Examination of Pre-Service Teachers' Educational Philosophy Tendencies

A teacher’s educational philosophy reflects their understanding of education and their value system. Pre-service teachers' educational philosophies constitute an essential component of the education system, shaping the future of education. This study aims to determine pre-service teachers' educational philosophy tendencies (perennialism, essentialism, progressivism, and reconstructionism) and to examine these tendencies in terms of the personal variables they possess. The study, conducted in a survey model, included 383 pre-service teachers from eleven different teacher education programs at a faculty of education in the Black Sea Region of Turkey, covering second, third, and fourth-year students. Data were collected using the "Educational Philosophy Tendencies Scale" developed by Aytaç and Uyangör (2020) and a personal variables questionnaire prepared by the researchers. Data were analyzed using SPSS 20 software. It was determined that pre-service teachers had the highest tendency toward reconstructionism, followed by perennialism, then progressivism, and the lowest tendency toward essentialism. Their tendencies showed significant differences based on gender, department, and year of study. Male pre-service teachers exhibited higher tendencies toward progressivism and essentialism than female pre-service teachers. Significant differences were found among departments, particularly in the case of pre-service elementary school teachers, who exhibited significantly lower essentialist tendencies than six other departments. The tendencies of reconstructionism, essentialism, and perennialism significantly varied among fourth-year students compared to other levels. As pre-service teachers' overall grade point averages increased, their tendencies toward reconstructionism and perennialism increased slightly, whereas their tendencies toward essentialism decreased slightly. However, no significant differences were found based on age or type of high school graduation.