Teacher opinions about the effects of pre-school education on the social development of 4-5 years old children

ABSTRACT TEACHER OPINIONS ABOUT THE EFFECTS OF PRE-SCHOOL EDUCATION ON THE SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT OF 4-5 YEARS OLD CHILDREN Berrin DİNÇ Department of Primary Education Teacher Training Program in Pre-School Education Anadolu University, Graduate School of Educational Sciences, June 2002 Advisor: Ass. Prof. Mehmet GÜLTEKİN Pre-school education is a formal education stage of whose individual and social functions have an extreme importance. Developing the self-esteem of the children, teaching them their responsibilities, improving their personality and abilities and raising the happy people of the future is possible with the pre-school education. The main function of the pre-school education institution is to prepare the children for the forthcoming education stages in both individual and social senses and get them improve socially. The aim of the study is to reveal the teacher opinions about the effects of pre school education on the social development of 4-5 years old children. The study is a survey test. The sample of the research is composed of teachers and 4-5 years old children who are attending to kinder-gardens under the liability of the Ministry of National Education, in Eskişehir, in the academic year of 2000-2001. The total number of the children and teachers surveyed are relatively 162 and 12. Qualitative and quantitative methods are used together in data collection. "Behaviour Rating Scale" was employed in order to determine the level of the social developments of the children. The points of the children were tested by t-test for IVdetermining whether a difference occurs due to age, sex and school attendance duration. A semi-structured opinion survey and descriptive analysis are used for determining teacher opinions. Then the data obtained was presented numerically Findings of the research demonstrates that the social development levels of the children attending the kinder-garden were over the moderate level. It's also found that the social development levels are effected by age, sex and school attendance; girls' social development level is higher than the boys', 5 years old score better than 4 years old and the ones having a 2 year previous school-life are better than the ones who attend kinder-garden for a year. Teachers expressed that pre-school education primarily supports the social development and they also declared that the programs applied in kinder-gardens are also effective in getting children learn the social behaviour. Teachers also agreed on that there is a positive development between the social behaviours of the children before and after the kinder-garden education.