preschool teachers‟ beliefs and practices related to developmentally appropriate classroom ...

313 Pages·2013·2.3 MB·English

PRESCHOOL TEACHERS‟ BELIEFS AND PRACTICES RELATED TO
DEVELOPMENTALLY APPROPRIATE CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT

A THESIS SUBMITTED TO
THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
OF
MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY

BY

ĠKBAL TUBA ġAHĠN

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS
FOR
THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
IN
THE DEPARTMENT OF ELEMENTARY EDUCATION

MAY 2013
Approval of the Graduate School of Social Sciences

Prof. Dr. Meliha AltunıĢık
Director

I certify that this thesis satisfies all the requirements as a thesis for the degree
of Doctor of Philosophy.

Prof. Dr. Jale Çakıroğlu
Head of Department

This is to certify that we have read this thesis and that in our opinion it is fully
adequate, in scope and quality, as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sharolyn D. Pollard Durodola Assist. Prof. Dr. Feyza Erden
Co-Supervisor Supervisor

Examining Committee Members

Prof. Dr. Jale Çakıroğlu (METU, ELE)
Assist. Prof. Dr. Feyza Erden (METU, ECE)
Assist. Prof. Dr. Betil Eröz Tuğa (METU, FLE)
Assist. Prof. Dr. Çiğdem Haser (METU, ELE)
Assist. Prof. Dr. Elif Öztürk Yılmaztekin (Ġzmir U., CD)
I hereby declare that all information in this document has been obtained and
presented in accordance with academic rules and ethical conduct. I also
declare that, as required by these rules and conduct, I have fully cited and
referenced all material and results that are not original to this work.

Name, Last name:

Signature :

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ABSTRACT

PRESCHOOL TEACHERS‟ BELIEFS AND PRACTICES RELATED TO
DEVELOPMENTALLY APPROPRIATE CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT

ġahin, Ġkbal Tuba
Ph.D., Department of Elementary Education
Supervisor: Assist. Prof. Dr. Feyza Tantekin-Erden
Co-Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sharolyn D. Pollard-Durodola

May 2013, 292 pages

The purpose of this study was to describe to what extent four preschool teachers in
Turkey have developmentally appropriate beliefs and practices related to the
following four dimensions of classroom management (1) organizing the physical
environment of the classroom, (2) managing planning and programming activities,
(3) managing relations and communication and (4) managing the children‟s
behaviors in the classroom. Also, the consistency of preschool teachers‟ beliefs and
their practices in relation to four dimensions of classroom management was
examined. A convenience sampling strategy was used to select participants of the
study consisting four female teachers working in public and private preschools in
Ankara. The data of this study was collected through a demographic information
protocol, interviews (pre-interview and video-stimulated recall interview), classroom
observations, and a document review.
In this qualitative investigation, the data analysis process included making word lists
and, finding key-words-in context, word repetitions, similarities and differences. The
findings of the study showed that preschool teachers‟ beliefs were closer to
developmentally appropriate practices than their self-reported and actual practices.
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Also, there were consistencies and inconsistencies between their beliefs and
practices. Lastly, the participant teachers‟ actual practices were mainly influenced by
the physical characteristics of the schools and children‟s characteristics. It can be
said that although the physical characteristics of the schools prevent teachers from
being developmentally appropriate, the characteristics of children may be motivator
for them to conduct more developmentally appropriate activities.

Keywords: Developmentally appropriate practices, preschool teachers, classroom
management, teachers‟ beliefs, teachers‟ practices.

v
ÖZ

OKUL ÖNCESĠ ÖĞRETMENLERĠNĠN GELĠġĠME UYGUN SINIF YÖNETĠMĠ
ĠLE ĠLGĠLĠ ĠNANIġ VE UYGULAMALARI

ġahin, Ġkbal Tuba
Doktora, Ġlköğretim Bölümü
Tez Yöneticisi: Yrd. Doç. Dr. Feyza Tantekin-Erden
Ortak Tez Yöneticisi: Doç. Dr. Sharolyn D. Pollard-Durodola

Mayıs 2013, 292 sayfa

Bu çalıĢmanın amacı, Türkiye‟deki okul öncesi öğretmenlerinin sınıf yönetiminin
dört boyutuna iliĢkin (sınıfın fiziksel çevresinin düzenlenmesi, etkinliklerin
planlanması ve programlanması, sınıfta etkili iliĢki ve iletiĢim yolları kurulması ve
çocukların davranıĢlarının yönetilmesini) inanıĢ ve uygulamalarının ne ölçüde
geliĢime uygun olduğunu ortaya koymaktır. Ayrıca, öğretmenlerin sınıf yönetiminin
bu dört boyutuna iliĢkin inanıĢ ve uygulamaları arasındaki tutarlılık da incelenmiĢtir.
ÇalıĢmanın katılımcıları, uygun örneklem yöntemi ile seçilen, Ankara‟da devlet
okullarında ve özel okul öncesi sınıflarında çalıĢan dört bayan öğretmendir. Bu
çalıĢmanın verileri demografik bilgi formu, görüĢmeler (ön-görüĢmeler ve kamera
uyaranlı görüĢme), sınıf gözlemleri ve döküman incelenmesi yöntemleriyle
toplanmıĢtır.
Nitel olan bu çalıĢmanın veri analiz süreci, anahtar kelimeleri, kelime tekrarlarını,
benzerliklerini ve farklılıklarını bulmayı ve kelime listeleri oluĢturmayı içerir.
ÇalıĢmanın bulguları, okul öncesi öğretmenlerinin inanıĢlarının uygulamalarına göre
geliĢime daha uygun olduğunu ortaya koymuĢtur. Okulların fiziksel özellikleri ile
çocukların özelliklerinin temel olarak katılımcı öğretmenlerin gerçek uygulamalarını
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etkilediği bulunmuĢtur. Ayrıca, okulların fiziksel özelliklerinin öğretmenleri geliĢime
uygun olmaktan alıkoymasına rağmen çocukların özelliklerinin onları geliĢime
uygun etkinlikler hazırlamaları için daha fazla motive ettiği söylenebilir.

Anahtar Kelimeler: GeliĢime uygun uygulamalar, okul öncesi öğretmenleri, sınıf
yönetimi, öğretmenlerin inanıĢları, öğretmenlerin uygulamaları

vii
To My Father and My Mother
Ġyi ki varsınız…

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Achieving the degree of doctor of philosophy has been a long journey. I am
fortunate that my supervisor Assist. Prof. Dr. Feyza Tantekin Erden has always
been with me for twelve years. Sometimes I lost my hope about reaching my goal
but she supported, motivated and encouraged me. I will never forget her invaluable
help. I am indebted her and I want to express my deepest gratitude to her.
I would also like to thank my co-supervisor Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sharolyn D. Pollard-
Durodola. I spent a perfect year in Texas A & M University. Not only did she
teach me about academic issues but also about how to be a good teacher and an
effective colleague. She was always there when I needed her and through her
positive but critical feedback she improved my dissertation.
I am grateful to Assist. Prof. Dr. Çiğdem Haser who patiently answered my
numerous questions related to qualitative research and my dissertation. She also
encouraged and motivated me on my journey. I am blessed that I know her.
I am also grateful to my dissertation committee Prof. Dr. Jale Çakıroğlu, Assist.
Prof. Dr. Betil Eröz Tuğa and Assist. Prof. Dr. Elif Öztürk Yılmaztekin for their
helpful comments and suggestions.
I would like to express my gratitude to Prof. Dr. George S. Morrison and Betty
Jane Morrison for their help, support, and encouragement. I am also grateful to
Prof. Dr. Paul Burden for his valuable contributions related to textbooks and
resource books on classroom management.
My grateful thanks to the teachers who participated in my dissertation study and
ġenay Özgün. Also, thanks to Chris Taylor for her friendship, patience and help
with my English and also thanks to my all friends in the department of Elementary
Education.
I want to thank to my dear friends; Çağla Öneren ġendil, Sultan Yılmaz, Sibel
Güler, AyĢenur Kubar, Yurdagül Boğar, Mehmet ġen, Birgül Çakır, Güliz
Karaaslan and Dürdane Tor who had been great sources of moral support for me
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throughout this process. Thank you for your interest in my work and sharing your
love and time with me.
I would like to thank my mother Behiye ġahin, my father Tahir ġahin, my
sisters Betül Kübra ġahin and Hilal GüĢta ġahin, and my niece Ġlay Çiçek for their
belief in me and their love, support and encouragement which accompanied me
through the long years of my academic journey. If I did not have such a wonderful
family, I would have never finished my PhD study.
Lastly, Dr. Ramazan Sak… I don‟t know how I can express my love and gratitude.
He always believed in me and encouraged me. He accompanied me on the road to
my doctorate and made the bad times bearable and the good times much better.
Thanks for everything!

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