Çocukların Mizacı, Öğretmen-Çocuk İlişkisi ve Oyun Davranışları Arasındaki İlişkinin İncelenmesi

Abstract

Play is a phenomenon that appears unexpectedly, serves as a unique role for children in their life journey, and functions as their language of communication. Preschools, as enclosed institutions, are spaces where children with different personality traits come together, gain new experiences, and meet their play needs. Among the key components of these institutions supporting children’s developmental process are preschool teachers. While children are the main characters of play, the ones who design and observe the process are the teachers. Through play, children express themselves and experience various emotions simultaneously. These emotions are linked to both their own personality traits and those of their peers. Temperament, a fundamental determinant of personality traits, and the relationships teachers build with children create significant differences in children's play behaviors. This study was conducted with 350 children aged 48-72 months attending preschools and nursery classes affiliated with the Ministry of National Education in Ordu, Turkey, along with their teachers. In the study, teachers were asked to complete the Teacher-Student Relationship Scale and Play Behaviors Scale, while parents were asked to complete the Temperament Scale for Children. The findings revealed that close and conflicting relationships children established with their teachers had a significant negative correlation with social play behaviors. It was also found that children with active, rhythmic, emotional temperament traits engaged in more social play compared to those with reactive temperament traits. The study concluded that children with reactive temperament traits exhibited more rough-and-tumble play behaviors. It was observed that children who exhibited quiet and solitary play behaviors tended to have more conflicting rather than close relationships with their teachers, and that temperament sub-dimensions such as Activity Level, Rhythmicity, and Attention-Persistence negatively predicted these play behaviors. Additionally, it was found that children aged 48 months preferred Quiet Play more frequently, while children aged 60 months had more conflicting relationships with their teachers compared to other age groups.