Evaluation of religion and values education activities offered in dorms affiliated with the Ministry of Youth and Sports based on the opinions of university students: The case of Malatya province

The aim of this research is to evaluate the religious and values education activities offered in dormitories affiliated with the Ministry of Youth and Sports' KYK facilities from the perspective of university students and to determine the relationship between these activities and students' satisfaction levels as well as their religious attitudes. The study employs a correlational survey model, one of the quantitative research methods. The accessible population of the research consists of university students residing in KYK dormitories in Malatya during the spring semester of the 2023-2024 academic year. The sample of the study includes 545 students selected through a simple random sampling method. The data were collected using the "Student Satisfaction Scale for Religious and Values Education Activities" developed by the researcher and the "Religious Attitude Scale" developed by Üzeyir Ok (2011). The obtained data were analyzed using SPSS 26.0 software, with normality tests, independent sample t-tests, one-way ANOVA, Pearson correlation, and simple linear regression techniques applied during the analysis. Some of the findings obtained as a result of the research are as follows: Students who never participated in activities at KYK dormitories stated time constraints, lack of information, and concern about the content as the main reasons for not participating. A positive and statistically significant relationship was found between the satisfaction level of university students who participated in religious and values education activities and their religious attitude levels. According to the regression analysis results, the level of satisfaction significantly predicts religious attitude scores. In addition, it was observed that the religious attitude levels of students who participated in the activities were higher than those who did not participate, and regular participation also increased the level of satisfaction. It was found that the satisfaction levels and religious attitude levels of students differed significantly in terms of some variables such as gender, type of high school graduated from, living environment, and pre-university religious and values education status, but did not differ significantly in terms of variables such as length of dormitory stay, education level, and grade level. Key Words: Religious and Values Education, Religious Education in Youth, Ministry of Youth and Sports, KYK Dormitories, Education Management System.