Comparison of classroom teacher candidates' concerns about science content courses according to classroom level

The main purpose of this research is; The aim of this course is to examine whether the pre-service teachers' anxieties about the content of the lessons differ according to the class levels. The study group of the research consists of teacher candidates studying at the Faculty of Education, Department of Basic Education, Department of Classroom Education at a public university located in the Eastern Black Sea region in the fall semester of the 2018/2019 academic year. The sample of the study consists of 227 pre-service teachers, 77 of whom are second, 78 third and 72 fourth grade. In addition, 74.89% of the participants are female and 25.11% are male students. The elementary teacher candidates who participated in the research were given the second grade participants ÖA2-1, ÖA2-2,…, Ö2-77; to the third grade participants ÖA3-1, ÖA3-2,…, Ö3-78; The fourth grade participants were given codes within the framework of research ethics as ÖA4-1, ÖA4-2, ..., ÖA4-72. The mixed method was used in this research. The quantitative data of the research were collected with the "Science Learning Anxiety Scale", which was conducted for validity and reliability. Science Learning Anxiety Scale consists of 19 items in the five-likert type and three sub-dimensions (student, content and teaching anxiety; lesson anxiety; lesson anxiety). Anxiety scale of elementary teacher candidates towards science-related lessons; It was made according to the variables of gender, age, class and graduated high school and department. The qualitative data of the research was collected using a semi-structured interview technique that includes nine basic questions developed by the researcher. Interview questions were checked by a field education specialist, two class teachers, a randomly chosen student parent and a Turkish language specialist, and necessary arrangements were made in line with the opinions. During the interview, data were collected with a voice recorder within the permission of the participants. In the analysis of the data obtained in the research, content analysis, percentage and frequency values, unrelated one-way variance analysis (ANOVA) and unrelated t-test were used. Quantitative data analysis was done with IBM SPSS v.22 program. According to the results of the research, it has been determined that there is a significant positive relationship between the pre-service teachers' perceptions of science-related courses and their class levels. The results of the research were compared and discussed in terms of similarities and differences with the literature. Based on the findings, suggestions were made for future studies.