THE FLIPPED LEARNING MODEL IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE EDUCATION: GENERAL TRENDS IN GRADUATE THESIS STUDIES

Abstract

In an era where student-centered educational approaches are gaining increasing importance, the "flipped learning" model stands out as an innovative educational method. Unlike traditional methods, the flipped learning model shifts the delivery of theoretical knowledge and other mechanical tasks—typically expected to occur within the classroom—to outside the classroom environment. By doing so, the model creates space for active communication and the development of higher-order thinking skills during limited class time; it breaks away from the conventional patterns of traditional education and breathes new life into the foreign language education process, just as it has in other fields. Since its inception, the model has been examined across various variables in both national and international literature, including articles, conference papers, and graduate theses. The purpose of this research is to systematically examine the general trends and the current state of the literature regarding graduate theses focused on the flipped learning model in foreign language education in Turkey between 2016 and 2025. Accordingly, 76 graduate theses (55 master's theses and 21 doctoral dissertations)—retrieved from the Council of Higher Education (YÖK) Thesis Center database and selected based on specific inclusion criteria—were included in the study. A document analysis design, a qualitative research method, was employed to analyze the theses. The studies included in the research were examined based on variables such as publication year, publication type, language of writing, research methods, research design, data collection tools, sample type, sample size, and data analysis methods. The data obtained from these analyses were tabulated and interpreted using the descriptive analysis method. The research findings indicate that the topic was most frequently addressed in master's theses and that the vast majority of studies utilized university student samples ranging from 1 to 50 participants. The findings reveal a predominance of quantitative and mixed-methods approaches—specifically quasi-experimental designs—within the literature, alongside a heavy reliance on achievement tests and statistical inference (such as t-tests and ANOVA) for data collection and analysis. Based on these results, existing research gaps in the field are discussed, and recommendations are offered for future researchers. In this context, it is emphasized that the literature on flipped learning in foreign language education should shift away from merely validating basic effectiveness and instead move toward institutional research characterized by interdisciplinary approaches blending educational technology with linguistics, support for teacher autonomy, a focus on processes (e.g., learning analytics, discourse analysis), and larger sample sizes.