Lecturer Assist. İbrahim Tarkan Doğan and Dr. Lecturer. Prof. Dr. Derya Kavgaoğlu, the aim of the study titled "Photography in Preschool: A Workshop Design Application" was to examine the competencies of preschool children aged 60-72 months to recognize and produce photography.
The method of the study: It was conducted with the action research model within the scope of qualitative research. The action research model in which the practitioner is also the researcher was preferred. Data collection tools were the needs analysis interview form designed by the researcher and the performance assessment test prepared as a test tool. Descriptive statistics were used for data analysis. The study group consisted of 47 (60-72-month-old) children attending a private preschool education institution in the fall semester of the 2019-2020 academic year.
Findings of the study: While 75% of the children stated that they had taken photos before, 66% of the children stated that they took the photos with mobile devices, and 63% of the children stated that they took better photos with mobile devices. Only 8% of the children's families use cameras. Although 47% of the children gave answers that included their own reasons for taking the photo, only 2% of the children were able to express that the photo was taken to remember.
Conclusions of the study: In order to meet the need to improve children's ability to recognize and produce photographs, the photography workshop program prepared within the scope of the action plan was implemented and a success rate of 87.2% was achieved. This rate indicates that with the photography workshop program in preschool, children were able to gain the power to differentiate the images and photographs they were exposed to in terms of quality and move from being consumers to producers. Considering the examples abroad, it is thought that increasing the number of academic and institution-based, theoretical and applied studies on photography and photography education in preschool will make a significant contribution to increasing the quality of preschool education.
Please click here to read the article titled "Photography in Preschool: A Workshop Design Application" in the 11th issue of Istanbul Gelisim University Health Sciences Journal, which is an international peer-reviewed journal, registered in the Health Sciences Area Index Turkey Citation Index and Journals Directory and published three times a year in April, August and December, on pages 178-201.
