Explaining the Status of Design Thinking among Primary School Teachers: A Comparative Study between Novice and Experienced Teachers in Kurdistan Province

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to compare the level of design thinking among novice and experienced primary school teachers in Kurdistan Province. The research method was applied in terms of purpose and descriptive-survey in terms of nature. The statistical population included all novice and experienced primary school teachers in Kurdistan Province in the 2024-2025 academic year, from whom 80 individuals (40 novice and 40 experienced teachers) were selected using simple random sampling. The data collection tool was Idealiu et al.'s (2016) standard design thinking questionnaire, which contains 21 items and five dimensions (empathy, problem definition, ideation, prototyping, and testing). The validity and reliability of the instrument were confirmed in previous studies and in the present study. Descriptive statistics and an independent samples t-test were used to analyze the data using SPSS software. The findings showed that the status of design thinking in the total sample was favorable. The results of the t-test indicated that there is a significant difference between the mean scores of design thinking and all its dimensions in the two groups of novice and experienced teachers, such that novice teachers achieved higher scores in design thinking. Accordingly, it can be concluded that despite their lack of experience, novice teachers are more proficient in design thinking skills and modern problem-solving approaches, which highlights the necessity of retraining and empowering experienced teachers in this area.