AN INVESTIGATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN 48-60 MONTHS OLD PRESCHOOL CHILDREN’S TEACHER-CHILD RELATIONS AND THE CHILDREN’S ACADEMIC SELF-ESTEEM

The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between 48-60 months old preschool children's academic self-esteem and the teacher-child relationships. The universe of this study is composed of 48-60 months old children who were attending either state or private kindergartens in 2014-2015 academic year in Doğubayazıt province of Ağrı and their teachers. Through the simple random sampling method, the number of subjects was determined as being at least 264 and as a result 272 children were contacted. The children were continuing their preschool education in 35 different classes. The sample of the study is composed of 35 teachers and 272 children attending these teachers' classes. The data were collected through “Child Information Questionnaire”, “Teacher-Child Relationships Questionnaire”, and “Academic Self-Esteem Questionnaire”. In terms of academic self-esteem level, the results were revealed a statistically significant difference according to the children's genders, ability to use Turkish, and the educational level of their parents. A statistically significant positive relationship was determined between the scores of self-esteem scale and teacher-child relationships scale.