Assessment of the illustrations in the primary school 8th-grade turkish course book design in terms of conformity with the text

This study has been designed to evaluate the illustrations in the primary school 8th-grade Turkish course book design in terms of their conformity with the text. The survey model has been used in the study. The universe of the study is the 8th-grade Turkish course book licensed by the Ministry of National Education to be taught in the primary schools in Turkey in 2008-2009 training year.To assess the conformity of the illustrations in the study with the text, a scale based on experts? views has been developed. Internal consistency of the assessments made by each of the experts has been evaluated with the use of Cronbach Alpha reliability coefficient, which has been found as ?= 0,96 in relation to the items of `Assessment Scale?. This result indicates that the scale has a high level of reliability.During the study, two measurement scales have been used regarding `Assessment of Design Elements in terms of Structural Principles According to Design Principles? and `Assessment of Design Elements in terms of Cognitive Principles According to Design Principles?. The percentage (%) average and standard deviation have been used in the analysis of the data obtained through the measuring process.The assessment average of the illustrations in the 8th-grade Turkish course book in terms of structural principles (x= 2.14) has been found as higher than the one in terms of cognitive principles (x= 1.79). However, the illustrations have been found out not to be in conformity with the text in terms of these principles in that the average obtained are not close to 5 full score. According to the findings of this assessment, it has been determined that design elements are not organized according to design principles, thus not conforming with the text in terms of structural and cognitive principles.Key terms: Cognitive Theory, Gestalt Theory, Design Principles, Picture-Text Relationship, Illustration.