An investigation of prospective teachers' reflective thinking tendency

Abstract

The basic objective of this study is to examine the reflective thinking tendencies of prospective teachers. The descriptive survey model has been adopted in the study. The universe of the study consists of prospective teachers attending the 4th grade of the Elementary Teacher Education Department at Balikesir University in the 2011-2012 academic year. Sampling was conducted with a total of 278 prospective teachers in the departments of Elementary Mathematics, Social Sciences, Elementary Teacher Education and Science Education Departments by means of the random sampling method among probability sampling techniques. In line with the objective of the study, for the purpose of determining the reflective thinking tendencies of prospective teachers, the Reflective Thinking Tendency scale was utilized. Obtained data, was analyzed through arithmetic mean and standard deviation values, one way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and the Bonferroni test. As a result of the study it was determined that prospective teachers studying at the Elementary Teacher Education Department had the highest and the prospective teachers studying at the Social Sciences Teaching Department had the lowest reflective thinking tendency score means. Furthermore, it was concluded that the reflective thinking tendencies of prospective teachers differed according to the variable of the department they are studying in.