Examination of primary-secondary school textbooks and workbooks in the context of reading cultures

Raising individuals who have acquired a culture of reading is one of the characteristics of developed societies. A culture existing in society is naturally reflected in textbooks. If the culture of reading has taken its place in the society as a culture, it is expected that it will naturally be reflected in the textbooks like other cultural elements. The general purpose of this study is to examine primary and secondary school textbooks and workbooks in the context of acquiring a reading culture. The case study model was adopted in this study, since reading culture is a part of current life and textbooks and workbooks also include real-life situations. 1st-8th textbooks and workbooks, curricula and interviews with teachers constitute the data source of this research. In the study, data related to textbooks and workbooks and curricula were collected by document analysis method and the obtained data were analyzed by content analysis technique. The data obtained from the interviews with the teachers were also analyzed with the content analysis technique. As a result of the research, it was determined that the contents of the reading culture in the textbooks and workbooks were not at the desired level. Textbooks and workbooks convey the existing culture in society. Since the reading culture is not at the desired level in our society, it has been observed that content related to reading culture are not sufficiently included in the 1st-8th grade textbooks and workbooks, and the objectives and achievements for acquiring reading culture in the curriculum are limited to the Turkish curriculum. The interviewed teachers also found the textbooks and workbooks insufficient in terms of acquiring a reading culture. Based on the results of this study, it is suggested that textbooks and workbooks should be prepared in a way that will contribute to the process of acquiring a reading culture.