Investigation of sensitivities of the science teacher candidates for the teaching profession regarding different variables

This study was performed to determine the level of sensitivity of prospective science teachers towards the teaching profession. Investigation was carried out to assess whether there is a significant difference between the pre-service teachers' level of sensitivity towards the teaching profession and gender, class year of students the candidate would be responsible for, candidate's preference for the teaching profession when choosing occupations, the place where the candidate spent most of his/her life, the economic status of candidate's family, the university where the candidate studied, the education level of candidate's parents and the candidate's level of academic success. In the analysis of the data, "Personal Information Form" prepared by the researcher and "Sensitivity Scale Towards Teaching Profession" developed by Uygun, Şahin and Okur (2010) were used. The sample of the research consists of 220 pre-service teachers (160 female and 60 male) studying in Amasya University and Tokat Gaziosmanpaşa University Science Education programs. The research was designed and conducted in a scanning pattern based on the quantitative research approach. The analysis of the data was performed with SPSS 15.0 package software. The results of the research showed that the pre-service teachers' level of general sensitivity towards the teaching profession was quite high, while the level of sensitivity in terms of professional reputation was good. It has been determined that the sensitivity levels of teacher candidates towards teaching profession differ significantly according to the candidate's preference for teaching profession when choosing occupation to study. It has been demonstrated that variables such as gender, level of class grade, the place where the candidate spent most of his/her life, the economic status of the family, the university where the candidate was educated, education level of parents and academic achievement level did not cause a significant difference in candidates' level of sensitivity towards the teaching profession. Those results suggest that candidates should pay closer attention when choosing a profession as a studying subject at university. In occupational guidance and orientation studies, students, parents and schools should be cooperated and students should be directed to professions that meet their personal characteristics and wishes.