Educational technology research trends in Turkey from a critical perspective: An analysis of postgraduate theses

The aim of this study is to explore the research trends in the context of postgraduate programmes in the field of Educational Technology (ET) in Turkey between 1996 and 2016, and to uncover the possible factors that influence these trends from the perspective of ET faculty members. This study was informed by critical theory and employed the critical inquiry method. In the first phase, content analysis technique was used in order to explore trends in research methods and topics in theses completed in ET postgraduate programmes in Turkey. In the second phase, in‐depth interviews were conducted with 11 faculty members regarding the possible influential factors. The findings of the content analysis indicated that ET research was dominated by quantitative research designs in the examined theses. Critical methods were overlooked and social, cultural, and political issues were largely silenced. The findings of the interviews showed that the factors that have been influential on ET research trends were the social impact of the research, personal interests and skills, disciplinary and departmental culture, and feasibility concerns. This study presents implications for better ET research by addressing blind spots of the field and providing suggestions for ET postgraduate students, ET scholars, policymakers and practitioners in a global context and other developing countries since the resulting trends in Turkey were found similar to international trends in the field.