The appropriateness of secondary school religious culture and moral knowledge courses textbooks to student development levels (5th and 8th grades)

The aim of this study is to investigate whether the textbooks used in the 5th and 8th grade Religious Culture and Ethics Course Curriculum are suitable for the developmental characteristics of students aged 10-13 years. The scope of the research consists of textbooks used in schools in the 2019-2020 Academic Year. In the first part of the thesis, the literature was searched and the developmental characteristics of the students in the specified age range were determined. This information is given by making the distinction between "last childhood" and "first adolescence" periods. Thus, the group to be subjected to religious education was tried to be recognized closely. In the second part, the suitability of the subjects in the books to the students' levels in terms of cognitive, social and moral aspects was examined through content evaluation questions. At this stage, research findings were formed using the rating scale including "yes, partly and no" criteria. In addition to the findings, the pictures in the content and other helpful items were also examined. In the Conclusion and Evaluation section, the research findings were interpreted and evaluated. Finally, contributions and suggestions were offered by the researcher to teachers in the field.