Examination of secondary school English textbooks in terms of values education and teachers' opinions on values education

Purpose: The general purpose of this research is to determine the inclusion of values in secondary school English textbooks. Method: For this purpose, this research was structured with a basic qualitative research design using qualitative methods related to existing problems. As a data collection technique, interview technique was used to get the opinions of English teachers about values education, and document analysis technique was used to examine English textbooks in terms of values education. In teacher interviews, a semi-structured interview form was applied to a study group of 14 people determined according to the criterion sampling method, one of the purposeful sampling methods, and the interviews were held online via Zoom and recorded. In the selection of textbooks, the criterion sampling method, one of the purposeful sampling methods, was used and the books that the researcher had knowledge about were selected. While examining the textbooks, two forms were used: the universal values checklist and the root values checklist, which were prepared by taking expert opinions. The results were obtained by interpreting the data obtained from the textbooks according to the descriptive analysis approach, and the data obtained from the teacher interviews according to the content analysis approach. Results: It was determined that the sub-dimensions of universal values were included 169 times in the secondary school fifth grade English textbook. While the value of "love" was included the most, the value of humility was included the least. It was determined that the sub-dimensions of the root values were included 86 times in total. While the value of "love" was included the most, the value of "honesty" was included the least. It was determined that the sub-dimensions of universal values were included 168 times in the secondary school sixth grade English textbook. While the value of "love" was included the most, the value of "peace" was included the least. It was determined that the sub-dimensions of the root values were included 69 times in total. While the value of "love" was included the most, the value of "patience" was included the least. Sub-dimensions of universal values were included 116 times in the secondary school seventh grade English textbook. While the value of "love" was included the most, the value of "humility" was included the least. It was determined that the sub-dimensions of the root values were included 68 times in total. It was determined that while the value of "patriotism" was included the most, the value of "justice" and "esteem" was included the least. Subdimensions of universal values were included 133 times in the secondary school eighth grade English textbook. While the value of "love" was included the most, the value of "humility" was included the least. It was determined that the sub-dimensions of the root values were included 90 times in total. While the value of "helpfulness" was included the most, the value of "justice" was included the least. In the interviews with the teachers, they stated that values education prepares individuals for social life and aims to raise them as good people. It has been observed that they stated that the primary value that should be imparted to secondary school students is the value of respect. The majority of teachers stated that values education should be included in English lessons and that the value of tolerance should be gained as a priority. Most of the participants stated that values education was not included sufficiently in English lessons. In addition, it has been observed that the most frequently used practice by teachers to impart values to students in English lessons is group work. Conclusion and Suggestions: As a result of the research, it was seen that English textbooks were quite inadequate, especially in terms of root values, compared to universal values. Additionally, values are included more implicitly in the books. In addition, the majority of English teachers who participated in the research stated that they found the textbooks inadequate in terms of values education and that values education should be given more space in English lessons. Keywords: Universal values, Root values, Values education, English textbooks, English teachers