Editorial

Abstract

I am delighted to announce the publication of the inaugural issue of “Qualitative Inquiry in Education: Theory & Practice (QIETP)” under the umbrella of EDU Publishing. It’s a great pleasure to reconnect with you through this new journal. QIETP, being the first thematic journal in its field in Türkiye, builds upon the experience I gained during my 10-year tenure (2013-2023) as the founding and chief editor of the Journal of Qualitative Research in Education (ENAD). I aim to advance this experience further in QIETP. I am fully confident that, with the support of our valued authors, reviewers, editors, and readers, QIETP will soon earn a respectable position in the field. The first issue of QIETP comprises 5 articles: 4 research articles and 1 review study. The first study in this issue, “A critical view to educational technologies in the context of social inequalities,” comes from Fatma Akgün, Cem Çuhadar, and Şenay Ozan Deniz of Trakya University. The authors have examined the use of technology in the learning-teaching process from a phenomenological perspective regarding social equality. The second study, “A critical overview of Turkish research on 21st-century skills in education: 2017- 2022,” is authored by H. Ferhan Odabaşı, Elif Akyol Emmungil, Elif Atabay, and Melkaç Değer Demir from Anadolu University. This article evaluates studies conducted in Türkiye between 2017 and 2022 on 21st-century skills in education through meta-synthesis. The third study in this issue is “How to integrate sustainable development in English lessons: Reflections from teachers, students, and academicians,” conducted by Yasemen Şanal, Sena Sezgin, Seden Doğa Döker, Furkan Yavuz, and Gülçin Mutlu from İzmir Democracy University. In their qualitative descriptive study, the authors aimed to examine the characteristics of a middle school foreign language curriculum that incorporates the concept of sustainability. The fourth study of this issue, “How phenomenological are phenomenology studies in educationalsocial sciences: A sample from TR Dizin,” is a research article by M. Emir Rüzgâr and İbrahim Sözcü. The authors have evaluated how much the phenomenology studies published in the national TR Dizin index in Türkiye adhere to the assumptions of phenomenology. Although the study’s findings are presented from a quantitative perspective, it was deemed worth publishing in QIETP as it directly evaluates phenomenological studies. The only review article in this issue is “Educational science traditions and qualitative research” by Ali Yıldırım from the University of Gothenburg. In this article, Yıldırım presents the relationship between qualitative research methods and two main traditions in teacher education: the Anglo-American and the Continental European. This informative work discusses both the teacher training in these traditions and their relation to qualitative research. I am grateful to many esteemed individuals who have shown their close interest and support throughout this process. I extend my endless thanks to all colleagues who have been part of QIETP’s boards and provided technical support. I feel indebted to thank Prof. Ali Yıldırım, a pioneer in the field of Qualitative Research Methods in Türkiye, for his role in forming the international editorial board and supporting the publication of articles in the first issue.