Examining children's novels recommended for primary school students in the context of values education (Book Van Project example)

This study was conducted to examine the children's novels recommended for the elementary school period within the scope of the Kitap Van Project, in the context of MEB core values. A qualitative research method, document analysis, was used to collect data from the books. With the purpose of easy accessibility, convenience and purposive sampling methods were used to evaluate 20 local children's novels recommended for 4th-grade students in the Kitap Van Project. To evaluate the books, the researcher prepared the "Evaluation Form for Children's Novels Recommended for the Elementary School Period within the Scope of the Kitap Van Project in Terms of Values Education." The form was finalized based on expert opinions. In this research, where document analysis was used, content analysis technique was applied to analyze the data. As a result of the analysis, the main category of "values education" was determined, and 10 subcategories were created considering MEB core values such as justice, patience, love, respect, responsibility, friendship, honesty, self-control, helpfulness, and patriotism. The analysis focused on positive expressions, and phrases reflecting these values were coded under the subcategories during the analysis. The data obtained from the study were evaluated using frequency analysis, and the extent to which values education was included in the books was determined. Expressions related to MEB core values were found in all 20 books, but it was observed that equal attention was not given to each value. The levels of inclusion of values education in the books were identified as follows: justice (41), friendship (183), honesty (66), patience (80), respect (265), love (91), responsibility (40), patriotism (46), helpfulness (174), and self-control (99).