Comparison of language development levels of 24-36 month old children with and without nursery education

This thesis aimed to examine the relationship between nursery education and language development of children aged 24-36 months, who had been educated for at least 6 months and had no nursery education, in terms of various variables. The research was conducted using relational search model. The study group consisted of a total of 159 children, 61 children attending private and public nursery schools and 98 children not educated in nursery schools in Bolu and Ankara in the 2015-2016 academic year. The thesis consists of five parts. In the first chapter, the aim of the research, its subordinate aims, its importance, its assumptions and limitations are mentioned. The second part is about some of the key definitions and issues related to, and current research on pre-school education and, in particular, nursery education. In addition, basic concepts related to language, approaches to the language acquisition process, and the language development process in children with normal development are mentioned. In the third part, research methods and tools are mentioned. In the fourth part, the findings and discussion section is presented. In the fifth section, conclusions and suggestions are given. The collection of the data from children has been carried out in two stages. In the first step, an information form was used in order to determine the demographic characteristics of the participating children, such as the age of the child, the child's nursery education status, sibling presence, the education status of the child's parents, the employment status of the child's mother and the income level of the child's family. In the second stage, children's language development was assessed. While evaluating, Türkçe İfade Edici ve Alıcı Dil Testi (Turkish Expressive And Receptive Language Test) and Denver Development Screening Test 2's language sector were used. The statistical analysis of the data was performed on a computer using the SPSS 21 program. The personal characteristics of the children included in the study were described by percentage and frequency analysis according to various variables. The normality analysis of the data was made and it was concluded that the the data was normally distributed. For this reason, the analysis of the data was performed using nonparametric tests such as Mann Whitney U, Pearson Square Test, Yates Continuity Correction test and Kruskal Wallis Tests. The results of the study indicated that; Nursery education positively affected children's language development. The language development of the children included in the study did not differ according to the gender of the children. The language development of the children included in the study did not differ according to sibling presence. The language development of the children who were included in the study group progressed as their age advanced. Even when the age variable was controlled, nursery education positively affected language development. The language development of the children whose mothers were in paid labor force (outside home) was more advanced than the language development of the children whose mothers were not. When the mother employment status variable was in the group of the children whose mothers were in labor force, nursery education still had a positive effect on language development. In the group of the children whose mothers were unemployed, only one child went to nursery school, so the impact of nursery education on language development could not be analyzed in this group. As the education level of the children's parents increased, the children's language development levels of the children's parents also increased. In the groups of the children whose mothers graduated from secondary and higher schools, when the mother education status was controlled, nursery education was still positively affecting language development . Because the children whose mothers were elementary school graduates did not have any nursery education, the impact of nursery education on language development could not be analyzed in this group. In the groups of the children whose fathers graduated from secondary and higher schools, when the father education status was controlled, nursery education was still positively affecting language development . Because the children whose fathers were educated at the level of basic education did not have nursery education, the impact of nursery education on language development could not be analyzed in this group. As the monthly income level of the family increased, the level of the children's language development also increased. In the group of the children coming from middle-income families, when the income level variable was controlled, nursery education was still found to be positive impacting language development. The impact of nursery education on language development could not be analyzed in the group of the children coming from in lower and upper income groups because while only one child out of the total 64 children who were with low-income family background had nursery education, 26 children out of the total 29 children coming from high income families had nursery education.