Pre-service teachers’ beliefs about multilingualism in Türkiye

Abstract Recent migration has increased linguistic diversity in Türkiye, making multilingual classrooms more prevalent nationwide. Regardless of whether teachers have the necessary knowledge and skills to teach in such environments, their beliefs play a crucial role. As the first study of its kind in its context, this survey-based study aims to examine pre-service teachers’ (PSTs) views on multilingualism. The study was conducted with 430 PSTs (76.5% female, 23.5% male) studying at 11 universities, using a scale with three dimensions: epistemological beliefs about using the L1 at home, language support in subject classes, and general beliefs about multilingualism in the classroom. The results indicated that PSTs generally held positive attitudes toward multilingualism. Specifically, female participants and those proficient in a second language demonstrated significantly stronger beliefs about teacher responsibility and epistemological perspectives. While factors such as teaching subject and prior multilingual classroom experience positively influenced attitudes, the pedagogical knowledge provided in the current teacher training system had a negative impact on PSTs’ attitudes. Based on these findings, it is recommended that the Turkish teacher training system be re-evaluated to better develop PSTs’ beliefs and attitudes towards multilingualism.