Evaluation of child-centered approach applied by pre-school education teachers

Review of related literature reveals that child-centered approaches are the most effective among the contemporary theories. They require prioritizing children?s interests, needs, and expectations, and also offering as many activities and learning experiences as possible so that children can become aware of their own interests, skills, and capabilities. Regarding teacher also as a learner, child-centered approach makes the children responsible for their own learning and for building knowledge through use of the opportunities within the special setting provided for them.Child-centered approach serves partially as a basis for The Ministry of National Education Pre-school Education Program, put into practice in 2006 in Turkey. The program emphasizes that children have to actively get involved with the learning setting, educational process, and play-centered activities in order to learn skills such as problem solving, communicating, reasoning, linking, decision making, and being responsible and to construct the knowledge on their own. Furthermore, basic principles and features of the program are also compatible with those of child-centered approaches. However, practical value of the program depends not only on the knowledge and skills of the pre-school education teachers but also on their level of internalizing a child-centered approach. In this sense, it seems important to seek an answer for the question of how pre-school education teachers reflect child-centered approach onto their practice.This study has been designed to determine how pre-school education teachers reflect child-centered approach onto practice. Utilizing survey model, this study has been planned along triangulation design, one of the mix methods where both qualitative and quantitative methods are applied simultaneously. For the quantitative part of the study, first ?The Scale for Pre-school Education Teachers Applying Chıld-Centered Approach? was developed. Prior to the development of the scale, 519 pre-school teachers across 81 cities were administered the pilot form of the scale, and the data obtained subsequently was analyzed through factor analysis and other related statistical analyses. Final form of the scale was administered to 133 pre-school teachers working both as contract labor and regular staff at official pre-school education institutions affiliated with the Ministry of National Education, and the scores of the scales were identified.The qualitative part of the study concerns two pre-school education teachers who scored the highest (210) and the lowest (168) and volunteered to participate. Then, a total of 15-hour observations were held across 10 days in both teachers? classes. Observation diary was kept and the structured observation form developed by the researcher was filled out through whole process. During the analysis of the observation data, first, each observation was assessed individually based on the related form, then, data regarding all the observations were quantitatively expressed after determining each item?s total frequency and percentage. Moreover, semi-structured interviews were held with the participants, and each teacher?s daily plan of the observation day was studied. Descriptive analysis was applied for the data obtained following the interviews, and daily plans were studied in accordance with document analysis.Findings of the study indicate that a majority of teachers got significantly high scores (3.0%, 168 pts; 11.30%, 169?178pts; 17.29%, 179?188 pts; 19.54%, 189?198 pts; 36.07%, 199?209 pts; and 12.8%, 210 pts) from the scale, and that their level of utilizing the principles of child-centered approach was also high.Observations, interviews, and the examination of daily plans point that the lowest scoring teacher conceives Pre-school Education Program as a child-centered one; however, according to the observation form, she was ineffective in terms of complying with the principles of this approach during planning, applying, and assessing the activities and building the learning environment. This conclusion is compatible with this teacher?s score from ?The Scale for Pre-school Education Teachers Applying Chıld-Centered Approach?.The teacher who scored at the highest level also regards Pre-school Education Program as a child-centered program. She was observed to be trying to comply with the requirements of this approach during planning, applying, and assessing the activities and building the learning environment, but she was also identified to have a few inadequacies. Results obtained from the in-class observations, examination of daily plans, and interviews are in direct proportion to the scores from ?The Scale for Pre-school Education Teachers Applying Chıld-Centered Approach?. Yet, teacher?s opinions about shaping her practice in accordance with child-centered approach and her self-perception were determined to differ. Under the light of the findings, suggestions for the present practice and future research were made.