Opinions of teachers and students regarding the values in the virtues theme of the 6th grade Turkish textbook

The purpose of this study is to examine the opinions of teachers and students regarding the values in the virtues theme of the 6th grade Turkish textbook. The scope of the study is limited to the virtues theme in the 6th grade textbook because it is directly related to values education. The phenomenology method, one of the qualitative research designs, was preferred for this study. The students and teachers constituting the study group were selected using purposive sampling. The study group consisted of 20 Turkish teachers working in the central districts of Antalya province and 20 sixth-grade students selected by these teachers. A semi-structured interview form developed by the researcher was used as the data collection tool. Separate forms were prepared for teachers and students. Descriptive analysis and content analysis was preferred for the analysis of qualitative data. According to the findings, Turkish teachers stated that students' awareness of the core values expected to be instilled remains mainly at the knowledge level, does not reflect in their behavior, and values education does not receive sufficient time due to the intensity of the curriculum. Teachers noted that students have higher awareness of values such as love, friendship, helpfulness, patriotism, and respect, while their awareness of values like self-control, responsibility, honesty, justice, and patience is lower. Reasons for low awareness include family influence, environmental factors, the internet, lack of empathy, and infrequent encounters with these values in real life. Teachers emphasized the need for values like respect, justice, honesty, and responsibility to be included more prominently in textbooks. Students expressed that values education should be delivered in a fun and engaging manner through activities like theater, trips, stories, and poems, and should be taught as a separate course.