Analysis of images in the primary school 2nd grade Turkish course book

This research was conducted to analyze the visuals of the texts in the textbooks belonging to two different publishing houses used in the 2nd grade Turkish course in primary school. In the research, the Ministry of National Education Publications (MEB) and Science Culture Publications (BKY) textbooks, which were taught as Turkish textbooks in the 2023-2024 academic year, were examined. Document analysis technique was used to collect data. The "Visual-Text Relationship Category List" prepared by the researcher was used as a data collection tool. Images of the texts in the books were analyzed and interpreted using the Visual-Text Category List. As a result of the findings obtained from the research, it was concluded that the visuals of the texts examined in the MEB publications textbook were designed partially in accordance with the content of the text and the achievements in the curriculum, and the visuals of the texts examined in the BKY 2nd Grade Turkish textbook were designed in accordance with the content of the text and the achievements in the curriculum. It has been determined that the BKY textbook is more suitable in terms of students' cognitive and affective characteristics than the MEB publications textbook. It was concluded that the visuals in both publishing houses' books do not contain negative elements in terms of violence and social values. In addition, it was concluded that in the Turkish textbooks examined, various visuals were not used in the texts and only a single visual type was included. The colors used in both textbooks are vibrant, eye-catching and clear, and the colors are arranged realistically. It was concluded that the books of both publishing houses were arranged in accordance with the principles of balance in design, ensuring integrity, taking into account the figure-ground relationship, but it was observed that the BKY textbook included visuals on every page along with the texts. Again, it was concluded that the dimensions of the visuals in the BKY textbook are more realistic and comply with the principles of ratio and proportion at a higher level compared to the MEB publications textbook. It was concluded that the visuals in both textbooks provided students with aesthetic pleasure and sensitivity. All results and findings obtained from the research were discussed and then some suggestions were made.