The place of founding leaders in Social Studies textbooks in Turkey, Azerbaijan and Canada

The concept of "founding leader" is of great importance for the Social Studies course, which aims to raise active citizens and individuals with historical consciousness. For this reason, the concept of "founding leader", which is a part of the Social Studies course, should be carefully considered. In this regard, it is essential that the concept of "founding leader" guides education policies, integrates it with curricula, reflects it in textbooks, and emphasizes it in course practices. Teaching the new generations about the events that went through the "founding leaders" of historical figures, their struggles, and the revolutions they implemented has a great importance in raising individuals who are equipped with national feelings, who know their past and who shape their future by learning lessons from what has been experienced in this context. Although each nation has its own historical background, it is obvious that it has experienced similar processes. The struggle for independence in Canada took place in 1867, in Turkey in 1923, and in Azerbaijan in 1991. With the independence process experienced in all three countries that were the subject of the research in about a century and a half, the basic concept of the research "founding leader" has become more important in these countries. The impact of all the events on the socio-political events in these countries has been at the maximum level, as is thought. It is quite common for the education system to be affected by these events as a result of the events. The main questions of this research include what kind of changes the affected education systems have undergone over the years, the gradual emergence of wars and conflicts around the world, and whether the concept of "founding leader" still maintains its influence. This research was carried out to determine how the concept of "founding leader" is used in the textbooks of the courses taught within the scope of Social Studies and equivalent courses. Qualitative research method was used in the research. The data obtained as a result of the research were analyzed with the help of content analysis method. As a result of the study, how the concept of "founding leader" was perceived in the countries that were the subject of the study, and the intensity of the content of the textbooks were determined and revealed. In the light of the data obtained, all the questions were answered with the evaluations made meticulously, and the results were reached by comparisons. Keywords: social studies, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Canada, textbook, founding leader.