Values education with pre-school children in out of school settings: An action research

In this research, it is aimed to reveal the effects of values education practices prepared and carried out for out-of-school environments in cooperation with children receiving pre-school education and their families, and the efficiency of out-of-school learning areas in terms of adding value. The research, in the context of values education in out-of-school environments; It was carried out in an eight-week period by integrating with institutions and organizations, stage plays, social spaces, oral history studies, plays, tasks, films and the environment. Action research, one of the qualitative research designs, was used in the study. Action research was preferred in that the researcher took a participative role in the learning process and had the opportunity to study in out-of-school environments. The research group consists of a total of 20 students, 8 male and 12 female, studying in Kocaeli and their parents. The fact that the teacher who carried out the action research preferred to work with his own class students provided convenience in the planning and evaluation processes since he knew the current situation of the students. Out-of-school education activities were designed and implemented according to the age and developmental characteristics of the students. In order to evaluate the implementation process, the observation data made by the teacher, the interviews with the students and parents, the student pictures and products that emerged at the end of the process were used. The qualitative data obtained were analyzed with descriptive analysis techniques. At the end of the study, it was seen that values education practices carried out in out-of-school education environments had positive effects on students' value perceptions. Values education activities in out-of-school environments carried out within this framework; It has contributed to the development of values of love, respect, sharing, benevolence, responsibility, cleanliness, patriotism and cultural heritage, the use of out-of-school environments in educational processes and the formation of positive attitudes towards values education. Keywords: Out of School Environments, Preschool, Value, Values Education, Environment