An analysis of competencies of undergraduate program of early childhood education

The purpose of this study was to analyze the competencies of Undergraduate Program of Early Childhood Education based on the feedback of teacher trainees, teachers and faculty members on the occupational knowledge classes, general culture classes and field knowledge classes offered in the program. This study was conducted during the academic year of 2018-19 and the participants were selected from the 3rd- and 4th-year Students of School of Early Childhood Education of the Faculty of Education of Sakarya University, early childhood teachers employed in the Turkish city of Sakarya, and faculty members of the Department of Early Childhood Education of Sakarya University and the Department of Early Childhood Education of Marmara University. Relational screening model, a quantitative research method which offers descriptive qualities, was used in this study. "Scale for Assessment of Competencies of Undergraduate Program of Early Childhood Education," developed by the author, was used as the data collection method. This study employed case study method, a qualitative research method, which allows for detailed information collection about one or more cases (Türkdoğan, 2014) and interview technique was used to collect data from the undergraduate students. Date obtained were analyzed using SPSS 20.0 software. According to the results of this study, it was found that the faculty members had a more negative view of the undergraduate program of early childhood education when compared to that of teachers and teacher candidates. In other words, majority of the faculty members reported that the current program taken by 3rd- and 4th-year undergraduates was not sufficient. Furthermore, it was found that teacher candidates had a more positive view of the undergraduate program of early childhood education when compared to that of teachers.