INTRODUCTION

All the effort required for children to become individuals from an early age is a part of education. Education is an indispensable element of society. Every society has its own educational model. Societies try to raise people suitable for their own society model. In order to achieve this, they try to carry out education and training in parallel; because the level of development of the society is proportional to the education of the people in this country. Teaching should not be considered independent of education; they must be coordinated and parallel. Educational tools are tools that help the teacher to make the process happen. Educational tools play an important role in understanding and learning information. The teacher needs educational tools to fix the topics and provide constructivist education while giving lectures. Educational tools can be said to be extremely effective in motivating students and increasing their interest in the lesson. Teachers use many tools during teaching process. The book is the most widely used among these tools. The book is a tool that students can use whenever they want, as well as helping the teacher in teaching. A well-prepared book will be effective in determining the learning outcomes of both the student and the teacher.

Textbooks prepared by education experts and presented to students, helping teachers and students in the planning and execution of teaching, have an important place in the teaching process (Demir, 2020). Textbooks are educational tools that are prepared according to the level of the student's access to information and keep their curiosity alive. It has a regulatory role in the sequential and planned delivery of information. There is an intriguing link between the textbooks and the learner. Due to this bond, students play an active role in accessing information (Akkoyun et al., 2020). Although textbooks are in the position of instructive in transferring many lessons, it can be stated that the role of books in the development of individuals in the preschool period is extremely important (Alpan, 2008). Supporting the healthy growth of preschool children with stimuli suitable for their developmental characteristics reveals the importance of the early childhood period as the basis of their future lives (Diken, 2018; Öznacar et al., 2018). The preschool period is the most important stage that forms the basis of the characteristic development of children (Arikoç, 2019). This period is the period in which children's visual and auditory perceptions develop as well as their characteristic development (Kırman, 2019). Everything that children see and hear around them during this period attracts their attention (Orçan, 2017). One of the most important factors in the development of children in this process is visual elements. Especially books that contain visual elements have a great impact on the development process of children (Barandoozi, 2014). Children's books, prepared in accordance with their world and language, are an important learning tool for children, taking into account the child's developmental characteristics (Baş & Ucuzsatar, 2020). Pictures and other graphic arrangements presented through books in the preschool period have an important effect on children's recognition of shapes, textures and colors, the development of their visual memory, and thus their ability to distinguish between differences and similarities. For this reason, the books prepared for the preschool period should be suitable for children's interests, needs and developmental characteristics.

It has been emphasized by preschool teachers that quality visuals can attract more attention than sentences in the preschool period, and that the success in drawings and pictures enables learning by having fun. In other words, it can be stated that it is an important element to include the child's interests, needs and developmental characteristics in the books prepared for the preschool period (Aşılıoğlu, 2011; Demir et al., 2020). From this point of view, the main purpose of this study is to examine the visual design elements of the book "Hand in hand to preschool education 2", one of the books used in the preschool period. Depending on this general purpose, answers to the following questions will be sought: 1) How was the book "Hand in Hand to Preschool Education 2" prepared according to the Text Design dimension of the Visual Design Elements Scale? 2) What level is the book "Hand in Hand to Preschool Education 2" in Visual Elements Design of the Visual Design Elements Scale? 3) How was the book "Hand in Hand to Preschool Education 2" prepared according to the Page Design section of the Visual Design Elements Scale? 4) How was the book "Hand in Hand to Preschool Education 2" prepared according to the Visual Design Elements Scale's External Features for Cover Design and Production?

METHODOLOGY

Model of the research

In this study, scanning model was used. The screening model is a research approach that aims to describe the past and present situation as it exists (Karasar, 2015). The study was based on the examination of the "Hand in Hand to Preschool Education 2" book used in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in terms of compliance with visual design principles. In the light of this information, the opinions of 25 Pre-School Teacher candidates were consulted about the books, and the data were accessed by examining the books and filling out the Visual Design Principles Scale.

Data collection tool and collection of data

The scale used to evaluate the book in the research is the "Visual Design Principles" Scale developed by Alpan (2004). For this scale used, permission was obtained from the scale owner via e-mail.

All visual elements in the book "Hand in Hand to Preschool Education 2", which was examined using the scale of "compliance with visual design principles" used in the research, were examined by 25 pre-school teacher candidates in Nicosia in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus on a voluntary basis.

Data analysis

Scoring in the scale used in the analysis of the book was determined as 2 points for the answer "Yes", 1 point for the answer "Partially" and 0 points for the answer "No". In the evaluation according to the principles of visual design, a general evaluation of the book was made and the dimensions of the scale were evaluated separately.

The evaluation of the book in the scale is realized out of 10. 10 is the highest score a book can get in the evaluation. According to the results obtained as a result of scaling, the level of conformity created by Alpan (2004) is given with the following values:

RESULTS

Distribution of teacher candidates in the study according to demographic variables

20 of the teacher candidates in the study were female and 5 were male. Accordingly, it was determined that 80% of the individuals included in the study were female and 20% were male (Figure 1).

Figure 1
Distribution of teacher candidates by gender.

Considering the distribution of the teacher candidates in the study by age, it was seen that there were 10 teacher candidates who were 22 years old, and there were 6 teacher candidates who were 23 years old. In the third place were four 21-year-old teacher candidates. While 2 teacher candidates aged 24 and 20 each participated in the research, it was concluded that 1 teacher candidate was 44 years old (Figure 2).

Figure 2
Distribution of teacher candidates by age.

When the average of the answers given about whether the teacher candidates in the research group took courses on visual design elements, it was concluded that 83% of the teacher candidates did not take courses on visual design. In parallel with this result, it was concluded that the participants took courses on visual design with a rate of 16.7% (Figure 3).

Figure 3
Distribution of Teacher candidates who have taken courses for visual design and who have not taken courses for visual design.

The findings obtained in the light of the answers given by the teacher candidates according to the sub-dimensions of the Visual Design Scale

The maximum score that the "Hand in hand preschool education 2" book will get from the text design section is 32. In the light of this result, the book "Hand in Hand to Pre-School Education 2" from the typographic features sub-dimension of the text design department received 15 points and a rate of 8.8 in the examinations made by the teacher candidates. It was found partially suitable that the spaces between the letters are balanced and that the characters should not be used too thick in order not to close the inside of the letters. The suitability of the font size for the level of the student and the readability of the font were found partially suitable. On the other hand, it received 9 points from the Text Organizers dimension. It was concluded that the bibliography arrangement did not fully comply with the glossary arrangement section, and it partially did not comply with the conspicuous arrangement of the table of contents. In general, the text design part of the scale was found to be quite suitable with 24 points and a rate of 7.6 (Table 2).

The maximum score that the "Hand in hand preschool education 2" book will get from the text design section is 24. From this point of view, it was found completely appropriate in the section of Visual Elements with 22 points and a rate of 9.1 in the light of the examinations made by the teacher candidates. In the light of the researches, it has been determined that the book does not comply with the principle of balance in design and the principle of plainness and simplicity in design (the forms that make up visual elements such as illustrations, photographs, etc. are neither fully realistic nor completely abstract, plain understandable and using as much detail as the message requires) (Table 3).

The maximum score he will get from the text design section of the book "Hand in hand preschool education 2" is 16. Considering the average of the data obtained in the light of this, it was found to be completely appropriate with 14 points and 8.7 ratio. In the examination of the book by the teacher candidates, it was determined that the items of arranging two facing pages together (considering two facing pages as a single composition) and visual elements not preventing the reading flow (Placing visual elements such as illustrations, photographs, diagrams, etc. in a way that will not hinder the reading flow) were partially not followed (Table 4).

The maximum score that the book "Hand in hand pre-school education 2" will get from the cover design section is 12. As a result of the examinations, the book "Hand in Hand to Pre-School Education 2" was found to be quite suitable by getting 9 points and 7.5 ratio from the Cover Design Department. In the Cover design section of the book, the items about the aesthetic preparation of the cover, its relation to the content and the page layout (the consistency of the cover design in terms of content and page design and the understanding of style), and the writing of the back writing from top to bottom were considered partially appropriate by the teacher candidates (Table 5).

As in the cover design, the maximum score that the "Hand in hand pre-school education 2" book will get from the Exterior Features for Production section is 12. In line with the data obtained from this part of the scale, the book received 9.2 ratio with 11 points. In the light of this, it was determined that the book binding partially complied with the item of being durable and strong, and completely complied with the remaining items in terms of the external structure properties for production (Table 6).

Considering the total score and rate of the "Hand in Hand Preschool Education 2" book, it was found to be completely appropriate with 80 points and 8.3 ratio from the maximum value of 96 points. It was concluded that there is no harm in using it in the sub-dimensions of the visual design scale by pre-school teacher candidates, except for specific items (Table 7).

DISCUSSION

When the findings for the first question of the research were examined, the pre-school teacher candidates' book "Hand in Hand to Preschool Education 2" used in Pre-School Education was found to be quite suitable in the Text design dimension of the Visual design scale. In their research, Demir, Baştaş and Yücesoy found the text design dimension of the visual design scale of the book "Social Studies" completely appropriate. In a similar study, Şahin (2014) also examined the text design for picture books prepared for preschool children in two groups as instructive and literary. Instructional picture books are more focused on creating concepts. It is possible to say that while the literary picture story books activate the conceptual process in the child, they affect the cognitive and affective process in the life of the person. The findings for the second question were found to be completely appropriate in the Design of Visual Elements section of the book "Hand in Hand to Preschool Education 2". In a similar study by Yücesoy (2018), it was suggested that the opinions of the instructors on the design of the Turkish textbooks taught in primary schools in the TRNC were generally negative in terms of the design principles, there were points that needed improvement in terms of the design of the textbooks, and solution suggestions were suggested. According to Becer (2015) 's study, it was stated that in the textbooks prepared for the students' lessons, the effectively designed visual elements in the textbook provide great benefits to students in the change of behavior with permanent traces of learning.

Findings for the third and fourth questions of the book "Hand in Hand to Preschool Education 2" were found to be completely appropriate in the Page Design of the Visual design scale. It has been found completely in accordance with the external structure specifications for the Cover Design and Production. In a similar study, students based on the 48-item visual design principles developed by Alpan (2004) and they evaluated these books under the main titles of text design, visual elements design, page design, cover design and external structure features for production. In the study of Açıkgöz (2019), it was determined that the English worksheets designed in line with the visual design principles used in higher education were found to be more organized, understandable, heartwarming, motivating, entertaining and interesting compared to students' opinions. In the same study, it was shown that the instructors found the new worksheets spacious, useful, motivating, organized, easy to follow, and the visuals used were attractive, simple and understandable. In this research, only the book "Hand in Hand to Preschool Education 2" was used. It is recommended that researchers examine the situation of visual design principles in other books, and it is recommended to conduct research to compare the data obtained in the light of these examinations with the data obtained in this research.

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Notas de autor

yucehan.yucesoy@neu.edu.tr

Información adicional

How to cite: Demir, B., Yücesoy, Y., Ayhan, S. B., Kan, Ş. G., & Öznacar, B. (2021). The evaluation of the contents of pre-school books for 4 - 6 years according to the visual design items. Revista Tempos e Espaços em Educação, 14(33), e15971. http://dx.doi.org/10.20952/revtee.v14i33.15971

Authors' Contributions: Demir, B.: conception and design, acquisition of data, analysis and interpretation of data, drafting the article, critical review of important intellectual content; Yücesoy, Y.: conception and design, acquisition of data, analysis and interpretation of data, drafting the article, critical review of important intellectual content; Ayhan, S. B.: conception and design, acquisition of data, analysis and interpretation of data, drafting the article, critical review of important intellectual content; Kan, Ş. G.: conception and design, acquisition of data, analysis and interpretation of data, drafting the article, critical review of important intellectual content; Öznacar, B.: conception and design, acquisition of data, analysis and interpretation of data, drafting the article, critical review of important intellectual content. All authors have read and approved the final version of the manuscript.