. Moreover, the teacher questionnaire was given to the English teacher and the teacher was requested to complete it for each student separately. Interview technique was employed in obtaining the opinion of the teacher about the implemented curricula. The interview technique enables individuals to explain their feelings and thoughts about the subject of the study (Creswell, 2009). In the study, by the interview technique, it was aimed to support the quantitative data. Prior to the interview, the most appropriate time duration was determined by the teacher and the researcher for the interview. The interview was conducted in the teacher's office and lasted nearly one hour.

Data Analysis
In the analysis of the quantitative data, descriptive statistics such as means and standard deviations were conducted to display the subjects' overall responses. Data obtained from the teacher questionnaire and student questionnaire were analyzed for each skill separately. Therefore the differences between the degrees of achieving the learning outcomes were tried to be obtained.
In the analysis of the qualitative data, the teachers' replies for each question were examined in detail. The data were coded and descriptive analysis was performed. Descriptive analysis is used to present the findings to the reader in a structured and interpreted manner (Sönmez & Alacapınar, 2011). The data were presented with direct quotations without changing the teacher' views.

Findings
This section presents the quantitative and qualitative findings related to each sub problem of the study in tables.

Students' Self Efficacy Perception on Achieving Turkish 11 th Grade English Lesson Learning Outcomes
The findings of the quantitative data obtained in order to determine the self-efficacy perception level of the students on achieving Turkish 11 th grade English lesson learning outcomes are presented in Table 4. ISSN 2377-22632021  As can be seen in Table 4, students have self-efficacy perceptions on achieving the learning outcomes at varying degrees of strength. Students' opinion on "Pronunciation" skill self-efficacy perception is (  = 3.68) at highest level while the mean value of "Reading" skill (  = 2.94) is at lowest level.

Journal of Educational Issues
On the other hand, in the classroom observation process, it was observed that students gave importance to pronunciation skill since they asked for the correct pronunciation of the words when they did not know. Moreover, it was observed that the teacher provided the required support for the students for improving their pronunciation skill. He tried to emphasize the correct pronunciation of the words in the classes. As a result, the high grade of students for Pronunciation skill is an expected result.
Besides, the teacher's opinions were asked about the mean scores of the self-efficacy perceptions of the students. For speaking skill learning outcomes he stated that students were generally afraid of making mistakes in the classes. As a result, they were not eager to talk much because they thought that the other students would laugh at them if they made mistakes. Similarly, for the reading skill he stated that they did not like reading skill much since they found the reading passages uninteresting and difficult to understand. Therefore, they had prejudice toward reading skill.
On the contrary, students' self-efficacy perceptions were found to be higher for pronunciation and writing skills. The teacher stated that students liked writing activities since they had some free time to concentrate on writing. Moreover, the paragraph completion and sentence completion exercises were found to be easy activities by students. So, they liked the writing activities. For the pronunciation skill, he emphasized that actually, students were not good at this skill. However, they enjoyed much when someone in the class used the wrong pronunciation. They were not afraid of making mistakes on this skill. On the contrary, they tried to produce the correct pronunciation.

Teacher's Opinions on Students in Terms of Achieving Turkish 11 th Grade English Lesson Curriculum Learning Outcomes
It was aimed to determine how teacher perceive the students in terms of achieving Turkish 11 th grade English lesson curriculum learning outcomes. The findings are presented in  As it can be seen in Table 5, according to teacher's opinion, the mean value of "Pronunciation" skill ( = 3.42) is at highest level while "Reading" skill ( = 2.73) is at lowest level. These findings are in line with the findings of students' self-efficacy perceptions on achieving the learning outcomes. However, it is seen that students' scores are higher than the teacher's score for the skills.
In the classroom observation, it was observed that students were not so eager for reading activities. They complained that they had difficulties in understanding the reading texts. The teacher was asked about his opinions about the reasons for why he had higher grades for pronunciation skill while he had lower grades for reading skill. He stated that students were not motivated for reading activities. The teacher also argued that students did not like the reading activities much. On the other hand, as indicated by the teacher, students were eager to learn the correct pronunciation of the words. They were not afraid of making mistakes related to pronunciation skill. They enjoyed much when one of the students used incorrect pronunciation.

Teacher's Opinions on 11 th Grade English Curriculum Learning Outcomes
In the last sub-problem of the study teacher's opinions were obtained on 11 th grade English curriculum learning outcomes. Firstly, the teacher stated that he found the curriculum effective since it included learning outcomes related to five skills. He expressed his ideas as, "In the curriculum there are learning outcomes for reading, writing, listening, speaking and pronunciation skill. So, the skills are integrated in the curriculum. Generally, pronunciation skill is ignored while learning a language. In terms of including learning outcomes on five different sub-skills, I find the curriculum very effective. And these learning outcomes are given separately. So, when I check the curriculum I can understand the learning outcomes and the related skill very easily." As a result, the teacher has positive opinions on learning outcomes since they are given separately for five different skills.
The teacher also said that the learning outcomes were clear and understandable. He expressed his ideas as, "The learning outcomes are very clear and I can understand them very easily". The teacher also stated that he found the learning outcomes coherent. He said that, "The   ISSN 2377-22632021 learning outcomes in the curriculum are in accordance with each other. So, it becomes easy for me to follow them".

Journal of Educational Issues
On the other hand, the teacher stated that the learning outcomes were not easy to acquire for students. Moreover, they could not provide a basis for students to make connections with daily life. The teacher expressed his ideas as, "There are many learning outcomes in the curriculum. Some of them are easy for students to acquire. However, some of them are really difficult for them to acquire. Especially when the learning outcomes do not have a direct relationship with students' daily life, it becomes very difficult for students to acquire them. So, I think when the learning outcomes are developed, students' interests should be taken into account".
Lastly, the teacher expressed that the course hours were not sufficient for acquiring the learning outcomes. He said, "I think the course hour should be increased if we really want the students to acquire the learning outcomes. Otherwise, we always try to follow the curriculum. We are in a hurry all the time. Sometimes, I want to do extra activities but because of the curriculum I cannot find time. The learning outcomes are important and we should spend more time. Especially for pronunciation skill, additional course hour is required to give some information about phonetic alphabet.

Discussion
This study aimed to evaluate Turkish 11 th grade English language curriculum in terms of achieved learning outcomes. Learning outcomes are formed based on the general aims and the learning outcomes, which are the vital elements of the educational curriculum. Clearly stated learning outcomes help teachers by providing a basis on what to teach and how to conduct the learning process (Graves, 2000). In addition, Hedge (2001) stated that learning outcomes are the starting points that identify the educational process. In addition, in the learning and teaching process teachers want students acquire the learning outcomes. Accordingly, all the educational activities are conducted to enable learners to acquire the learning outcomes. Based on this, it is seen that learning outcomes are of great importance in determining the effect of the curriculum.
The first sub-problem of the study aimed to evaluate the self-efficacy perceptions of 11 th grade students in terms of achieving the learning outcomes. It was found that the students' self-efficacy perceptions on achieving the learning outcomes were at highest level for "Pronunciation" skill and at lowest level for "Reading" skill. A language is composed of four skills as listening, speaking, reading and writing. Students must acquire these four skills effectively in order to acquire English language. Therefore, all skills are important in foreign language learning process (Ellis, 2003). In addition, for the students to be successful in English language, these skills should be addressed in a way to help students meet the standards set for them and develop their communicative competence gradually (Sadiku, 2015). On the other hand, in mastering a foreign language, sub-skills of a language such as vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation are as important as the main skills (Katawazai et al., 2019). Among these sub-skills, pronunciation is a vital sub-skill that learners should master while learning a foreign language since it is an important instrument that enables the learners Journal of Educational Issues ISSN 2377-22632021 to produce the intelligible speech that is required for effective communication in a globalized world (Ketabi & Saeb, 2015). English pronunciation is considered as one of the most difficult skills for students to acquire, and a great effort should be made on improving this skill (Gilakjani & Ahmadi, 2011). Besides, understandable pronunciation is a key factor for students' competence. Understandable pronunciation determines the learners' competence and is also one of the most important features of language instruction. As a result, good pronunciation improves learning while bad pronunciation leads to great difficulties in language learning process (Gilakjani, 2012). Gilakjani and Sabouri (2016) stated that teachers should help students to improve pronunciation skill of the students by being provided with the required courses and materials. Based on the information presented in the literature, it can be argued that pronunciation skill is viewed as an important part of communication. This sub-skill has been also valued by the policy makers in Turkey and it is emphasized in the English curriculum implemented in Turkey that learners need to use English actively, productively, and communicatively. As a result, pronunciation sub-skill is given high priority and it is included as one of the skills that should be mastered by the learners. As a result, the students' higher self-efficacy belief perception on pronunciation skill can enhance the English learning process of students. As can be understood, it is a desired situation that students have higher self-efficacy perceptions on acquiring the pronunciation skill.
On the other hand, reading in English is a key factor for academic studies (Hellerstein-Yehezkel, 2017). It has been stated that when students have difficulties in reading skill, they also have difficulties in learning English as a foreign language (Hawkins, 1999). According to Mikulecky and Jeffries (2004), reading comprehension problem leads to comprehension problems in English. Based on this information, it can be concluded that reading skill difficulties can lead to problems in English language. However, in the current study, self-efficacy perceptions of the students on reading skill was found to be at low level, which can be an obstacle for the successful language acquisition process. Therefore, it has significant value to reveal the reasons for their low level of perceptions in achieving the learning outcomes in reading skill in detail. In addition, teachers should enhance reading comprehension skill of students by providing appropriate materials and techniques and should increase their self-efficacy perceptions.
In the second sub-problem of the current study, the teacher's opinions on the students in terms of achieving the Turkish 11 th grade English curriculum learning outcomes was examined. Similar to the results obtained from the first sub-problem of the study, the mean value of the teacher's opinion was at highest level for "Pronunciation" skill while it was lowest level for "Reading" skill. However, it was found that the mean values obtained from student questionnaire were higher than the mean values obtained from teacher questionnaire. Therefore, there is difference between students' opinions on achieving the learning outcomes and teacher's opinions about the students in achieving the learning outcomes. Students have more positive ideas on achieving the learning outcomes than the teacher. English language learning is a complex process and teachers should have high standards in the classroom. Moreover, they should create a warm and supportive classroom environment (Sadiku, 2015). All skills are important in English language learning and teachers should give importance to Journal of Educational Issues ISSN 2377-22632021 all skills and help students in acquiring the skills.
In the last sub-problem of the study, it was aimed to determine the teacher's opinions on Turkish 11 th grade English curriculum learning outcomes. It was found that the teacher found the curriculum effective since it contained learning outcomes on five different skills. Moreover, he stated that the learning outcomes were clear to understand and were in accordance with each other. On the other hand, the teacher stated that some of the learning outcomes were difficult for students to acquire. In the study conducted by Karcı (2012) it is found that, teachers have negative opinions on 9 th grade English curriculum objectives. According to teachers, the objectives are found difficult for students to acquire. In another study conducted by Merter, Kartal, and Çağlar (2012), teachers stated that secondary school English curriculum objectives are not coherent. Moreover, teachers expressed that objectives could not provide students with the ability to understand and use basic daily expressions.

Conclusion
Based on the discussion above, it was found that the students' self-efficacy perceptions on achieving the learning outcomes were at highest level for "Pronunciation" skill and at lowest level for "Reading" skill. Similarly, the mean value of the teacher's opinion about the students in terms of achieving the learning outcomes was at highest level for "Pronunciation" skill while it was lowest level for "Reading" skill.
Curriculum evaluation studies have significant value in terms of improving the curriculum and providing more detailed information for curriculum makers. On the other hand, teachers and students are the main stakeholders of the curriculum studies. Therefore, their opinions should be investigated. Students should be more informed about the learning outcomes. Teachers should help students in increasing their self-efficacy perceptions in achieving the learning outcomes. In the current study, the formulation of a purposeful, relevant and useful enquiry into 11 th grade English lesson learning outcomes of the new curriculum has been demonstrated. This methodology can be taken up by other teachers, with other students, in other settings and be used to evaluate the learning outcomes with the participation of various stakeholders.