Determining the levels of teachers' preference of Ömer Seyfettin stories in the context of values teaching

Value education is an educational process designed to instill social values and character traits in individuals. This process helps individuals distinguish between right and wrong, and good and bad, emphasizing values such as respect, honesty, responsibility, helpfulness, and patriotism. Individuals who embrace these values tend to live in a more harmonious society. Value education begins within the family and continues in schools, utilizing various resources. Among these resources, stories play a crucial role by engaging imagination and empathy, making them valuable tools for teaching values. Ömer Seyfettin's stories, significant in Turkish literature, also serve as important resources for value education. His stories feature characters from diverse backgrounds and their experiences, conveying various values to readers. Therefore, Seyfettin's stories can be considered a vital resource in the context of value education. This study aims to assess the extent to which classroom teachers select Ömer Seyfettin's stories for teaching values. Employing a mixed research method, the study combines qualitative and quantitative approaches. A survey was administered to 134 teachers in Antalya to evaluate their preference for using Seyfettin's stories in education. Quantitative data were analyzed using the SPSS program. Additionally, qualitative data were collected through interviews with 10 teachers from public and private schools in Antalya's Kepez and Döşemealtı districts. These interviews explored teachers' reasons for choosing Seyfettin's stories for value education, and the data were analyzed using content analysis. Key findings from the research include that teachers possess a strong understanding of value characteristics and use various methods and resources, including stories, in their value education lessons. They are familiar with Ömer Seyfettin's stories, having read them during their childhood, and they recognize the value changes depicted in these stories. Additionally, there is a notable preference among teachers for using Seyfettin's stories in value education.