Abstract:

Teaching as a profession starts with “a passion for teaching”, which is reflected into teaching and professional practices of the teacher. This study aims to examine the professionalization process of preschool teachers and reveal the reasons why they want to be preschool teachers, their perceptions towards the profession and the initial challenges encountered in Turkey. This study used qualitative method and face to face interviews were conducted with 47 preschool teachers. Preschool teachers’ views appeared to extend on the two following extreme spectrums: “Being the caretaker of the young population” and “having a passion to play a significant role in the future of children”. Preschool teachers’ accounts about their experiences in the career entry phase showed that all of them had the feelings of anxiety and fear.

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