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Preschool Teachers' Knowledge and Attitudes of Childhood Stuttering

Evrim Gerçek Eda Tural
Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this study is to examine whether the knowledge level and attitudes of preschool teachers about stuttering differ in terms of certain variables and to examine the relationship between their knowledge levels and attitudes. Method: The study was carried out with the descriptive model. 232 preschool teachers from 22 cities of Turkey participated in the study. While 60.8% of the participants had never had a student who stuttered, 39.2% had a student who stuttered before. The data of the research were collected online with the 'Stuttering Knowledge Level Questionnaire' and the 'Attitude Questionnaire towards Stuttering'. In the study, the differences between the variables (i,e.knowledge levels of teachers with and without stuttering students; seniority of teachers who had had stuttering students, having taken courses/seminars related to stuttering, number of students who stutter, and when the last time they had a stuttering student) and relationships between variables (level of knowledge and attitude) were studied. Results: It was found that the knowledge level of preschool teachers who have had stuttering students was statistically significantly higher than those who had not had stuttering students. There is a significant difference between the teachers with stuttering students in favor of those with 1-3 years of seniority and those with 13 years or more in terms of strategies for the whole class and general attitude scores towards stuttering. It was found that those who took courses/seminars on stuttering and those with 4 or more stuttering students had significantly higher scores on strategies for the stuttering child, and no significant relationship was found between their level of knowledge about stuttering and attitudes towards stuttering. Conclusion: As a result of this study, when examined in terms of attitude towards stuttering, it was found that having taken courses/seminars on stuttering and the number of students who stutter were effective on the strategies for the stuttering child, while the seniority period was effective on the strategies for the whole class. It has been observed that teachers who have attended a stuttering course/seminar are much more successful in applying the strategies especially for the stutter child compared to the teachers who have not participated in such training. This shows that informing preschool teachers about stuttering can make a difference in their interactions with the stuttering child. It is thought that this will be supportive in the management of early stuttering.

Keywords

stuttering, attitudes towards stuttering, knowledge about stuttering, preschool teacher, early childhood stuttering

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