Analyzing the cognitive teaching styles of preservice and cooperating preschool teachers in Turkey

Abstract

It is evident that all teachers have individual attributes relating to their teaching processes and they teach differently at different paces because of their biological and psychological differences. Naturally, mismatches often occur between the teaching styles of student‐teachers in preschool and the teaching style of the cooperating teachers, with unfortunate effects on the quality of the student‐teachers’ teaching and on their attitudes toward the class and the subject. The aim of the descriptive study was to investigate the relationship between student‐teachers’ and cooperating teachers’ cognitive styles and their instructional preferences. The sample (n = 375) included 232 preschool student‐teachers majoring in child development and education at Selcuk University, and 143 cooperating preschool teachers who currently teach in different preschools in Turkey. Subjects’ cognitive teaching styles were assessed using the Instant Insight Inventory. In general, the chi‐square results showed that there was a significant difference between the student‐teachers’ and cooperating preschool teachers’ cognitive teaching style dimensions (P = 173.395, < 0.05). In general, the data also indicate that there was a significant difference between student‐teachers and cooperating teachers in manipulating instructional techniques/activities in respect of four teaching temperaments (P = 47.795, < 0.05). As a consequence of the data obtained, some suggestions were made to the cooperating preschool teachers to match their cognitive teaching styles to the styles of preschool student‐teachers to foster the preschool students’ various domains effectively.