The role of sports in kindergarten teachers recreational habits

Abstract

The aim of this study is to investigate the role of the sports in the recreational habits of kindergarten teachers. The survey population comprises kindergarten teachers who are employed in the province of Gaziantep. The sample constitutes a total of 378 kindergarten teachers determined by circumstantial method. The survey developed by Tuncel was used in the research as a data collection tool. The acquired data were evaluated using the statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS) for Windows 16.0 statistical package software. The percentage of the obtained answers and frequency distributions were calculated. A°n order to reveal a statistically significant difference for some of the questions, cross-tabulation and chi-squared test were applied at the significance level. The data obtained indicated that the kindergarten teachers participating in the research are at school not more than 21 to 30 h, attend a class for 20 to 30 h, have two free days and wish to have more free time. The research results also reveal that the main recreational activity of the kindergarten teachers is doing sport, and they mostly do sport activities at school. They go for a walk as a sport activity, and the main reasons for them to take part in these recreational activities are physical fitness and being healthy. After participating in recreational activities they feel relaxed and satisfied, and this contributes to their professional success positively. As for their expectations from the government, they mostly want more facilities to be provided for recreation. Key words: Kindergarten, teacher, spare time, sporting habit.