The evolution of social studies textbooks in terms of message design principles

This research was conducted to evaluate textbooks in terms of message design principles. The research is a descriptive study based on examination of the textbooks. The books that were approved by the Ministry of National Education, as to be used in sixth-grade Social studies courses, comprised the research universe. Experiments covered "Turks on the Silk Road" unit which has the largest volume in the textbooks.In order to collect data for the study, a question set and a rubric scale were developed by the researcher. In the scope of the study, four textbooks were rated using the developed rubric scale. Data were analized in accordance with the rubrics and selected perceptible text-examples were used to demonstrate the inferred results. The results data were presented in groups by text organizers, meta structures, in-text questions, visuals and page setup.In the light of the results, it is deduced that text organizers, meta structures, in-text questions, visuals and page setup were not effectively used in the textbooks examined. Although, no significant difference was found among the examined textbooks in terms of message design principles, it was observed that these principles took little or no effect at all in the book designs.In order that the textbooks should be prepared and evaluated in accordance with the message design principles, recommendations were offered for the relevant institutions such as textbook publishers and Ministry of National Education, or organizations and for the researches about this subject.Key Words: Social Studies Course, Message Design in Textbooks, Text Analyzatıon, Rubric in Textbooks.