Prospective Teachers’ Perceptions About Concept of Middle East Through Word Association Test

The present study aims to reveal prospective teachers' cognitive structure about the Middle East through Word Association Technic (WAT). Research sample consisted of 420 prospective teachers studying at Ömer Halisdemir University Education Faculty and Kilis 7 Aralik University Education Faculty. Data were collected through WAT. As result of WAT, frequency table including key concepts and answer words was prepared. According to this frequency table concept network were drawn by the researcher. Results indicated that the prospective teachers mostly associated the Middle East with oil and war. This finding is similar to previous studies conducted through prospective social studies teachers. Moreover perception of the Middle East among the participant prospective teachers varies between the universities. Prospective teachers from Ömer Halisdemir University generally associate the Middle East with general words such as Saddam Hussain, Egypt, Turkey, weapon, Arab Spring, kingdom-sheikh while the participant prospective teachers from Kilis 7 Aralik University mostly associate the Middle East with death, massacre, bomb, rocket, poverty, section clashes, and dictator. In other words, it can be concluded that while the prospective teachers have general knowledge about the Middle East, the prospective teachers studying in Kilis 7 Aralik University have perception based on geography where they live, and experience that they underwent. This finding can be viewed as a proof that living place influence perception. Furthermore, it can be concluded that WAT is effective way in disclosing cognitive structure of individuals.