Analysis of the empathy and the critical thinking disposition of the teacher candidates

In this research, It is examined that whether there is a significant difference between the dependent variations, like teacher candidates? critical thinking and empathy inclinations and the independent variations, like their branches, years, genders, parents? educational levels and percieved socio-economic status .The Pupils from the Faculty of Education in Cukurova University consist the universe of this study. 671 teacher candidates were selected randomly to participate in the examination. California Critical Thinking Inclination (CCTDI), which is invented by Kökdemir in 2003 and The Scale of Educational Empathy (EEÖ), which is invented by Dökmen in 1988 are used in this study. Furthermore, an ?Individual Information Form?, which consists of questions related to the teacher candidates? branches, years, genders, percieved socio-economic status and the educational level of their parents, is prepared and conducted by the researcher.This study reveals a positive and lowly significant correlation between the critical thinking inclination and the empathy disposition of the teacher candidates.It is also found that the critical thinking inclination of the teacher candidates does not differantiate according to their branches, years, genders, percieved socio-economic status and the educational levels of their parents.The difference between the empathy disposition and all the independent variations in the research is significant and is mentioned in the following lines:- There is a significant difference between the empathy dispositions and the branches of the teacher candidates. This difference, in terms of mean scores, is higher in Preschool Teaching, German Tutoring and Psychological Counseling and Guidance Programs than in Social Sciences Instructing, BÖTE, Philosophy Group Teaching and English Tutoring. Additionally, the mean scores of Preschool Teaching and Psychological Counseling and Guidance Programs are higher than the mean scores of Painting Tutoring Programs. Beside this, It is noticed that the mean scores of both Class Teacher Candidates and Natural Sciences Teacher Candidates are higher than the average scores of Philosophy Group Teacher Candidates. While Psychological Counseling and Guidance Students have the highest mean scores, the lowest mean scores are belong to Philosophy Group Students.-The difference among years is significant.-There is a significant difference in favor of girls, by means of gender.-The average score of students whose mothers are illiterate is found to be lower than the average score of students whose mothers are literate (elementary, secondary, high school or university). While the highest empathy disposition score is belong to the students whose mothers graduated from a university, the students whose mothers are illiterate own the lowest one.- The mean scores of students whose fathers graduated from a university, high school and elementary school are higher than the students both whose fathers are illiterate and whose fathers are literate. The average score of the students whose fathers graduated from a secondary school is higher than the average score of the students whose fathers are illiterate but lower than the average score of the students whose fathers graduated from a university.- The empathy disposition of people who percieve themselves in the middle SED is higher, when it is compared to the people who percieve themselves in the low SED.Keywords: Thinking, Critical Thinking, Critical Thinking Disposition, Empathy Disposition, Empathy, Communication.