Bayterek Uluslararası Akademik Araştırmalar Dergisi

Öz

The most important factor in the education process is teachers. Teachers’ possession of subject area knowledge, providing effective communication with students, improving themselves, being an explorer and interrogators, being professionally devoted and having a sense of responsibility are the qualities that a teacher should have occupationally. Pre-teaching education has an effect on teachers’ possessing this characteristic. The quality of education taken during the pre-service period has a shaping role in teacher candidates’ professional life in the future. Providing a teacher training programme qualified theoretically and practically and organizing relevant qualities formatively may be an effective factor in teacher candidates’ having a positive attitude towards the profession and performing their occupation successfully. For this reason, it is thought to be important to reveal the connection between teacher candidates’ professional commitment and their perceptions formed about the education taken in pre-service period in terms of its function as an academic source in planning and maintaining occupational training.
This study, it is aimed to reveal the connection between the perceptions of teacher candidates in Faculties of Education who takes school experience and teaching practice course and their professional commitment. Underneath this aim, it was tested whether there was a difference between students’ perceptions of teacher practice course and their degree of professional commitment regarding gender variable. In addition, the predictive degree of the perceptions regarding the teaching practice course on the degree of commitment to the teaching profession was also studied.
In this study, one of the quantitative research methods, the correlational model was preferred. Two different scales were used as data collection tools in the study. The first scale is the 5-point Likert-type Teaching Practice Scale developed by Hacıömeroğlu and Değer (2017), consisting of 21 items and four dimensions. After confirmatory factor analysis was applied to the scale, one item was removed from the scale. The second data collection tool used in the study is the Scale of Commitment to the Teaching Profession. This 5-point Likert-type scale, developed by Yıldız (2020), consists of 33 items. After confirmatory factor analysis was applied to this scale, one item was removed from the scale. Reliability analyses of both scales were made. Data of the study were gathered from the teacher candidates who take teaching practice course and studying in the 4th year of the Education Faculty of Eskişehir Osmangazi University. After the validty and reliability analyses independent sample T-test, correlation and regression analyses were applied to obtained data. In the study, it was found that students have high levels of positive perception and these perceptions don’t indicate meaningful variation in terms of gender variable. The degree of commitment to the teaching profession also had a high and too-high level of points. Also, the degree of commitment to the teaching profession has a meaningful variation on behalf of women. A positive and medium-level relationship was found between the perceptions of teaching practice course and the degree of commitment to the teaching profession. As a result of the regression analysis done within the scope of this relationship, it was determined that the perceptions of teaching practice course predict the commitment to teaching.
According to these findings, it is seen that the perceptions of teacher candidates on teaching practice course are predictors forming their degree of commitment to the teaching profession. Mentor teachers, school administrators and university instructors’ supportive attitudes for improvement and performing their guidance mission have the power to be effective in teachers of the future being qualified and creating a high level of professional commitment. For this reason, it can be said that it is vital for this course, in which teacher candidates do practice and prepare themselves for the teaching profession, to be maintained studiously.