Examining Preservice Teachers’ Attitudes towards Teaching Profession in Elementary Education: A Combination of Quantitative and Qualitative Methods

Abstract

Purpose of this study is to examine preservice teachers’ attitudes towards teaching profession in elementary education. In this study, quantitative and qualitative research approaches were used. In the quantitative part, data were obtained from 223 final year preservice teachers studying in elementary education department. Attitudes Scale Towards Teaching developed by Erkuş, Sanlı, Bağlı and Güven (2000) was administered to participants. In the qualitative part, open-ended questions were asked to the participants to understand their attitudes towards teaching profession in depth. Findings indicated that there are differences between preservice teachers’ attitudes and programs they enroll in. Results of the study indicated that pedagogy courses influence preservice teachers’ attitudes positively towards teaching.