Different learning environments for preschool children in Turkish private and public preschools: mind versus virtue

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to explore the two underpinnings of learning acquisition. These are what Li (2004a, 2004b) proposes as learning for “mind” and learning for “virtue.” What is produced by the differences in people’s beliefs in their actual learning is emphasized in the study. “Actual learning begins early” (Li, 2004a; 2004b) is also presented by developmental evidences. The main aim of the study is to examine the influences on the conceptual orientations of learning by private and public preschoolers. A sample of 137 preschoolers, mainly five and six years of age provided free-narrative responses to story beginnings. The stories in the first set are about a cow which would choose between a book and a ball, positive and negative protagonists, one who would like to go to school and the other who would not want to go. The second set of stories is about the little bird who tries hard to learn how to fly, and the little bear who gives up trying to learn how to catch fish. In this study, differences emerged in children’s construal of learning processes in these two different settings as private versus public schools. Results indicated that there are significant differences between the private and the public preschoolers’ conceptual orientations of learning, i.e. public preschoolers held significance for both task and virtue orientations. Considering the ages of the students who participated in the study, the observed difference is possibly due to the children’s socioeconomical backgrounds.