PROSPECTIVE TEACHERS' PERCEPTION OF DISCRIMINATION IN TURKEY

Discrimination means any distinction or exclusion made based on race, color, sex, religion, political opinion, national extraction or social origin [1]. As a profession, teaching requires having the ability to deal with differences. This study explores prospective teachers' perceptions of discrimination in social life. Therefore, the prospective teachers' reactions related to the differences of people in their environment were examined at first. Secondly, the kinds of discrimination prospective teachers were exposed, and their responses to these situations were explored in the study. The data were gathered through a questionnaire developed by the author after reviewing the literature. Research group involved 250 'Teaching Formation Program' students enrolled in the Faculty of Education of Kocaeli University during the 2014-2015 academic year. The results revealed that prospective teachers have discriminated someone because of his/her political affiliations; his/her sexual orientation, his/her speaking or pronunciation style, and his/her clothing style, make-up style, hairstyle, or beard style in their lifetime. In addition, they have been discriminated against due to their political affiliations; their clothing style, make-up style, hair style, or beard style; their religious attitudes; their gender; their economic condition, their hometown; their ethnicity; their weight; their age, and other physical differences; and their speaking or pronunciation style. This study is supposed to contribute to the literature demonstrating types of discrimination in education context in Turkey.