EXAMINATION OF METHODS FOR STUDENT SELECTION TO THE SCHOOLS OF PHYSICAL EDUCATION AND SPORTS IN TURKEY

The aim of this study was to evaluate the student selection methods used by schools of physical education and sports in Turkey. Document reviewing, a qualitative research method, was used in the study. The study group consisted of 20 randomly selected universities that had made exam announcements over the internet in 2012. The data were collected through the evaluation of the exam booklets prepared by the universities for their special talent exams. The data obtained from the booklets were classified into different themes and analyzed using percentages and frequencies. Based on the study results, three main aspects were identified regarding the administration of special talent exams. As such, it was determined that: (1) there are differences among the schools with regard to the expected Transition to Higher Education Exam Scores, the special talent and sport skills and the student quotas, and that many schools prefer using more than one exam for student selection and placement purposes; (2) that schools tend to use the same special talent exam for the placement of the students to departments with different curricula, course content and specialization areas; and (3) that schools tend to use different special talent exams for the placement of students to the physical education and sports teaching undergraduate programs of universities having actually the same curriculum prepared centrally by the Council of Higher Education.