Illuminating The Path: Investigating the Relationship Between the Teachers' Curriculum Literacy and Attitudes toward Professional Development

This study aimed to determine the relationship between teachers' curriculum literacy and their attitudes toward professional development through a correlational design. The study was conducted with 576 volunteer teachers from various grade levels, genders, and age groups working in public schools in a province in western Türkiye during the 2022-2023 academic year. Data were collected using the "Teachers' Curriculum Literacy Scale" developed by Yar-Yıldırım (2020) and the "Teachers' Attitudes about Professional Development" scale adapted into Turkish by Özer and Beycioğlu (2010). The data were analyzed using the Pearson correlation coefficient, descriptive statistics, independent samples t-test, and one-way ANOVA. The results indicated a statistically significant and moderate correlation between teachers' attitudes toward professional development and their curriculum literacy. The teachers exhibited above-average proficiency in curriculum literacy. While no statistically significant differences were found in regards to the teachers' curriculum literacy based on age, gender, years of experience, or grade level, there was a significant difference in favor of graduate degree holders regarding the skills subdimension and the total score. Regarding the attitudes towards professional development, teachers again demonstrated above-average levels. Similarly, no significant differences were observed in the attitudes toward professional development based on gender, education level, years of experience, or grade level; however, a statistically significant difference was noted based on age.