Pros and cons of elective religion courses from the perspective of Religious Culture and Ethics Course teachers: The example of Izmir

The study examines the pros and cons of the Qur'an course, the Life of the Prophet and the Basic Religious Studies (Islam I and II) courses, which were added to the elective courses with the Law No. 6287 in 2012. It is aimed to examine the opinions of the Religious Culture and Ethics teachers, who are the practitioners and instructors of the courses. The data were structured in the qualitative research method, so that more detailed information was obtained. In the research, 25 volunteer Religious Culture and Ethics teachers who teach elective religion courses and work in secondary schools in İzmir province, Bayraklı, Buca, Gaziemir, Karabağlar, Karşıyaka, Menemen and Ödemiş districts were randomly determined. In the research, the data were collected with a semi-structured interview form which consists of open-ended questions prepared by the researcher. Although the interviews were planned face-to-face by visiting the schools where the teachers work, they were provided an online semi-structured form due to Covid-19, which has become a global epidemic and affected the world. According to the semi-structured interview forms analysis, the teachers stated that the elective religion course fulfilled the objectives, but they partially fulfilled the acquirements. The participants were asked about the problems about the implementation and selection process of the courses. They expressed problems which were caused by teachers, students, parents and school management. It was seen that the students were uninterested and unwilling to the lessons, they did not choose the lessons on their own accord from time to time; It was stated that parents did not support students and sometimes caused stress during the course selection process. While the textbooks were fine according to some teachers, it was emphasized that some teachers thought that the books wereneeded to be developed and activities should have been increased. They were asked to express their opinions on the efficiency of the elective courses, and it was determined that the course was effective if the student chose and attended these courses voluntarily. A few problems have been identified related to the Qur'an lesson. For example, classes are crowded, student levels are different, there is not enough time for one-to-one attention, there is no Arabic Guide for Beginners to Read Quran in the books. Finally, the participant teachers were asked what their suggestions were for elective religion courses. Keywords: Elective Religion Courses, Elective Courses, Religious Education