Examination of the Reasoning Skills of 60-72 Months-Old Preschool Students on Socio-Scientific Issues According to Epistemic Profiles: Isparta Example

Year 2023, Volume: 19 Issue: 2, 204 - 226, 31.12.2023

Muhammed Safa Yıldırım , Şirin Yılmaz

https://doi.org/10.17244/eku.1281011

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine preschool students' reasoning about socioscientific issues (SSI) according to their epistemic profiles. A qualitative case study was used in the study. The participant group of the study consisted of 22 children aged 60-72 months studying in a public kindergarten in the central district of Isparta province in the 2021-2022 academic year. Three scenarios about SBK developed by the researchers and two different question sets related to each scenario were used as data collection tools. Before starting the main study, researcher1 spent time with the participant group as a participant-observer within the scope of naturalistic inquiry approach and the main research process was started after she was seen as a natural member of the group. During the implementation process, researcher1 met with each student in a quiet environment with one-to-one interviews and read the scenarios and aimed to reveal the students' reasoning about the scenarios. The same process was followed for each scenario. The data collection process lasted four weeks. The interviews were recorded and converted into written format. The data obtained in the study were analyzed based on content analysis and Schommer and Kuhn's epistemological belief models. According to the findings, it was concluded that the participant group could not make sufficient reasoning and had naive epistemic profiles even if they had ideas about current issues within the scope of SBK. However, as the practices progressed and the scenarios changed, positive changes were observed in students' reasoning. The findings were discussed with reference to the literature and recommendations were presented.

Keywords

Preschool education, socioscientific issues, reasoning, epistemological belief, science education

60-72 Aylık Okul Öncesi Öğrencilerinin Epistemik Profillere Göre Sosyobilimsel Konulara Yönelik Muhakeme Becerilerinin Araştırılması: Isparta Örneği

Abstract

Bu çalışmanın amacı, okul öncesi öğrencilerinin sosyobilimsel konulara (SBK) yönelik muhakemelerini epistemik profillere göre incelemektir. Çalışmada nitel durum çalışması kullanılmıştır. Araştırmanın katılımcı grubunu 2021-2022 akademik yılında Isparta ili merkez ilçesinde bir devlet anaokulunda öğrenim gören 60-72 aylık 22 çocuk oluşturmuştur. Çalışmada veri toplama aracı olarak araştırmacılar tarafından geliştirilen SBK ile ilgili üç senaryo ve her senaryoya ilişkin iki farklı soru seti kullanılmıştır. Araştırmacı1 ana uygulamaya başlamadan önce natüralistik sorgulayıcı yaklaşım kapsamında katılımcı grupla katılımcı-gözlemci olarak zaman geçirmiş ve grubun doğal bir üyesi olarak görülmesinden sonra ana araştırma sürecine geçilmiştir. Uygulama sürecinde araştırmacı1 biri birebir görüşmeler ile sessiz bir ortamda her öğrenci ile bir araya gelerek senaryoları okumuş ve öğrencilerin senaryolar hakkındaki muhakemelerini ortaya koymayı hedeflemiştir. Her senaryo için aynı süreç izlenmiştir. Veri toplama süreci dört hafta sürmüştür. Görüşmeler kayıt altına alınarak yazılı formata dönüştürülmüştür. Çalışmada elde edilen veriler içerik analizi ve Schommer ve Kuhn'un epistemolojik inanç modelleri esas alınarak analiz edilmiştir. Elde edilen bulgulara göre, katılımcı grubun SBK kapsamındaki güncel konular hakkında fikirleri olsa bile yeterli muhakeme yapamadıkları ve naif epistemik profillere sahip oldukları sonucuna varılmıştır. Ancak uygulamalar ilerledikçe ve senaryolar değiştikçe öğrencilerin muhakemelerinde olumlu değişimler gözlenmiştir. Elde edilen bulgular literatürden yararlanılarak tartışılmış ve elde edilen bulgulara yönelik öneriler sunulmuştur.

Keywords

Okulöncesi eğitimi, sosyobilimsel konular, muhakeme, epistemolojik inanç, fen eğitimi

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