Determination of Preschool Teachers’ Preference Reasons for Children’s Books Used by Them in Their Classes

Abstract

Teachers are the people performing the most important role in the educational process. In particular, in preschool
education, teacher qualifications have become more crucial since the preschool period is a critical year in terms of all
aspects of the child’s development. It is the most important period in which children’s attitudes towards book
develop. In the preschool period, books that teachers choose for children have been seen to affect the attitudes and
viewpoints of children towards books in their later ages. In this context, the research was conducted with the aim of
revealing what criteria preschool teachers choose for children’s book that they use in their classes. A situational study
is a qualitative study in which a situation is investigated in depth. 26 preschool teachers working at kindergartens and
nursery classes in elementary schools which are affiliated to Kütahya Provincial Directorate of National Education
participated in the research. Research data were collected with semi-structured interview questions. The data were
categorized by content analysis. According to the results of the research, preschool teachers pay attention to the fact
that the textbook is robust physically in the selection of the books they use in the classroom, that the content is
simple to understand and that the language used is plain and that the known writers and publishing houses are also
considered when choosing books.