Abstract:

This study was conducted to examine and determine if teacher candidates’ assertiveness levels differ in terms of their moods, gender, age, department, family type, birth order and perceived communication level with their friends. The study sample consisted of 465 4th year classroom teacher candidates attending Afyon Kocatepe University, Education Faculty in the 2017-2018 academic year. The data collection instruments of the study were the Personal Information Form designed to get information about the participant teacher candidates, the Voltan Acar Assertiveness Scale (Voltan Acar & Öğretmen, 2007) administered to assertiveness levels of the participant teacher candidates and the Facial Expressions Form (Thayer & Schiff, 1969) so as to specify the participant teacher candidates moods. Considering the results of Kolmogorov-Smirnoff normality test, the data which displayed a normal range was analyzed with independent samples t-test and One Way Anova was used. For the groups that did not display a normal range, Mann Whitney U and Kruskal Wallis H Test was used. To the study results, there was a meaningful difference between teacher candidates’ assertiveness levels and their ages, departments, family types, communication styles and moods; no statistically significant difference was found between their assertiveness levels and their genders and birth orders.

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