Investigation of the relationship between the lifestyle learning competences and the self-managed learning skills of the university students of the child development department

This study is aimed to examine the relationship between lifelong learning competencies and self-directed learning skills of undergraduate and associate degree students of child development department. In addition, it is examined whether the lifelong learning competencies and self-directed learning skills of child development students show significant differences according to various variables. Descriptive survey model, one of the quantitative research techniques, is used in the research. The population of the research consists of 653 child development students studying in undergraduate and associate degree programs of the child development department throughout Turkey in the 2021-2022 academic year. Data collection tools used in the research; Personal Information Form (the form prepared to obtain the demographic information of the participants participating in the study), Lifelong Learning Competence Scale (Şahin et al., 2010), and Self-Managed Learning Skills Scale (Aşkın, 2015) prepared by the researcher. Descriptive statistics, t-test, one-way analysis of variance ANOVA, and Pearson Correlation Coefficient were used to analyze the data obtained from the scales. According to the research results, students' lifelong learning competencies and self-directed learning skills show significant differences in some dimensions according to demographic variables (age, marital status, grade level, type of education, and desire to do graduate education). Finally, it was determined that there is a positive and moderate relationship between the lifelong learning competencies and self-directed learning skills of the students of the child development department. The research will likely contribute to the students in the child development department gaining awareness about lifelong learning competencies and developing their self-directed learning skills. In addition, it is expected to be a roadmap for the professional development of the students of the child development department regarding the early childhood goals included in the 2023 Education Vision published by the Ministry of National Education. In the literature review, it was understood that most of the studies were conducted on the subject of "lifelong learning tendencies", and no study examining the relationship between "lifelong learning competencies and self-directed learning skills" was found. In this context, it is thought that the study will make an original contribution to the literature.