Attitudes of secondary education imam hatip students towards visual arts lessons: The case of Pendik district, Istanbul

This study, which aims to examine the attitudes of students studying at Imam Hatip Secondary Schools towards Visual Arts lessons, was conducted during the 2023–2024 academic year with 558 Imam Hatip secondary school students (350 male and 208 female) in the Pendik district of Istanbul. The research problem of this study was determined as: "What is the level of attitudes of students studying at Imam Hatip Secondary Schools towards Visual Arts lessons?" Additionally, it was examined whether there is a significant difference in students' attitudes towards Visual Arts lessons based on gender. Furthermore, the study investigated how students' interest and attitudes towards Visual Arts lessons changed throughout the course process in line with the objectives of the new curriculum. The perspectives, interests, and attitudes of students towards Visual Arts lessons, as well as their opinions before and after the lessons, were evaluated within the scope of our quantitative study. The analyses revealed that Imam Hatip Secondary School students' attitudes towards Visual Arts lessons were at a 'moderate' level, and no significant differences were found between gender-based attitude scores. Moreover, a general evaluation of the data obtained through the attitude scale used in the research was conducted.