Presidency of Religious Affairs 4-6 age group Qur'an courses curriculum (2022) program development principles and evaluation according to instructor opinions

Curriculum should be in a format that constantly renews and develops itself by adapting to the changing times. The 4-6 age group Qur'an courses curriculum has been renewed and developed in many ways since 2014. The 2014 curriculum for 4-6 year olds has deficiencies due to the newness of the program and the application, and the deficiencies were tried to be eliminated with the curriculum implemented in 2018. In 2022, with the implementation of half and full day education, the program was reevaluated, the subjects and achievements were reevaluated, and the program was updated again by adding activities to support children in different developmental areas. This study aims to examine the 4-6 year old Qur'an course curriculum, which was updated in 2022, in terms of curriculum development principles and according to the opinions of the instructors. The research was conducted in the case study model, which is one of the qualitative research methods. Semi-structured interview technique was used in the data collection process. In the study, the 4-6 year old Qur'an course curriculum and the opinions of the instructors, which were conducted with the semi-structured interview method, were used as data sources. Interviews were conducted with a sufficient number of instructors to obtain qualitative findings in accordance with the objectives of the research. The instructors were selected to provide maximum diversity in the interviews. Interviews were conducted face-to-face with 13 teachers working in 4-6 years old Qur'an courses affiliated to Gölcük, Başiskele and Kartepe mufti offices in Kocaeli province and working in the 2023-2024 academic year.The data obtained were interpreted by descriptive analysis. According to the research findings; it was concluded that the 2022 4-6 years old curriculum synthesized subject-centered, student-centered and problem-centered approaches from curriculum development approaches.It was concluded that the Taba-Tyler approach was adopted from curriculum development models. According to the findings obtained from the teachers; most of the teachers think that the program is sufficient in terms of religious education and values education, but they state that it needs to be improved in terms of concretization of abstract concepts and inadequacy of teaching materials. Physical conditions and lack of auxiliary personnel are among the main problems faced by the teachers.The instructors use various methods and techniques such as drama, games and repetition in their lessons, but they need more digital resources and materials. In terms of measurement and evaluation methods, instructors generally prefer question-answer and demonstration methods. As a result, the instructors think that the program is generally adequate, but there are some issues such as providing more teaching materials and resources, improving physical conditions, and eliminating the lack of auxiliary personnel. In order to increase the effectiveness of the program, teachers offer important suggestions such as adding parent participation activities to the program, adapting the program according to local needs, increasing in-service trainings for teachers, and conducting promotional programs for parents.