Investigate relationship between preshool teacher practices and children's prosocial behavior

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between teacher practices and children's prosocial behavior in early childhood classroom environments. The study was conducted at schools serving 48 to 60-month-old children in Kağıthane, İstanbul at the academic year of 2015-2016. Sample consisted of 30 teachers at 11 public schools. Specific teacher practices were observed by the researcher and the frequency of children's engagement in prosocial behavior was rated by the teacher. The findings indicated that the frequency of prosocial behaviors that children in a class exhibited spontaneously differed according to the degree to which their teachers inhibited their prosocial behaviors. It was observed that children in classrooms where prosocial behaviors were prevented exhibited less prosocial behaviors than children in classrooms where such behavior was never prevented or rarely prevented. On the other hand, the frequency of prosocial behaviors that children in a class exhibited when their teachers told them to do it did not differ according to the degree to which their teachers prevented their prosocial behaviors. Finally, it was found that teachers' practices and behaviors that supported children's development of prosocial behavior were not related to neither the frequency of children's spontaneous nor instructed prosocial behaviors. Key words: Preschool education, prosocial and empatic behavior, moral education, teacher practices