Evaluation of secondary school religion, ethics and values elective courses with students' opinions (The case of Elazığ province)

Educational institutions can make the necessary arrangements in the system in order to meet the expectations of the age, society and the individual. In Turkey, the most recent example of this arrangement, in addition to compulsory religious instruction in the education system since the 2012-2013 year, according to democratic principles is also included elective religion classes. Thus, it is aimed to meet the needs of the students according to their interests and abilities. The purpose of the Life of the Prophet to be taught starting from the 2012-2013 academic year in Turkey this research is to determine the student opinions about the Basic Religious Knowledge and the Holy Quran elective religion classes. This research can fill an important gap in terms of identifying the deficiencies and examining the measures that can be taken by examining the newly accepted elective religious courses with the students' views. This research is structured in the descriptive survey model of quantitative research method. The data of the study was collected through a questionnaire. The collected data were analysed descriptively (percentage and frequency) in SPSS 21 program. The sample of the study was chosen on a voluntary basis. A total of 712 students from 8 schools, 4 Anatolian High Schools (419), 3 Vocational High Schools (243) and 1 Science High School (50), constitute the sample of this study. As a result of the research, students' perspectives on elective religious courses were revealed. Accordingly, it was found that the students who make up the sample of the study have positive views on the elective religion courses and that the elective religion courses have positive effects on the students. It is seen that the most important factor in choosing these courses is the school administration. While choosing these courses, the contribution that am will help me to know my religion better çıkmak comes to the fore. Another finding is that most of the students find elective religious courses necessary. In addition, most of the students see themselves as "Successful inde in elective religious classes. In addition, most of the students in our study say that they love their teachers and they like the textbooks. Key Words: Religious Education, Secondary Education, Religious Lessons in Schools, Life of the Prophet, Holy Quran, Basic Religious Knowledge