Values Education Practices in Preschool: The Case of Turkey and the United States

Abstract

In this study, the aim is to determine national and universal values that are tried to be taught to children in pre-school education institutions of different cultures and to compare programs and practices in the context of value education within the framework of teachers' views. Case study, one of the qualitative research methods, was used in the study. In the study, criterion and convenience sampling methods, one of the purposive sampling methods, were used in determining the study group. In this context, the study group of the research consisted of 52 pre-school teachers who participated in the study voluntarily from Turkey and the United States, Ohio. In the study, semi-structured interview form was used as the data collection tool. The data of the study was analyzed by content analysis method. The results show that values education cannot be provided only through the integration of values in the curriculum, and that value transfer is a sophisticated process involving many disciplines. It is understood from the findings that there are significant differences in value perception as well as differences in practice in both countries. For example, in both countries the priority national values were found to be different. Although there are similarities in the methods and techniques used in values education practices in both countries, it was concluded that in terms of assessment methods teachers from Ohio were able to employ more diverse methods and observe their students better. In addition, teachers from Ohio do not experience as many problems as Turkish teachers and are solution-oriented in values education practices.

Meanings of The Value Concept of Formation Teacher Candidates

“…To comprehend how an event occurred, i.e., what is occurring in the background, it is necessary to identify and comprehend the values that guide the attitudes and behaviors of the individuals responsible for the event (Sahin, 2019). Through effective value education, cognitive, affective, and behavioral differences of individuals develop (Caliskan, Yildirim, & Demirhan, 2021) When the literature on values is examined, most of the studies were conducted with pre-service teachers (Arslan, 2022;Yenen & Ulucan, 2021;Akıturk & Kahraman, 2019;Akhan, Subası, & Acıl, 2020). Kinacı (2018) revealed that pre-service social studies teachers prioritized values such as patriotism, respect, love, justice, equality, responsibility, and independence more than other values.…”