The effect of using digital materials in religious education on student achievement and retention (The case of Imam Hatip High School)

Different ways, methods and tools can be used to transfer the knowledge and skill heritage of humanity to new generations. Today, it is obvious that people of all ages live a life intertwined with technology. The effects of technology in education offer a significant research area. Especially when we look at the current programme of the Ministry of National Education and the published draft of the new programme, a healthy integration effort with technology stands out. However, there are many variables affecting teachers' teaching methods. In this context, various skills and approaches prescribed by the curricula may not be fully implemented in practice. For this reason, it is considered important to examine the advantages and disadvantages of using digital materials in educational environments. On the basis of this idea, the problem statement of the research was determined as 'What is the effect of using digital materials in religious education on student success and retention?'. For this purpose, the research was designed based on the convergent parallel method within the scope of mixed method. In accordance with this design, a quasi-experimental study was carried out for 12 weeks in the quantitative dimension, while a case study was used in the qualitative dimension. The sample of the study consists of approximately 60 students studying at Şehit Davut Karaçam Girls' Anatolian Imam Hatip High School and Selahaddin Eyyubi Boys' Anatolian Imam Hatip High School in Muş province in the 2022-2023 academic year. Before the application, there was no significant difference between the pre-test scores of the experimental and control group students. After the application, a significant difference was found between the post-test scores of the students in the experimental group and the post-test scores of the students in the control group in favour of the experimental group. In addition, a significant difference was found between the post-test and retention test scores of the experimental group and the control group in favour of the experimental group. In the findings obtained from interviews and observations, it was seen that the interest and motivation of the students increased in the lessons carried out with digital materials and that the students expressed positive opinions about the use of digital materials. In this study, it was concluded that digital materials increase the success level of students and the rate of remembering what they have learnt, and therefore, the use of digital materials in religious education can make positive contributions to student success and retention. On the basis of the findings obtained from the research, suggestions were made such as creating conditions that will enable teachers to effectively integrate digital resources into religious education, developing educational strategies in this context, and increasing students' digital literacy skills and awareness.