Investigation of technology usage and social skills from the standpoint of some variables on pre-school children

In this study, it was aimed to examine the levels of technology usage and social skills of children aged between 4 and 6 in pre-school education in terms of some variables. In the 2015-2016 Academic year, Studies on 330 children attending formal kindergartens located in Amasya city center were carried out with the help of their teachers and parents. Convenient sampling method was used to determining the sampling group. The research was conducted in the Relational Screenning model of quantitative research methods. In the scope of the research, "Parental Opinion Survey on the Use of Technology by Children in Pre-School Age" were offered to parents and "Social Skills Assessment Scale" were applied to teachers as data collection tools. Data collection tools were offered to parents and teachers simultaneously. As a result of the data collection process, completely filled out forms by 298 children were taken into consideration. The obtained data were analyzed by SPSS 18 software. In the analysis of the data, Kruskall-Wallis test was used to test the mean difference between the groups in terms of social skill levels and technology usage levels of children for various demographic variables; Mann-Whitney U test was used to determine the groups in which the significant differences occurred. When some outstanding findings are examined, it is seen that the social skills level of the children who are in pre-school education settings is high and the level of technological use is moderate. In terms of all age groups, according to gender, interpersonal skills, listening abilities, ability to complete tasks and social skills scale were found to be statistically significant in favor of girls for total score. According to age groups, interpersonal skills, verbal explanatory skill and ability to complete tasks were found to be statistically significant in favor of the 6-year-old group. According to fathers' level of education, there was a statistically significant difference in terms of listening skills in favor of the children whose fathers were graduate from university.according to mothers' level of education, there was a statistically significant difference in terms of the ability to control oneself in favor of the children mothers were graduate from universty. In company with the increase in the duration of pre-school education for children, the views of parents about the usefulness of technology seems to predominate. With the rise of parents' level of education, the idea that technology is harmful for children seems to increase. Considering these findings, boys in the preschool period should be encouraged in terms of activities designed to develop social skills. Trainings about the use of technology, advantages and disadvantages of technology should be offered to the parents who have children in preschool period and they should guided. This study can be repeated with longitudinal studies. Keywords: Pre-school Education, Technology, Technology Usage, Social Skill