Investigation of the attitudes of Generation Z students in secondary education towards Religious Culture and Moral Knowledge course (Van province example)

This study aims to examine the attitudes of Generation Z students, who constitute a significant portion of the youth population in Türkiye and are enrolled in secondary education, toward the Religious Culture and Moral Knowledge (RCMK) course based on various variables. In this context, the attitudes of Generation Z students attending secondary education toward the RCMK course were examined in relation to eleven variables: gender, grade level, school type, father's educational background, mother's educational background, father's occupation, mother's occupation, family's socioeconomic status, whether the course is chosen if elective, daily technology usage time, and the frequency of mosque visits up to this age. Being one of the original studies focusing on Generation Z students' attitudes toward the RCMK course, it is expected to fill a gap in the literature and contribute to the field. The study population consists of students attending secondary education institutions in Van province. The sample includes 727 Generation Z students (406 female, 321 male) studying during the 2023–2024 academic year at Tuşba Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges Science High School, İki Nisan Anatolian High School, Van Fine Arts High School, Van Sports High School, and Münci İnci Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School. The data were collected using a "Personal Information Form" prepared with expert opinion and the "RCMK Course Attitude Scale" developed by Kaya (2001), and analyzed using the SPSS software. For data analysis, Independent Samples t-Test, One-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), and post-hoc comparisons using Games-Howell and Scheffe tests were conducted. Based on the findings, it was concluded that variables such as school type, parents' educational and occupational background, socioeconomic status, course selection status if elective, daily technology use, and frequency of mosque visits significantly affect students' attitudes toward the RCMK course.