Research Information System
JOURNAL OF EARLY CHILDHOOD TEACHER EDUCATION, 2025 (ESCI, Scopus)
This study aimed to examine the views and experiences of early childhood pre-service teachers regarding systematic observation. Systematic observation is a developmentally appropriate tool for understanding children's interests and needs, informing instructional planning, and assessing their developmental progress. The research was conducted with phenomenological design and semi-structured interviews and an open-ended questionnaire were used for data collection from seven early childhood pre-service teachers. The data was analyzed through thematic analysis, which revealed three themes: (1) pre-service teachers' views on systematic observation, (2) pre-service teachers' experiences on systematic observation, and (3) pre-service teachers' suggestions for improving observation practices. The findings indicated that early childhood pre-service teachers considered observation as a natural, non-interventional, and mostly unstructured process. Pre-service teachers focused on children's emotions and behaviors during the observation process but paid more attention to negative behaviors. In order to improve the observation process, the participants emphasized that the teaching practice experience needs to be enhanced. The results highlight that experiences on child observation during teaching practices have a critical role on the professional readiness of pre-service teachers to the teaching profession.