Investigation of Factors Affecting Pre-School Teachers’ Vocational Alienation

Abstract

Preschool teachers have an important place in achieving the goals of preschool education and in assuring its quality. Since vocational alienation affect preschool teachers' performance negatively, main purpose of this study is to investigate factors affecting their vocational alienation. For this purpose 227 pre-school teachers from Turkey voluntarily participated in the study. The model of the study was correlational survey model. Research data was collected with; Personal Information Form, Vocational Alienation Scale for the Preschool Teachers (VAS-PT), Organizational Climate Scale and Preschool Teachers' Self-Efficacy Beliefs Scale. According to teachers’ graduation degree variable, the vocational alienation scale scores of teachers at the graduate level differed statistically negatively from other groups (high school, associate degree, undergraduate). The scores of the sub-dimensions of the scale of vocational alienation of the group consisting of teachers who have a different vocation they want to do, differ negatively compared to other colleagues. Between teachers' vocational alienation scores and self-efficacy beliefs and organizational climate scores, positive and negative significant relationships were determined. There were significant negative relationships between teachers' vocational alienation scores and all sub-dimensions of the Self-Efficacy Belief Scale. Negative relationships were determined among the scores of all sub-dimensions of Vocational Alienation Scale for Pre-school Teachers and "Supportive Principle Behavior," "Intimate Teacher Behavior" and “Collaborative Teacher Behavior among Colleagues” of the Organizational Climate Scale. In addition, there were positive relationships between "Disengaged Teacher Behavior" and "Restrictive Principle Behavior" dimensions of Organizational Climate Scale and all sub-dimensions of Vocational Alienation Scale for Pre-school Teachers.