An analysis of prospective teachers' views on education and their orientations towards the education program in terms of social structure

In this study, the aim is to examine prospective teachers' perspectives on education and their orientations towards the education program in terms of social structure. In this regard, prospective teachers' perspectives on education are examined in the context of "critical pedagogy principles and multicultural education perceptions," while their orientations towards the education program are examined in the context of "philosophical tendencies in education and approaches to curriculum design." These perspectives are analyzed in terms of variables such as gender, family monthly income level, field of study, parents' educational level, ethnic background, religious identity, and political views. The research is a descriptive study based on the survey model. To examine prospective teachers' perspectives on education and their orientations towards the education program, the "philosophical tendencies in education", "critical pedagogy principles", "multicultural education perceptions" and "approaches to curriculum design" scales were used as data collection tools. The population of the study consists of prospective teachers in their final year of education in the faculties of education at state universities in Turkey during the 2021-2022 academic year. The sample of the study consists of 2515 prospective teachers selected by using purposive sampling method. The data collected from the scales were analyzed using a computer software package. Descriptive statistics, independent samples t-test, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Spearman's rho correlation analysis were used in the analysis of the collected data. In the research, significant differences were found in terms of all variables. Female prospective teachers were found to have lower levels of participation in critical pedagogy principles compared to male prospective teachers; they showed a greater tendency towards progressivism and reconceptualism in educational philosophies; they preferred student-centered and problem-centered program design approaches more; and they had more positive perceptions of multicultural education. Additionally, some of the findings from the study: prospective teachers from the social sciences group tend to prefer problem-centered program designs more; prospective teachers of Arab ethnicity are less inclined to prefer reconstructionist, progressivist educational philosophies and learner and problem-centered program designs; Alevi prospective teachers have higher perceptions of equality and justice in the context of multicultural education; prospective teachers with left-leaning have higher levels of participation in critical pedagogy principles. Another finding of the study is that the preferred educational philosophy is a predictor of the preferred educational program design approach.