Abstract:

The aim of this study is to examine the learning centers in pre-school classrooms through the opinions of pre-school teachers. The research was carried out in two independent pre-schools and six pre-schools within the elementary schools affiliated with the Ministry of Education in Menteşe district of Muğla province in 2018-2019 academic year and the study group is composed of 38 pre-school teachers volunteered to participate in the study. A qualitative method was used for this study. The data of the study were collected through the “General Information Form” and “Learning Center Evaluation Teacher Form (A semi-structured interview form)”, both developed by the researchers. The data obtained from the participating teachers are presented as percentage and frequency distributions. The teachers’ opinions for the open-ended questions are also presented under the relevant frequency and percentage tables. As a result of the research, the data revealed that the most preferred learning centers in the classrooms are blocks, music, books, dramatic play and science center respectively, children's learning center preferences vary by gender, and many teachers do not prefer to involve the family and children in the establishment and organization of centers. At the end of the study, based on the findings, some suggestions were made in order to utilize learning centers in early childhood settings more effectively to support children’s learning and in-class activities. 

Keywords: