EXAMINING PRESCHOOL TEACHER CANDIDATES' ATTITUDES TOWARDS SCIENCE IN TERMS OF SOME VARIABLES

Abstract

This research aims to explore the teacher candidates’ “attitudes towards science" who are studying in the preschool education department of a state university in Izmir; considering gender, socio-economic level, and the perspectives of the academic staff. The study's sample is composed of preschool students from a state university situated within the metropolitan area of Izmir province, located in Turkey. The research involved, a total of 278 teacher candidates, with 55.8% (n=155) being female and 44.2% (n=123) being male. For data collection the research used the "Science Attitude Scale" and the "Personal Information Form" conducted by Baykul (1992). The the instruments were confirmed to be valid and reliable, with the scale achieving an alpha reliability coefficient of .92. For multiple comparisons, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and for pairwise comparisons t-tests were used to analyse the data. No significant difference was observed on the attitudes of preschool teacher candidates towards science based on independent variables which include gender, family socioeconomic level, and their perception of their teacher's attitude towards themselves.

Keywords: Attitude towards science, preschool, teacher candidate.

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