Family participation activities in values education in life sciences course: An action research

Values education is provided as a separate heading in the primary school Life Sciences Curriculum, and its importance is emphasized. However, it is observed that the program does not include explanations on how values will be addressed and how families can be involved in the process. In this context, the aim of the research is to reveal how family participation can be ensured in values education in the 3rd grade of the Primary School Life Sciences course. To achieve this goal, respect and responsibility values have been tried to be taught through activities with family participation by associating them with achievements. The research adopted the action research design, one of the qualitative research designs. The study was conducted with the participation of 17 students attending the 3rd grade in a state primary school in Istanbul along with the involvement of their families during the 2021-2022 academic year. Research data were collected through personal information form, family collaboration notebook, student anecdote diary, student self-assessment essays, video recordings of family participation activities, interviews, video recordings of the validity committee meeting, researcher observations, and journals. The data were analyzed through content analysis. As a result of the research, families stated that students acquired respect and responsibility values and reflected these values in their behaviors. Families and students found the activities enjoyable and effective, mentioning that the activities contributed to intra-family communication and family bonding. Families and the teacher expressed satisfaction with the effective establishment of school-family collaboration and stated their happiness with this collaboration and the established communication.