Analysis of Ministry of National Education Values Education Books and their evaluation based on teachers' opinions

This research aims to evaluate the content structure and classroom applicability of the Values Education Activity Book and the Values Education (Family and Society) Activity Book published by the Ministry of National Education in 2022 and 2023 in the light of teachers' opinions. In the qualitative research framework, an embedded single case design was used. There are two data sources: (i) 221 activities concerning the ten core values included in the books (document analysis) and (ii) the written semi-structured opinions of 10 Turkish language teachers working at two secondary schools in the city center of Mus during the 2024-2025 academic year. The data collected from the books through the document analysis method were analyzed in terms of objectives, methods, strategies and tools using the Activity Evaluation Form developed based on the opinions of the researcher and an expert. Teachers' opinions were gathered using a semi-structured interview form, and themes, categories, and codes were generated and analyzed through the descriptive analysis method. Methodological triangulation (the comparison of document analysis and teacher interviews) was applied to ensure validity. For reliability, intercoder agreement was found to be over 98% in the document analysis and 93.8% in the interview data, indicating a high level of reliability. The document analysis revealed that all the activities had clear and measurable objectives; in terms of strategies, expository (100%), discovery (50.2%) and inquiry (14.5%) approaches were employed; regarding methods and techniques, lecture (100%) and (question-answer (100%) were present in all activities, while discussion (50.2%) and case study (37.1%) were frequently used. In the instructional materials dimension, interactive white board, visuals and worksheets (100%) were consitently included, whereas videos (11.3%) and other resources were used at a limited level. Teacher opinions indicated that the books facilitated lesson preparation thanks to ready-made materials and clear guidelines; however, implementation challenges emerged, including insufficient guidance regarding age/grade level, a high number of activities and time constraints, uncertainties about cross-curricular integration, differences in technological access, and low levels of family participation. In addition, a significant number of teachers stated that they had not received systematic training in values education during their undergraduate or in-service programs. In conclusion, the activity books in question provide a pedagogically functional framework for the implementation of values education in classroom practice. In addition, school-family collaboration should be strengthened, guidelines clarifying age and grade level appropriateness should be developed, implementation guides for teachers of different subjects should be provided, technological access issues that create inequalities between schools should be addressed, and the process should be made more sustainable. It is also recommended that the books not be limited to the ten core values, and that universal values be included as well.