Evaluation of 2018 Turkish early childhood teacher education curriculum

Abstract

This study aims to examine the characteristics of the Turkish Early Childhood Teacher Education Curriculum updated in 2018 and reveal the views of university lecturers as its end users. In the first stage of the study, previous and updated curricula were examined in order to reveal the characteristics of the latter, in the second stage, the curriculum-related views and recommendations of lecturers from private and public universities in Turkey were obtained. Increased number of elective courses was the most favored characteristic of the new curriculum while lack of flexibility, less practicum, and the failure of certain new courses to meet needs were the negative aspects. Increasing practicum and ensuring the participation of all stakeholders in the curriculum development process were the most vociferous recommendations of the lecturers.