Analysis of short story and novel texts in high school Turkish language and literature textbooks within the frameork of new criticism

Education is a process aimed at enabling individuals to acquire knowledge and skills and develop positive behaviors in the desired direction. This process allows individuals to reveal their abilities. Education is possible in all areas of life and at any time. It is a whole that encompasses both learning and teaching processes. This process is facilitated through a variety of materials, with textbooks being one of the most significant. The New Criticism movement, which emerged in the 1920s in England, was primarily adopted in the United States. Unlike earlier literary criticism, the life of the author, societal conditions, and religious and moral messages in the text are placed behind to explain the work. It opposes the idea that literature reflects society or expresses the author's emotions, and instead, they regard the literary work as self-sufficient and independent from the external world. The primary aim of this study is to analyze the short stories and novels included in the Turkish Language and Literature high school textbooks from the perspective of the New Criticism theory. In pursuit of this objective, document analysis, as a qualitative research method, was employed. The material of the study consists of the Turkish Language and Literature textbooks for high school students (grades 9 to 12) from the 2024-2025 academic year, published by the Ministry of National Education. In the study, the Textual Analysis Form (TAF), developed in accordance with the principles of New Criticism and constructed with expert consultation, was used as the data collection instrument. Descriptive analysis was employed to analyze the collected data. As a result of the study, the analyzed texts, based on the theory, include elements such as plot structure, character ensemble, setting, time, narrator, point of view, and narrative techniques. The topic headings were analyzed within the framework of the learning objectives in the curriculum. In conjunction with this examination, the texts included in the textbook were analyzed in accordance with the principles of the theory, with all elements external to the literary work being relegated to the background. This type of criticism allows for a multi-dimensional examination of the text It enables students to think critically through theories and methods, fostering the generation of new ideas based on these thoughts. When students' theoretical knowledge is supported by text analyses, students will realize that the texts they have read are better understood, and by offering them a different perspective, it will enable them to evaluate the text more effectively. Keywords: Education, curriculum, textbook, literature, new criticism, theory, short story, novel.