Preschool teachers' perception of multicultural competence and multicultural education practices

In the research, the level of multicultural competency perceptions of pre-school teachers and multicultural education applications were examined. The mixed-method and The Explanatory Sequential Design were used as research method. 280 teachers who working in the official institutions affiliated to the Ministry of National Education in Altındağ, Çankaya, Etimesgut, Keçiören, Mamak and Yenimahalle were included for the quantitative dimension of the research. Quantitative data were collected with the "Multicultural Competency Perceptions Scale" developed by Başbay and Kağnıcı (2011). In this context, multicultural competence perceptions of preschool teachers were examined in the dimensions of awareness, knowledge and skill. It has been determined whether the scores of pre-school teachers' multicultural competency perceptions differ according to their ages, educational status, place of birth/location, cultural diversity of cities where their education life has passed, professional experience year, professional satisfaction, multicultural education status, availability of students from different cultures in their classrooms. Qualitative data were obtained from 23 teachers with the "Multicultural Education Practices Teacher Interview Form" developed by the researcher. Within the scope of the interview, the outcomes of the teachers evaluating their thoughts about multicultural education, their classroom practices and their competence in practice were revealed. The results show that there is significant difference between the multicultural competency perception scores of pre-school teachers and their age, region of birth and educational status. The teachers, who have a positive attitude towards multicultural education, stated that they are insufficient in the stage of class organization and application of multicultural education. Preschool teachers made suggestions to develop multicultural education competencies