AN OVERVIEW OF POSTGRADUATE THESES WITHIN THE FIELD OF ILLUSTATION CHILDREN BOOKS AT EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION

Abstract

Early childhood years are the years when the individual is most open to development and learning. This period, parents and educators should provide the child with rich stimuli to support their curiosity, interest and development. One of the important rich stimuli is the illustrated children's books, which are written in different colors and lines, which enable him to gain a positive attitude towards the book at an early age. In this respect, it is important to examine the studies on illustrated children's books which are important for the development of preschool children. In this study, it is aimed to determine the trends in the researches about illustrated books in early childhood. Method of this study was determined as document analysis. The universe of the research consists of 195 graduate theses archived by YOK and indexed as children and books. 56 postgraduate theses about picture books in early childhood were included in the study sample. The research was limited to the postgraduate theses registered to the YOK National Thesis Center between 2000-2018.Thesis title was used to systematically examine the theses reached by the researcher. According to the results of the research, there are 56 postgraduate thesis studies examining illustared children's books from various angles. Between 2015-2018, there has been a significant increase in the thesis studies on picture children's books. Qualitative research methods was used in the theses. When the studies are examined, it is seen that most of the theses is studied with books. The theses about teachers interacting with parents one-on-one seem inadequate. It is seen that the majority of the postgraduate theses related to illustared children's books are made by preschool education discipline. In most of the thesis studies, concepts and book contents in illustrated children's books are examined. In addition, in the theses, the views of children's illustared books, the opinions of teachers and parents about children's picture books, the values given in the book, the effects of children on social and language development, the suitability of MEB Preschool Education Program and their effects on reading habits were examined.