Evaluation of primary and secondary school textbooks in the context of the general principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child

In this study, 1st, 2nd and 3rd grade life sciences, 4th grade human rights, citizenship and democracy and 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th grade social studies textbooks approved by the Board of Education and Discipline (Ministry of National Education) are aimed to examine in terms of content and images related to the principles of prohibition of discrimination against the child, the right to life and development of the child, prioritizing the best interest of the child, taking into account the views of the child and the right to participation are included. Within the scope of the research, 8 textbooks were examined, and these textbooks were assessed from the general network at www.eba.gov.tr. Since this study aimed to examine textbooks, document review and analysis method, one of the qualitative research methods, was used. As a result of the research, the child's right to participation was the principle that included the most in the content and visuals of the textbooks. Secondly, it was observed that the prohibition of discrimination against children, and thirdly, the child's right to life and development was included. The principle that is given the least attention is the principle of prioritizing the best interests of the child. The principle of giving priority to the child's best interest is not included in life sciences textbooks. The principles are included in similar numbers in the social studies textbooks. Then, in the human rights, citizenship and democracy textbook, the prohibition of discrimination against children and the right to respect the child's views and participation are included more and the child's right to life and development and the right to prioritize the best interest of the child are included less. The findings of this master thesis were compared with the results of similar studies, discussed and suggestions for new studies were presented. KEYWORDS: Primary Education, Textbook, Children's Rights, Convention on the Rights of the Child