Investigation of tendencies of prospective teachers towards lifelong learning

With the changes and the developments seen in the world in recent century, it is inevitable for the individual to keep up with the process. In this new process, an individual has to acquire new knowledge and skills. The acquiring new knowledge and skills can be realized through providing them lifelong learning. The aim of this research is to investigate the tendencies of prospective teachers towards lifelong learning and to obtain their opinions it. The research was carried on using sequent design method which is one of the methods of mix method. To obtain the opinions of the prospective teachers towards lifelong learning, 394 prospective teachers attending final year of Amasya Education Faculty are given '' Lifelong Learning Tendency Scale''. Quasi-structured interview form was used for the interviews with the 40 prospective teachers selected among the teachers who participated in the scale. The prospective teachers given the scale were chosen random sampling method and the others who were interviewed were chosen related to their gender and the departments that they were attending. The tendencies of prospective teachers towards lifelong learning were investigated related to their gender, the department that they were attending, the academic level of their parents, the reason of their department preference, the average of their school success, their willingness to make a career, and using internet daily variables. The obtained data was analysed using SPSS packet program. The descriptive analysis method was used to analyse the obtained qualitative data from the interviews. At the end of the analysis of the quantitative data obtained from the lifelong tendency scale, it is seen that the tendency of the prospective teachers is above the average. Depending on the obtained data, the tendencies of prospective teachers towards lifelong learning did not show any meaningful difference related to the academic level of their parents and school average points variables whereas there is a meaningful difference related to their gender, the department they are attending, their department preference, willingness of making a career, and using internet daily variables. Related to the data obtained from the interview form, it is seen that the prospective teachers are eager and courious to learn something new about life long learning and they are the individuals who sustain such a learning throughout their life.